What If? cover art

What If?

Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

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About this listen

From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd, What If? gives hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. Millions visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. Fans ask him a lot of strange questions. How fast can you hit a speed bump, driving, and live? When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British Empire? When will Facebook contain more profiles of dead people than living? How many humans would a T Rex rampaging through New York need to eat a day? In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations and consults nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind - or at least a really big explosion.

This audiobook edition is read by geek icon Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stand by Me, The Big Bang Theory) and has been adapted for audio in collaboration with the author.

Shortlisted for the Goodreads Choice Awards

©2014 xkcd inc (P)2014 Blackstone Audio Physics Science Funny Witty Mathematics Cosmology Star Trek
All stars
Most relevant

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I certainly would. What if answers all the questions you wanted ask but didn't know who to ask.

What did you like best about this story?

Will Weatons narration

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The question about the periodic table

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wish!!

Any additional comments?

Just get it, its amazing.. Please do another!!!

Amazing book for Geeks

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I probably wouldn't. Some of it is quite fun but some of the answers drag on for a very long time, so those bits end up feeling a bit boring. It's also very physics heavy and maths heavy, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't got a great grasp on those subjects.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I'd have probably kept the answers to each question a bit shorter. Some of the questions are answered fairly quickly others seem to drag on for a very long time. With some of the longer answers, the author seems to add in other variables and possibilities that would change the question, and goes into the effect that those would have, which feels like an unnecessary tangent.

Kind of fun but underwhelming.

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I absolutely love this! I hope he makes a sequel!
Also Wil Wheaton is an amazing narrator

Soooo worth it!

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I really enjoyed this book. I would review it 5 stars but the author answered a lot of questions with a joke, and it didn't find any of them funny. That being said, I do recommend it.

Enjoyable but not my sense of humour

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The last sentence just ends and that's it! No close, no finish. Just a stop!

Just stops.

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