In The Barmaid's Brain, Jay Ingram explores some of the little known quirks of human behaviour, including why we laugh and how we see mirages; he reports on science's various attempts to reexamine history, including startling theories about the Salem witches, a psychiatric profile of Joan of Arc and the raging debate about the first-ever map of the New World; he brings our attention to remarkable battles, from the parasitic nastiness of cowbirds, to the tiny but deadly guerrilla attacks of ant lions; and he introduces us to the sometimes odd concerns of the scientist, for instance whether it is possible that early humans spent their lives in water instead of on land, and just how does slinging drinks affect the memory and the perception of the barmaid's brain?

Weird, witty and always edifying, The Barmaid's Brain serves up a splendid cocktail of fact, theory and anecdote in twenty-one of Jay Ingram's favourite tales from the world of science.

JAY INGRAM was the host of Discovery Channel Canada’s Daily Planet from its first episode until June 2011. Prior to joining Discovery, Ingram hosted CBC Radio’s national science show Quirks & Quarks. He has received the Sandford Fleming Award from the Royal Canadian Institute, the Royal Society of Canada’s McNeil Medal for the Public Awareness of Science and the Michael Smith Award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. He is the recipient of the 2015 Walter C. Alvarez Award from the American Medical Writers Association. He is a distinguished alumnus of the University of Alberta, has received five honorary doctorates and is a member of the Order of Canada. He has written fourteen books, including the bestselling Theatre of the Mind and Fatal Flaws.

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