[The JD]

I took a detour from the book I intended to read...now I'm halfway through another book: Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us. Fantastic read!



The "science" is a bit sketchy, but as the authors themselves admit, it's tricky to measure something that is so subjective. Still, it's a fascinating look at the things that universally annoy us (of which there are many), and why.

The authors explore the annoyance of the senses at a fast clip, leaping from sound (nails on chalkboard, the sound of someone vomiting, overheard cell phone conversations) to smell (even skunks hate the smell of skunk, yet an aversion to the smell of poop is learned), to sight (clutter, traffic), to taste (at which age do Mexican children acquire the taste for hot peppers?) to touch (how a cloud of gnats around a pitcher's head can ruin a perfect game).

The last half of the book focuses on the sociological rather than the physical. I haven't yet learned why all the adorable little quirks of one's loved one eventually become annoying, but I have learned how mice show their annoyance when you hide their cheese.

It's a fun read...and if my dog ever gets sprayed by a skunk, it's worth five times the cost of the book just to have a scientifically proven recipe for removing the smell.