Center for Teaching & Learning

How many pigeons would it take to lift a person? What would happen if the Solar System was filled with soup to Jupiter? These are just two of the hundreds of questions you can find in the book What If? 2 by Randall Munroe, which is a collection of many absurd questions that Munroe answers with serious, scientific answers. Monroe responds to each question with accurate solutions, humor, and information that helps the reader learn new concepts.

One of the main reasons I enjoyed this book is that Monroe answers questions that his fans submit. As a result, the questions will appeal to many different readers with many different interests. The questions range from theoretical physics to astronomy, engineering, chemistry, and biology.  The book is a compilation of many  hypothetical problems and their solutions, put together so readers can explore one question that interests them or twenty questions that cover numerous different topics.

Monroe also illustrates each of the questions with humorous cartoons that I think are a really nice touch. The illustrations are in a black and white stick figure style, and they have funny lines of dialogue that help create a world of characters throughout the book and tie all the answers together.

Monroe includes footnotes that either provide additional scientific information or share relevant, funny jokes. These footnotes are a nice feature—after you read a page, you can look at the bottom of the page to deepen your understanding or enjoy funny jokes about the page you’ve just read.

People can go to Comet Ice (xkcd.com) to find 162 of the stories for free from both the first and the second What If? books if they do not want to buy the book, but the book has more to offer than the website.

I would rate this book a ten out of ten for its hilarious drawings, scientific information, and creative approach to finding answers to what if? questions. I would recommend this book for anyone who would like to transition to more realistic scientific books but also wants a book that is entertaining, creative, and humorous.

Sawyer