So if you don't want to hear about animal experimentation at any point in history, don't read this book. I'm not a fan of the practice At All, but it has been part of science and finding alternatives takes work. I admire the fact that the author took the time to mention that it would come up in the book, and her own apparent dislike of it.

I really enjoyed this book, the history of it went further back than I expected and that added to my enjoyment of it. For me the fact that the author herself has done "silly science" instead of just being an author who decided to go off and research some "silly science" added to the book.

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook for review. All opinions are my own. Thanks to Hachette Audio for the ALC!

This book does reference the study of animals and past testing on animals. I don't love scientific testing on animals but I understand the necessity for scientific advancement in instances such as medicine. I have hope for a more humane future, but alas, we aren't there yet. As a softhearted, squeamish person, I didn't find this difficult to listen to.

I really liked the narrator--I've heard her narrate in other genres and enjoyed her narration style, and I think she did a good job in this format as well.
Anyway on to the review.

This reminds me a bit of The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, which is probably my favorite nonfiction book of all time. Most of the time I read fiction, usually romance, but I do occasionally branch out. When I do read nonfiction, I prefer it to be presented with humor, or at least in vernacular rather than jargon, because while I have the capability to understand a lot of dense language, I have no interest in wading through a book that read like a text book. Much like The Anthropocene Reviewed, The Salmon Cannon... is written more like stories or episodes, starting in one place (a man changing his son's diaper and wondering how a baby can pee for so long) and ending somewhere unexpected (the realization that there's an average constant time for urination and how deviation from this standard can help diagnose prostate cancer). The book is about the importance of "silly science" and the importance of curiosity based study and how important serendipity can be.

This book was fascinating, and I would recommend it to people like me who want to branch out or those who enjoy learning without it being pretentious.

4.5/5 stars

This book was great fun, but it's also an important topic people should know more about. Science shouldn't be political, because curiousity-driven research leads to so many great ideas and innovations. There doesn't always need to be a specific goal when studying something, just a passionate desire to learn more and a willingness to share ideas with others so that our knowledge can keep growing in leaps and bounds.
I loved the topics that were chosen, and they all seemed "silly" at first, and many of the topics came about because of random observations. For example, one guy learned a lot because he wondered about the time it took him and his new baby to pee. My favorite story was about Felicia the Ferret, who saved a $250 million particle accelerator when the scientists were looking for a way to clean it (it was a real emergency as there didn't seem to be a way and the magnets were failing, but they couldn't just take it apart). The researchers took turns taking care of Felicia until her retirement when they figured out a different way to clean the particle accelerator, and by all accounts enjoed their time with her.
Thinking outside the box is necessary tor innovation -- we often don't know what the question is until we have more information Thanks to NetGalley, I got to listen to this audiobook, and the reader was so enthusiastic! I found myself walking around talking about the book with whoever I could get to listen.

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for this audio arc! I do not know the technical term and will never learn
Did you know that all mammals larger than a mouse take the same amount of time to pee? 23 seconds. You can test it yourself.
Great and timely defense of “silly” science, ie government research that seems like a waste of money only if you’re Elon musk/have no imagination. Basic research is important because without doing it, we have no idea what discoveries it could lead to (like penicillin). Well written, great narrator, and super funny while still informative!
5 stars

This author’s “silly science” book is a way to explain why she (and other scientists) study things without any clear-cut goal in mind. It’s a paean to scientific curiosity: those who observe and wonder, then undertake the rigorous work of understanding why.
Without such inquisitive minds, we would not have new adhesives that emerged from studying the foot pads of gecko lizards, more efficient wind turbines from studying the fins of whales. Today’s pregnancy tests owe much to the study of African claw frogs. With humor and many such examples, the author makes a strong case for science for science’s sake. She reminds us of the Golden Fleece awards given by a senator decrying public spending on scientific research for silly-sounding topics, but makes a strong case for why such work is appropriate and necessary — even when it does not lead to commercially viable products. I found the audiobook to be informative and entertaining, with excellent narration. 4.5 stars rounded up.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @HachetteAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #TheSalmonCannonandtheLevitatingFrog for review purposes. Publication date: 17 June 2025.

The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog
Carly Anne York
Narrator: Eileen Stevens
Hachette Audio / Basic Books


Like the web content producer of the same name, I f**kin love science, and Carly Anne York’s book injected it right into my veins. The title is captivating, and so is the rest of the book – informative yet accessible and engaging at the same time. Full of little science trivia, including how quirky experiments lead to applications that affect our daily lives. Somehow, I ended up with both the digital and audio galleys, and I loved them both!