The Technology Behind Everyday Appliances

Children's Literature - Heidi Hauser Green

Have you ever wondered how a screw works? How a toilet functions? Why an iron uses water? How a cell phone works? These and nine other questions about common appliances are answered in the pages of this book. Author Nicholas Brasch takes on microwave ovens, liquid paper (sometimes called "White Out"), post-it notes, refrigerators, can openers, nonstick frying pans, light bulbs (incandescent and fluorescent), zippers, and more. He devotes two pages of text to each "appliance," exploring intriguing aspects such as how it was invented and how it functions. Some authorial or editorial decisions are perplexing. For example, "appliances" seems not to be defined, although "devices" is—twice. Also, while the passage about how can openers work provides an interesting discussion of wedges and levers, it fails to acknowledge can openers that don't cut metal lids but bend them apart, another application of wedge and lever technology. Like the other books in "The Technology Behind" series, this book features a colorful format and abundance of information. Illustrations are full-color photographs or drawings, and these appear on every page. Vocabulary words are printed in bold throughout the text, with definitions provided in "Word Watch" blocks on each page. "Web Watch" blocks on each page provide between one and three web addresses of resources with additional information. The web pages cited in this text are predominantly from howstuffworks.com, a popular web resource. Strangely, some of the URLs are very specific while others are quite general; still, this should not affect their usefulness. It's a shame this resource provides no list of books for additional information. All in all, this is a basic introduction to several common appliances. Reviewer: Heidi Hauser Green