''Imponderables'', or ''Mysteries of Everyday Life Explained'', is a series of illustrated reference books by David Feldman written in
FAQ
A frequently asked questions (FAQ) list is often used in articles, websites, email lists, and online forums where common questions tend to recur, for example through posts or queries by new users related to common knowledge gaps. The purpose of a ...
format. The series was published by imprints of
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
from 1986 to 1993,
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...
from 1995 to 1996, and HarperCollins from 2004 to 2006.
Premise
The books examine, investigate, and explain common, yet puzzling phenomena. Examples include: "Why do your eyes hurt when you are tired?", "Why do judges wear black robes?", and "Why do you rarely see purple Christmas lights?", among many others. The word "imponderable" is used to describe such mysteries of everyday life. The books are organized in a
FAQ
A frequently asked questions (FAQ) list is often used in articles, websites, email lists, and online forums where common questions tend to recur, for example through posts or queries by new users related to common knowledge gaps. The purpose of a ...
format.
Additional chapters explore ''Frustables'', defined as ''Imponderables'' that are uniquely frustrating because they lack a clear answer. Some of the recurring ''Frustables'' are:
* Why do you so often see
one shoe lying along the side of the road?
*
Why do the English drive on the left and most other countries on the right?
* Why do American women shave their armpits?
* Why do doctors have such messy handwriting?
Volumes
Not all volumes include a number stamp. HarperCollins assigned each edition more than one ISBN, therefore the numbers listed below may not be the first edition.
Revised volumes
Feldman significantly revised two volumes for HarperCollins in 2004. They were released alongside reprints of other volumes with new titles.
''Who Put the Butter in Butterfly?''
In 1989, Feldman explored a number of idiosyncratic features of the English language in ''Who Put the Butter in Butterfly?''.
The volume was not published as part of the ''Imponderables'' series by HarperCollins, however the book design and text formatting of paperback editions is identical to other volumes.
See also
* ''
The Answer Man'' – Radio program that ran from 1937 to 1956
* "
The Straight Dope
''The Straight Dope'' was a question-and-answer newspaper column written under the pseudonym Cecil Adams. Contributions were made by multiple authors, and it was illustrated (also pseudonymously) by Slug Signorino. It was first published in 197 ...
" – Newspaper column and companion books published from 1973 to 2018
Notes
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://imponderables.com/ (no longer maintained)
Publications established in 1986
Trivia books
Book series
HarperCollins books