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The Must Know Series
Facts that change
how you see things.
Impulse reads backed by real science. Each one under 20 pages. All ages. No fluff.
All
What Really Happens
How It's Made
Kids
Deals
What Really Happens
15
SECONDS.
How long you may remain conscious in open space.
Your body would not explode.
New
What Really Happens
In Space
Black holes, neutron stars, the Sun's unsolved corona mystery, and what 96% of the universe is made of (hint: we have no idea).
What Really Happens
DE-
BARKED.
EF5 winds strip bark from standing trees.
EF5 verified. No ceiling on the scale.
New
What Really Happens
A Tornado
Supercell anatomy, EF scale physics, how houses actually fail, fire tornadoes, and what animals do 20 minutes before impact.
How It's Actually Made
WWII
ACCIDENT.
Super glue was discovered trying to make rifle sights in 1942.
It stuck to everything. Ruined the test.
New
How It's Actually Made
Glue & Paint
Cyanoacrylate, PVA polymer chains, Prussian blue discovered by accident in 1704, and why paint doesn't "dry" — it polymerizes.
What Really Happens
1,000°C
LAVA MOVES SLOWLY.
Most people killed by volcanoes aren't burned.
Pyroclastic flows hit 700 km/h.
New
What Really Happens
A Volcano
Pyroclastic flows, supervolcanoes, the Toba near-extinction event, and why the ocean floor is almost entirely volcanic.
What Really Happens
50,000×
EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD.
The MRI magnet never turns off. Not between patients.
Metal in the room = projectile.
New
What Really Happens
Medical Imaging
How MRI, CT, and ultrasound actually work — and why the magnet is always on, the radiation is real, and the gel isn't optional.
What Really Happens
15 BILLION
TRANSISTORS.
Each one smaller than a coronavirus.
In your pocket right now.
New
What Really Happens
Inside a Cell Phone
The processor, OLED screen, 5G radio, lithium-ion battery, and camera sensor — the real physics and engineering in your pocket.
What Really Happens
1,670
KM/H.
You're moving right now. You feel nothing.
If it stopped — everything launches east.
What Really Happens
Earth's Rotation
Why Earth spins, what rotation controls, tidal drag slowing us down, and the physics of what happens if it stopped.
What Really Happens
11 KM
DOWN. UNMAPPED.
Better maps of the Moon than the ocean floor.
Plastic bags at the bottom of the Trench.
What Really Happens
The Deep Ocean
Hydrothermal vents, bioluminescence, 1,100 atm pressure, and what 3 crewed descents to the bottom actually found.
What Really Happens
30,000°C
5× THE SUN'S SURFACE.
Strikes Earth 100 times every second.
90% of people struck survive.
What Really Happens
Lightning
How it forms in 0.2 seconds, why rubber shoes offer zero protection, and what Lichtenberg figures actually are.
How It's Actually Made
1873.
JAR. SHARED.
You dipped your brush in. So did everyone else.
The tube wasn't invented until 1892.
How It's Actually Made
Toothpaste
Abrasives, fluoride, SLS foam, and how striped toothpaste is physically made using two concentric nozzles.
What Really Happens
3 BILLION
BASE PAIRS. EVERY CELL.
Uncoiled: 2 metres. You have 37 trillion cells.
Reach the Sun and back — 300 times.
What Really Happens
Inside DNA
The double helix, how genes are read, CRISPR's first cure, ancient mammoth DNA 1.2M years old, and forensic touch DNA.
What Really Happens
1928.
MOULD. ACCIDENT.
Fleming nearly threw the petri dish out.
10M deaths/yr projected by 2050.
What Really Happens
Antibiotics
How they kill bacteria, why resistance is winning, the empty drug pipeline, and the first AI-discovered antibiotic in clinical trials.
What Really Happens
1 KG
= 3,000T COAL.
Nuclear deaths per TWh: 0.03. Coal: 24.6.
It can't explode. Fuel too dilute.
What Really Happens
Nuclear Reactor
Fission, chain reactions, control rods, what actually went wrong at Chernobyl and Fukushima, and the real death statistics.
What Really Happens
300M
KILLED. THEN ZERO.
Smallpox: the only disease humans have ever eradicated.
A vaccine did that.
What Really Happens
Vaccines
Memory cells, herd immunity thresholds, live vs mRNA vaccines, and how smallpox was erased from Earth forever.
What Really Happens
17 HRS
AWAKE = LEGALLY DRUNK.
Matches 0.05% blood alcohol. You don't notice.
That's the problem.
What Really Happens
When You Sleep
Sleep stages, adenosine, why caffeine crashes, the NASA nappuccino, and the disease where you lose the ability to sleep and die.
What Really Happens
400T
HELD UP BY PRESSURE.
The textbook explanation is wrong.
Flying is 70× safer than driving.
What Really Happens
How Planes Fly
Real lift physics, jet engines that run above their melting point, what turbulence actually is, and the fly-by-wire revolution.
What Really Happens
NOTHING.
NOT EVEN LIGHT.
4M solar masses at the Milky Way's centre.
First photographed in 2019.
What Really Happens
Black Holes
Event horizons, Hawking radiation, gravitational waves, and the information paradox that breaks both physics theories.
Must Know
NO NERVES.
DEAD CELLS.
Same protein as a rhinoceros horn.
The pain? That's the skin.
Must Know
Why Nails & Hair Don't Hurt
Keratin, nail matrix, perifollicular nerves, phantom limb pain, and why the myth that nails grow after death is just skin shrinking.
Kids
🚀
SPACE EXPLORER
12 coloring pages. Ages 5–12.
Planets, black holes, Mars rovers & more.
Kids Series
Space Explorer Coloring Book
12 pages: solar system, Saturn's rings, astronaut in space, constellation map, alien planet. Includes Explorer Certificate.
Kids
🌋
VOLCANO EXPLORER
10 coloring pages. Ages 5–12.
Color the lava. Draw the ash.
Kids Series
Volcano Explorer Coloring Book
Earth's layers, three volcano types, Pompeii street scene, tectonic plates, hydrothermal vents. Includes Explorer Certificate.
Kids
📱
TECH EXPLORER
5 coloring pages. Ages 5–12.
Circuits, cameras, batteries & 5G.
Kids Series
Tech Explorer: Cell Phone Coloring Book
Smartphone parts, circuit board, camera sensor with pixel grid, battery cells, 5G tower. Includes Explorer Certificate.
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