Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe

Thing Explainer

Complicated Stuff in Simple Words

Randall Munroe

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · November 24, 2015

Have you ever tried to learn more about some incredible thing, only to be frustrated by incomprehensible jargon?

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Who it’s for
Line drawings and everyday words make complicated things easier—and funnier—to understand.
Themes
How everyday things work, Science and technology explained, Simple-language learning
Genres
Curiosities & Wonders, Technology & Engineering, Physics

About this book

Have you ever tried to learn more about some incredible thing, only to be frustrated by incomprehensible jargon? Randall Munroe is here to help.

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In Thing Explainer, he uses line drawings and only the thousand (or, rather, “ten hundred”) most common words to provide simple explanations for some of the most interesting stuff there is, including: - food-heating radio boxes (microwaves) - tall roads (bridges) - computer buildings (datacenters) - the shared space house (the International Space Station) - the other worlds around the sun (the solar system) - the big flat rocks we live on (tectonic plates) - the pieces everything is made of (the periodic table) - planes with turning wings (helicopters) - boxes that make clothes smell better (washers and dryers) - the bags of stuff inside you (cells) How do these things work? Where do they come from? What would life be like without them? And what would happen if we opened them up, heated them up, cooled them down, pointed them in a different direction, or pressed this button? In Thing Explainer, Munroe gives us the answers to these questions and so many more. Funny, interesting, and always understandable, this book is for anyone—age 5 to 105—who has ever wondered how things work, and why.

Big Ideas, Plainly

Line drawings and everyday words make complicated things easier—and funnier—to understand.

Come here for

  • Science explained without the jargon
  • Playful names for familiar machines and big ideas

Expect

  • Simple-word explanations paired with line drawings
  • Topics ranging from microwaves to the solar system

Where it sits

Curiosities & Wonders40%
Technology & Engineering39%
Physics29%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • School & Education Humor
  • Curiosities & Wonders
  • Mechanics (General)
  • Physics
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Scientific Instruments
  • Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Technology
Authors
Randall Munroe
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
November 24, 2015
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
How everyday things work · Science and technology explained · Simple-language learning
Reading lane
School & Education Humor