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Helen Arney

Steve Mould

The Element in the Room: Science-y Stuff Staring You in the Face (Festival of the Spoken Nerd) Hardcover – 5 Oct 2017

by Helen Arney (Author), Steve Mould (Author)

90 ratings

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'Made me go Hydrogen Argon, Hydrogen Argon, Hydrogen Argon.' Rufus Hound

As featured in Best stocking-filler books of 2017 - The Guardian

'Witty and clever writing, every topic is engaging, fun and in some cases laugh-out-loud funny...there are too many highlights to mention' - How it Works

Why is it impossible to spin your right foot clockwise while you draw a 6 with your right hand?

Can you extract DNA from a strawberry daiquiri?

Would you make love like a praying mantis?

Should you book a holiday on Earth 2.0?

The Element in the Room will take you on a rib-tickling, experiment-fuelled adventure to explain everyday science that is staring you in the face. If you are sci-curious, pi-curious or just the-end-is-nigh-curious then this is the book for you.

Steve Mould and Helen Arney are two thirds of science comedy phenomenon Festival of the Spoken Nerd. As a trio they have appeared on QI, created their own experimental* comedy show 'Domestic Science' for Radio 4, toured their stand-up science shows to over 50,000 nerds (and non-nerds) and accumulated millions of views on YouTube.

'These nerds are the real deal' - Ben Goldacre, author of BAD SCIENCE

'They make science fun and understandable which is a great combo.' Sandi Toksvig

'MIND BLOWN.' Tim Harford

'Science was never such hilarious explosive fun.' Richard Herring

'This book is 37% better than mine. But it took 100% more nerds to write it.' Matt Parker (the other third of Spoken Nerd)

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Product details

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Cassell; 01 edition (5 Oct. 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1844039722
ISBN-13: 978-1844039722
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 2.3 x 16.9 cm
Average Customer Review: 90 customer reviews
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 145,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #36 in Energy
- #29 in Light, Optics & Laser Physics
- #34 in Applied Optics

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Helen Arney

Steve Mould

Product description

Review

Harnesses comedy to highlight what is fun - and funny - about science--New Scientist A delightful romp through science at every level, from how to make a cocktail using octoploid DNA to what the meaningless end of the Cosmos will be like. --Zach Weinersmith

Book Description

Let the brains behind the hugely successful Festival of the Spoken Nerd take you on a rib-tickling, experiment-fuelled adventure to explain the everyday science staring you in the face.

About the Author

Festival of the Spoken Nerd are a live comedy group who can be found bang in the middle of the comedy/science Venn diagram. They're best known for bringing electrifying live experiments, songs and spreadsheets to sold-out stages all over the UK in their unique, interactive, laugh-a-minute shows. They have their own Radio 4 programme called Domestic Science, and have appeared on QI three times.

Steve Mould
From mind-bending tricks on BBC1's Britain's Brightest to delving into our scientific heritage in ITV1's I Never Knew That About Britain, Steve describes himself as a jack of all scientific trades and master of none. He is the maker of mathematical curios, creator of illusions and poster of quirky science experiments on YouTube which have gained 2 million hits. Steve has made guest appearances on The One Show, The Alan Titchmarsh Show, Sunday Brunch, Absolute Radio and BBC Radio 5Live. He was also the Science Presenter on Blue Peter "back in the day" and hasn't stopped going on about it since.

Helen Arney
As well as twice touring her science-infused comedy songs around the UK with Robin Ince, Prof. Brian Cox and Tim Minchin in Uncaged Monkeys, Helen has appeared on Stewart Lee's Alternative Comedy Experience, smashed a wine glass with her voice live on Blue Peter and serenaded Jon Snow on Channel 4 News. As the UK's premiere geek songstress she's performed everywhere from the Edinburgh Fringe to Google's head office in California. Helen also presents science on BBC2 Coast, Discovery Channel's Outrageous Acts Of Science and has filled several notebooks with rhymes for "Uranus".

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Customer reviews

90 customer reviews

David

Fascinating fabulous fun!

10 November 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I've had this book for less than 24 hours and it's already really annoyed my wife - laughing out loud so often and having uncontrollable giggles while she's trying to sleep..! It's fantastic. (Not sure what it'll do for your relationship, but it is rather brilliant..!) It's actually really fascinating too and packed with loads of experiments to try (or not to try) as well. The perfect gift for one's inner-nerd..! Who'd'a'thought there's so many great sciencey things to do and see all around us - and I love the writing style too. (I'll never look at bees the same way again.) Thanks guys! Well, that's got my Christmas Presents sorted, hasn't it..?! Enjoy!

