--- product_id: 103947620 title: "How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems" price: "€ 33.75" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/103947620-how-to-absurd-scientific-advice-for-common-real-world-problems store_origin: PT region: Portugal --- # How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems **Price:** € 33.75 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems - **How much does it cost?** € 33.75 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/103947620-how-to-absurd-scientific-advice-for-common-real-world-problems) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “How To will make you laugh as you learn…With How To , you can't help but appreciate the glorious complexity of our universe and the amazing breadth of humanity's effort to comprehend it. If you want some lightweight edification, you won't go wrong with How To .” — CNET “[ How To ] has science and jokes in it, so 10/10 can recommend.” —Simone Giertz The world's most entertaining and useless self-help guide from the brilliant mind behind the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, the bestsellers What If? and Thing Explainer , and What If? 2, coming September 13, 2022 For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole. Bestselling author and cartoonist Randall Munroe explains how to predict the weather by analyzing the pixels of your Facebook photos. He teaches you how to tell if you're a baby boomer or a 90's kid by measuring the radioactivity of your teeth. He offers tips for taking a selfie with a telescope, crossing a river by boiling it, and powering your house by destroying the fabric of space-time. And if you want to get rid of the book once you're done with it, he walks you through your options for proper disposal, including dissolving it in the ocean, converting it to a vapor, using tectonic plates to subduct it into the Earth's mantle, or launching it into the Sun. By exploring the most complicated ways to do simple tasks, Munroe doesn't just make things difficult for himself and his readers. As he did so brilliantly in What If? , Munroe invites us to explore the most absurd reaches of the possible. Full of clever infographics and fun illustrations, How To is a delightfully mind-bending way to better understand the science and technology underlying the things we do every day. Review: My son loves this book! - A Cub Scout friend of my son had this book on one of our campouts last year, and all of the 5th-grade AOL scouts were clustered around laughing hysterically as they read every page with relish and delight. I knew I had to get it for my son, and it has been a book that he returns to again and again. This book by Randall Munroe of "XKCD" fame is full of wacky and interesting ways to tackle mundane problems. Kids think they're just reading the absurd, but in reality, they're absorbing some great knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. It's so fun, they don't realize they're learning STEM lessons by reading it. It's a must-have for any curious and inventive kid. Review: Science humor that spans generations - Ever wonder what it takes to land a plane on top of a train? Or what's the best way to send nuclear waste to the sun? Or how to take a selfie with yourself and the moon? Well, Randall Munroe has answers, filled in a humorous tone. The beauty of how science generalizes - particularly, physics - is how it applies to all sorts of absurd situations. Munroe understands how to create such situations in his mind and explain how science can address our craziest imaginations. I give this book my endorsement, but my biggest endorsement comes from my child. They heard me listening to it in the car and demanded that I look up other books by the author so that we can listen to them from the beginning in the car together. Both a science geek and their freshman-level child give Munroe's work a huge thumb's up. We start the What If? series tomorrow. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #8,421 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3 in Science & Scientists Humor #4 in Science Essays & Commentary (Books) #12 in Trivia (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 7,503 Reviews | ## Images ![How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/714IpYKumwL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My son loves this book! *by M***. on November 15, 2025* A Cub Scout friend of my son had this book on one of our campouts last year, and all of the 5th-grade AOL scouts were clustered around laughing hysterically as they read every page with relish and delight. I knew I had to get it for my son, and it has been a book that he returns to again and again. This book by Randall Munroe of "XKCD" fame is full of wacky and interesting ways to tackle mundane problems. Kids think they're just reading the absurd, but in reality, they're absorbing some great knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. It's so fun, they don't realize they're learning STEM lessons by reading it. It's a must-have for any curious and inventive kid. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Science humor that spans generations *by S***N on November 19, 2025* Ever wonder what it takes to land a plane on top of a train? Or what's the best way to send nuclear waste to the sun? Or how to take a selfie with yourself and the moon? Well, Randall Munroe has answers, filled in a humorous tone. The beauty of how science generalizes - particularly, physics - is how it applies to all sorts of absurd situations. Munroe understands how to create such situations in his mind and explain how science can address our craziest imaginations. I give this book my endorsement, but my biggest endorsement comes from my child. They heard me listening to it in the car and demanded that I look up other books by the author so that we can listen to them from the beginning in the car together. Both a science geek and their freshman-level child give Munroe's work a huge thumb's up. We start the What If? series tomorrow. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ How To Make Science Fun Again *by M***Y on April 27, 2023* As someone who loves science but often finds traditional science books dry and boring, I was immediately drawn to "How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems" by Randall Munroe. Munroe, the creator of the popular webcomic XKCD, is known for his ability to make science accessible and entertaining. And he doesn't disappoint with this book. The premise of "How To" is simple: Munroe takes common everyday problems and offers up absurd and hilarious scientific solutions. Want to move your house? Why not attach rockets to it? Need to get rid of a spider? Why not use a flamethrower? The ideas may be outlandish, but they're based on real science and Munroe explains the principles behind them in a way that's both informative and entertaining. One of the things I love about this book is that it doesn't shy away from complex scientific concepts. Munroe dives deep into topics like thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and optics, but he does so in a way that's accessible to everyone. He uses humor and witty analogies to explain difficult ideas, making them not only understandable but also memorable. But "How To" isn't just a book about science. It's also a book about creativity and problem-solving. Munroe encourages readers to think outside the box and to approach problems with a scientific mindset. He shows that science can be fun and that even the most absurd ideas can lead to innovative solutions. The illustrations in "How To" are also worth mentioning. Munroe's simple, minimalist style is both charming and effective. His diagrams and charts are clear and easy to understand, even when dealing with complex concepts. Overall, "How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems" is a delightful read that will appeal to anyone with an interest in science or a sense of humor. Munroe's unique perspective and writing style make science fun again, and his book is sure to inspire readers to approach problems in a new and creative way. I highly recommend it. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pt/products/103947620-how-to-absurd-scientific-advice-for-common-real-world-problems](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/103947620-how-to-absurd-scientific-advice-for-common-real-world-problems) --- *Product available on Desertcart Portugal* *Store origin: PT* *Last updated: 2026-06-07*