Invented by Animals: Meet the creatures who inspired our everyday technology
Discover the animal inventors who have shared their super inventing powers to make amazing things for humans in this internationally bestselling book for kids!
Humans may think they’re the ultimate inventors, but animals have been solving problems and creating ingenious designs for millions of years. From super-speed swimmers to masters of disguise, nature’s inventors have inspired some of the world’s most amazing technologies—and this book reveals their secrets.
This fascinating and fact-packed book includes:
- Brilliant animal innovations that have shaped human inventions, from shark skin swimsuits to bird-inspired bullet trains.
- Mind-blowing adaptations like gecko feet that stick without glue, butterfly wings that shimmer without pigment, and termite mounds that inspired eco-friendly architecture.
- Fascinating science explained in a fun, accessible way for young readers.
- Stunning illustrations that bring the inventions to life.
Powered by Plants: Meet the trees, flowers, and vegetation that inspire our everyday technology
Plants exhibit an incredible range of diversity in their shape, structures and how they interact with other living things and their environment. Some of this great diversity is being increasingly studied and copied, inspiring innovation in science, design, engineering, and technology.
This book guides readers through a startling collection of fascinating vegetation, from towering cottonwood trees with wind power potential to slippery, meat-eating assassins of the plant world and the fast-growing aquatic plant which helps propel ships farther using less energy. Learn surprising applications and spin-offs of both exotic species including the world’s largest flower that generates its own heat and more familiar plants such as bamboo, coconut, and maize, all depicted in colorful, engaging fashion.
Colorful and lively illustrations and pop-out fact boxes bring the science in this book to life, and Powered by Plants shows us how much we can learn from studying the myriad magnificence of the natural world.
模仿動物的創意發明 動物們面對著自然界中嚴苛的生存挑戰，一分一秒都大意不得，從頭到腳的構造和能量更不能有一絲浪費，否則在天敵、病菌和天災的夾攻之下，很可能隨時都會丟掉小命，埋身於時間長河中，再也沒有人知道。所以動物們的身上藏著數不盡的法寶，正等待人類虛心請教，並且在不同領域中發揚光大呢！
鯊魚身上穿著粗糙的超速泳衣，不但越游越快，還能預防其他小生物黏在自己身上而妨礙泳速，這個點子甚至幫助奧運選手打破了游泳的世界紀錄（當然，還是快不過鯊魚啦）！慢吞吞的豪豬長了滿身具有倒鉤的尖刺，除了能保護自己，上頭還塗滿殺菌油，針刺入不易拔出的特性激發人類設計出讓傷口快速癒合又不用拆除的針，根本就是外科醫學的繆斯女神！即使只是日常散步的過程，也許只要看好你家的狗勾，觀察牠的行為和身上沾到什麼（？），說不定你也能像瑞士發明家喬治．梅斯倬一樣，發明出改變世界的魔鬼氈！
點亮科技的花草樹木 植物在我們的印象中，總是一片綠色的模糊背景，靜靜站在畫面的最邊緣，彷彿是永遠不被注重的配角。其實，植物界中有非常多本領驚人的物種，以它們奇妙的生命歷程，為人類帶來無限的啟發和感動。例如竹子一天可長高90公分、可被製作成各種生活用品，纖維還能作為快乾的環保布料；只要有微風吹拂就可到處滾動的風滾草，成為在外星球上最節能又有效率的探測器原型；能夠快速閉合葉面捕捉昆蟲的捕蠅草，則是幫助機器人快速抓握物體的靈感來源……
開本書將發現，植物的本領絕對顛覆你的刻板印象！身為地球上所有生物的最主要食物來源（也就是食物鏈中的生產者），面對龐大生存壓力的植物們各有獨特的適應能力，不論是生長或反應速度、體內合成特殊物質、獨特的支撐結構、別具巧思的傳播方式，甚至還能和同族間交流並傳遞訊息等，大大改寫我們對植物的認知，也再次發現生活中有無窮無盡的巧思與驚喜，值得我們更細心、深入的觀察和學習。
Book Titles
Invented by Animals 模仿動物的創意發明
Powered by Plants 點亮科技的花草樹木
By Clive Gifford, Illustrated by Gosia Herba, Hardcover, Traditional Chinese characters, 79 pages/book, 11.1"x9.5"
