Weird Science!
Books
Simon & Schuster
The future is here…in an adventure of cosmic dimension. When a signal is discovered that seems to come from far beyond our solar system, a multinational team of scientists decides to find the source. What follows is an eye-opening journey out to the stars to the most awesome encounter in human history. Who—or what—is out there? Why are they watching us? And what do they want with us?
Simon and Schuster
Paperback
Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * Starred Booklist and Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year
“Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk did for raptors.” —New Statesman, UK
“One of the best science books of the year.” —Science Friday, NPR
Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans.
In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food.
Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.
Harper Collins
Paperback
From registered nurse and public health advocate Sana Goldberg, RN, a timely, accessible, and comprehensive handbook to navigating common medical situations. From the routine to the unexpected, How to Be a Patient is your ultimate guide to better healthcare.
Did you know that patients have statistically better outcomes when their surgeon is female? That you can mark-up an informed consent sheet before you sign it, or get second opinions on CTs and MRIs? That there’s a blue book for healthcare procedures, or an algorithm to decide between ER, Urgent Care, and waiting-until-Monday?
In How to Be a Patient, nurse and public health advocate Sana Goldberg walks readers through the complicated and uncertain medical landscape, illuminating a path to better care.
Warm and disarmingly honest, Goldberg’s advice is as expert as it is accessible. In the face of an epidemic of brusque, impersonal care she empowers readers with the information and tools to come to good decisions with their providers and sidestep the challenging realities of modern medicine.
With sections like When All is Well, When It’s An Emergency, When It’s Your Person, and When You Have to Stand Up to the Industry, along with appendices to help track family history, avoid pointless medical tests, and choose when and where to undergo a procedure, How to Be a Patient is an invaluable and essential guide for a new generation of patients.
W.W. Norton
Hardcover
The essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist.
What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There’s no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson.
But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.
While you wait for your morning coffee to brew, for the bus, the train, or a plane to arrive, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will reveal just what you need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe.
Harper Collins
Paperback
New York Times Bestseller
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”
One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?
Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.
Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?
Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem
Macmillan Publishers
Paperback
A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes
Over the last half-billion years, there have been Five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In prose that is at once frank, entertaining, and deeply informed, New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. Interweaving research in half a dozen disciplines, descriptions of the fascinating species that have already been lost, and the history of extinction as a concept, Kolbert provides a moving and comprehensive account of the disappearances occurring before our very eyes. She shows that the sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Paperback
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was first published in three serialized excerpts in the New Yorker in June of 1962. The book appeared in September of that year and the outcry that followed its publication forced the banning of DDT and spurred revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. Carson’s passionate concern for the future of our planet reverberated powerfully throughout the world, and her eloquent book was instrumental in launching the environmental movement. It is without question one of the landmark books of the twentieth century.
Harper Collins
Paperback
A gifted surgeon illuminates one of the most profound, awe-inspiring, and deeply affecting achievements of modern day medicine—the movement of organs between bodies—in this exceptional work of death and life that takes its place besides Atul Gawande’s Complications, Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies, and Jerome Groopman’s How Doctors Think.
At the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Joshua Mezrich creates life from loss, transplanting organs from one body to another. In this intimate, profoundly moving work, he illuminates the extraordinary field of transplantation that enables this kind of miracle to happen every day.
When Death Becomes Life is a thrilling look at how science advances on a grand scale to improve human lives. Mezrich examines more than one hundred years of remarkable medical breakthroughs, connecting this fascinating history with the inspiring and heartbreaking stories of his transplant patients. Combining gentle sensitivity with scientific clarity, Mezrich reflects on his calling as a doctor and introduces the modern pioneers who made transplantation a reality—maverick surgeons whose feats of imagination, bold vision, and daring risk taking generated techniques and practices that save millions of lives around the world.
Mezrich takes us inside the operating room and unlocks the wondrous process of transplant surgery, a delicate, intense ballet requiring precise timing, breathtaking skill, and at times, creative improvisation. In illuminating this work, Mezrich touches the essence of existence and what it means to be alive. Most physicians fight death, but in transplantation, doctors take from death. Mezrich shares his gratitude and awe for the privilege of being part of this transformative exchange as the dead give their last breath of life to the living. After all, the donors are his patients, too.
When Death Becomes Life also engages in fascinating ethical and philosophical debates: How much risk should a healthy person be allowed to take to save someone she loves? Should a patient suffering from alcoholism receive a healthy liver? What defines death, and what role did organ transplantation play in that definition? The human story behind the most exceptional medicine of our time, Mezrich’s riveting book is a beautiful, poignant reminder that a life lost can also offer the hope of a new beginning.
Penguin
Paperback
When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third. Thus began a singular adventure into various altered states of consciousness, along with a dive deep into both the latest brain science and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Pollan sifts the historical record to separate the truth about these mysterious drugs from the myths that have surrounded them since the 1960s, when a handful of psychedelic evangelists inadvertently catalyzed a powerful backlash against what was then a promising field of research.
