David Stipp—Why Rats Laugh & Jellyfish Sleep and Other Enchanting Stories of Evolution

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover of the book Why Rats Laugh & Jellyfish Sleep and Other Enchanting Stories of Evolution by David Stipp, showing Darwin sitting atop a gold-colored jellyfish, with the book’s title in white print, and the subtitle and author’s name in print, all superimposed over an aqua background.
Why Rats Laugh
WHY RATS LAUGH & JELLYFISH SLEEP
AND OTHER ENCHANTING STORIES OF EVOLUTION
David Stipp
Timber Press, September 23, 2025
Hardcover, $30, eBook, $14.99, audio book, $25.19
Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1643264875
eBook ASIN: B0DS9X937H
Audio book ASIN: B0DTRY58XH

Stipp reports:

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that children’s most useful gift is curiosity. I think the giver here is natural selection, for those of our ancestors most given to wondering why things were the way they were, and to piecing together causes and effects, would have had a selective advantage. Young kids show the unfurling of this gift during the why-why-why phase. Older kids, notably scientists, manifest it too.

My book sprang from the idea that when we apply this native gift to the living world—musing why cats live longer than dogs, or why various kinds of bumblebees are almost indistinguishable, or why children typically go through a phase of insistently asking why—we’re often, without realizing it, seeking the selective advantages of interesting traits. In short, we’re folk Darwinists by nature.

Informal photo of David Stipp outdoors holding an earthworm in his hand to tempt a hungry bird.
David Stipp
The book foregrounds this by guiding readers through a set of Darwinian whydunits concerning traits of familiar creatures such as earthworms, sparrows, and skunks. By getting people to look at their everyday surroundings through a Darwinian lens, I hoped to show them that Darwinism is as much about the delight of pursuing rhyme and reason as about its cogency.

Peering through the lens is also the best way to grasp evolved designs’ immense depth and antiquity, offering a perspective that I think can help one stay focused on making personal choices that help conserve them. It conserves sanity, too, by encouraging us to slow down and look closer.

Writing the book ended a 30-year marshmallow test for me. As a reporter, I often encountered enticing Darwinian questions I had to pass by because evolution wasn’t the topic at hand. After retiring from journalism, I got hooked on puzzling out why certain features of familiar creatures exist. The book idea followed, along with several years of R&D to make it real. The R was a joy, the D often stood for “Damn, what was I thinking?”—my word boulders always roll backwards a lot. I finally got this one to stay put uphill with the help of my agent, Lisa Adams, and Timber Press editor Ryan Harrington.

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Banner image adapted from original photo by David Stipp.

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.

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