Imponderables (book series)
Encyclopedia
Imponderables is a series of eleven books written by David Feldman
and published by HarperCollins
. The books examine, investigate, and explain common, yet puzzling phenomena. Examples include "Why do your eyes hurt when you are tired?", "Why do judges wear black robes?", and "Why do you rarely see purple Christmas lights?", among many others. The word "imponderable" is used to describe such mysteries of everyday life. The books are effectively a frequently asked questions list for people who wonder why and how the world works as it does. The first book in this series was published in 1986.
The books in the series (each named after an imponderable covered in the book) are:
The books also feature additional chapters on Frustables, which are defined as imponderables that are uniquely frustrating because they lack a clear answer.
Some of the recurring frustables are:
Feldman also wrote one Imponderables book solely about linguistic
mysteries, entitled Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? The book deals with the mysterious origins of names and phrases in the English language
.
The term "Imponderables" is a trademark
.
David Feldman (author)
David Feldman is the author of the Imponderables series of books.He holds a bachelor's degree in literature from Grinnell College, as well as a master's degree in popular culture from Bowling Green State University.-External links:*...
and published by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
. The books examine, investigate, and explain common, yet puzzling phenomena. Examples include "Why do your eyes hurt when you are tired?", "Why do judges wear black robes?", and "Why do you rarely see purple Christmas lights?", among many others. The word "imponderable" is used to describe such mysteries of everyday life. The books are effectively a frequently asked questions list for people who wonder why and how the world works as it does. The first book in this series was published in 1986.
The books in the series (each named after an imponderable covered in the book) are:
- Imponderables (Reissued as Why Don't Cats Like to Swim?), HarperHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, ISBN 978-0060751487 - Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?, Harper, ISBN 978-0060740924
- When Do Fish Sleep?, Harper, ISBN 978-0060740931
- Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses?, HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0060921118
- Do Penguins Have Knees?, Harper, ISBN 978-0060740917
- When Did Wild Poodles Roam the Earth? (Reissued as Are Lobsters Ambidextrous?), Harper, ISBN 978-0060762957
- How Does Aspirin Find a Headache?, Harper, ISBN 978-0060740948
- What Are Hyenas Laughing At, Anyway?, Berkley, ISBN 978-0425154519
- How Do Astronauts Scratch an Itch?, Berkley, ISBN 978-0425159842
- Do Elephants Jump?, HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0060539139
- Why Do Pirates Love Parrots?, Harper, ISBN 978-0060888435
The books also feature additional chapters on Frustables, which are defined as imponderables that are uniquely frustrating because they lack a clear answer.
Some of the recurring frustables are:
- Why do you so often see one shoe lying along the side of the road?
- Why do the English drive on the left and most other countries on the right?
- Why do American women shave their armpits?
- Why do doctors have such messy handwriting?
Feldman also wrote one Imponderables book solely about linguistic
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
mysteries, entitled Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? The book deals with the mysterious origins of names and phrases in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
The term "Imponderables" is a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
.