Illustrations by Greg Brown, Jessica Carroll, and Mitchell Moffit SCRIBNER New York London Toronto Sydney New Delhi SCRIBNER A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 Copyright © 2015 by AsapSCIENCE Inc. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Scribner Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. First Scribner hardcover edition March 2015 SCRIBNER and design are registered trademarks of The Gale Group, Inc., used under license by Simon & Schuster, Inc., the publisher of this work. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com. Interior design Brian Chojnowski Library of Congress Control Number: 2014017625 ISBN 978-1-4767-5621-9 ISBN 978-1-4767-5624-0 (ebook) This book is dedicated to our parents for their consistent support and inspiration. Thank you for always nurturing our curiosity of the world around us. We love you. Contents Resolving Persistent Questions, Rumors, and Weird Phenomena Does being cold make you sick? 3 Are silent farts more deadly? 9 Is cracking your joints bad for you? 15 Is the 5-second rule legitimate? 19 Which is worse: childbirth or getting kicked in the balls? 25 Does shaving make your hair grow thicker? 33 Can sneezing pop your eyeballs out? 39 Could you spontaneously combust? 45 Is binge TV watching bad for you? 51 Which came first: the chicken or the egg? 55 Body Talk Brain farts 65 The science of bad breath 71 Can snot save us? 77 Is there a hiccup cure? 83 The scientific secret of muscle & strength 89 Why are men so hairy? 95 The science of aging 101 The science of brain freeze 107 Hypotheticals Could a zombie apocalypse happen? 115 What if you stopped going outside? 121 Sensory Perception Why do we get pins and needles? 129 Why do we itch? 135 Selfie science: Why do we hate photos of ourselves? 141 Where does all the light go when you turn off the lights? 145 Why does time feel faster as we age? 149 Hot Sex and Other Amorous Pursuits The science of sexy 159 The science of heartbreak 163 The science of love 169 The science of orgasms 175 Will dancing get you laid? 181 Getting to the Bottom of Bad Behavior The science of swearing 189 The science of lying 193 The science of procrastination 199 The scientific hangover cure 205 Dreaming, Waking, Napping, Sleeping The scientific power of naps 213 The science of morning wood 217 The science of lucid dreaming 223 What are eye boogers? 229 Should you use the snooze button? 235 What if you stopped sleeping? 241 Acknowledgments 248 1. 2.