The Wacky & Wonderful World Through Numbers: Over 2,000 Figures and Facts - Softcover

Martin, Steve; Giffford, Clive; Taylor, Marianne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1438005903 ISBN 13: 9781438005904

Publisher: B E S Pub Co, 2015

Synopsis

Everything takes on exciting new meaning when you look at it through the lens of numbers. Even boring, everyday stuff like can openers, snowflakes, rain, and honeybees becomes fascinating when you realize that:

The can opener was created 48 years after food was first put in cans (before that, people were using a hammer and chisel to open their beans)

It takes a snowflake 1 hour to fall to the ground

There are typically 16 tons of rain in one small, fluffy cloud

Honeybees must visit 2 million flowers to make about a pound of honey
More than 2000 entries like these are featured in The Wacky & Wonderful World Through Numbers. These amazing facts and figures cover just about every topic under the sun including people, animals, events, toys, food, fashion, weather, the solar system, pirates, and much more. With humorous illustrations, clever text, and a great blend of interesting, enlightening, and sometimes just plain gross facts to ponder, this book is hard to put down. (Ages 8+)

About this title

Review

"Everything is by the numbers in this playful STEM selection. Sixty-one topics, ranging from history (e.g., "Marvelous Monarchs" and "The Wild West") and science (e.g., "Dangerous Animals" and "Wicked Weather") to pastimes (e.g., "Making Music" and "Super Sports") and oddities (e.g., "Disgusting Dinners" and "Dreadful Death"), present more than 2,000 facts and figures in eye-catching columns. Most people don't need to know that "450 million pairs of jeans are sold in the U.S. each year," or that "60 adult humans could be killed by the venom of just 1 box jellyfish," and yet it's hard to stop reading these fascinating facts that describe our world and not want to learn more--even such spooky "facts" as "7.9 ft. (2.2 m) was the height of Dr. Frankenstein's monster in Mary Shelley's famous novel." Accompanied by colorful, digital cartoon artwork, the book sneaks in figures in the table of contents, introduction, and front and back covers, and it fittingly concludes with a section called "Numbers," which offers a plethora of math-related facts. 100 percent fun for fact fanatics."
--Booklist

"Number nerds, rejoice: a math-centric guide to the world is here. Perfect for the math-averse and computation devotees alike The numbers-only format on each page (bolded numbers next to small, expositive paragraphs) makes for quick-and-easy perusal, serving up info appetizers to whet the imagination and encourage further research. The title validates the importance of a strong foundation in numbers and math for an audience notorious for its 'When will I ever use this?' approach to the topic. VERDICT An excellent resource for those serving those math-minded reluctant readers and for collections looking for a whimsical Common Core or STEM tie-in."
--School Library Journal

About the Author

Marianne Taylor is a writer and editor, with a lifelong interest in science and nature. After seven years working for book and magazine publishers, she took the leap into the freelance world, and has since written ten books on wildlife, science and general natural history. She is also an illustrator and keen photographer, and when not at her desk or out with her camera she enjoys running, practicing aikido, and helping out at the local cat rescue center.

Edition details

• Publisher: B E S Pub Co
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1438005903
• ISBN 13: 9781438005904
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Pinder Andrew
• Number of pages: 128
• Editor: Wainwright Jen