Customer Reviews

Can Cows Walk Down Stairs?: Perplexing Questions Answered

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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This book is well researched for the answers it gives the reader in detail such as What came first the chicken and the egg? I've have never seen this question answered more brilliantly than it is here and you are left with no doubt it had to have been the egg.

But the book does add the occasional one sentence urban myth where obviously the editors or whoever are trying to pad out a section but they haven't bothered to do the research. For example the title question can cows walk down stairs (although rephrased as can cows be led down stairs in the book) brilliantly answers that question (it's no they can't if you're interested but not intending to purchase this book) but adds as a last sentence (on p46) other similar examples, one being that emus can't walk backwards. This myth is a common belief in Australia, spread by an old bushman's wives tale. However anyone who has ever worked in a wildlife park knows emus certainly can walk backwards if they have no other options and need to. A simple phone call to any wildlife park that has emus, before printing that line would have resulted in them leaving it out and having a more accurate book.

That aside the book does give a lot of great information on topics readers of all ages probably have wondered. The book presents these in conversation style as the reader asking questions to the narrator. Examples of some interesting questions asked in this book are -
If a cow eats green grass why is its milk white?
Is it true cats always land on their feet and why?
Do fish vomit?
Do fish sleep?
Why does your nose run when you eat?
How much of our lifetime do we spend with our eyes closed just by blinking?
How long can a human stay awake?
Do ants have blood and bones?
Do penguins have knee caps?
Why are women's voices higher than mens?
Is eating snot bad for you?
Is it possible to run across the backs of alligators like they do in the movies?

The book is not as light or entertaining in style as some of the better competitors out there, plus the odd mistake or two does lessen my overall rating of the book. However I still think it is a worthwhile purchase as it does cover some topics not covered in the better books and such as the chicken and the egg question argues the answers very, very well!

The best though in this genre are How Slow Can you Waterski? by Simon Rogers, (also released under the title Can You Drill a Hole Through Your Head and Survive?) Dr Karl Kruszelnicki's Great Mythconceptions: The Science Behind the Myths, Q & A with Dr. K, Pigeon Poo, the Universe & Car Paint: And Other Awesome Science Moments and the rest of his books. Do Blue Bedsheets Bring Babies?: The Truth Behind Old Wives' Tales, Why Do Men Have Nipples? Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini, Shocking Science, So Gross (Over 100 Gross-Worthy Facts) and Everything You Need to Know About the World by Simon Eliot.

Very informative ,educational & entertaining book to read. Would make a good gift for someone who needs something unusual.

This book isn't going to change your life but it's an interesting and easy read. The kind of book you can pick up and read again and again. It's funny. I liked it. A good book to give to an questioning teenager. Can cows walk down stairs is a shelf filler, but it's interesting.