The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes, Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies [Paperback]

Patrick Buckley (Author), Lily Binns (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2008

Inventive, (mostly) edible DIY gadgets and projects guaranteed to captivate

The Hungry Scientist Handbook brings DIY technology into the kitchen and onto the plate. It compiles the most mouthwatering projects created by mechanical engineer Patrick Buckley and his band of intrepid techie friends, whose collaboration on contraptions started at a memorable 2005 Bay Area dinner party and resulted in the formation of the Hungry Scientist Society—a loose confederation of creative minds dedicated to the pursuit of projects possessing varying degrees of whimsy and utility.

Featuring twenty projects ranging from edible origami to glowing lollipops, cryogenic martinis to Tupperware boom boxes, the book draws from the expertise of programmers, professors, and garden-variety geeks and offers something to delight DIYers of all skill levels.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

This amusing how-to may be more fun to page through than to put into practice. A collaboration by mechanical engineer Buckley, Binns, and a group of self-proclaimed techie geeks, the book presents projects using scientific principles (and, often, long lists of supplies) to create edible products. There is a lollipop formed around an LED light, bread baked with wild yeast, and a giant polyhedron formed from separate sheets of pecan pie. Additionally, there are projects made with food-related items, such as a measuring spoon stethoscope and a Tupperware iPod boom box. Directions are clear and well illustrated. However, this is not a book for children: some projects use sharp tools or dry ice, never mind the instructions and photos for a caramel bikini! Likewise, recipes for beer, wine, and superchilled martinis make this book inappropriate for school libraries. Well done and fun to look at, it nevertheless has limited appeal and is recommended only for large public libraries.—Denise Dayton, Jaffrey Grade Sch., NH
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About the Author

Patrick Buckley, a graduate of MIT, has worked at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories as a mechanical engineer. When not tinkering or inventing, he can be found kiteboarding, paragliding, or training for Ironman triathlons. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (September 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061238686
• ISBN-13: 978-0061238680
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good DIY, but not so much with the kitchen..., December 16, 2008

By 

J. Williamson "Spotty Logic" (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes, Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies (Paperback)

Not a bad book, and a good DIY/"Fun with Science" textbook. I feel that the book overhypes the "Fun in the kitchen!" idea. The majority of projects in the book are more Junior High science, less "exciting projects for foodies." There's 19 chapters, and only five or so would appeal to food-lovers. Most of these are basic electronic projects that are only loosely kitchen-focused (the least interesting was "make a trivet out of intergrated circuits!") Some of the projects are only tangentally food-related at all (a megaphone in a soda bottle, a pinhole camera in a pumpkin).

And it's not really appropriate for a junior high science class, either, with an emphasis on alcohol and "edible undies" for the opening chapter, this seems to be a book without a really strong sense of audience. If at all possible, open a copy and thumb through it before buying, I'm not really sure who this book is directed at.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gut Innovation beats the WHISK out of Gut Renovation, September 23, 2008

By 

J. V. Cormier "Science Swoon" (Cape Cop, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes, Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies (Paperback)

What great fun!! It's the baking soda volcano and the soda bottle tornado -- TIMES 100!!!! This book is rife with clever ideas that will leave you hankering for more time in the kitchen! Between sending my husband out for supplies and bringing my creations over to my neighbors, I don't think I've had this much fun in the kitchen since the renovation of 2002 - when I was literally sledge hammering my way through the bane-of-my-existence formica that had been drilling holes in my psyche for over a decade. THAT is the kind of fun this book restores to your kitchen-weary soul!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun book and a great gift, October 1, 2008

By 

Justin SB - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes, Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies (Paperback)

I'm a very difficult person to buy presents for, and normally end up with things I don't really want. I was given this book and have really enjoyed reading it and the projects in it.

There's enough here to keep me entertained for many weekends, and I highly recommend it as a present for others!