LOCALDEV (alonovolabs)

Smart choice 2010-05-19

Reviewer: Action

A fresh look at science from very ordinary activities in everyone's day of life.
Very stimulating, recommended.

Every day things 2009-04-06

Reviewer: Anthony Batchelor

I really liked this book. It explained the science behind every day happenings around the home. I feel that it would be a great book to encourage young people into science.

The Secret House : The Extraordinary Science of an Ordinary Day

Incredible insight! 2008-09-28

Reviewer: Curious Su

David Bodanis is just a fabulous writer bringing the reader into a world that helps the individual immerse into the wonders of everyday happenings at a microscopic level. I use passages in my highschool classroom to help students to actually see that science is the essence of our lives giving it meaning and application not usually thought of by teenagers. Just a marvellous way to think of how science is incorporated at all levels of being.

Hairy world up close 2005-07-25

Reviewer: - Kasia S.

The things that happen around us every day are very easy to miss unless a time comes when one reaches for a book such as this one.

People think that if it's not in their face, then it doesn't exist, but this book tells you like it is!

It follows an average household in two major sections Day and Night;
Then breaks activities into- morning, midday, afternoon,
then : early evening, dinner continues, Bed & bath.

The writing is humorous at times, scientifically proven, accurate and most of all, very interesting and not hard to comprehend.

If you ever wondered what's in your toothpaste (chalk, water, paint, seaweed, anti-freeze, paraffin oil, detergent, peppermint and formaldehyde),
in your margarine (lard, fish fat, sulfurs, deodorizers, color and some sunflower oil, so that it can be painted on the side of the tub as wholesome),
what's in commercial cake mix, why roses are red, how many dust mites- its dead family members- and their poop you sleep and walk on, the history if the fork, dining room table, music, talk, light bulb, why your blue jeans are blue ( decaying oil produced but certain flowers is the tint) , if you ever knew that the lightning bolt is 5 times hotter than the sun itself, what really happens when you flush the toilet and how many days ( 11 to be exact) suspended germs can hover over it, how long that meat that you buy in the store has been lying around for ( 10 days, for muscles of animal to relax after rigor mortis ) and other bizarre interesting things you touch and breather in, then this is the book for you.
Don't be scared, it won't make anyone an alarmist, but it's a great tool on learning fascinating info and keeping germs at bay.

Knowledge is power. Who knew that invention (the long time it really took) to popularize soap meant end of many plagues and common reasons why people lived do short.

Now you will know many fun facts too. Great read, highly recommended.

The Extraordinary Book of Extraordinary Science 2005-01-18

Reviewer: Nick S

This book (The Secret House: The Extraordinary Science of an Ordinary Day) follows one perfectly normal day in the house of two people. Starting with the alarm clock going off and ending with a late night bath, this book portrays the science behind all the normal things that are usually taken for granted by most. One man however (the author David Bodanis), does not let these things go unnoticed. He shows us what our eyes cannot see. These things include, what gives potato chips their snap, why jeans are blue, what is crawling into your food when you are not looking, what you kick up when you take a step, the damage you could do with the twist of the foot, the millions and millions of tiny mites and creatures crawling across your face as you read this review, and many, many other things, far to many for me to list here. The types of things Bodanis analyzes and breaks down are interesting, amazing, and in most cases, shocking. Without a doubt, this will be one of the most eye opening books you will ever read.
I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to find what is actually going on in their homes when they are there, and the things that go on in your homes when you are not there. This book had my interest from the front cover to the back cover. I will be honest, when I first got this book, I got it mostly because of the easy language and the fairly short number of pages. After finishing it though, I am immediately thankful that I did end up getting it. The language is very simple to understand. Some of the things discussed are not simple topics, but Bodanis does a great job of breaking it down into much simpler things, and much of the time, drawing metaphors to topics that a non-chemist will understand. A lot of the time, I found myself reading pages over, not because I did not understand them, but because I wanted to re-read some of the amazing things he says in this book. Any person can relate to this book, because it is about an ordinary day, which every person has had. I suggest this book to anyone that would be interested in what goes on beneath the surface of their daily routine.