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  • What If?

  • Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
  • By: Randall Munroe
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (228 ratings)

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What If? cover art

What If?

By: Randall Munroe
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Publisher's Summary

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

What listeners say about What If?

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

I just can't like it.

Not my type of humour. It had potential to be funny or at least a little informative. Glad I bought so I could listen to it or at least partly (3hrs or so). I will return it to audible for a refund. Audio sample was the best part of the book.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wildly Funny

Very funny, intelligent and full of fascinating things. XKCD has long been a favourite. And Dr Munroe is well smart.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very annoying voice!

The book itself was fantastic but I found that I just couldn't listen to Wil Wheaton for very long. I just hated his attempt to prove himself as a serious actor by reading a book. Too much acting.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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What?

Oh, it just ended. How abrupt.

It's a nice lark. Good in between serious books. A bit short and utterly unstructured.

If you're a regular Reddit user, it will all be pretty stale.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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well read by will wheaton, very entertaining!

if only will wheaton was around to read me bed time stories all the time! “what if we use mooooore power?!?”.... good times

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great read

I love this book. The author has a sharp wit and has done his research well..

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Comedic science, love it.

Recommended for anyone with a curiosity for science and wildly impractical scenarios.
To top it off, Wil Wheaton narrates this fantastic read in a way that keeps you laughing and wanting more.

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  • jan
  • 22-09-2022

not finished

should have been in the juvenile section. buying was a waste of a credit

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Awesome content - not for the faint of heart though

As a lay person, the book was fascinating and interesting and the narrator did an excellent job with his reading and humour.

Not for the faint of heart though - some of his answers to questions are necessarily scary (e.g. what happens when sun dies out, enthropy, death by vacuum in space …)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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funny and interesting

Loved it . very funny and informative at sametime liked the way it was presented.

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