This book is actually the original Imponderables book under a new title so it fits the theme of later books better. Unfortunately this isn't mentioned anywhere in the product description. This is mentioned on the cover of the book, but people who are buying it online won't be able to see that since it is put in fineprint, not in the description. I'm sorry to say that nothing has been updated either. That means that some of the information in here is going to be outdated or referring to thing that are no longer common since the early 80's. For example the stuff on milk cartons, collecting money from payphones or records spinning is going to feel out of place for people who think this is latest in the series.

You can tell the passion put into not only trying to answer these questions but to give you a feel for some of the less obvious aspects that are going on behind the scenes in a lot of these like the section on efficiency in washers & hypnosis. It is also contains such interesting things as: Why Do people look up when thinking, why do other hear our voices differently than we do, how did a mile get to be 5,280 feet & the difference between the wait times in different traffic lights. He manages to be informative as well as keeping thing humorous in the book. It also has the origin of some of the frustrables (imponderables that he revisits with new information) such as why do people close their eyes when kissing.

Buy this because you can't fine the original book anymore. Buy this because you have worn out your book in the last 20 years. DON'T buy this because you think it is anew one in the series or that is updated.

I have always been a big fan of the "imponderables" genre, but I had never read any by author David Feldman, an apparently prolific author in the that specific field. I thought the best place to start would be with his first Imponderalbes book, "Why Don't Cats Like to Swim?," which had apparently been originally published with the title, "Imponderables." I further assumed that an author's first venture into this genre would be the most interesting in that there was a high probability of an array of interesting subjects that eventually led to his writing the book. Well, I was wrong!

I finished this book in record time because I discovered that I couldn't care less about many of the alleged imponderables that were discussed. Really, who really cares about some of the following:

Why does root beer taste flatter than coke?
Which fruits are in Juicy Fruit chewing gum?
If trailer parks didn't exist, would tornadoes exist?
Why don't we ever see money from pay phones collected?
What is the purpose of the little slits in sugar cube wrappers?
What is a minor credit card?
Why are so many milk packages difficult to open and close?

If those and similar questions intrique you, you will probably enjoy this book.

About the only section that I found truly interesting was the section describing how stage hypnotists do their thing.

Perhaps his subsequent works got better in that the author solicites potential questions from his readership to be dealt with in later books. I'll never find out.

I was leary of this purchase, wondering if it would interest my 8 yr-old daughter, but it turned out to be a GREAT present. She keeps it in the car ; which works perfectly, as she can read each short tidbit in the time it takes us to run here and there. She is really enjoying learning from this book and for us, its been a great way to keep her reading!

Great book. I purchased this for my 12 year old nephew last christmas and he loved it, because that is how his mind works. Fortunatly, so does mine - I love to think about things so I had to read it first! What fun!

This was a great gift for my teenage boy who asks a million questions about all sorts of things!

I knew that the tenth book in the IMPONDERABLES series would be published soon so I kept an eye out for it. I kept track of new books by anyone named David Feldman. I saw "Why Don't Cats Like to Swim?" and almost bought it. I'm glad I didn't because this is just the original book (originally published in 1986 under the simple title "Imponderables") repackaged under a new title.

The book I was actually waiting for turned out to be "Do Elephants Jump?"

You can get "Do Elephants Jump?" in either hardcover or softcover.

(I suggest you get that book and consult the index before submitting an Imponderable to the author to be answered in the eleventh book. The index covers all ten books so that people will not send in duplicate imponderables.)

Imponderables 1 (aka Why Don't Cat's Like to Swim) is a really entertaining and informative book. It's definitely worth reading. And it's probably worth buying (instead of borrowing) so that you can RE-read it any time you want....

Just be careful not to buy the same book twice.

I would have given this book 5 stars (I might do so for the *original* edition), but I took a star away because the publisher pulled an underhanded trick, knowing that people expecting a *new* Imponderables-series book might be fooled by a new title.

Ok, let me say this- the IMPONDERABLES series of books, by David Feldman, is a great series. They offer answers to many of Life's odd question, the one you ponder over, but can't just look up somewhere. Well, until now.

"Why Don't Cats Like to Swim?" is a fine book, but it really is "Imponderables", the first in the series, published in 1986.

However, in 2004 it was republished with the new "Why Don't Cats Like to Swim?' It's a fine book, but not one that most of us would want to buy twice!

The Imponderables book series by David Feldman is the pinnacle of interesting and useful bathroom reading! Since the beginning of the series, Feldman has been highlighting questions that we didn't even know we had (like exactly why is it that a mile is 5,280 feet? and where is Donald Duck's brother?) then he finds "the experts" on any given subject to answer the question. At the end of each question and answer, you are left with a little better insight into the world around you (and you can go out and impress your friends with an expanded catalog of obscure anecdotes).

These books are fantastic overall. They are one part almanac, one part encyclopedia and one part a book form of the show Mythbusters. Many of the questions Feldman seeks the answers to are sent to him by his many readers who want to know about these little-known facts (like why there are 18 holes in a golf course and why tennis balls are fuzzy). Okay, these may not be the most important questions in the world, but these are the things we take for granted in everyday life that we normally don't take the time to stop and think (why is that little finger on our hands called the pinky?).

Feldman has been answering these questions since the first Imponderables in 1986. He has a masters degree in popular culture from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and taught to first ever college course on Soap Operas. If you enjoy trivia, David Feldman is the man for you. He uncovers the hidden meanings and lost history of sports, food, words, science, politics, and everything in between, often in a humorous and insightful way.

So where did Oreos get their name?
What is the difference between Dead End signs and No Outlet signs?
Why does the letter K mean Strike Out in baseball?

You'll have to buy the books to find out.

This is the first of the Imponderables series of books. For people like me who love to accumulate useless but fascinating information it is a wonderful book. It asks the questions (Why do we itch, why are there holes in Swiss cheese, why does an X stand for a kiss, etc....) and then proceeds to answer them. If you ever wanted to be a know-it-all (or want your know-it-all to at least have the right answers) then read this book and become the authority on useless information with your family and friends. Much more fascinating than trivia books (after all you might want to know why cashews are not sold in their shells but who really cares who the runner up for the 1998 Ms America was?).
Each piece is a short question and answer so that you could pick it up and read one in a minute or two, but if you are like me then once you have read one you have to keep on reading the next and then the next until you have consumed an hour or more of fascinating reading.

Reading the first of the Imponderables books certainly made me glad that there are more. If you are unfamiliar with the Imponderables series, I will explain: David Feldman puts together a list of questions ("Why do people look up when they're thinking?" or "Why do we tie shoes to the back of newlyweds' cars?") and then proceeds to answer them. The illustations are more amusing than what you are likely to find on the comics page of your local newspaper and the writing is very witty. If you have read the other Imponderables books, this one is not especially different from the others. Enjoy!