Why aren't there any green mammals? Is eating bogeys bad for you? Do dolphins and whales get thirsty? Why can't you tickle yourself? Where do astronauts put their dirty underwear? Children make excellent scientists - they're inquisitive, keen to learn and have open minds. And they especially love to learn about all the gross stuff and all the weird facts - this book is packed full of them. In Why Do Boys Have Nipples?, kids will discover how to extract iron from breakfast cereal; that fish communicate by farting; how to turn fried eggs green; why tigers have stripes, not spots; and much, much more. Behind each surprising question and answer or wacky experiment is a scientific explanation that will teach kids more about biology, chemistry and physics, and the world around them.

The acclaimed author of Greek Love, Attic, and Truck answers inquiries from why men have nipples to how the space shuttle toilet really works. The irreverent indefatigable "Slicer" reveals the answers to life's great and not-so-great questions--such as "How do they get the little m's on M&M's?" and "How come we see millions of pigeons, but never pigeon babies?"

You know how it is . . . you're at a party, you've had a drink or two and then someone introduces you to a friend. He's a doctor. And it seems like the perfect time to ask all those strange questions you've always wondered about, but never had the courage to ask: Can poppy seeds make you test positive for heroin? What are goosebumps? Why does asparagus make your wee smell? Why do old people get hairy ears? Is it possible to lose your contact lenses inside your head for ever? Why do some people have an 'outie' belly button and some people an 'innie'? Does warm milk really help you sleep? Is it actually possible to get scared to death? This book gives the answers to these and many more questions - pretty much everything you've ever wanted to know - but never had enough Dutch courage to ask!

It's obvious why only men develop prostate cancer and why only women get ovarian cancer. But it is not obvious why women are more likely to recover language ability after a stroke than men or why women are more apt to develop autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Sex differences in health throughout the lifespan have been documented. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health begins to snap the pieces of the puzzle into place so that this knowledge can be used to improve health for both sexes. From behavior and cognition to metabolism and response to chemicals and infectious organisms, this book explores the health impact of sex (being male or female, according to reproductive organs and chromosomes) and gender (one's sense of self as male or female in society). Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health discusses basic biochemical differences in the cells of males and females and health variability between the sexes from conception throughout life. The book identifies key research needs and opportunities and addresses barriers to research. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health will be important to health policy makers, basic, applied, and clinical researchers, educators, providers, and journalists-while being very accessible to interested lay readers.

For going on two decades, Scientific American's "Ask the Experts" column has been answering reader questions on all fields of science. We've taken your questions from the basic to the esoteric and reached out to top scientists, professors and researchers to find out why the sky is blue or how planets acquire rings. Now, we've combed through our archives and have compiled some of the most interesting questions (and answers) into a series of eBooks. Organized by subject, each eBook provides short, easily digestible answers to questions on that particular branch of the sciences. The Human Body and Mind is the third eBook in this series, and it tackles questions about our own strange and mysterious biology. [Note: Health and medicine will be covered in a separate eBook.] Our experts field queries on evolution, bodily quirks and psychological feats. Have you ever wondered why humans lost their body hair? Curious about what causes a hangover? Or what makes that popping sound when we crack our knuckles? What about the oft-cited maxim that we only use 10 percent of our brains? Professors, scientists and biologists provide answers that are at once accurate, understandable and sometimes just plain funny.

Thirteen-year-old Peter Paddington is grossly overweight and the subject of ridicule, and the only escape from his miserable life with his dysfunctional family is fantasizing about a perfect world in which he's "normal" like everyone else.

Why aren't there any green mammals? Is eating bogeys bad for you? Do dolphins and whales get thirsty? Why can't you tickle yourself? Where do astronauts put their dirty underwear? Children make excellent scientists - they're inquisitive, keen to learn and have open minds. And they especially love to learn about all the gross stuff and all the weird facts - this book is packed full of them. In Why Do Boys Have Nipples?, kids will discover how to extract iron from breakfast cereal; that fish communicate by farting; how to turn fried eggs green; why tigers have stripes, not spots; and much, much more. Behind each surprising question and answer or wacky experiment is a scientific explanation that will teach kids more about biology, chemistry and physics, and the world around them.