CURIOSITY UNLEASHED: Questions and Answers about the Natural World

This book tackles 12 simple questions in 12 chapters. Having answered one initial question, the remainder of each chapter dives into an array of topics that explore new weird and wonderful linkages that you never knew existed. For example, the question "why does ice float?" leads on to a discussion of how life on Earth would be different if ice did not float. This then leads to a discussion of how Earth was almost entirely covered by snow and ice, several times, in the geological past. The question "are viruses alive" inevitably leads to a discussion of the origin of COVID-19, while the question "why doesn't the Moon fall to Earth?" leads to a discussion about previous meteoric impacts on Earth and the extinction of dinosaurs. The question "why is sky blue and grass green?" leads to a discussion about the colour of the sky on the Moon and the link between haemoglobin in our blood and the pink colour inside nodules of roots of bean and pea plants. The question "why don't conifers freeze to death in winter leads to a discussion of several animals that can be frozen solid, yet when thawed, continue to grow and feed as normal. This inevitably leads to a discussion of cryonics: the idea that we can freeze humans, or parts of humans, today, and successfully revive them at a later date. The two questions "what is the difference between weather and climate, and is the Science of Climate Change settled" are discussed in the final two chapters. Spoiler alert: no, the Science of Climate Change is certainly not settled!