A unique and elegant blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, How to Change Your Mind is a triumph of participatory journalism. By turns dazzling and edifying, it is the gripping account of a journey to an exciting and unexpected new frontier in our understanding of the mind, the self, and our place in the world. The true subject of Pollan’s “mental travelogue” is not just psychedelic drugs but also the eternal puzzle of human consciousness and how, in a world that offers us both suffering and joy, we can do our best to be fully present and find meaning in our lives.
Random House
Paperback
Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. In clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Featuring a new Introduction by Sagan’s collaborator, Ann Druyan, full color illustrations, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science.
Random House
Paperback
From the best-selling author of Gratitude and On the Move, a final volume of essays that showcase Sacks’s broad range of interests—from his passion for ferns, swimming, and horsetails, to his final case histories exploring schizophrenia, dementia, and Alzheimer’s.
Oliver Sacks, scientist and storyteller, is beloved by readers for his neurological case histories and his fascination and familiarity with human behavior at its most unexpected and unfamiliar. Everything in Its Place is a celebration of Sacks’s myriad interests, told with his characteristic compassion and erudition, and in his luminous prose.
Random House
Paperback
To many people, hallucinations imply madness, but in fact they are a common part of the human experience. These sensory distortions range from the shimmering zigzags of a visual migraine to powerful visions brought on by fever, injuries, drugs, sensory deprivation, exhaustion, or even grief. Hallucinations doubtless lie behind many mythological traditions, literary inventions, and religious epiphanies. Drawing on his own experiences, a wealth of clinical cases from among his patients, and famous historical examples ranging from Dostoevsky to Lewis Carroll, the legendary neurologist Oliver Sacks investigates the mystery of these sensory deceptions: what they say about the working of our brains, how they have influenced our folklore and culture, and why the potential for hallucination is present in us all.
Random House
Paperback
To these seven narratives of neurological disorder Dr. Sacks brings the same humanity, poetic observation, and infectious sense of wonder that are apparent in his bestsellers Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. These men, women, and one extraordinary child emerge as brilliantly adaptive personalities, whose conditions have not so much debilitated them as ushered them into another reality.
Penguin Books
Paperback
Oliver Sacks’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.
If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales remain, in Dr. Sacks’s splendid and sympathetic telling, deeply human. They are studies of life struggling against incredible adversity, and they enable us to enter the world of the neurologically impaired, to imagine with our hearts what it must be to live and feel as they do. A great healer, Sacks never loses sight of medicine’s ultimate responsibility: “the suffering, afflicted, fighting human subject.”
Random House
Paperback
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Entertainment Weekly • O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • Financial Times • New York • Independent (U.K.) • Times (U.K.) • Publishers Weekly • Library Journal • Kirkus Reviews • Booklist • Globe and Mail
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.
Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.
Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.
Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance?
Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover
Ages 3+
Pluto loves being a planet. That is, until the day he gets a call from some Earth scientists telling him he isn’t a planet anymore! You probably wanted to meet a real planet, huh? So, Pluto takes the reader on a hilarious and informative journey through the solar system to introduce the other planets and commiserate about his situation along the way. Younger readers will be so busy laughing over Pluto’s interactions with the other planets, asteroids, moons, and even the sun, they won’t even realize just how much they’re learning about our solar system!
Macmillan
Hardcover
Ages 4+
For every child who has ever looked up at the stars and asked, "What are they?" comes the story of a curious boy who never stopped wondering: Carl Sagan.
When Carl Sagan was a young boy he went to the 1939 World's Fair and his life was changed forever. From that day on he never stopped marveling at the universe and seeking to understand it better. Star Stuff follows Carl from his days star gazing from the bedroom window of his Brooklyn apartment, through his love of speculative science fiction novels, to his work as an internationally renowned scientist who worked on the Voyager missions exploring the farthest reaches of space. This book introduces the beloved man who brought the mystery of the cosmos into homes across America to a new generation of dreamers and star gazers.
Cards
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Send your mother or analyst your innermost thoughts with a die-cut Freud greeting card! Comes with an envelope and a sticker sheet filled with quotes from Freud plus traditional messages like "Happy Birthday"
Envelope included. Card is 8.75" tall, and 4" wide. Card will stand upright on a flat surface for display.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
A die-cut note card of Charles Darwin and a monkey pal. Each card comes with an envelope and a sticker sheet filled with funny sayings and quotes plus traditional messages like "Happy Birthday." An evolution in card design!
Envelope included. Card is 8.75" tall, and 4" wide. Card will stand upright on a flat surface for display.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Die-cut. Includes a sticker sheet of quotes and images, with friendly greetings like "Happy Birthday! and "Good Luck!"
