A glorious celebration of silly science, The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog by Carly Anne York (Queens of the Jungle) is an intensely readable, funny book that treats its audience to a plethora of scientific discoveries. Each is described in its own bite-size chapter, making this a perfect beach read for the science-oriented set. With topics as wide-ranging as the discovery of penicillin and duck genitalia, York offers a fun fact for every occasion.
Why was the first recorded recipient of a bone graft subsequently excommunicated from his church? What does Urban Decay-brand liquid eyeliner have to do with spider sex? Who is Winter the llama, and what does she have to do with Covid-19 vaccines? And what the heck is a salmon cannon, and how does a frog levitate? York answers all these questions and many more.
Published at a time when scientific research funding in the U.S. is increasingly at risk from federal budget cuts, Salmon Cannon explains why funding such experiments can be controversial and makes an unequivocal case for their continued support. Informative but not dense, entertaining, and well-researched, Salmon Cannon is perfect for fans of Mary Roach's oeuvre and readers who enjoy learning about the scientific world.
A thoroughly engaging and fascinating read, Salmon Cannon opens up the less-serious aspects of scientific research and demonstrates the role that curiosity plays in everyday scientific innovation. --Alyssa Parssinen, freelance reviewer and former bookseller