We all know that things go wrong: wine stains, toast burns, drawers jam. But how many of us pause to think why these accidents happen? Undercover Scientist Peter Bentley is fascinated by the science of the everyday, and in this eye-opening book, organised in the form of one of those days when everything falls apart, he probes into the reasons why mishaps occur, from sleeping through the alarm to making the bathwater overflow. As he does so he explains exactly what happens when you put metal in a microwave and why the combination of chewing gum and hair is so sticky. And from there he goes on to show how these simple events form part of a pattern of scientific principles that govern everything around us. If you want to find out why a diesel engine can run on chip fat or how the sun creates energy, The Undercover Scientist has all the answers.