Einstein's Refrigerator : And Other Stories From the Flip Side of History

Steve Silverman was looking for a way to add some spice to his high school lectures when he realized that weird and bizarre true-life stories would capture his students' attention. In fact, they worked so well that the science teacher then began posting his discoveries to his own Web site, which he dubbed Useless Information . Well-researched and clearly sourced, Silverman's unusual tidbits have gained a wide following. In Einstein's Refrigerator , Silverman collects more than 30 of the most fascinating stories he has gathered--tales of forgotten genius, great blunders, and incredible feats of survival, as well as answers to puzzling questions. Einstein's Refrigerator is a remarkable book with spellbinding stories. Whatever happened to the refrigerator Einstein helped invent? While it never became a commercial success, its underlying concepts became the basis for cooling nuclear breeder reactors. KLIATT Want some useless information? Log onto www.uselessinformation.org, a Yahoo! Site of the Week. Here is a collection of bizarre true stories used by Steve Silverman, who teaches earth science, physics, and computer science at Chatham High School in New York. He found that students became curious and excited about science and history when reading about Mike the headless chicken (photo provided), John Hanson (the first President of the United States), Joshua Norton (our first and only emperor), Hedy Lamarr (actress and inventor), and Joseph Pujol, who made a living passing gas. He imitated voices, sound effects, and even played musical scores. Silverman's collection is fun and informative and useless. It is sure to be a hit. KLIATT Codes: JSA—Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2001, Andrews McMeel, 183p., $9.95. Ages 13 to adult. Reviewer: Janet Julian; English Teacher, Retired, Grafton H.S., Grafton, M , November 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 6) Useless—and fascinating—information from the man with “the reputation as the science teacher with 1,000 different stories to excite young minds” (ABC News). Steve Silverman was looking for a way to add some spice to his high school lectures when he realized that weird and bizarre true-life stories would capture his students'attention. In fact, they worked so well that the science teacher then began posting his discoveries to his own Web site, which he dubbed Useless Information. Well-researched and clearly sourced, Silverman's unusual tidbits have gained a wide following. In Einstein's Refrigerator, Silverman collects more than thirty of the most fascinating stories he has gathered—tales of forgotten genius, great blunders, and incredible feats of survival, as well as answers to puzzling questions. Einstein's Refrigerator is a remarkable book with spellbinding stories. Whatever happened to the refrigerator Einstein helped invent? While it never became a commercial success, its underlying concepts became the basis for cooling nuclear breeder reactors. Steve Silverman was looking for a way to add some spice to his high school lectures when he realized that weird and bizarre true-life stories would capture his students' attention. In fact, they worked so well that the science teacher then began posting his discoveries to his own Web site, which he dubbed Useless Information . Well-researched and clearly sourced, Silverman's unusual tidbits have gained a wide following. In Einstein's Refrigerator , Silverman collects more than 30 of the most fascinating stories he has gathered--tales of forgotten genius, great blunders, and incredible feats of survival, as well as answers to puzzling questions. Einstein's Refrigerator is a remarkable book with spellbinding stories. Whatever happened to the refrigerator Einstein helped invent? While it never became a commercial success, its underlying concepts became the basis for cooling nuclear breeder reactors. Steve Silverman was looking for a way to add some spice to his high school lectures when he realized that weird and bizarre true-life stories would capture his students' attention. In fact, they worked so well that the science teacher then began posting his discoveries to his own Web site, which he dubbed Useless Information. Well-researched and clearly sourced, Silverman's unusual tidbits have gained a wide following. In Einstein's Refrigerator, Silverman collects more than 30 of the most fascinating stories he has gathered -- tales of forgotten genius, great blunders, and incredible feats of survival, as well as answers to puzzling questions. Einstein's Refrigerator is a remarkable book with spellbinding stories. Whatever happened to the refrigerator Einstein helped invent? While it never became a commercial success, its underlying concepts became the basis for cooling nuclear breeder reactors Presents strange-but-true stories about such topics as a headless chicken that lived eighteen months, Albert Einstein's designs for refrigerators, and how a Donald Duck cartoon saved a ship