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韦慰 唯蠀纬蔚委慰 蟿慰蠀 螒蠆谓蟽蟿维喂谓
Steve Silverman was looking for a way to add some spice to his high school lectures when he realized that weird and bizarre true-life stories would capture his students' attention. In fact, they worked so well that the science teacher then began posting his discoveries to his own Web site, which he dubbed Useless Information . Well-researched and clearly sourced, Silverman's unusual tidbits have gained a wide following.
In Einstein's Refrigerator , Silverman collects more than 30 of the most fascinating stories he has gathered--tales of forgotten genius, great blunders, and incredible feats of survival, as well as answers to puzzling questions.
Einstein's Refrigerator is a remarkable book with spellbinding stories. Whatever happened to the refrigerator Einstein helped invent? While it never became a commercial success, its underlying concepts became the basis for cooling nuclear breeder reactors.
In Einstein's Refrigerator , Silverman collects more than 30 of the most fascinating stories he has gathered--tales of forgotten genius, great blunders, and incredible feats of survival, as well as answers to puzzling questions.
Einstein's Refrigerator is a remarkable book with spellbinding stories. Whatever happened to the refrigerator Einstein helped invent? While it never became a commercial success, its underlying concepts became the basis for cooling nuclear breeder reactors.
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First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
March 10, 2012
Another one of those non-fiction books full of trivia picked up when I didn't feel like doing anything else in particular. It's probably my own fault for reading so much of this type of thing, but I was aware of a lot of the stories already, and a lot of the others I didn't find very interesting. It's partly the writing style -- the jokey tone without it actually being funny really grated.
Nooot really recommended. Not that it's terrible -- I did finish reading it after all -- but it's not outstanding in any way.
Nooot really recommended. Not that it's terrible -- I did finish reading it after all -- but it's not outstanding in any way.
July 15, 2011
This is a collection of thirty true tales of unusual and improbable happenings from a headless chicken who lived eighteen months to a molasses flood to the follies of rainmakers.The author collected these stories to make his classroom teaching more interesting and I sure it worked. For the most part they are amusing if short. Most of them I've heard of before and there is not enough new information in this book to say it was worth rereading about these incidents and people. For the most part they are teasers and the author seems to realize this, having used the appendix to point to more elaborate sources. This book would be best for a young adult to introduce him to the notion that fact is stranger than fiction and to tickle that part of our brain that needs to know the world is weirder than we ever realized.
October 14, 2024
Sure, they鈥檙e risqu茅 - but by and large, these stories are VERY amusing馃鉂楋笍
Holding my nose for some of 鈥榚m sure helped, mind you, but then I鈥檝e been holding my nose for 55 of my latest years of life鈥�
For when I was sequestered at 19 it was a setup.
A setup through the self-conscious auspices of a group of very adult adults鈥�
I grew crazy by osmosis in that foul place. A facile technique. Don鈥檛 try it at home, like the cop dad in George Veck鈥檚 all-holds-barred new novel Belabour, or I鈥檒l unfriend you. I jest of course鈥�.
All kidding aside, this, kids, is a Fun BOOK!
And it鈥檚 going for pennies.
Holding my nose for some of 鈥榚m sure helped, mind you, but then I鈥檝e been holding my nose for 55 of my latest years of life鈥�
For when I was sequestered at 19 it was a setup.
A setup through the self-conscious auspices of a group of very adult adults鈥�
I grew crazy by osmosis in that foul place. A facile technique. Don鈥檛 try it at home, like the cop dad in George Veck鈥檚 all-holds-barred new novel Belabour, or I鈥檒l unfriend you. I jest of course鈥�.
All kidding aside, this, kids, is a Fun BOOK!
And it鈥檚 going for pennies.
January 2, 2017
A book in desperate need of an editor
While many of these stories are interesting or unusual (with the exception of the-Darwin-Awards-man-who-tied-weather-balloons-to-his-lawnchair story we've all heard a dozen times), they are somewhat spoiled by lame attempts to write in a cutesy "accessible" manner. It even insults the readers' intelligence by giving warnings before a paragraph containing the slightest bit of science.
Without the fluffy asides the book would lose a third of its length, and might have room for more interesting stories.
While many of these stories are interesting or unusual (with the exception of the-Darwin-Awards-man-who-tied-weather-balloons-to-his-lawnchair story we've all heard a dozen times), they are somewhat spoiled by lame attempts to write in a cutesy "accessible" manner. It even insults the readers' intelligence by giving warnings before a paragraph containing the slightest bit of science.
Without the fluffy asides the book would lose a third of its length, and might have room for more interesting stories.
June 27, 2023
An amusing easy read with short chapters, a perfect kind of "in between" read, where you only have time for 5 or 10 pages in between other things. You will learn about trivial historical facts that will certainly improve your social interactions. "Speaking of war, did you know that in WW2..."
Written in a casual, conversational manner, it sometimes gets in the way of what is otherwise an interesting story. Nevertheless, it is entertaining and educational at the same time.
Written in a casual, conversational manner, it sometimes gets in the way of what is otherwise an interesting story. Nevertheless, it is entertaining and educational at the same time.
January 19, 2023
Completely appropriate for getting the attention of students and encouraging them to do some research, dig deeper, and share what they learn. These short stories about people, places and events would also be great for sharing at knitting groups, book clubs, even dinner parties. Some are funny, some bizarre, some fascinating, and some quite unbelievable, and they definitely put a smile on my face.
July 14, 2018
This is a collection of true stories that you just won't find anywhere else. However here is the kicker: Many would regard the information as totally useless. The author knows this and is Ok with that. If you do not have a strong love, interest, or fascination with such trivia you will probably be bored by the book and will end up saying 'so what?' or 'what a waste!'.
