In 1983, Justin Schmidt recorded the degree of pain he felt when stung by different venomous insects, resulting in the Schmidt Pain Index. A strange endeavor, yet not necessarily unique, as Robert Cave proves with these 100 projects, theories, and experiments that have been conducted in the name of science. From spider monkeys to human cyborgs, and from swimming in syrup to chaos theory, Cave places each experiment and discovery in its scientific context, and suggests that it is only by doggedly asking awkward questions, and paying close attention to the answers, that scientists have been able to make progress.