You might not have wondered why raindrops fall slower than the rate of gravity, but Paul Nahin has, and fortunately he is a master at explaining odd phenomena through straightforward mathematics. In this entertaining collection of 26 problems—from ancient catapult conundrums to the puzzling physics of a material called NASTYGLASS—he explores how mathematical physicists think, while providing interesting historical anecdotes. The questions raised may seem impossible to answer and may require an unexpected twist in reasoning, but even if you didn't ace your trigonometry class, sometimes their solutions are surprisingly simple.