Imponderables

I ordered this book to give as a Christmas present, therefore I didn't read it, but it arrived in a timely fashion and was in excellent condition.

Ok, let me say this- the IMPONDERABLES series of books, by David Feldman, is a great series. They offer answers to many of Life's odd question, the one you ponder over, but can't just look up somewhere. Well, until now. "Why Don't Cats Like to Swim?" is a fine book, but it really is "Imponderables", the first in the series, published in 1986. However, in 2004 it was republished with the new "Why Don't Cats Like to Swim?' It's a fine book, but not one that most of us would want to buy twice!

This is the first of the Imponderables series of books. For people like me who love to accumulate useless but fascinating information it is a wonderful book. It asks the questions (Why do we itch, why are there holes in Swiss cheese, why does an X stand for a kiss, etc....) and then proceeds to answer them. If you ever wanted to be a know-it-all (or want your know-it-all to at least have the right answers) then read this book and become the authority on useless information with your family and friends. Much more fascinating than trivia books (after all you might want to know why cashews are not sold in their shells but who really cares who the runner up for the 1998 Ms America was?).Each piece is a short question and answer so that you could pick it up and read one in a minute or two, but if you are like me then once you have read one you have to keep on reading the next and then the next until you have consumed an hour or more of fascinating reading.

Reading the first of the Imponderables books certainly made me glad that there are more. If you are unfamiliar with the Imponderables series, I will explain: David Feldman puts together a list of questions ("Why do people look up when they're thinking?" or "Why do we tie shoes to the back of newlyweds' cars?") and then proceeds to answer them. The illustations are more amusing than what you are likely to find on the comics page of your local newspaper and the writing is very witty. If you have read the other Imponderables books, this one is not especially different from the others. Enjoy!