Murder by Death

BrokenTune is much more organised with her reading and updates of this book; I read until I can't keep my eyes open anymore, then go back the next morning and re-read the parts I can't remember.  No discipline on this side of the buddy read, nosiree.

When last I left off I had just a few more sections of The Marvels of Science Around the House; last night I finished that, The Peculiar Human and the Science of Us, and I'm mid-way through Science in the World Around Us.  Some of my favorites from these chapters include:

The non-shrinking sheep - I knew lanolin was a big player here, but I never understood the mechanics.

Cracking knuckles - I also knew this was a myth, but as an unapologetic knuckle cracker from childhood, I always love reading additional confirmations.

Super-strength teeth with Fluoride - Well.  Where has this been all my life?  I've always rinsed my mouth out after brushing my teeth because my grandmother told me (when I was a very impressionable little girl) that if I swallowed toothpaste I would DIE.  She wasn't generally a melodramatic woman - quite the opposite really - and she was my grandma, so why wouldn't I believe her?  Now, 40-odd years later I find out I've been doing it wrong.  Sigh.

Prune time in the bath interested me only because I've only just read about the newest theory regarding why we prune up in water and wanted to see how current Jopson's research is.  Turns out, pretty current.

How cold are your toes? - A lot of people who think they have Raynaud's syndrome, probably don't and if they actually knew what it was, they'd be thankful.

To dream, perchance to remember - All I'm going to say about this is that people should be careful for what they wish for.  Remembering your dreams isn't all its cracked up to be.

Platinum Paved roads - this might have been my favorite section of the bunch.  I've always wondered how a catalytic converter worked, and now I know and it's fascinating.

I'm enjoying the  book, but it's not Storm in a Teacup.  As I've said before there's just something about Czerski's narrative style that more than makes up for the smaller number of topics she covers.  Jopson is good, but there's nothing seductive about his writing.