Day 5 of the 12 Days of Bookmas! Mixing it up a little today with what is *technically* nonfiction, but most assuredly not the boring kind. This book is about the science of what would happen to you in all of those weird what-ifs you find yourself pondering as you go about your day. What if the cable on your elevator snapped while you were in it? What if the window popped off your plane when it was at cruising altitude? What would happen if you jumped into a black hole or skydived from the ISS or ate as many cookies as Cookie Monster? And Then You're Dead falls into my nonfiction sweet spot: 1) hilarious 2) science 3) backed up with historical stories 4) that I will inevitably bring up the second I have an opening in a conversation. Although the title is pretty self explanatory (c'mon, what did you expect jumping into a black hole?), it does have some interesting information that has a small chance of helping you in the future. The elevator situation? You need to be flat if you're on a floor above a certain height or it will almost certainly be fatal. Banana peels actually are as slippery as they look in cartoons (just ask the guy who survived going over Niagara Falls in a barrel only to slip on one and die from complications after the fact). And the list goes on and on. Some of the scenarios are more nonsensical than others, but I read this book just about every year. Despite how it sounds, the writers explain everything in a super funny, but scientifically accurate, way and it's just interesting to read. Also you can learn fun words like spaghettification, which is an actual word when it comes to black hole jumping. Another of my favorites I never see recommended!

Posted by a.abbott513 at 2022-12-17 15:33:15 UTC