Do Penguins Have Knees?: An Imponderables Book [Hardcover]

By now, you are hopefully familiar with the Imponderables series of books, those tremendous tomes of teasing trivia, where author David Feldman has the nerve to ask those all-important questions of the nature of existence, such as "Why are there tiny holes in the ceiling of my car?" (As for me, such a question is merely proof that said driver does not have their eyes on the road, a frequent phenomenon on today's highways!) Anyhoo, Penguins is one of the better books in the series, if for no other reason than the fact that it attempts to answer the immortal question (drum roll, please): Does anyone really like fruitcake?? (Sorry, but I can't reveal the answer here: Feldman is a professional in such matters, and I dare not paraphrase his response one iota!) As with When Do Fish Sleep, the bulk of this book is given to Feldman considering such questions, submitting the questions to acknowledged experts in the field (Is there a fruitcake expert?) and printing their responses, or the competing theories if there is more than one answer. (In the example above, the Fruitcake Question was posed in the Frustables section, which Feldman uses to ponder matters that seem to defy easy explanation, then prints the best responses in the next book in the series. This is how he hooks you into buying more than one book! Pretty clever, huh?) As always, Kassie Schwan's delightful illustrations add to the humor. (Yes, this is a humor book!) In any case, this sixth volume in the seemingly endless series of books is one of the best, and as I have stated in another review, makes a perfect read in the bathroom! So, get Do Penguins Have Knees, and other books in the Imponderables series today. As Jim Morrison, the immortal lead singer for the Doors once said, "I see the bathroom is clear...."

This book is one of the "Imponderables™" series, which, the jacket claims, "has become the unchallenged source of answers to civilization's most perplexing questions." Like the title question "Do Penguins Have Knees?" or "Why are there legless ducks on the crests of Cadillacs?" Readers write in questions, and the author finds experts with answers.

There's Stuff in here I never knew I didn't know. "Why are sticks of margarine and butter thicker and shorter in the Western United States and longer and narrower in the East?" Hmm. I never noticed. This book never answers a logical follow-up question - Where is the geographical cut-off line? Is it like broadcasting station call letters that kinda sorta are assigned according to whether the station is East or West of the Mississippi? (W*** east and K*** west except for Fargo, which is West of the Headwaters of the Mississippi but has "W" stations anyway - but that is an "Imponderable™" for another Day.)

Speaking of answers that raise other questions, teasers for other books in the "Imponderables™" series run rampart through this book. E.g. When answering "How do they make Hot Dog buns that are partially sliced?" the author begins by saying: "Now that we solved the Imponderable of why there are ten Hot Dogs in a package and only eight Hot Dog buns in a package (See *Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?* ..." or imparting the information that the most FAQ is "Why are buttons on men's shirts and jackets arranged differently from those on women's shirts?" and then leaving the readers hanging until we can procure copies of previous books.

We are not tackling "What is the meaning of life?" here, but the quick questions and answers are entertaining and illuminating.

Like all of the "Imponderables" books this is great fun to peruse and read the 1-2 page summaries of commonplace questions with often surprisingly complex answers. A good amount of the book is devoted to "Frustables" (Imponderables that won't be answered) and letters / comments from readers. This means the book proper is much shorter than it first appears, but it also adds to a sense of serialization and community among the Imponderables readers, which is nice. And yes, penguins do have knees.