Why Rats Laugh and Jellyfish Sleep: And Other Enchanting Stories of Evolution

Biological traits can be viewed as “whydunits,” according to this thought-provoking study from journalist Stipp (A Most Elegant Equation). He attempts to answer nine “naive/brilliant” questions about why certain life forms are the way they are, and details the impacts various scientific discoveries have had on human life. In a chapter about why skunks smell so bad, readers learn that the creatures’ stinky spray “taps into an ancient, olfactory loathing mechanism that evolved before skunks themselves appeared.” That insight leads to an investigation of “stink bombs” as a means of warfare, as in the Office of Strategic Service’s WWII-era “Who, Me?” project, which attempted to embarrass and distract Nazi soldiers with an awful smell. Elsewhere, Stipp explains how ducks sleep (often with one eye open), how octopuses dream (they have nightmares, which scientists previously thought only happened in warm-blooded creatures), and what happens when a spider on drugs spins a web (caffeine makes for seriously deformed webs). With wit and flair, Stipp proves that “familiar things we tend to ignore in our daily haste are often more interesting than they seem.” This has charm to spare. Agent: Lisa Adams, Garamond Agency. (Sept.)