Envelope included. Card is 8.75" tall, and 4" wide. Card will stand upright on a flat surface for display.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Die-cut. Includes a sticker sheet of quotes and images, with friendly greetings like "Happy Birthday! and "Good Luck!"
Envelope included. Card is 8.75" tall, and 4" wide. Card will stand upright on a flat surface for display.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Carl Sagan was the Space Age genius whose ideas spanned the "Cosmos" – and invited the rest of us along for the ride. Whether you're star-struck or bound for the stars, this is the card for you. Use it to write an overdue thank-you card to your favorite high school science teacher or a starry-eyed love note to your lab partner.
Each die-cut note card comes with a sticker sheet filled with cosmic images and traditional messages like "Happy Birthday" and "Bon Voyage."
Envelope included. Card is 8.75" tall, and 4" wide. Card will stand upright on a flat surface for display.
Chronicle
This stunning collection of photographs lets fans of NASA, science, and space exploration share the wonders of the cosmos with friends and family. Featuring astonishing images of Earth from above, the phenomena of our solar system, and the celestial bodies of deep space—all paired with informative captions—this collection of 100 different postcards infuses any correspondence with out-of-this-world splendor.
Random House
Collecting the fifty most iconic illustrations from the book Women in Science, this box of 100 postcards is the perfect gift for fans of Rachel Ignotofsky’s work, budding scientists, and anyone who wishes to champion the great contribution women have made to all branches of science. From well-known figures like Marie Curie to unsung heroes like Rachel Carson, these cards are perfect to send as greetings or hang as mini artistic masterworks—and with two sets of each card, there are plenty of cards to go around.
the bird + the beard is Pittsburgh based!
Blank Inside
Size: 4.25”x 5.5”.
the bird + the beard is Pittsburgh based!
Blank Inside
Size: 4.25”x 5.5”.
Figures
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
A Freud puppet! Think of the fun! He's magnetic, so he sticks to the fridge when the show's done! Puppets
Each of our magnetic personality finger puppets bears the likeness of one historical, literary, political, or pop-culture figure. They double as delightful fridge magnets thanks to the magnet in their heads. Every puppet comes with a removable fold out tag that displays a portrait, a quote, and a brief summary of that character or historical figure's life and major contributions.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
On your finger it's a puppet, on your fridge it's a magnet!
Approximately 4" tall.
Comes with a removable tag with a portrait, quotes, and achievements.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Erwin Schrodinger postulated that a cat, under certain conditions, could be both alive and dead simultaneously. We're not certain if this is possible, but we DO know that a finger puppet can be both ridiculous and educational at the the same time.
On your finger it's a puppet! Our unique Magnetic Personality plush puppets are great for storytelling, puppet theater, fun and funny mock debates, or thumb wrestling matches.
On your fridge it's a magnet! Adorn your refrigerator, locker, or any other metal surface with the greatest and most influential minds of all time.
Each collectible puppet is approximately 4" tall and comes with a removable tag with a portrait, quotes, and achievements list
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
You'll think the 'c' in Einstein's famous equation stands for 'cute' when you play with this adorable finger puppet. On your finger, he's a puppet; on your fridge, he's a magnet; in your puppet collection he's a genius!
Approx. 4" tall.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
We like putting things on our fingers and we know you do too! Introducing the Unemployed Philosophers Guild's Magnet Personalities -- finger puppets in the likenesses of some of the world's greatest thinkers, artists, writers, and political figures. Now you can have inspiration at the tip of your fingers or the front of your fridge.
Carl Sagan was an astronomer, educator, and skeptic who championed the search for extraterrestrial life.
This finger puppet can help you explain the latest scientific ideas about astronomy and rocket science, or – since it’s also a magnet – it can hang out on your locker as you solve the problems of nuclear winter and global warming. Either way, you’ll have our undivided attention. ...
Brand new with hang tag
Size: 4 inches tall
Magnetic
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Show your devotion to Nikola Telsa, the patron saint of inventors, earthquakes, and the fastidious, with this colorful votive! This candle will look great next to your cell phone charger. Give one to your favorite pigeon!
Secular Saints candles are dedicated to cultural icons you can believe in. The front of each candle features the saint's image. The back of the candle shows their patronage, saint's day, and a unique prayer to inspire and enlighten. UPG's Secular Saints votives are guaranteed to grant your desires ("I need romantic lighting") and aid the powerless ("I need light until the power comes back on").
8" tall, 2" diameter.
Little Scientist
Kikkerland
Window-mount rainbow maker that casts rainbows around the room
Solar panel powers the unit to revolve and refract light in all directions
Genuine Swarovski crystal creates maximum rainbow effect
Great for cheering up a room; enchanting for adults, children, and animals
Comes with suction cup or wire hanger; measures 6 by 1 by 2 inches
Kikkerland
Light up the world and your bedroom or hallway with this moon night light. Realistic three dimensional printed photo. Manual on/off switch. 7-watt bulb included.
