How the World Looks to a Bee

And Other Moments of Science

Don Glass

Get a buzz out of science with a collection of fun facts and explanations of the world around us from the author of How Can You Tell if a Spider Is Dead?

What can you learn about your world in just a moment? Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? Or whether dogs can read our facial expressions? Don Glass and experts in their fields answer these questions and many more. Written for readers of all ages with no background in science required, How the World Looks to a Bee is the perfect armchair companion for curious people who want to know more about the science of everyday life but have only a moment to spare. With intriguing everyday phenomena as a starting point, this entertaining collection uses short tutorials and quick and simple experiments to invite readers to test the science for themselves. These fascinating and topical science stories are sure to delight the curious child in all of us.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Does NutraSweet Have Calories?

A Water Magnifier

Conversation at a Crowded Party

Can a Theory Evolve into a Law?

A Cat “Flips Out”

Winter Sounds

Rust

Hungry Lasagna

A Wet Paintbrush

The Glory

Horns versus Antlers

Glacier “Sawdust”: The Colorful Component of Mountain Lakes

Would You Drink This?

Tickling the Funny Bone

The Shape of Snow

Remembrance of Things Past for Babies

Ravens: Avian Einsteins

Ant Antennae: Two-Way Communication

The Echo of a Train

Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Makers

Forry, Wrong Number

What Obesity and a Lack of Fatty Tissue Have in Common

Look through Your Comb at the Mirror

Blow Out Candles with an Oatmeal Canister

Wrong Name!

When Pop Bottles Don’t Blow Up … And When They Do

Common Birthdays: Classic of Probability

Take Bets on a Leaky Milk Carton

Smells and Memories

Big Shadows

Half Heads, Half Tails

Spiders Don’t Get Caught in Their Own Webs

Bilingual Brain

The Shape of the Earth

It’s Not What You Hear—It’s When You Hear It

Weightless Water

The Force of a Tornado

The QWERTY Effect

The Spinning Earth and the Weather

The Floating Cork Trick

On a Clear Day, How Far Can You See?

Benjamin Franklin and the Swatches on the Snow

Dog Facial Expressions and Humans

Why Is the Sky Blue?

Why One Rotten Apple Can Spoil the Barrel

Diamonds

Saccadic Suppression

Spoonerisms

Dimples in Golf Balls

Why Do Cats’ Eyes Glow at Night?

The Shape of Lightning Bolts

Alcohol in Pie … and Fried Fish?

How Time Passes in Dreams

Why You Can Never Get to the End of the Rainbow

Do the Best Dogs Come from the Pound?

Cooking with Wine

Listening Underwater

Why Bells Are Made of Metal

An Inverted Image

The Elastic Ruler

The Sweet Spot on a Baseball Bat

Why Kids Can Sleep through Just About Anything

Cold Water at the Bott...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Does NutraSweet Have Calories?
• A Water Magnifier
• Conversation at a Crowded Party
• Can a Theory Evolve into a Law?
• A Cat “Flips Out”
• Winter Sounds
• Rust
• Hungry Lasagna
• A Wet Paintbrush
• The Glory
• Horns versus Antlers
• Glacier “Sawdust”: The Colorful Component of Mountain Lakes
• Would You Drink This?
• Tickling the Funny Bone
• The Shape of Snow
• Remembrance of Things Past for Babies
• Ravens: Avian Einsteins
• Ant Antennae: Two-Way Communication
• The Echo of a Train
• Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Makers
• Forry, Wrong Number
• What Obesity and a Lack of Fatty Tissue Have in Common
• Look through Your Comb at the Mirror
• Blow Out Candles with an Oatmeal Canister
• Wrong Name!
• When Pop Bottles Don’t Blow Up … And When They Do
• Common Birthdays: Classic of Probability
• Take Bets on a Leaky Milk Carton
• Smells and Memories
• Big Shadows
• Half Heads, Half Tails
• Spiders Don’t Get Caught in Their Own Webs
• Bilingual Brain
• The Shape of the Earth
• It’s Not What You Hear—It’s When You Hear It
• Weightless Water
• The Force of a Tornado
• The QWERTY Effect
• The Spinning Earth and the Weather
• The Floating Cork Trick
• On a Clear Day, How Far Can You See?
• Benjamin Franklin and the Swatches on the Snow
• Dog Facial Expressions and Humans
• Why Is the Sky Blue?
• Why One Rotten Apple Can Spoil the Barrel
• Diamonds
• Saccadic Suppression
• Spoonerisms
• Dimples in Golf Balls
• Why Do Cats’ Eyes Glow at Night?
• The Shape of Lightning Bolts
• Alcohol in Pie … and Fried Fish?
• How Time Passes in Dreams
• Why You Can Never Get to the End of the Rainbow
• Do the Best Dogs Come from the Pound?
• Cooking with Wine
• Listening Underwater
• Why Bells Are Made of Metal
• An Inverted Image
• The Elastic Ruler
• The Sweet Spot on a Baseball Bat
• Why Kids Can Sleep through Just About Anything
• Cold Water at the Bottom of the Lake
• Bad Grades and Biological Clocks
• The Twin Within
• Limeys
• The Secret Life of Hiccups
• How Does the World Look to a Bee?
• Cottonmouth
• Why Mowing the Lawn Doesn’t Kill the Grass
• The Consequences of Smallness
• Antimatter
• How Dogs Eat
• The Secret of Clear Ice Cubes
• Broken Cups and Atoms
• One-Way Glass
• Late Night Radio
• Why Honey Turns Hard
• Adding and Subtracting Colors
• Breaking a Coffee Cup
• Déjà Vu
• A Rock in a Row Boat
• When It Smells Like Rain
• Mirages
• Why Popcorn Pops
• Make an Image without a Lens
• A Rising Fastball
• Chimes for Your Ears Only
• How Can You Tell If a Spider Is Dead?
• Why Fan Blades Stay Dirty
• The Legacy of the Dodo
• Get Your Bearings with Two Thumbtacks
• More Than One Way to Make a Frog
• A Dot, a Line, a Crease, a Beautiful Curve
• The Shape of Sound
• Blinking
• Sorting Out Musical Pitches
• Newton, Tennis, and the Nature of Light
• Roll Over, George Washington
• Don’t Believe Your Fingers
• Opera Singers Cut through the Orchestra
• Curved Space in a Christmas Ornament
• Coriolis Effect
• Catch a Falling Dollar
• Illusion in a Coffee Cup
• Why Do We Put Cut Flowers in Water?
• Knuckle Cracking
• Life without Zero
• For This You Need a Doctor?
• Two-Point Threshold
• A Mirror Riddle
• Sort Nuts by Shaking the Can
• Why a Rubber Band Snaps Back
• Some Like It Hot
• Breaking the Tension
• Why 5,280 Feet?
• Balance a Yardstick without Looking
• Heat Lightning
• The Moon Illusion
• Warmth from a Cold Lamp