8 people found this helpful

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Stephanie Jane (Literary Flits)

Great fun!

8 December 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I love going to the Festival of the Spoken Nerd live shows, but do sometimes find myself getting a little left-behind by explanations of the experiments I witness. Self-guided experimentation by way of The Element In The Room is therefore perfect for me. I can reread the scientific whys and hows enough times that the information actually lodges in my brain rather than skimming off into the distance!

The Element In The Room includes much of what is most fun about FotSN live shows - the humour, the tangential leaps of subject, and there's even a song. It is geared towards the home though and I have been enjoying trying out experiments in our caravan. I hadn't previously considered what a good laboratory it makes, but we have turmeric and noodles and I can cook up a curry. Making a grill pan chime like Big Ben is particularly impressive in such a small room. On the downside, poor Dave has had to listen to me recounting Quite Interesting facts and misremembered theories for the best part of a week. He's now reading The Element In The Room for himself and looking forward to extracting DNA from strawberries sometime soon.

If you're fascinated by the world around us and like your science based in practical experimentation, this could be the perfect book for you too.

2 people found this helpful

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Colin Murtagh

but I still enjoyed it. I've not seen the Spoken Nerd

17 December 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I'm not entirely sure I'm the right audience for this, but I still enjoyed it.
I've not seen the Spoken Nerd, but it's been mentioned a few times to me, esp given my love of the Infinite Monkey Cage podcast.
This is of a similar vein, but the science is a lot more simplified, being more concerned with every day things, rather than the more rarefied cosmology. It doesn't read like a science book though, it's loaded with jokes, digessions, and little comments, that make the entire book a joy. Also included are lots of little experiments you can try out at home. Some of which would be more than suitable for kids, a couple more adult orientated, however there is a warning saying the experiments should not be carried out by unsupervised children or irresponsible adults.
I'm not sure if I'd give this to a kid, but any adult with a sense of humour and an interest in science should enjoy it.

2 people found this helpful

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Amelia Clark

A must for the sci-curious in search of enlightenment and a laugh

28 September 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I read the sampler on my holiday... And it was so entertaining. I loved the illustrations too, and the punny title (Noice). Being a journo, and a wannabe nerd, all of this stuff appealed to me no end.

Having been 'sci-curious' since leaving school (and no longer being bored s***less by uninspiring curriculums and teachers) – I found this book to be a delight. Irreverent and funny, and full of the life I would want to be injected into what is a fascinating subject all things considered. The little snippets remind me of the bits in text books that WERE interesting. The fascinating factoids that injected life into the dour schoolings of old. But what's different here is that the interesting bits ARE the main appeal. I'll definitely be ordering the full book. And I will be sharing it with my nieces, (when they are slightly older and I have taught them a few more expletives :D)

Helen's writing style is personable, friendly and hilariously funny. I expect she could tell me things about the (reveals age) phone book and make it engaging and interesting. How I LOLed at the silly asides, as I inadvertently absorbed facts against my will. This is how teaching should be. And if all learning about stuff was this much fun, we'd all be better educated.

If sci-curious, this book is an absolute must. And I am already planning which planet to move to, based on the recommendations within this brilliant tome, for when Trump and North Korea blow this one up... And I am already more pissed off that my mini can't drive itself yet than I can tell you.

Brilliant. I love it. Buy it.

3 people found this helpful

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Elizabeth and Zeke

Because how else would you talk science?

2 October 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Tickled pink to get my grubby* mitts on an advance copy of this book, courtesy Festival of the Spoken Nerd, "You Can't Polish a Nerd", Bristol. :-D

I've loved sciencey mathsy nerdy stuff from as far back as I can remember. Three particular influences on childhood-nerd me were PBS's mathematics-flavoured show "Square One" and Vicki Cobb's books "Science Experiments You Can Eat" and "How To Really Fool Yourself". The Element in the Room is the adult manifestation of these beloved things. Arney and Mould capture the playful, creative curiosity that drives science exploration and present solid, scientific results in a hilariously well-written style. (If all "scholarly" science papers were written like this, everyone would be a scientist.)

*thoroughly washed in hot soapy water

2 people found this helpful

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Matt Bedford

Nice, but try less hard

11 December 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The book was relatively enjoyable for the first few chapters while it remained true to its “science in the room”/“experiments you can do right now” ethos.
That stopped round about half-way through but was still quite interesting with some nice facts and figures thrown in.

My main criticism regards the “gags”......
I don’t think I found even one which was the remotest bit funny. The attempts at humor (unremittingly of the “yay I’m so zany” kind) were desperate, stale and ruined an otherwise nice book.

Try less hard?

One person found this helpful

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