Price: $29.90
(as of Feb 08, 2025 09:52:06 UTC – Details)
We all have our off days. Why should Evolution be any different? Maybe Evolution got carried away with an idea that was just a little too crazy―like having the Regal Horned Lizard defend itself by shooting three-foot streams of blood from its eyes. Or maybe Evolution ran out of steam (Memo to Evolution: The Irrawaddy Dolphin looks like a prototype that should have been left on the drawing board). Or maybe Evolution was feeling cheeky―a fish with hands? Joke’s on you, Red Handfish! Or maybe Evolution simply goofed up: How else to explain the overgrown teeth of the babirusas that curl backward over their face? Oops.
Mara Grunbaum is a very smart, very funny science writer who celebrates the best―or, really, the worst―of Evolution’s blunders. Here are more than 100 outlandish mammals, reptiles, insects, fish, birds, and other creatures whose very existence leaves us shaking our heads and muttering WTF?! Ms. Grunbaum’s especially brilliant stroke is to personify Evolution as a well-meaning but somewhat oblivious experimenter whose conversations with a skeptical narrator are hilarious.
For almost 4 billion years, Evolution has produced a nonstop parade of inflatable noses, bizarre genitalia, and seriously awkward necks. What a comedian!
Publisher : Workman Publishing Company; Illustrated edition (October 7, 2014)
Language : English
Paperback : 272 pages
ISBN-10 : 0761180346
ISBN-13 : 978-0761180340
Item Weight : 14.4 ounces
Dimensions : 8 x 0.75 x 6 inches
Customers say
Customers find the book amusing and lighthearted with funny conversations. They find the information interesting and educational, describing it as a good guidebook to oddities found in nature. The eye-catching photographs keep readers entertained. Many consider it a good gift for someone curious about the world. However, opinions differ on readability – some find the text well-written and entertaining, while others feel it’s poorly written and unreadable.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews