Sam Jam sat in a school library and challenged the school community to ask him about the origin of anything at all - and pledged to use library resources to answer within 60 minutes. Children and adults delivered clever, funny, unexpected questions: Who owned the first pet dog? Who invented toilets? What was the first song? Were the first newspapers really made of rock? And who was the first human, anyway?Seeking answers, he and his young assistants discovered remarkable true tales:And dozens more remarkable true stories.The result is a fun story collection about the origins of a huge range of things - which also introduces young readers to the art and science of academic research. In these times of fake news, information overload, and too much homework, the ability to conduct fast, accurate research is one of the best skills any student can have - and you can learn it in these pages.

Sam Jam sat in a school library and challenged the school community to ask him about the origin of anything at all - and pledged to use library resources to answer within 60 minutes. Children and adults delivered clever, funny, unexpected questions: Who owned the first pet dog? Who invented toilets? What was the first song? Were the first newspapers really made of rock? And who was the first human, anyway?Seeking answers, he and his young assistants discovered remarkable true tales:And dozens more remarkable true stories.The result is a fun story collection about the origins of a huge range of things - which also introduces young readers to the art and science of academic research. In these times of fake news, information overload, and too much homework, the ability to conduct fast, accurate research is one of the best skills any student can have - and you can learn it in these pages.

Quantum physics and relativity, two of the most important advances in modern science, are normally presented as a series of technical discoveries in 20th century Europe.Yet this brief, easy-to-read volume shows how they were underpinned by centuries of observations about the nature of reality from the great philosophies and faiths of humanity, from China to India to the Middle East.At each stage, the people involved found themselves saying: 'That's impossible! That makes no sense. And yet...'