“Cool! I knew it“has finally become a book! Inside you will find 25 chapters between science, history and practical advice for looking at the objects that surround us with new eyes: from microwaves to airbags, from vinyl records to soap.
The idea behind this project was born almost by chance. Some time ago I discovered that, in 2014, a nuclear waste repository in the United States was closed for years due to a cat littera material that we think we know very well. More than the incident itself, it struck me that no one had ever stopped to ask how that litter box actually worked. It probably seemed too trivial an object to deserve attention.
This is where my book was born: Cool! I didn’t know – Everyday things you only half knowpublished by Ciaopeople. You can find it on Amazon and, if you like, I’d love to receive your review, so I can know what you think.
If you follow Geopop, the name will sound familiar. Cool! I knew it it was born as a series of videos then, thanks to those who watched them, it grew to become a page in itself. Now I have brought it to paper, with the same goal: to take the things you use every day without thinking about it, dismantle them and make you see them from another perspective.
I chose 25 items: from the mocha to the tyres, from the escalators to the washing machine, up to the Rubik’s cube and fiber optics. But how well do you know them, really? Do you know why on escalators there are always brushes on the sides of the steps? And why are the tires black? Or why does the flame under the moka have to remain low? Yes, that very mocha that you prepare every morning convinced that you are a coffee master.
If you hesitated even on an answer, don’t worry: you are in excellent company. I too, before I started digging, knew much less than I thought. And the more I dug, the more absurd stories I found. The bills you have in your wallet, for example, aren’t made of the paper you imagine. The lenses of your glasses are most likely not glass. Fiber optic cables on the ocean floor, in addition to bringing the internet to your home, can even “feel” earthquakes. And the Rubik’s cube that you have never managed to solve has so many combinations that, to try them all, the age of the universe would not be enough.
The part I care most about, however, is that practice. In addition to the anecdotes to show off at dinner (and you will find many), I wanted the book left you something capable of change your habits from the next day, in the kitchen, in the car or in front of the washing machine. You’ll realize how many things you’ve been doing wrong for years, but don’t worry: I’ve been there too.
You can find science in your kitchen, in your wallet, on the escalator you take every morning with your eyes fixed on your phone. Just stop for a moment and look at them.
Happy reading. And be prepared to say, page after page: Cool! I knew it.
