Challenging Science Puzzles

Erwin Brecher and Mike Gerrard's compilation makes it fun to think about how the world really works. Simple observations of everyday life yield puzzles dealing with light, sound, evaporation, evolution, and the entire range of physical mechanics. Included are puzzles based on humorous applications of scientific theories--or are they pseudoscientific theories? You figure it out. For example, how much damage could the Chinese really inflict on the U.S. with a shock wave created by having the entire population jump off chairs simultaneously? Some problems are easy but some solutions are surprisingly counterintuitive. You'll have to be quite the physicist to ace this.