House of Marbles
Part of our range of Junior Adventurer products for the curious mind.
These binoculars are great for budding birdwatchers & mini secret agents. Kids will love this high quality set which will enable them to spot all sorts from a distance. Beware: Could cause mayhem!
12 x 12 x 5 cms
House of Marbles
Part of our range of Junior Adventurer range of products for the curious mind.
A lovely pocket or mini microscope with 55 x magnification and an LED light. Fascinating discoveries can be had with this essential piece of educational kit. Don’t forget to explore the rest of the Junior Adventurer range which includes binoculars, a compass, magnifying glass and a lantern.
Contains 3 very small batteries.
Box measures approx: 9 x 5 x 3 cms
Toysmith
From cleaning a bedroom to playing with other toys these toy grabbers with multiple hand types make it fun to pick up, organizer, or just play some goofy games.
As a kid there’s nothing more fun than pretending you have a super long arm to pick up cups, toys, or stuff in your room when you have those long toy grabber toys.
Toysmith
Recreate a lunar landing in your kitchen with the 4M Zero Gravity Fridge Rover. The gravity defying Fridge Rover will move over any magnetic surface with amazing ease. All you have to do is wind it up and watch it go. Inside the Rover's clockwork mechanism is a coiled spring that winds more tightly as you turn the handle; this stores energy in the spring (potential energy). When you let go, the spring uncoils, releasing the energy again and making the wheels turn (kinetic energy).
Toysmith
Create your own star projector using the contents of this kit. Includes northern and southern hemispheres, 4.5 inch diameter lamp, star charts and instructions.
Toysmith
Submerge the 4½” dinosaur egg in water for 12-24 hours and watch the dinosaur hatch. Fully grown dinosaurs reach nearly 12” in size! Assorted dinosaurs.
Toysmith
Grow crystals right before your eyes over the course of a few days with this scientific kit. A great science experiment, this hands-on project is a great lesson in crystal formation.
This kit contains everything you need to grow amazing crystals including crystal formula, base rock, growing tray, magnifying glass, spatula, and detailed instructions.
Give the gift of science with toys and gadgets that foster curiosity and encourage scientific learning.
Made using safe and high quality materials, this product is designed to last.
Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Colors may vary
Toysmith
Create and electrifying buzz as you toss these powerful hematite magnets into the air. Set of two 2-1/2" magnets packaged on a blister card.
Accoutrements
Experience the amazing full color spectrum! Makes a great, wacky gift!
Educational as well as fun, our 4 1/2-inches wide plastic prism comes on an illustrated blistercard with interesting facts about color, light and refraction.
Measures about 5/8-inch tall x 4 1/2-inches wide x 1 1/4-inches long.
Toysmith
Decorate walls, lockers, or just about anything with this set of glow in the dark plastic stars. Set includes sixteen stars of assorted sizes, from 1.5 to 3.5 inches. Adhesive included. 3+
Toysmith
Eat like an Astronaut with the freeze dried ice cream sandwich.
Ready to eat. No re-hydration necessary.
Available in NEOPOLITAN or VANILLA flavor.
100% real ice cream.
No refrigeration needed, and a three-year shelf life means these snacks can go anywhere.
Made in the USA.
Note: Inside pouch, product paper is slit to facilitate the freeze-drying process. Your ice cream may be a little bit broken. That’s okay! Breakage naturally occurs during the freeze-drying process and does not negatively impact the product.
Toysmith
A detailed, oversized astronaut of epic stretch capability. Reach for the stars with a stretch! Always returns to its original shape and size. Stands 8" tall unstretched. Stretches up to 24".
Minimum Age: 3 years
Mugs
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
The universe is filled with stars, and so is UPG’s Golden Constellations mug. You can sit with a cool beverage and let your imagination draw figures in the sky… or add hot water and watch 11 lovely hand-rendered illustrations appear:
Andromeda Cassiopeia Gemini Hercules Orion Perseus Sagittarius Scorpius Taurus Ursa Major Ursa Minor
Whether you prefer your heavens dappled or constellated, our Golden Constellation mug makes every beverage elegant.
12 oz / 350mL. Microwave safe, not dishwasher safe.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Dinosaurs once ruled the entire planet. (Now they only rule the House of Representatives.) Thanks to this clever Disappearing Dino Mug, you can watch eons pass before your eyes over a cup of coffee.
The mug shows a prehistoric landscape populated by fierce dinosaurs. When you pour in a hot beverage, the eons pass before your eyes as the dinosaurs transform into fossils in a museum exhibition. Now, finally, you will know what killed off the dinosaurs. It was YOU!
Holds 14 oz / 400mL.
Disappearing mugs are not dishwasher safe but are microwave safe.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Since you can't actually listen to a mathematics greatest hits album, we decided to create the next best thing – meet the Math Mug. It's a deep black ceramic mug covered with some of history's most famous and important mathematical formulas. You get gems such as Newton's Second Law, Planck's Equation, Hubble's Law, the Fourier Transform, and the mother of all equations, Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. The Math Mug is covered with formulas, making it a superb gift for any mathematician, physicist, or math teacher. All in all, it adds up to a pretty terrific coffee mug.
