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WTF, Evolution?!: A Theory of Unintelligible Design Paperback – Oct. 7 2014

by Mara Grunbaum (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 175 ratings
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We all have our off days. Why should Evolution be any different? Maybe Evolution got carried away with an idea that was just a little too crazy―like having the Regal Horned Lizard defend itself by shooting three-foot streams of blood from its eyes. Or maybe Evolution ran out of steam (Memo to Evolution: The Irrawaddy Dolphin looks like a prototype that should have been left on the drawing board). Or maybe Evolution was feeling cheeky―a fish with hands? Joke’s on you, Red Handfish! Or maybe Evolution simply goofed up: How else to explain the overgrown teeth of the babirusas that curl backward over their face? Oops.

Mara Grunbaum is a very smart, very funny science writer who celebrates the best―or, really, the worst―of Evolution’s blunders. Here are more than 100 outlandish mammals, reptiles, insects, fish, birds, and other creatures whose very existence leaves us shaking our heads and muttering WTF?! Ms. Grunbaum’s especially brilliant stroke is to personify Evolution as a well-meaning but somewhat oblivious experimenter whose conversations with a skeptical narrator are hilarious.

For almost 4 billion years, Evolution has produced a nonstop parade of inflatable noses, bizarre genitalia, and seriously awkward necks. What a comedian!

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Workman Publishing Company
  4. Publication date
    Oct. 7 2014
  5. Dimensions
    20.32 x 1.91 x 15.24 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0761180346
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0761180340
  8. See all details
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Product description

Review

“Hilarious and surprisingly trenchant.”
–Wired

About the Author

Mara Grunbaum is a science writer and editor who’s covered everything from the biology of whiskers to mining palladium on the moon. Her work has appeared in Popular Science, Discover magazine, OnEarth, ScientificAmerican.com, and other publications and websites. She is a graduate of New York University’s master’s program in Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Workman Publishing Company (Oct. 7 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0761180346
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0761180340
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 380 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 20.32 x 1.91 x 15.24 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 175 ratings

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  1. Mara Grunbaum

    Mara Grunbaum

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
175 global ratings

Top reviews from Canada

Eric Reid
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful pictures, wonderfully witty commentary!
Reviewed in Canada on October 4, 2016
Verified Purchase
Absolutely, wonderfully weird. Most books disappoint on one level or another and the only complaint I have about this book is that Mara spends just a bit too little time on each mistakenly beautiful creature. Although you could read it easily in one sitting, this is the type of book you'll come back to, randomly flipping to a page just to ensure you've had at least one good laugh for the day. An animal lover will recognize almost all of the crazy looking mutations that actually work for the animal, but the author approaches them from a fresh perspective: an educated and educational foray into the strange and beautiful world of evolution and how seemingly bizarre and potentially deadly displays are actually marvelously well-adapted organisms. A great way to introduce children to science and evolution and a big WTF to the whole process. The title is somewhat misleading as Mara shows that no matter how strange, the "unintelligible design" is actually intelligible and not design at all. Thank you for this great book and I look forward to WTF2. =)
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Julian G.
5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, snarky, and all-round humorous
Reviewed in Canada on June 2, 2015
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I originally discovered the Tumblr that preceded the creation of this book, and I always got a good chuckle out of reading the new posts. Anyone with an appreciation for the weird and wacky world of nature and some of the bizarre products of evolution will surely find this book amusing. It's a great coffee table book. OBVIOUSLY this book isn't targeted towards children given "WTF" is in its title, but the content is not riddled with bathroom humour and foul language doesn't run rampant. Thus, pay no heed to the reviewer who thought this book warranted demerits due to its lack of appropriateness towards all age groups; although, likely even 12 year-olds will find this book funny.
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t.rex
5.0 out of 5 stars perfect
Reviewed in Canada on August 29, 2018
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daughter loves it
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Jay R.
4.0 out of 5 stars Amusing, quips are pretty spot on
Reviewed in Canada on December 9, 2018
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It is a good gift for nature lovers with a sense of humour. I am enjoying this a lot but think the subjects could have been chosen a bit better. Some of these went over a lot better on the WTF Evolution website because there they were able to include a video - some of that gets lost in translation when there's only a picture available.
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Alex
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on October 8, 2015
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Hilarious! I gave it to my 16 year old sister and she loves it.
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JS
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on December 21, 2014
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Really funny and informative.
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Daryl
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in Canada on February 13, 2015
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not for kids
One person found this helpful
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FB
4.0 out of 5 stars Great fun
Reviewed in Canada on November 6, 2015
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If only the language were a little less colourful, it would be a great gift for kids.
As it is, it's great fun for teens and up.
And educational to boot.
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Top reviews from other countries

Aditya Rao
5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!
Reviewed in India on July 13, 2018
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I love this book! It's a great conversation starter piece tonhave on your coffee table :D
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S. Snipes
5.0 out of 5 stars Bought 2 of them
Reviewed in Italy on May 15, 2016
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These make for great gifts. I got one for myself, one for my brother. They're really well printed, and if you like the site, this is a nice thing to have around. If you're unsure, visit the website [ ... ] and get a sense of the humor.
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Gavin and Alice
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, funny, educational and enlightening.
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2014
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The book presents around 101 unusual real-world creatures that are the product of billions of years of evolution. The most bizarre looking and behaving animals (and a few plants) that the author could find. I was impressed because nearrly half the species in the book were ones I'd never heard of before, so it was pretty exciting to see all these creatures that look like something from an Avatar movie sequel but which are actually real.

It's presented mostly as a dialog with an anthropomorphized Evolution. Here's an example of the style:

"New idea!"
"Mm hmm.
"Floppy, inflatable nose... ON AN ANTELOPE!"
"Evolution, are you taking this seriously at all?"

This actually isn't as annoying as you might think, and the text is well written. It's light and silly and makes the book completely approachable to someone who might otherwise get bored reading a bunch of details that might be interesting only to a scientist. Just don't expect a serious scientific work. This is a picture book that basically makes fun of funny-looking animals.

There are also short chapter introductions (the book is roughly organized into groups like "Awkward Solutions", "Dirty Jokes", etc.) and the occasional fact-boxes with greater detail about a creature's evolutionary oddity.

In case you're wondering, this is a pro-evolution book in that the author clearly believes in evolution and is not making fun of the idea of evolution itself. That said, you could change the word Evolution to God throughout the book and it would be just as funny.

The pictures are very good and the quality of the printing is excellent. It's about 270 pages long so there's more content than you usually get in this sort of cutesy "gift book", and there's at least some re-readability for wanting to look up "oh yeah, what was that weird creature again?".

Kids will LOVE all the pictures of funny animals. They do tend to point out the exotic mating habits and and genitalia features of creatures here and there (and no shortage of "ha, ha, it looks like a PENIS" creatures) so be prepared to gloss over or explain those possibly embarrassing questions that will result. But really there's not TOO much of that in the book.

So I give it 4.5 stars (rounding up to 5) and I'm glad I bought it.

G.
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Nadège21
5.0 out of 5 stars Laughed myself to the floor
Reviewed in France on September 16, 2015
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I bought this book for my brother for Christmas and had so much fun going over it with him that I got another one for myself. Loved the blog, love the book.
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Mette Soeby
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2015
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soooo funny!! I almost killed my mom with it, she couldn't stop laughing :)
One person found this helpful
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