Warning: Leland Gregory's "Stupid Science: Weird Experiments, Mad Scientists and Idiots in the Lab" contains some naughty bits, which I only noticed after asking my son to review it for me.

Luckily, at 13, my son is still more amused by backsides than fronts, pointing me to items about chimps recognizing pics of each others' rears and herring blowing bubbles out their bums to communicate. I still had an "awww, my boy is growing up" moment when I noticed he wasn't amused by most of the scatological experiments, like extracting vanilla from cow manure — if not for food, then for hygiene. Maybe he doesn't see anything strange about shampoo scented with extract of cow.

However, we shared a laugh over penguins' pooping prowess. Not only can the birds expel waste with enough force to catapult it from their nests, the guano contains enough nitrate to set off airport bomb detectors (and apparently is something someone wanted to travel with).

As I pondered the potential for penguin-related weapons, my son was tickled by a nonlethal weapon already developed for military use: "banana peel in a can," which could be used to slip-up mobs.

The book offers lots lively discussion fodder, but my son wasn't happy I had put him to work. I'm pretty sure he meant to send me a message when he pointed out that a geek had found a way to generate random numbers with lava lamps, something that can't be done on a computer. The discovery was made while the guy "was avoiding work."

When she's not being a journalist, Treena Shapiro is busy with her real job, raising a son and daughter. Check out her blog at www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com/Blogs.