Why Rats Laugh and Jellyfish Sleep - by David Stipp (Hardcover)

About the Book

"For fans of accessible and fun popular science comes an exploration of evolution's quirkiest puzzles and most enduring mysteries"--

Book Synopsis

For fans of accessible and fun popular science comes an exploration of evolution's quirkiest puzzles and most enduring mysteries.

Why do cats live longer than dogs? Why do bees have yellow stripes? Why can we smell a skunk from a mile away? Such questions can be seen as puzzles about creatures' evolved traits. Besides triggering our curiosity, they focus our attention on beguiling designs that have been millions of years in the making. Indeed, looking at the living world through a Darwinian lens reveals its colossal depth in a way that's all too easy to miss in the age of endless distractions. You need only summon up your inner inquisitive 7-year-old to notice such puzzles, and to find yourself looking deeper while considering possible solutions.

In this lively book, science writer David Stipp ponders Darwinian puzzles about nine familiar creatures and things--bumblebees, dogs, sparrows, caffeine, earthworms, and sleep, among others--to show how rewarding it can be to look at nature in a deeper way. By revealing hidden depths of the ordinary, Why Rats Laugh and Jellyfish Sleep shows not only that fascinating intricacies lie just beneath the natural world's familiar surfaces, but that noticing them lets us make connections we didn't realize existed.

This is backyard biophilia at its most entertaining and enlightening.

Review Quotes

"Stipp's curiosity is contagious. He makes the mundane magical and encourages us to do the same." --Daily Kos

"Why Rats Laugh & Jellyfish Sleep is a breezy ode to nature's long game. The respected science expert's beautifully written book celebrates the adaptive ingenuity of animals whose traits have evolved over millions of years. That includes us."--Minnesota Star Tribune

"Like the best sort of entertaining dinner guest, Stipp delights in every facet of his seemingly ordinary subjects, offering humorous asides (especially about the skunk) and joy. A welcome addition to popular science that illuminates and celebrates the world around us."--Booklist

"A thought-provoking study...With wit and flair, Stipp proves that 'familiar things we tend to ignore in our daily haste are often more interesting than they seem.' This has charm to spare." --Publishers Weekly

"A lovely romp through Darwinian evolutionary puzzles, ranging on topics from earthworm intelligence to a novel take on the origin of dogs. Entertaining, witty, AND educational!"--Irene M. Pepperberg, Research Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, and author of the New York Times bestseller Alex and Me

About the Author

David Stipp was a science writer for the national media for over thirty years, as a staff reporter at the Wall Street Journal and as a senior writer at Fortune, and then as a freelancer for Scientific American, the New York Times, and other publications. He is the author of two previous books, The Youth Pill and, most recently, A Most Elegant Equation.