Do Fish Drink Water?: Puzzling and Improbable Questions and Answers

by Bill McLain

Book Overview

Is it true that elephants are afraid of mice?

How much gold does the United States store in Fort Knox?

Why do I get a headache when I eat ice cream too fast?

How did the seventh inning stretch originate?

As the official webmaster for Xerox, Bill McLain was surprised by the kinds of questions he was receiving, like whether people born blind can see in their dreams and why rabbits are associated with Easter. McLain began to...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688179088
• ISBN13: 9780688179083
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A fun, educational and informative book.

Do Fish Drink Water? The answer is yes, but it's mostly due to Osmosis. Did I just give away the ending of the book? No, rest assured. This book is a really funny and informative collection of facts that will answer all those questions that you always had. This book is written by Bill McLain who is the webmaster and Xerox and the book is a collection of questions he received. Now I am not sure why people were emailing the webmaster at Xerox to ask him about some of these things, but I am glad Bill collected all of those questions and put them in his book.This is a really fun, educational book and a must-have.

Information Overdose!

I really enjoyed this book, but I made the mistake of trying to read it all in one sitting - it's a bit like eating too much ice cream (now I don't want anymore).I really like McLain's style of writing and what I *really* liked was that he didn't stop at just answering the question - he gave you more information if you wanted it (which of course I did) and related details that might not be obvious to the layman reader. It's a truly compulsive read and it doesn't matter where your interest lies.A great coffee-table conversation starter, this book keeps on giving - do yourself a favor and grab a copy: it's great.

Do Fish Drink Water?

I thought this was a great book and well worht what I paid for it. I was amazed by most of the facts in the book. There are some many questions and twenty different catagorys. Plus after the end of every catagory, Bill McLain (the author) gives you some web site addresses in case you would like to learn more about that spefic topic. If you enjoy useless facts like me,(in which case I am full of useless facts) you should definitally buy this book. Once I got the book in the mail, I could not put it down, I loved it. I liked it some much, I am reading it one more time. So if you are not sure if you should to buy it or not, it is well worth it, believe me.

An entertaining and enjoyable excursion...

"Do Fish Drink Water?" is an entertaining journey through the world of questions, answers, and popular beliefs. Bill McLain, webmaster at Xerox PARC, provides some of the most unusual questions he has received about every topic imaginable, from the Wizard of OZ to the Coriolis effect and the green flash. He presents questions on history, science, folklore, and general trivia, with complete answers and entertaining facts. As an added benefit, the author also demonstrates how to find answers to those improbable questions. The reader can read a little, or a lot, although reading a little is like eating one potato chip. It's hard to stop at just one.An ideal book for the inquisitive, McLain acts as a guide through a labryinth of seemingly unanswerable queries. The result is an entertaining and enjoyable excursion through fact and fiction. This is an ideal gift, especially for yourself.