Preview
  • What If? 2

  • Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
  • By: Randall Munroe
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,130 ratings)

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What If? 2

By: Randall Munroe
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Publisher's summary

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of What If? and How To answers more of the weirdest questions you never thought to ask

The millions of people around the world who loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-story building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? Okay, if you insist.

Before you go on a cosmic road trip, feed the residents of New York City to a T. rex, or fill every church with bananas, be sure to consult this practical guide for impractical ideas. Unfazed by absurdity, Munroe consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airliner catapult design to answer his listeners’ questions, clearly and concisely. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances.

©2022 Randall Munroe (P)2022 Penguin Audio
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Critic reviews

“A delight for science geeks with a penchant for oddball thought experiments.”—Kirkus

What listeners say about What If? 2

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I love everything except the narrator

I love everything except the narrator. his voice is grating although perhaps younger listeners might enjoy it.

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2 people found this helpful

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We need Part 3!

Please Part 3! Brilliant! Really enjoyed the book. It is expanding your mind and fantasy.

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good good

good good good good good good good good good good good good good good (but, some bad bad bad bad (sorry for balh house audio)

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What if 3 please

WHAT IF 3 AND HOW 2 TWO WE NEED IT ASAP IT WAS AMAZING GIMME

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Randall Munroe makes science and math fun

That's a pretty big claim, but it's true. Randall is the science teacher you wish you had.
He takes the most bizarre, but usually innocent sounding, questions and applies the required math and science principles. The results are explained in hilarious fashion. The simplest questions sometimes have universe impacting results. He also keeps a handy list updated throughout the book of ideas that it might be best to avoid.

Nerdy science guys, like me, will find this book to be laugh out loud funny. Apparently, there are a lot of us, because this is the second best selling volume in the series. Highly recommended.

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excellent book

Top quality comedic content, told through the lens of interesting engineering that is relatable and understandable to people with even the most basic education.

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Must listen if you listened to book one!!!!

Very insightful. Loved the numerous ways some of the questions are presented. Very fun read.

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entertaining

I found the book entertaining, though at times the narration was a bit grating. Wil Wheaton clearly enjoyed the book, sometimes to the detriment of his narration.

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Interesting book, horrible narrator

I enjoyed the content of the book, although it would clearly have been better conveyed in a printed format rather than an audiobook. The narrator sounded like an overexcited middle schooler and ruined the experience

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Fun and silly

Fun and silly. I loved the silliness?
My kid could even stand listening to it for brief periods

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1 person found this helpful