The pelican was a tool used to extract teeth in the 16th century. If used without care, it could break the patient's jaw. From dentists to insects to bacteria, this series tackles some of life's more unpleasant experiences-and explores how much worse it might be if they didn't exist. Each title is a blend of history and science, explaining how things work and revealing how humans have come to terms with all the challenges that nature has thrown at...

"Simple machines are around us all the time and we use them every day. Many are built into complex machines, but the simple machine is still there doing its job. Discover how simple machines enable practically everything around us to work, allowing us to travel in wheeled vehicles, lift very heavy objects, put things together, and take things apart."--