Holds 14 oz / 400mL. Dishwasher and microwave safe.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Here are two gorgeous Moon portraits – the "magnificent desolation" of the Near Side and the mysterious terrain of Far Side. When the mug is cold, you see the Moon(s) against a sea of black. Add a steaming beverage and watch the mug transform, revealing the names of Apollo missions, astronauts, landing sites, and milestones.
"We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace, and hope for all mankind."
14 oz / 400mL.
Disappearing mugs are not dishwasher safe but are microwave safe.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Pore over your pour-over! This mug features beautiful original portraits of our solar system, and every time you enjoy a hot cup of coffee or cocoa, you can learn about each planet. As 19th century astronomer Maria Mitchell wrote, "You cannot study anything persistently for years without becoming learned..."
Holds 12 oz / 250mL. Transforming mugs are not dishwasher safe but are microwave safe.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
When you add hot water, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Lieutenant Uhura, and Dr. McCoy leave the Transporter Room on one side of the mug and materialize to explore the planet surface on the other side of the mug. Energize!
Holds 14 oz / 400mL. Disappearing mugs are not dishwasher safe but are microwave safe.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
50 years of Star Trek starships. 50 years of space exploration. It's been a half-century since the five-year mission that created a lasting legacy.
This mug features a unique design of starships – with their captains and registries – from all the classic television series:
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Do you know a Star Trek fan who doesn't have one yet?
Make it so.
Holds 12 oz / 350mL. of bloodwine or tea (Earl Grey, hot). Dishwasher and microwave safe.
Novelties
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Freud’s Oral Fixation is the lip balm you desire. (That sounded more profound in the original German.) Begins cooling and soothing in the time it takes to say “subliminal.” You’ll feel better after your first session.
Net Wt .15 oz (4.25 g)
[eucalyptus mint]
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American scientist, inventor, and polyglot. He was also a man so far ahead of his time that present-day technologies are still catching up with his ideas.
Why not pop a couple of Nikola Tesla’s Experimints in your mouth? Even if you don't experience a sudden epiphany you’ll have the minty fresh breath of a genius.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Albert Einstein, the later-life vegetarian, is now a smart ceramic décor accent. It’s the perfect place to plant a lovely little Mammillaria elongata 'Cristata' – you know, a brain cactus.
UPG’s handsome Fertile Minds ceramic planter pots hold a mini flowerpot – or drop in some pebbles, add potting soil, and sprinkle seeds – or fill with sand and arrange tiny air plants – or surround your succulents with a bed of moss. Go on, make the world more cultivated.
Approx. 3” / 7.5cm deep
Holds flowerpot 2” / 5cm dia.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
The Sigmund Freud planter pot holds a small cactus (for when you’re feeling prickly). Of course, you could always cultivate aromatic herbs if you prefer headier stuff.
UPG’s handsome Fertile Minds ceramic planter pots hold a mini flowerpot – or drop in some pebbles, add potting soil, and sprinkle seeds – or fill with sand and arrange tiny air plants – or surround your succulents with a bed of moss. Go on, make the world more cultivated.
Approx. 3” / 7.5cm deep
Holds flowerpot 2” / 5cm dia.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Mysophobia* got you down? As the good doctor said, "Dirt of any kind seems to us incompatible with civilization." Freudian Soap washes away germs and dirt and it's guaranteed to get your hands cleaner than your conscience.
*not effective against agoraphobia, arachnophobia, or xenophobia
Cucumber olive oil scent.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Contains 100% almond and cocoa butter scented molecules!
WARNING: Do not use as a shampoo. May result in crazy genius hair.
Almond, cocoa butter scent.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Doesn't Uranus belong in your bathroom?
Unscented.
2 oz. / 56 g.
Not tested on animals.
Made in the USA.
Pins
Dissent Pins
Show your support for science and on-time vaccination with our "Thanks, Science" vaccine syringe pin.
50% of profits from this pin are donated to:
Voices for Vaccines
This pin is 2.5" wide and has two pinbacks to hold it in place.
This pin has small parts and is not made for children!
Dissent Pins
Our new I Love Your Mask hard enamel pin is a little positive reinforcement in these trying times. Give those mask-wearers around you a little boost today!
50% of the profits from this pin are donated to organizations supporting essential workers.
Pins are 1.25" wide and have two pinbacks to hold them in place.
These pins have small parts and are not made for children!
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NEW enamel pancreas pin! If you're keen on insulin or can't find something for your diabetic friend, this pancreas pin is just what you need. Insulin for the win!
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Proceeds from the purchase of this item will go to Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania.
