Customer Reviews

Discover's 20 Things You Didn't Know About Everything: Duct Tape, Airport Security, Your Body, Sex in Space...and More!

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had enjoyed the feature in the Discover Magazine, so I took a flyer on the book. Overall, the book goes pretty fast as the nature of the book make for perfect pre-bedtime or bathroom reading (and spare me your Seinfeldian horror). But the topics are uneven in quality and content, some leaning the needle towards "filler". The problem for me was the price, I don't feel the value is there at this price point. It would be a great $7 book though.

I love Discover Magazine so when I saw that they expanded their 20 things column into a book I was thrilled! So many cool and interesting subjects. The topics are all really different ( germs and ancient weapons are especially interesting) and funny too! It's a great book for a plane ride and the beach. Also, I always travel with my Discover Mag and I think it's great that Amazon offers this book with a subscription package as an option. Its a great gift idea.

I'm a big fan of these kinds of kitchen-sink books. In an era when nonfiction writing seem to be getting smaller and smaller (300 pages all about...cod, chocolate, heat, pi, etc) it's great to curl up with a book that's all about expanding your range of knowledge, and doing it in a totally entertaining way. Probably the ultimate example of that is AJ Jacobs' "The Know It All," which manages to live up to the promise of its title without succumbing to the brattiness that it suggests.

"20 Things" isn't quite in the same category--this one doesn't have the unifying plot thread or strong author's voice--but it's really satisfying all the same. The topics range all over the place, and even within the chapters the information quickly bounces from ancient history to modern science and so on. The common thread is that the nuggets of information in here almost all make you think. Yeah, the writing could be a little sharper and there are a couple bits of repetition, but the world looks a little richer each time I put this book down. Good stuff.

I like Discover magazine and I like the 20 Things List at the end of each issue and if they had just done a whole bunch of those that would have been great, but instead they fluffed it out with a all of these additional "facts" which are often just innuendo or worse. Any time you see a bunch of quotes, many of which have little relevance, you know they are trying to push up the page count. Despite all the chaff, some of it is still interesting, but if you are looking for "fun facts" but in a slightly longer format, you'd be better off going with the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series.

Not as good as the magazine articles...
I really think they could've done better with this book. My husband and I love the magazine, but the book wasn't as good-Still an interesting coffee table book. There are 20 paragraphs on about 20 different things, most of which the average semi-intelligent person already knows.

I look forward to the "20 things you didn't know about..." page each month in Discover and was very excited when I saw there was a book. I expected many lists in the format that is in the magazine. Instead there are longer sections on each topic. I feel that for some topics the list of 20 is kind of a stretch with some facts being duplicated or not really informative. It is a very easy read and would be informative and beneficial to those who do little science reading. Everyone can use useless facts, and this book is full of them. Overall I have been disappointed with the book, but those who aren't accustomed to science reading will find this an interesting read.

For trivia buffs and people who are just curious about how the world works, this book is a real treat. The topics are eclectic and a bit quirky but it works; the chapter on duct tape explains everything from why some people say "duck tape" (I always thought they were just being dim) to why the tape was the real hero of Apollo 13. And I keep finding surprising nuggets of serious science and history in here, even though the tone of the whole thing is easy-breezy. This book is like junk food that's good for you--and that's something you just don't find every day.

True, there is filler. However, there is enough gravy in this to drown a Thanksgiving turkey. You will be able to amaze your friends and liven up any party or water-cooler gathering to expound on the many and fascinating topics you will feast on in this delicious book of trivial delights. My son and I love the magazine, and the style and flow are very analogous to one another. As mentioned there is some feet dragging, where clearly the editorial staff had to 'come up with something'; but in all, a great Bathroom book.

An enjoyable and light-hearted read which was refreshing in its delivery and informative at the same time... It'd appeal to the inquisitive of any age group and is a nice book to enjoy by the pool-side on a lazy day! I loved the range of topics and how the facts are presented in an easy-to-grasp manner that avoided science jargon :)Looking forward to more things I didn't know but would soon find out!

This book seems quickly thrown together to do one thing - get you to buy a book, by Discover editors, with a catchy title that seems to promise a good time.

The facts could only be little more than items dug up from other similar books, though the element of suspense, humor, and discovery in those books is not present here. Can't believe there are more than 300 pages in this book. The material could have been covered in less than 50.

So, I would lean more towards the "Book of Lists" series for a good, fun, and informative read.