The Science of Everyday Life: Why Teapots Dribble, Toast Burns and Light Bulbs Shine’ by Marty Jopson – Published by Michael O’Mara Books Limited - £12.99

A FEW weeks ago, during Otley Science Festival week, I attended a lecture by Otley’s own Dr Marty Jopson entitled “The Science of Everyday Life”. This is also the title of Marty’s book on this subject that I bought at the end of the lecture and which I promised in my review of the show published in Weekend to review also and let readers know about its content.

The book is divided into six chapters; The Sustaining Science of Food and Drink, The Heart of the Home and Kitchen Science, The Marvels of Science Around the House, The Peculiar Human and the Science of Us, Science in the World Around Us and Garden Science: Wildlife on your Doorstep.

Topics included within these six chapters include Why things are sweet, Cakes versus Biscuits, Wine, Onions, Fridges, Microwaves, Lightbulbs, Burglar Alarms, GPS Satellites, Batteries, Woollen Clothes, Shampoo, Fluoride Toothpaste, Why skin wrinkles in the bath, Dreams, Sweat, Why is ice slippery, Static Electricity, Greenhouses, Boomerangs, Apples, Moths, Spiders, Lawns, The Moon and Rainbows to name but a few of the many topics Marty covers in the 218 pages.

It is a fascinating book, very easy to read and containing a wealth of interesting information. Whether you are a scientist or not, it will open your eyes (and yes, there is a topic on vision as well) to how science affects us all in how we live and what we do.

For anyone with an interest in science, you now know what to get them for Christmas!

by John Burland