Offer your ovaries some extra lovin' with this cute 1.25" lapel pin. Show 'em you've got eggs. This elegant little gland pin comes packed on a card.
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Happy insulin pin will give good cheer when you and your pancreas need a sweet boost. Cute stylized insulin features the amino acid chains that make up this peptide hormone, made in your pancreas. Enamel pin measures 1.25" tall.
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Make your clitoris easy to find by wearing it on your chest! Adorable 1.25" clitoris pin shows the full wishbone shape of this remarkable, fun-loving body part, most of which lies inside a woman's body. Orgasms aren’t just for pussies, people. Made from printed aluminum, packed on an info card.
Unemployed Philosopher’s Guild
"I frequently got on their backs...but I found it very difficult to keep my balance." – Charles Darwin on riding the Galápagos Tortoise
Wear your heart on your sleeve and inspiration on your lapel!
Our colorful die-cast Enamel Pins feature historical figures, cultural icons, and big ideas.
They’re packaged in sets of two with rubber pin backs that really hold on.
Each pair of Enamel Pins not only speaks to each other – they’re made to mix and match and mash-up in hundreds of combinations.
Now your backpack or favorite jacket can join the cultural conversation!
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Who was that masked man?
He left before we could thank him!
Wear a mask!
Wear Dr. Fauci!
Wear Dr. Fauci’s mask!
Wear your heart on your sleeve and inspiration on your lapel!
Our colorful die-cast Enamel Pins feature historical figures, cultural icons, and big ideas.
They’re packaged as a set of three pins with rubber pin backs that really hold on.
Each pair of Enamel Pins not only speaks to each other – they’re made to mix and match and mash-up in hundreds of combinations.
Now your backpack or favorite jacket can join the cultural conversation!
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Nikola Tesla and his famous Tesla Coil – flash but not flashy.
Nikola Tesla colorful die-cast enamel pins with rubber pin backs that really hold on.
Each pin is approx. 1.5 x 1".
Unemployed Philosophers Guild
You won’t have to choose sides with a complete set of five Platonic Solids: Tetrahedron, Cube, Octahedron, Dodecahedron, and Icosahedron.
Platonic Solids colorful die-cast enamel pins with rubber pin backs that really hold on.
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Celebrate this vestigial organ with an adorable appendix lapel pin. This cute little 1.25" long pin is made from durable printed aluminum and comes individually packed on a card.
Your appendix may be gone, but you can wear our appendix pin forever!
Please, contact us for availability if interested:
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When you've got to go, you've got to go -- why not take your bladder along for the ride? Our bladder is just happy urine its thoughts. How about a great gift for your fabulous urologist, huh?
This cute little 1.25" printed aluminum pin comes individually packed on a card.
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Get pumped with this cute little heart lapel pin! This cute gutsy 1.25" pin is made from durable printed aluminum and comes individually packed on a card.
Have a little heart on your jacket or lab coat!
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Give 'em what they need with this articulate fellow, where the femur meets the tibia and fibula.
This fantastic little 1.25" pin is made from durable printed aluminum and comes individually packed on a card.
This knee joint lapel pin also includes bonus ACL! Woohoo!
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Doesn't everyone have a special fondness for liver? Whether you love them, eat them, destroy them, or care for them, livers are the largest and perhaps the coolest of all human organs.
This splendid little 1.25" pin is made from durable printed aluminum and comes individually packed on a card.
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Why not give thanks for the mammaries with this sweet little pin? Let's be real, we're all obsessed with boobs, so why not celebrate it? Get a pair if you want to be anatomically correct.
This cute little 1.25" gland pin is made from durable printed aluminum and comes individually packed on a card.
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Pin this cocky fella to your jacket and watch your spirits rise!
This cute little 1.25" penis lapel pin is made from printed aluminum and comes individually packed on a fun little card.
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Our adorable rectum pin is the ultimate conversation starter! This sweet little 1.25" printed aluminum pin comes individually packed on a card.
Get your favorite colorectal surgeon something he or she will never forget (and maybe never even wear in public)…
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If you can't handle the tooth, then step back! This awesome enamel and faux gold tooth pin features the incisor, cuspid and molar taking care of business with a little dental floss and some serious brushing.
Show your pearly whites some respect or thank your dentist for all they do to make you smile.
This cute little 1.25" soft enamel pin is made from zinc alloy and comes packed on a decorative card.
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Once you have your tonsils removed, you might need a cute replacement -- how about this one?
It just wants to jump back into your mouth and behave.
This sweet little 1.25" printed aluminum pin comes individually packed on a card.
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Wear your uterus on the outside with this cute lapel pin, just the thing to slap on your bag or jacket.
Share your uterine pride with friends, or gift one to your gynecologist.
This cute little 1.25" organ pin comes individually packed on a card.
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It's your own personal vadge of honor!
This marvelous little 1.25" printed aluminum pin comes individually packed on a card.
