Why Do People Queue for Brunch? edited by Felicity Lewis

Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve

Both The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald publish ‘Explainers’, a series which began in 2018 and regularly touches on a range of topics, as this book illustrates.  It contains short chapters written by journalists who do research and interview the relevant experts.

The section on the waggling, or dance, of bees details facts about the fascinating world of these tiny insects. The structure of the society of the hive, with the Queen, that lives for around five years and constantly lays eggs to produce the 20,000 bee inhabitants, is truly remarkable. As is the organisation of workers and drones, which ensures the hive functions at a level many human societies might envy.

Humour surfaces with the chapter on ‘budgie smugglers’ and moves to directions on building a sandcastle which seriously advises to start from the top, not the bottom. This expands into the explanation of the types of sand and their properties. Grains of sand assume significant importance.

I found the brief section on the rogue waves, both fascinating but scary. They can reach a height of 25 metres and it is believed that rogue waves were responsible the sinking of up to 200 tankers.

In today’s world, the keyboard dominates the writing skills of the majority of children. ‘Does Handwriting Still Matter?’ concedes that, although the computer is faster, handwriting itself is valuable in that it has been linked to brain processes that aren’t utilised using a keyboard.

The curious reader will enjoy the variety of subjects in this book. Queueing for brunch is mentioned and also the known history of the queue which is thousands of years old!

Pickleball, that fast growing pastime, is explained; but serious topics also. Why Cancer is so difficult to find a cure for and what happens in an autopsy.

Readers interested in Science may find there is information on the moon and its future colonisation, the dark and fantastical life at the deepest reaches of the oceans, the cause of Vertigo.

Busy people are reluctant to find time to delve into novels of hundreds of pages but the format of Why Do People Queue for Brunch? makes it attractive as a casual read. There is a variety of interests in focus, written with facts presented clearly and with an engaging expertise. Its appeal is bound to be wide, and as Christmas approaches, would surely make a welcome gift.

Why Do People Queue for Brunch?

[2024]

edited by Felicity Lewis

Allen and Unwin

ISBN 978 1 76147 182 7

$32.99; 324pp

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