Customer Reviews

The Secret House: The Extraordinary Science of an Ordinary Day

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a republication of the book which was written in 1985. It's a very interesting read, but some of the material has probably surfaced elsewhere in the intervening period. It could use an index for future reference, and is missing the some 80 photographs found in the hardback. There are obvious typos in some places, probably because of editing to get the book into paperback form. I'd really suggest buying a used copy of the original, which I would give a 5 star rating to. The photos help a great deal to add to the text.

The things that happen around us every day are very easy to miss unless a time comes when one reaches for a book such as this one.

People think that if it's not in their face, then it doesn't exist, but this book tells you like it is!

It follows an average household in two major sections Day and Night;
Then breaks activities into- morning, midday, afternoon,
then : early evening, dinner continues, Bed & bath.

The writing is humorous at times, scientifically proven, accurate and most of all, very interesting and not hard to comprehend.

If you ever wondered what's in your toothpaste (chalk, water, paint, seaweed, anti-freeze, paraffin oil, detergent, peppermint and formaldehyde),
in your margarine (lard, fish fat, sulfurs, deodorizers, color and some sunflower oil, so that it can be painted on the side of the tub as wholesome),
what's in commercial cake mix, why roses are red, how many dust mites- its dead family members- and their poop you sleep and walk on, the history if the fork, dining room table, music, talk, light bulb, why your blue jeans are blue ( decaying oil produced but certain flowers is the tint) , if you ever knew that the lightning bolt is 5 times hotter than the sun itself, what really happens when you flush the toilet and how many days ( 11 to be exact) suspended germs can hover over it, how long that meat that you buy in the store has been lying around for ( 10 days, for muscles of animal to relax after rigor mortis ) and other bizarre interesting things you touch and breather in, then this is the book for you.
Don't be scared, it won't make anyone an alarmist, but it's a great tool on learning fascinating info and keeping germs at bay.

Knowledge is power. Who knew that invention (the long time it really took) to popularize soap meant end of many plagues and common reasons why people lived do short.

Now you will know many fun facts too. Great read, highly recommended.

This book (The Secret House: The Extraordinary Science of an Ordinary Day) follows one perfectly normal day in the house of two people. Starting with the alarm clock going off and ending with a late night bath, this book portrays the science behind all the normal things that are usually taken for granted by most. One man however (the author David Bodanis), does not let these things go unnoticed. He shows us what our eyes cannot see. These things include, what gives potato chips their snap, why jeans are blue, what is crawling into your food when you are not looking, what you kick up when you take a step, the damage you could do with the twist of the foot, the millions and millions of tiny mites and creatures crawling across your face as you read this review, and many, many other things, far to many for me to list here. The types of things Bodanis analyzes and breaks down are interesting, amazing, and in most cases, shocking. Without a doubt, this will be one of the most eye opening books you will ever read.
I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to find what is actually going on in their homes when they are there, and the things that go on in your homes when you are not there. This book had my interest from the front cover to the back cover. I will be honest, when I first got this book, I got it mostly because of the easy language and the fairly short number of pages. After finishing it though, I am immediately thankful that I did end up getting it. The language is very simple to understand. Some of the things discussed are not simple topics, but Bodanis does a great job of breaking it down into much simpler things, and much of the time, drawing metaphors to topics that a non-chemist will understand. A lot of the time, I found myself reading pages over, not because I did not understand them, but because I wanted to re-read some of the amazing things he says in this book. Any person can relate to this book, because it is about an ordinary day, which every person has had. I suggest this book to anyone that would be interested in what goes on beneath the surface of their daily routine.

There are over 2 million distinct creatures on your cheek, chin and nose, and more on your forehead. You can't ever scrub them all off. They're pretty harmless anyway. Unless you're in an exotic location, sand particles from the Sahara desert are present in your room right now. In every cubic foot of air in your house, there are 3,00,000 odd items floating about, like micro insect limbs, sea salt, tire meltings ...etc This book reveals the present but unnoticed aspects of our daily lives. Using a chronological device of a typical day, the author examines typical activities like brushing, bathing, cooking, eating, even walking (and talking) and exposes the physical intricacies behind them. He also examines mundane products like toothpastes, soaps, cakes and reveals the components and their manufacturing process. By the end of the book, some of your notions, especially on "cleanliness", might get revised. A very interesting read.

Bodanis has taken our everyday world and exposed, magnified and explained it in a fascinating book. He takes us through a "typical" day and shows us what we don't see as we get up, shower, dress, go about our day and have dinner. In this he shows us what we don't see going on around us, and uses it as a chance to tell stories of how things came to be in our modern life [for example, talking about historical roots of the dining table]. For the most part, while he tells you about the millions of microscopic things that live on and around you, he does so without being alarmist. Sometimes though, I could have done without his information - he's ruined cakes for me now after a rather unsettling story of their making. In all the reader is entertained and may learn a thing or two. This book would go well with more serious books like "The Secret Life of Germs" by Philip M. Tierno. I also agree with another reviewer, the hard bound copy has spectacular pictures that make it worth the while to try and find that copy if you can.

A fresh look at science from very ordinary activities in everyone's day of life.
Very stimulating, recommended.

I really liked this book. It explained the science behind every day happenings around the home. I feel that it would be a great book to encourage young people into science.

The Secret House : The Extraordinary Science of an Ordinary Day

David Bodanis is just a fabulous writer bringing the reader into a world that helps the individual immerse into the wonders of everyday happenings at a microscopic level. I use passages in my highschool classroom to help students to actually see that science is the essence of our lives giving it meaning and application not usually thought of by teenagers. Just a marvellous way to think of how science is incorporated at all levels of being.

This is a very good book if you would like to know many things that go on around your house. It takes you through the average day of a man and a womens life and tells you the science behind everything that they are doing.
The book is kind of boring because it goes into too much detail on things. Instead on being a paragraph or two it goes for about 3 pages on one thing. I was so bored it was hard for me to read the whole thing. So unless you want to know more about your house and the things that go on I suggest the you read this book and if you do not want to know i suggest that you dont waste your time.