“What If?” by Randall Munroe

What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

By Randall Munroe

2014

320 pages

Nonfiction

—

“Enough!” you say. “You have hit me with more great pieces of literature than I can possibly read in the next several years. Too many of the novels don’t have plots, and too much of the nonfiction makes me want to jump off a bridge. Enough is enough.”

Okay. I get it. We are all ready for something on the lighter side. How about a book that is constantly amusing, engaging, and at the same time will actually teach you something? I have the book for you: What If? by Randall Munroe, who is described on the cover as a former NASA roboticist (sounds like a fun job!), who recently had an asteroid named after him – one that’s big enough to cause a mass extinction if it ever hits a planet like Earth. Are you on board yet? Here’s the clincher: the subtitle to the book is Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. Now tell me you don’t love that. Oh, and just one more thing: there are a lot of pictures in the book.

Perhaps the best way to sell you on this book is to give you some of the more interesting questions:

What would happen if everyone on earth stood as close to each other as they could and jumped, everyone landing on the ground at the same instant?

Or this one which is particularly prescient at this time (the book was written in 2014):

If everyone on the planet stayed away from each other for a couple of weeks, would the common cold be wiped out?

Or one of my absolute favorites because of the mountainous speed bumps on the college campus where I teach:

How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live?

There are hundreds of such questions in the book, and much of the delight of reading it is that Munroe supplies serious scientific answers to the absurd questions and often points out the unintended consequences that might ensue from the particular activity. The line drawings add to the fun. This is one of those books that might make you a bit of a pest to other people, because you are bound to want to share some of your newfound knowledge.

While I'm at it, let me mention another illustrated book that also dips towards the absurd and is a delight to read. Are you ready for this title? How to Become a Federal Criminal: An Illustrated Handbook for the Aspiring Offender. Let me assure you, this book by Mike Chase does not intend to lead you into a life of crime. It simply points out with a wink many of the absurd laws that are currently on the federal crime list. For instance, if you have been planning to import a pregnant polar bear, you need to know that it is a federal crime. It is also a federal crime to clog a toilet in a national forest. I have a feeling there may be a criminal or two among my readers. It is an often hilarious read, and this one might actually make you a hit with your friends. So have some fun. Read a couple of picture books. And you might accidentally learn something along the way.