How to Fossilize Your Hamster: And Other Amazing Experiments for the Armchair Scientist (Paperback)

by Mick O'Hare (Author) "You would imagine that you'd need some pretty noxious, smelly chemicals to make plastic, but you can actually find the things you need to make..." (more)
Key Phrases: wallpaper paste powder, ice spikes, foil dish, New Scientist, Tia Maria, Fizz Fallacy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
If you've ever wondered why a dried spaghetti noodle, when bent, always breaks into three or more pieces, rest assured that none less than Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman devoted hours to the same puzzle. O'Hare, a member of the New Scientist editorial team that produced Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?, provides such entertaining tidbits and empirical knowledge, alongside hours of activities, in this volume of science experiments for adults. Perfect for home scientists, it requires only basic household supplies (cornstarch, vinegar and milk are frequent components) and approximate measurements to carry out such tasks as measuring the speed of light (using a microwave and a chocolate bar), extracting DNA at home (with dish soap and alcohol), and accounting for toothpaste's effect on orange juice. Beside fun, each provides lessons in fundamental scientific principles, logic and problem solving. O'Hare even makes complex fluid dynamics such as thixotropy easy to understand-it's what makes ketchup "gloopy," but able to change from "gelatinous" to "runny" through "the input of energy, typically by shaking." From food science to party tricks (complete with booze), O'Hare offers entertainment and edification for anyone who enjoyed (or missed out on) a childhood chemistry set.
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Product Description

Outrageously entertaining and educational experiments from the team behind the phenomenal international bestseller Does Anything Eat Wasps? How can you measure the speed of light with a bar of chocolate and a microwave oven? To keep a banana from decaying, are you better off rubbing it with lemon juice or refrigerating it? How can you figure out how much your head weighs? Mick O’Hare, who created the New Scientist’s popular science sensations Does Anything Eat Wasps? and Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze?, has the answers.
 
In this fascinating and irresistible new book, O’Hare and the New Scientist team guide you through one hundred intriguing experiments that show essential scientific principles (and human curiosity) in action. Explaining everything from the unusual chemical reaction between Mentos and cola that provokes a geyser to the geological conditions necessary to preserve a family pet for eternity, How to Fossilize Your Hamster is fun, hands-on science that everyone will want to try at home.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (January 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805087702
• ISBN-13: 978-0805087703
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #267,133 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, February 17, 2008

By	Charlie "Librarian" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

About: New Scientist writer O'Hare provides instructions explains a multitude of science experiments that can easily be done at home.

Pros: Very interesting, varied topics and experiments. Written in easy-to-understand language. My favorite topics included the best ways to get ketchup out of a bottle, how to test if talking on a cell phone affects your reaction time (it does), why hot water freezes faster than cold water, why your vision is blurry underwater, how to extract iron from cereal and DNA from yourself. Apparently, Alka-Seltzer can be used for several cool experiments.

Cons: No sources cited. A further reading section would've been nice

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Science Projects, December 27, 2008

By	Khadija J Asad "KJA" (LOUISIANA) - See all my reviews

The abstract about the book sounded good and I bought it. However, when I read it, it quickly became apparent that most of the science projects in the book were related to drinking. This is not for kids. It might be fun for a partying college student but, unless you're into drinking experiments, forget it. I sent this book back after examination. Skip it if you want information useful for a science fair project.

8 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars false advertising, September 24, 2008

By	Lotsa Mom "lotsa mom" (Pasadena, MD United States) - See all my reviews

It was a very mean thing to title the book, "How to Fossilize your Hamster" and then tell us to bury the dead hamster and wait eons. . . My children wanted this book because of the title and that's the first page we turned to. [we do have a pet cemetery' in our back yard that they were ready to excavate] I have seen experiments with bones before, so it did not seem way out there. This was a total disappointment. While its a cute gimmick, a 'non-experiment' should not be the title for a book of experiments. I thumbed through the book and felt it had the same unthinking attitude through out. There are so many better experiment books out. . .

deborah