Great-Uncle Dracula

Book excerpt: Do iceworms eat ice? Can you hear the aurora? How does mosquito repellent work? Why are Alaskan volcanoes evenly spaced along the coast? Is it possible for hot water to freeze faster than cold water? Where are Alaska's more than 125 hot springs? Why are northern twilights so long? Do glaciers slide or do they flow? Why do snowflakes flutter as they fall? In Alaska Science Nuggets, Neil Davis answers these and many other intriguing questions in the entertaining and informative style that makes him one of Alaska's favorite science writers. This compendium of nearly 400 articles, including articles by other contributors to a science column carried by various Alaska newspapers, discusses phenomena as diverse as the northern lights, permafrost, glaciers, meteorology, volcanoes, earthquakes, archaeology, Alaskan plants, mammoths, early humans, and northern living. Tourists and long-time Alaskans alike have made this much-loved book a bestseller for years. Alaska Science Nuggets is a great reference or gift for anyone interested in the phenomenal natural history of the North.