Do Penguins Have Knees? [Paperback]

David Feldman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 1992 | Series: Imponderables

The fifth book in the Imponderables series that answers questions about everyday life for which encyclopedias, dictionaries, and almanacs just don't have the answers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- Highly readable questions and answers explaining the unusual and heretofore unanswered questions of life. Researchers can use the index to locate specific information and browsers can just enjoy. Creative illustrations further entice, interest, and tickle the funnybone. Readers are invited to submit new imponderables or to assist in solving ``frustables.''
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This is the sixth in a series of "Imponderables" books by Feldman. Most questions in this volume have been posed by readers of the previous volumes, and the author asks his reading public to submit questions for future books. Experts in the various fields are either quoted or paraphrased in the answer along with commentary from the author. The final section of the book is devoted to "Frustables" (unanswerable "imponderables")--new, updated, and those that "will not die." The index is thorough and useful; however, reference librarians would find a cumulative index extremely helpful. Buy if you have the other titles or for browsing and YA collections.
- Paula M. Zieselman, Fulbright & Jaworski, New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (August 3, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006092327X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060923273
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why? How? Hunh?, September 23, 2002

By 

TundraVision (o/~ from the Land of Sky Blue Waters o/~) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Do Penguins Have Knees? (Paperback)

This book is one of the "Imponderables™" series, which, the jacket claims, "has become the unchallenged source of answers to civilization's most perplexing questions." Like the title question "Do Penguins Have Knees?" or "Why are there legless ducks on the crests of Cadillacs?" Readers write in questions, and the author finds experts with answers.

There's Stuff in here I never knew I didn't know. "Why are sticks of margarine and butter thicker and shorter in the Western United States and longer and narrower in the East?" Hmm. I never noticed. This book never answers a logical follow-up question - Where is the geographical cut-off line? Is it like broadcasting station call letters that kinda sorta are assigned according to whether the station is East or West of the Mississippi? (W*** east and K*** west except for Fargo, which is West of the Headwaters of the Mississippi but has "W" stations anyway - but that is an "Imponderable™" for another Day.)

Speaking of answers that raise other questions, teasers for other books in the "Imponderables™" series run rampart through this book. E.g. When answering "How do they make Hot Dog buns that are partially sliced?" the author begins by saying: "Now that we solved the Imponderable of why there are ten Hot Dogs in a package and only eight Hot Dog buns in a package (See *Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?* ..." or imparting the information that the most FAQ is "Why are buttons on men's shirts and jackets arranged differently from those on women's shirts?" and then leaving the readers hanging until we can procure copies of previous books.

We are not tackling "What is the meaning of life?" here, but the quick questions and answers are entertaining and illuminating.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even someone who hasn't read a book in years will like this one., December 3, 2006

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Do Penguins Have Knees? An Imponderables Book (Paperback)

Feldman keeps producing these books of imponderables;and they just keep

getting better all the time. His books just go on asking questions and producing answers about those unlimited number of things we've all wondered about,and even many that we have come to accept as "that's just the way it is". Feldman encourages his readers to send in their own imponderables to answer ;much in the same way that Allan Funt did with Practical Jokes on "Candid Camera " and Robert Ripley did with his Oddities with his "Believe It or Not". I have been a fan of this sort of thing and their "stuff" has intrigued the curious,entertained the joker in us all and amazed all who are surprised to see the rare or unbelievable.

This is the type of book that can be left hanging around, and anybody who picks it up will become engrossed in it in no time at all.Many of the imponderables you'll read about are not earth shattering,won't make much difference in your life,but nevertheless grab your interest and provide enjoyable pastime entertainment.Maybe the time spent waiting at the Dentist's,Doctor's ,Barbers or any other waiting room would be a little less painful if books like this were available rather than those awful magazines.

Who wouldn't be interested in questions like these?

"Why do straws in drinks sometimes sink and sometimes rise to the

surface?"

"Why is Rhode Island called an island when it obviuosly isn't an

island."

"How did they keep beer cold in the saloons of the Old West?"

"Why are 25-watt light bulbs more expensive than 60-,75-,and 100-watt

bulbs?"

"Why do hospital gowns tie in the back?"

"What causes the green-tinged potato chips we sometimes find? Are they

safe to eat?"

And how about thisimponderable that never seems to die?

"Why are so many restaurants,especially diners and coffee

shops,obsessed with mating Ketchup bottles at the end of the day?

Believe It or Not,it prevents Explosions! Thats right!;you'll find out why,right here in this book!

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For thsoe that have a thrist for odd bits of strange triva, January 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Do Penguins Have Knees? (Paperback)

With this book anyone should be able to stop those silly questions that run around the world wild. I greatly enjoy it and pop it open again and again whenever I run into a person that asks questions like "Why do coupons have 1/100 of a cent value"