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The stickers are cheesy and stupid, but that doesn't detract from the book. It's funny read from cover to cover. But, if you need a quick pick-me-up, just flip to a random page for a laugh.
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Did you know that Cheez Whiz of Cool Whip are also substitute shaving creams? How about cleaning your toilet with Gatorade, Country Time Lemonade or Dr. Pepper? It's amazing how many things we eat are also effective for house cleaning. Scope and Baby Oil will keep the flies off your horses, too. M&M's are apparently great bass bait, as well as a tasty snack. Cheez Whiz can also prevent "split ends" in your hair.
Some of the uses will crack you up, other make you say "yuch!" But, this is an amusing read that you will find educational, as well. If you want a good laugh and get new insights of the items you have under the sink, in the fridge or on the can shelf, get this book. You can even play "guess what product I'm talking about" with your wife on a long car ride.
No, I don't think I'll shave with Cheez Whiz anytime soon. Cool Whip, maybe......
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This book is a silly collection of trashy one-liners; each one-liner takes up an entire page. Dumb rumors nobody cares about like "Marilyn Monroe worked in a take-out restaurant before becoming famous".
I was expecting a series of STORIES or REPORTS that would actually teach me something.
Save your money and do not buy this disappointing collection of tabloid cut-and-paste.
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While each project has a set of fascinating "scientific" tidbits & trivia to go with it, the book is almost entirely lacking in helping children understand or use the scientific method or understand much of the basis for what they are doing. This is a "Mad Scientists' Club" handbook, just a several steps short of the Anarchists' Cookbook, but headed in that general direction.
On the other hand, parents may find themselves reliving their own nerdy & awkward years helping their children be "mad scientists." It could be great fun. But keep the book locked up. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing!
Okay, so first graders are a little young to use this book.
Maybe.
My son needed a Show and Tell project. He was anxious to do "science", since a classmate had demonstrated a vinegar and soda "bomb" just recently.
Enter The Mad Scientist Handbook. I accompanied him (as parents often do in his class) and assisted with the preparation. The Green Slime was a huge hit. Even better, my son is interested enough in science to want to do a Science Fair project this year. (We may make a lava lamp, for which instructions are included in this book.)
I can't recommend letting younger kids loose with this book and no supervision. But I can recommend several projects in this book as parent/child projects, or for demonstrations in a classroom full of younger children. The first graders we made Green Slime for now have a little different view of science. (Their wonderful teacher, who is so good at so many things, is uncomfortable with science -- she's convinced she's not able to teach it well, and she's not terribly inspiring in that one realm.) Maybe some of these children will keep on thinking science is fun for years to come.
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Nowadays with the number of lawsuits by inept consumers injured by certain products, manufacturers are forced to put "idiot-proof" warning labels on their products.
Contains information about the famous McDonald's coffee incident and subsequent lawsuit.