Have you ever wondered why people snore? Or why snakes stick out their tongue so often? You can find all kinds of questions like these and more than 1001 awesome facts in Time For Kids’ “Big Book Of Why Crazy, Cool and Outrageous!”
The Big Book Of Why answers all kinds of questions you have been wondering about and also some that you have not. It covers many categories including Human Body, Animals, Nature, Earth, Space, Science, Technology, transportation, History, Culture, Arts and Media, and Sports and Games!
I love books like these, I have done two posts on Weird, But True books that are similar to this. I did one on animals and another one post on the human body. The Big Book of Why has more than 1, 000 different fun-filled facts. This book has lots of pictures, really funny facts and it is such a great book for school projects and just for fun. It also has lots of questions that kids think about like “Why do mints explode on soft drinks?” or “Why does my foot fall asleep?” Something I also really really like is that there are no complicated words, so it’s easy to understand.
Here are some fun questions and answers that I found in The Big Book Of Why!
Q: Why do Gorillas thump their chests?
A: Gorillas, like all primates, communicate using sounds and gestures. Male Gorillas pound their chest to intimidate other Gorillas, showing off their super strength and dangerous size.
Q: Why don’t we recycle styrofoam?
A: Styrofoam is a brand name for a material called polystyrene. The squishy white stuff is made from oil, so it’s expensive to recycle safely. We have many ways to re-use aluminum and plastic, for example, but almost none for polystyrene, so it ends up staying in landfills for a long time.
Q: How do we know how old the earth is?
A: The answer is in the rocks. Some elements are radioactive. Over a long period of time, those elements change and stop being radioactive. Special machines measure how radioactive a rock’s elements are, and a technique called radioactive dating lets scientists calculate how old Earth is.
My top 5 favourite facts in this book are:
- Why do people snore?
- Why do ostriches put their head to the ground?
- Why do some plants eat bugs?
- Why do we have seasons?
- How did the game Marco Polo get its name?
On my journey with We Day, I’ve had a chance to meet a lot of amazing people who are helping the world. One of these people is NBA legend, Magic Johnson. He was so kind and I was so happy when I found out that in the Big Book Of Why, it asks, Why was Earvin Johnson called “Magic”? Magic got his name because of his awesome skills on the court, his sportsmanship and style. A sports writer decided he would nickname Earvin as “Magic” because he thought that he, was truly ” magic”. Though Magic didn’t just bring awesomeness to the Laker’s court, he has brought awesomeness to the world for his entire life.
In the Big Book Of Why, there is a question in the Nature category, that is close to my heart – “Why do we celebrate Earth Day?” I thought that this question was so interesting and that kids should not only know about Earth Day and participate but they should really know why it was created. The answer is that in 1969, a terrible oil spill hit the beach in Saint Barbara, California. So many people wanted to do something about the environment and a Senator named Gaylord Nelson helped organize the first Earth Day as a celebration of our planet, and a message and event to protect it. Enthusiasm for Earth Day got everybody involved and inspired to make the world a place we can all be proud of. From 1969 to now, there has been so much progress and we are concerned about the environment and so many people and organizations are helping to protect it. I am proud to have worked with the WWF for the Shoreline Cleanup. I really believe that we can all do something to do our part. I believe little things add up to make a big difference.
I’m having a lot of fun with The Big Book Of Why. My Dad knows all kinds of trivia and cool facts about music and baseball. Now I know a whole lot of cool stuff too.
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