The Element in the Room

Science-y Stuff Staring You in the Face

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Helen Arney: The Element in the Room (Hardcover, 2018, Cassell)

Hardcover, 224 pages

Published March 6, 2018 by Cassell.

ISBN:
978-1-84403-972-2
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5 stars (1 review)

Why is it impossible to spin your right foot clockwise while you draw a 6 with your right hand?

Can you extract DNA from a strawberry daiquiri?

Would you make love like a praying mantis?

Should you book a holiday on Earth 2.0?

The Element in the Room will take you on a rib-tickling, experiment-fuelled adventure to explain everyday science that is staring you in the face. If you are sci-curious, pi-curious or just the-end-is-nigh-curious then this is the book for you.

Steve Mould and Helen Arney are two thirds of science comedy phenomenon Festival of the Spoken Nerd. As a trio they have appeared on QI, created their own experimental* comedy show 'Domestic Science' for Radio 4, toured their stand-up science shows to over 50,000 nerds (and non-nerds) and accumulated millions of views on YouTube.

2 editions

Fun science!

5 stars

I love going to the Festival of the Spoken Nerd live shows, but do sometimes find myself getting a little left-behind by explanations of the experiments I witness. Self-guided experimentation by way of The Element In The Room is therefore perfect for me. I can reread the scientific whys and hows enough times that the information actually lodges in my brain rather than skimming off into the distance!

The Element In The Room includes much of what is most fun about FotSN live shows - the humour, the tangential leaps of subject, and there's even a song. It is geared towards the home though and I have been enjoying trying out experiments in our caravan. I hadn't previously considered what a good laboratory it makes, but we have turmeric and noodles and I can cook up a curry. Making a grill pan chime like Big Ben is particularly impressive in …