July 16, 2011
Some interesting facts and colorful anecdotes, but I did not appreciate Silverman's style of humor.
July 5, 2020
A collection of interesting and true stories.
October 4, 2015
michael malloy 喈曕瘝喈曕瘉 喈ㄠ疅喈ㄠ瘝喈� 喈氞喁嵿喈掂喁� "喈む瘑喈曕喈熰" 喈む喈班瘓喈瘝喈疅喈む瘝喈む瘓 喈ㄠ喈┼瘓喈掂瘉 喈疅喁佮喁嵿喈苦喈む瘉. 喈む喁堗喈苦喁嵿喈距 喈曕瘚喈脆喈喈┼瘝 喈囙喈｀瘝喈熰喈｀瘝喈熰瘉 喈掂喈脆瘝喈掂瘉 喈嗋畾喁嵿畾喈班瘝喈喁嵿喈苦喁� 喈夃畾喁嵿畾喈瘝.
January 2, 2019
This book is a compilation of unusual non-fiction stories that occurred throughout history, much like ones you would find on websites like Weird History. I read this book b/c l was on vacation and finished my previous book and this was the only book l could find where we were staying that l had not already read. I already knew about most of these historical 鈥渢rivia鈥� happenings such as the murder of Michael Malloy, the hoarding Collyer brothers, the unsinkable Violet Jessup, the great molasses explosion in Boston, the San Diego flood caused by Charles Hatfield, and the eight presidents prior to Washington under the Articles of Confederation, just to name a few. The stories themselves can be deemed interesting, unfortunately the writing style of the author is so insipid that it strips all these stories of any value and makes the book, which is an easy read, an almost unbearable read. The author cracks a variety of unnecessary jokes that are not only not funny, but detracts from the book鈥檚 content. And he ends each chapter with 鈥淯seless? Useful? I鈥檒l leave that for you to decide.鈥� I probably wouldn鈥檛 have read this if not for my circumstances (6 hour car ride with nothing else to read), but it entertained me for at least half of our journey.
May 22, 2023
I first heard about this book through the author's podcast, "Useless Information," so it's been on my list for a while, and I unexpectedly came across a secondhand copy recently. I'm glad that I bought it - I enjoyed reading the stories, which are written in the same style as Silverman's podcast. I also appreciated the list of references at the end, which were provided in order of importance. I had heard about some of the stories before (and learned new details about many of those), and others were new to me. I recommend reading this book if you like the podcast or if you'd like to brush up on some history trivia and interesting stories to mention to your friends. A short and entertaining read.
October 16, 2024
This is not a typical science book but it is an amusing book of short stories all of which appear to be based in facts and told with reference to credential them. I read this book because I couldn't immediately find my copy of Einstein's Fridge by Paul Sen. To my delight, there are many great stories all related to technology, science and in many cases coincidence and luck. I think almost anyone will find this an interesting entertaining collection of stories Including the story of Einstein's work on a refrigerator that didn't rely on toxic gases which killed a family Einstein heard about.
January 11, 2024
Some very interesting nonfiction stories about strange occurances that you probably never knew but with stick with you after you've finished reading the book: Einstein's obsession with building the perfect refrigerator, the frequently murdered of Mike Malloy, America's first subway, the inventions of the zipper and the cell phone, and the amazing Mike, the Headless Chicken!
October 25, 2017
This is an excellent bathroom book. And, being quite short and comprising (mostly) unrelated off beat short articles, a great way to up one's count of books read with little effort.
It even has a pretty good end notes section.
It even has a pretty good end notes section.
March 11, 2022
This was an intersting and fun book to read. Each chapter consists of a different story about a person or event. The chapters are short, typically just a few pages long making it an ideal read for the end of my lunch break.
November 12, 2022
Very interesting
Very interesting,, very interesting, had to scratch my head a few times. If you think back to your grade school days you just found out we were brain washed , George Washington still my prez.
Very interesting,, very interesting, had to scratch my head a few times. If you think back to your grade school days you just found out we were brain washed , George Washington still my prez.
January 8, 2024
short, easy and hilarious
Very short book. I read it in a single day. But really funny and interesting to read! I鈥檝e been a fan of the podcast for years, and now I鈥檓 a fan of the books, too!
Very short book. I read it in a single day. But really funny and interesting to read! I鈥檝e been a fan of the podcast for years, and now I鈥檓 a fan of the books, too!
April 6, 2018
Amusing
While interesting it鈥檚 easy to pick up and put down, which makes it great for casual reading. Good time filler.
While interesting it鈥檚 easy to pick up and put down, which makes it great for casual reading. Good time filler.
May 21, 2019
Some interesting stories, some less so. Writing so-so.
December 16, 2020
Short and good book!
February 21, 2021
A good diversion while hunkering down. Thanks, Steve.
April 21, 2021
Icerisinde fakli konularda ilginc hikayer bulunan kisa surede bitirebileceginiz eglenceli bir kitap.
December 11, 2021
If you like Sam O鈥檔ella on YouTube you鈥檒l like this book
July 24, 2022
More like 2.5 stars. Some interesting trivia type things in here (any many you probably already know.) But the writing style is very casual and very annoying.
November 8, 2022
Very short articles about unknown events, unusual events, strange occurrences, etc. Very entertaining.
November 15, 2022
This was pretty good. Very short historical anecdotes.
June 23, 2023
Funny short stories of both trivial and non-trivial historical tid-bits.
September 22, 2023
Interesting facts in an easy to read format!
December 29, 2016
Interesting stories! Love fun facts like this!
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