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Ouija Planchette pin 1.25" in size, made of hard enamel and silver plating with single post black rubber backers.
Plush Guts
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Life without insulin wouldn't be as sweet! This plush insulin drop makes a great pal when a diabetes diagnosis or insulin needles get you down. Super soft, super cute and comes with a hangtag packed full of info all about this vital hormone produced by your pancreas, or, if your panky is busted, supplied by a shot of real actual insulin. Ages 3 and up. Designed in California, handmade in China.
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Your breasts contain fat, muscle, nipples, and mammary glands, which look like a bunch of grapes and can produce milk to feed babies. Mammary glands are what give mammals their name. Both women and men have mammary glands. The hormone estrogen promotes breast development, while testosterone inhibits breasts. It’s the breast of both worlds! Measures a highly unrealistic 7" x 9" x 6”.
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Appendix Plush - Feel It In Your Gut - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
Enlarged appendix measures 14.25" x 6" x 4" -- if yours was this big, you'd be in the emergency room. Comes with an 8-page booklet hang tag all about this vestigial organ. Some think the appendix, located at the bottom right of the intestine, doesn't do anything. Others think it helps good bacteria populate the gut. Most of us don't think about the appendix at all until it needs to get removed.
Perfect present for appendicitis sufferers, or to commemorate an appendix loved and lost. If your appendix burst with happiness, then you need this smiling orange fellow. Great get well gift for an after-surgery snuggle. When you’ve got an exploding appendix on your hands, first hit the emergency room, then get this gut post-op STAT. If you’re giving it to a friend, make sure they don’t bust their stitches laughing when you give them their appendix back.
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Heart Plush - I Got The Beat! - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
We've got more heart for you to love. This great big heart is a whopping 10" x 8" x 4" super-soft high quality embroidered plush, perfect for hugging -- or beating. This muscular organ pumps blood throughout the body and beats about 100,000 times per day! Comes with an educational booklet hang tag describing the magical workings of your heart.
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Tooth Plush - You Can't Handle the Tooth - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
The Commander in Teeth is at your service! Our digestive system would be lost without these tough enamel nuggets crushing food in our mouths before it goes to the stomach. Humans enjoy a wide variety of tooth types, from wisdom teeth to canines, incisors to bicuspids. Makes a great mascot for any dentist office. Fun filled educational hang tag offers wisdom and bite sized facts about your mouthful of teeth. Don't forget to brush, floss and gargle!
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Ovary Plush - Ova Achiever - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
Proceeds from the purchase of this item will go to Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania.
Our happy plush ovary measures 10" x 8" x 4" and it's ready for your embrace. Fantastic booklet hangtag that explains this incredible gland. The ovaries produce eggs and release sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, which control all kinds of biologically female reproductive mayhem from period regulation to baby making. This plush gland makes a cute and squeezable friend when your body is acting like the enemy.
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Liver Plush - I'm a Liver Not a Fighter - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
This soft-n-cuddly giant 10.5" x 9.5" x 3.5" liver loves you! The liver creates and synthesizes substances that maintain balance in the body. It also acts as a filter, keeping gross bacteria from getting into your bloodstream. He works in detox! Makes a cute present for the liver-lover in your life. Comes with an educational mini-book hang tag describing the magic of this wonderful organ.
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Prostate Plush - A Seminal Work! - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
We love our 9" x 7" x 6" fluffy prostate pal won't you take it home with you? This seminal star makes a wonderfully weird gift for your bravest prostate cancer survivor. The prostate produces the fluid in semen that nourishes and protects sperm, which are made in the testicles. Most of what goes into semen comes from the seminal vesicle glands, seen here atop the prostate. Facts and educational info come with this seminal stuffed prostate. Great present for your favorite urologist.
This enlarged prostate will bring a smile during tough times. Make that prostate exam even more exciting with this fun fellow. Give your prostate surgeon a gift they’ll never forget! Funny, weird gift for a future doctor or anybody with a body. Delight your endocrinologist, prostate doctor, medical school student, health professional, or prostate gland enthusiast with this perfect plushie pillow.
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Rectum Plush - Bringing Up The Rear - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
Snuggle up with this super-soft, high-quality plush rectum -- it might be the cutest rectum you'll ever lay your eyes on. The butt of many jokes, the rectum plays a serious role when it comes to pooping. This fecal loading dock is lined with nerve endings that, when filled with poop, tell the brain to find a bathroom pronto. Strong muscles push the poop out of the rectum and through the anus and, if you’re lucky, into the toilet! Get to the bottom of all things rectum with our booklet hang tag, full of fecal facts and fun artwork.
Our super cute rectum stuffed toy sparks smiles during tough times. This rectum plushie draws awareness to a variety of serious health issues, including colorectal cancer, IBD, IBS, Crohn's and colitis, and the like. Snuggling this rectum after surgery warms hearts at the hospital. Great gift for your GI doc, colorectal surgeon, gastroenterology residents, medical school professors, colorectal cancer awareness advocates and dieticians alike. You’ll love having a rectum pillow around to hug or punch. Doctors and cancer researchers love having lab buddies!
