Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison: And Other Urgent Inquiries into the Odd Nature of Nature (Outside Books) [Paperback]

Hampton Sides (Editor), Jason Schneider (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Outside Books | Publication Date: June 2001

Join longtime Outside editor and contributor Hampton Sides as he rollicks through the fascinating, quirky questions readers ask about the world around them.

Do beavers ever get squashed by the trees they're gnawing down? Why are there so many worms writhing on the sidewalk after a storm? What good are goosebumps? Why do llamas spit? What is the oldest living creature on earth? Focusing on natural history and outdoor lore, this collection ranges from the gothic to the comic to the cosmic. It includes the sorts of questions that most of us stopped asking (at least out loud) when we were eight years old. "The Wild File" is what question-and-answer columns should be but seldom are: an often surprising, sometimes zany, always insightful and informative back-and-forth between a devoted readership and its publication. The result is an enchanting and enriching collection of answers that open windows to more questions.
60 black and white illustrations

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Outside magazine editor Hampton Sides (Ghost Soldiers) has selected the cream of the crop from the magazine's q&a column "The Wild File" which debuted in 1994 to enthusiastic reader response in Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison: And Other Urgent Inquiries into the Odd Nature of Nature. The questions including "How long does it take a skunk to reload?" and "What would happen if I wore my Gore-Tex jacket inside out in a rainstorm?" may border on the bizarre, but the answers are all true. Sure to evoke great belly laughs, this book should be shared with friends.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This collection of articles from Outside magazine's questionandanswer column, the "Wild File," covers pretty much all the bases: birds, bugs, back roads, baffling nature puzzles, and much more. Written in a lively style, these short essays (about a page in length) tackle problems from the sublime to the ridiculous, calling at all stops in between. Do beavers get flattened by trees they cut down? Yes, sometimes. Why do men have nipples? They're holdovers from fetal times. What causes Arctic mirages? Light bouncing around in the atmosphere. Why do we get vicious muscle spasms just before going to sleep? Nobody really knows, but there's no need to panic. Everything you ever wanted to know-- within reason--about the quirks and foibles of nature is in here somewhere. Recommended for readers of light popular science books, this offers a painless, entertaining way to acquire some basic knowledge about the way the world works. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393321509
• ISBN-13: 978-0393321500
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,245,326 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Answers your questions, July 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison: And Other Urgent Inquiries into the Odd Nature of Nature (Outside Books) (Paperback)

This book answers those weird or stupid questions you might have about the world. Questions such as: "Do scarecrows really work?" or "Why are polar bears so mean?" and "Can bees really detect fear in humans?" This is a great book that I definitely recommend, especially for people with too many questions.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book of short topics, December 4, 2001

By 

Marceau Ratard (Metairie, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison: And Other Urgent Inquiries into the Odd Nature of Nature (Outside Books) (Paperback)

This is one of those books that you read in one page sections. It is basically a collection of interesting questions that the author has answered while working for a magazine. The questions are fun and he gives pretty complete answers. The answers are usually about a page in length so if you want to read something for five minutes this book is perfect. The information is cool, I really enjoyed it. It gives you a lot of responces to questions you often hear.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE WONDERS OF NATURE, June 13, 2002

By 

Bonita L. Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison: And Other Urgent Inquiries into the Odd Nature of Nature (Outside Books) (Paperback)

Remember when you were a child filled with curiousity and wonder about nature? You asked many questions such as why do ducks float, do people go crazy during the full moon and why does do collect in the morning? All of those were great questions and some of them may or may not have been answered to your satisfaction. Now your children are asking the same questions and what are you going to say?

Never fear, dear friends. Outside Magazine's "The Wild File" has provided us with a book answering those various hard questions that we have about nature. Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison is a compendium of the best of The Wild File column. You are presented with five files dealing with various forms of nature. Each file has a question/answer format and cites the person who asked the question.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Some of the questions sounded stupid but in reality made sense. The answers were informative and hilarious. You would be surprised over the number of experts in such esoteric fields of wildlife. For example, one informant researched the number of pushups that lizards do in their exercise regimine. Yes, there are people who really do that.
What is also great about this book is its brevity and accessibility. You can share it with your children as they ask you the great questions of nature. You can spend time finding those answers to questions you had as a child. This is a delighful read. So go out and find out why lizards do pushups and why llamas spit.