What’s the brightest light on Earth? The coldest corner of the universe? The blackest material ever made? The most poisonous substance in nature?‘You will learn something new in every chapter, on every page and probably in every paragraph. Hugely entertaining.’ Kit Yates, author of The Maths of Life and DeathKa-boom! probes extremes of size and speed, depth and density, and reveals the stickiest, sweetest, smelliest and nastiest substances known to science. In an unabashed celebration of the exceptional, David Darling takes an enlightening journey through the universe’s weirdest and most wonderful extremes.

Travel to far-flung galaxies in pursuit of habitable planets and extra-terrestrial life. Journey to the rainforests of South America and discover the top-speed of the notoriously sluggish sloth. Find out how Earth’s hardiest creatures – tardigrades or ‘water bears’ – ended up living on the moon.

And meet the scientists and engineers using these quirks of nature to design faster computers, produce greener energy and revolutionise space travel