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Kidney Plush - When Urine Love!- Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
Gigantic and amazingly soft 9" x 8" x 3" kidney plush comes with a spectacular 8-page hang tag filled with drawings of romantic renals on ice, kidneys having tea, plus info about the magic your kidneys make every day. The kidneys — most folks have two — process your blood, picking out the extra waste and returning nice clean blood to your body. Extra water and waste pulled from the blood become pee!
Amazing kidney donor gift! Perfect post-op pillow for a kidney transplant recipient, great present for your fave dialysis patient. Give your nephrologist a present they'll never forget. Our kidney support pillow softens a hospital stay, or sends a smile when urine tough times. Laughter is the best medicine, but beware -- don’t let ‘em bust their stitches laughing.
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Pancreas Plush - Sweet on You - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
Our plush pancreas is bigger, softer and more huggable than ever. Giant super-soft high-quality 11" x 8" x 2.5" plush comes with a marvelous mini-book educational hang tag filled with art, trivia, silliness and actual information about this sugar-regulating digestive buddy. The pancreas produces digestive enzymes so you can eat, but it is best known for making the hormone insulin, which processes glucose and sugar from the bloodstream. Isn't that sweet?
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Brain Plush - All You Need Is Lobe - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
Feel the lobe with the boss of the body -- your brain! Super-soft high-quality 11" x 9" x 5" plush brain comes with stylized neural folds, a fantastic booklet-style hang tag with loads of art and information about the body's brainiest organ. As the body's command center, the brain keeps all the organs in check. Of course it also takes care of memory, imagination, speech and dreams. Also doubles as a soft football when your brain drives you crazy.
Giant Microbes
Uterus Plush
Proceeds from the purchase of this item will go to Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania.
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Gallbladder Plush - You've Got Gall! - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
This smallest of organs looms large when it comes to digesting fats, so we made it bigger (it's about the size of a lemon in real life)! This gargantuan gallbladder is a ginormous 8.5" x 7" x 4" super-soft high quality embroidered plushie stuffed toy pillow. The gallbladder collects & concentrates bile, a substance made by the liver and used to digest fats — like that ice cream you had last night.
What does your gallbladder do? Learn how the gallbladder works from our art-filled hang tag, stuffed with gallbladder goofiness and anatomical fun facts. Did you know there are a half-million gallbladders removed from American bodies every year? Where did your removed gallbladder go? Let’s hope to a tropical island somewhere. We’d like to picture your gallbladder sitting on a gorgeous gallstone beach with its bile ducts dipped in a Mai Tai. That’s a happier mental picture than the incinerator.
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Tonsil Plush - You're Swell - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
This 9.5" x 6" x 4.5" plush tonsil is so cute it hurts. You may not be aware of your tonsils until they have to be removed, but these blobs of lymphatic tissue battle bad guys in your mouth. There are four types of tonsils: adenoid, palatine, lingual and tubal. Exciting spots such as tonsillar crypts and Waldeyer’s Ring make your mouth sound like it’s straight out of Tolkien. Fact-filled hang tag describes this immune system powerhouse. Yay for tonsils!
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Testicle Plush - Having a Ball - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
Our fluffy adorable testicles are now super big -- a humongous 9" x 8" x 4". Comes with an expanded hang tag describing the joys of these family jewels, which produce sperm and sex hormones. Testosterone helps sperm find and fertilize eggs; sperm is the swimming cell responsible for the biologically male side of reproduction. Absolutely nuts!
This enlarged testicle will bring a smile during tough times. Give your urological surgeon a gift they’ll never forget! Funny, weird gift for your father, a future doctor or anybody with a body. Delight your urologist, vasectomy doc, medical school student, health professional, or testicle enthusiast with this perfect plushie pillow.
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Spleen Plush - Lymphin' The Dream - Plush Organ Stuffed Toy Pillow
This adorable 9" x 8" x 2.5" spleen plush toy is perfect for the lymph enthusiast lurking within us all. Your spleen keeps your blood tidy and fresh. This immune system fighter serves as your primary blood filter and largest lymph organ. Fact filled educational mini book tells you more than you need to know about the organ you can live without. Be the star of the next immunology event or give to someone who needs a hilarious splenectomy present. Go spleen!
Simon & Schuster
We know the universe had a beginning. With the Big Bang, it expanded from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy, laying down the seeds for everything from black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life as we know it. But what happens to the universe at the end of the story? And what does it mean for us now?
Dr. Katie Mack has been contemplating these questions since she was a young student, when her astronomy professor informed her the universe could end at any moment, in an instant. This revelation set her on the path toward theoretical astrophysics. Now, with lively wit and humor, she takes us on a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know.