--- product_id: 20562118 title: "Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words" price: "₱3097" currency: PHP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.ph/products/20562118-thing-explainer-complicated-stuff-in-simple-words store_origin: PH region: Philippines --- # Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words **Price:** ₱3097 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words - **How much does it cost?** ₱3097 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ph](https://www.desertcart.ph/products/20562118-thing-explainer-complicated-stuff-in-simple-words) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Have you ever tried to learn more about some incredible thing, only to be frustrated by incomprehensible jargon? Randall Munroe is here to help. In Thing Explainer, he uses line drawings and only the thousand (or, rather, “ten hundred”) most common words to provide simple explanations for some of the most interesting stuff there is, including: food-heating radio boxes (microwaves) tall roads (bridges) computer buildings (datacenters) the shared space house (the International Space Station) the other worlds around the sun (the solar system) the big flat rocks we live on (tectonic plates) the pieces everything is made of (the periodic table) planes with turning wings (helicopters) boxes that make clothes smell better (washers and dryers) the bags of stuff inside you (cells) How do these things work? Where do they come from? What would life be like without them? And what would happen if we opened them up, heated them up, cooled them down, pointed them in a different direction, or pressed this button? In Thing Explainer, Munroe gives us the answers to these questions and so many more. Funny, interesting, and always understandable, this book is for anyone—age 5 to 105—who has ever wondered how things work, and why. Review: Great fun (especially in smaller doses)... - Bottom line: this is a truly enjoyable book that ultimately succeeds in shedding light on complex things in the world that we may not have paused to consider (submarines, ICBMs and various space travel vehicles) in depth. This lack of consideration may variously result from the inherent complexity of some things (nuclear power plants) or their ubiquity (pens, pencils, roads and bridges). Randall Munroe compiled his own list of the 1000 most common words (presumably in American English) to use as the lexicon to explain a bunch a stuff. The illustrations are wonderful; crisp line drawings that vary in detail from the conceptual (human organs generally as bags) to the highly detailed. In some cases they are complete visual metaphors, presumably because the limitations in available vocabulary led to limitations in the accompanying picture. This book contains content from my own professional background, so I was delighted to see content pulled from the worlds of naval weapons, space systems and modern information technology. Because of this, I can confirm that even with limited vocabulary, he gets those things explained correctly. Anybody who has worked as technical writer trying to glean information from subject matter experts for later use in a user guide or other materials designed for non-experts will appreciate what Munroe has done here. Anybody who has ever prepared materials for consumption by elected or appointed government officials will also totally appreciate the challenge he takes on. Interspersed throughout --in the same simple language-- are short comments that are sometimes insightful, sometimes funny, and they will be instantly familiar to readers of his xkcd web comic. However, don't read this in one sitting. You might find yourself haunted by this thought: "Randall, you tell us in the intro that eventually you picked your own 1000 words based on a review of multiple lists. The addition (or substitution) of 50 to 100 more could have really taken moved some of the explanations from the highly metaphorical to the more concrete (to his credit, the "things" are "correctly" named in the table of contents). Great fun for the alpha geeks and curious kids in your life...and just in time for holiday shopping. Review: Highly Original, Entertaining and Educational - "Thing Explainer" is such an awesome, fun and original book that is educational for people of all ages. I wasn't familiar with the book until I saw it reviewed on Bill Gates blog (he's very favorable) and wound up pre-ordering it. The idea of explaining complex things using only the 1,000 most common words in English was super intriguing. I also have three children, 16, 13 and 11, and was interested in what they thought as well as learning how Munroe's technique might help me better communicate complex subjects, not necessarily science related, but also things like history, current events, etc. My oldest son happened to open the box when it arrived and was surprised since he had separately heard about the book and didn't know I ordered it. He would up commandeering it for a couple of days and went through it completely before returning it to me with the line "it's brilliant'. I wound up going through it randomly and think the combination of the language simplicity as well as illustration style along with the physical size make it a must have for any curious mind. Sure, Munroe's choice of 1,000 words is arbitrary, but the forced use of everyday and mundane words is what enables this book to appeal to such a broad variety of people, ages and intellect, while simultaneously educating and entertaining. And as I mentioned, it also provides a valuable teaching technique to help one communicate complicated things to others in ways that make them more interesting and understandable. I subsequently put the book on a coffee table and quite a few folks with varied backgrounds have picked it up, thumbed through it and smiled as one of the "things" motivated them to stop, engage and learn. I'd highly recommend the physical edition as I intentionally bought it vs. a digital copy because of the use of illustrations and for the ability to leave it out and share, a decision I'm super happy about. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #9,133 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2 in Engineering Patents & Inventions #5 in Science & Scientists Humor #23 in Trivia & Fun Facts (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,893 Reviews | ## Images ![Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Rchj-LaSL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great fun (especially in smaller doses)... *by L***R on November 25, 2015* Bottom line: this is a truly enjoyable book that ultimately succeeds in shedding light on complex things in the world that we may not have paused to consider (submarines, ICBMs and various space travel vehicles) in depth. This lack of consideration may variously result from the inherent complexity of some things (nuclear power plants) or their ubiquity (pens, pencils, roads and bridges). Randall Munroe compiled his own list of the 1000 most common words (presumably in American English) to use as the lexicon to explain a bunch a stuff. The illustrations are wonderful; crisp line drawings that vary in detail from the conceptual (human organs generally as bags) to the highly detailed. In some cases they are complete visual metaphors, presumably because the limitations in available vocabulary led to limitations in the accompanying picture. This book contains content from my own professional background, so I was delighted to see content pulled from the worlds of naval weapons, space systems and modern information technology. Because of this, I can confirm that even with limited vocabulary, he gets those things explained correctly. Anybody who has worked as technical writer trying to glean information from subject matter experts for later use in a user guide or other materials designed for non-experts will appreciate what Munroe has done here. Anybody who has ever prepared materials for consumption by elected or appointed government officials will also totally appreciate the challenge he takes on. Interspersed throughout --in the same simple language-- are short comments that are sometimes insightful, sometimes funny, and they will be instantly familiar to readers of his xkcd web comic. However, don't read this in one sitting. You might find yourself haunted by this thought: "Randall, you tell us in the intro that eventually you picked your own 1000 words based on a review of multiple lists. The addition (or substitution) of 50 to 100 more could have really taken moved some of the explanations from the highly metaphorical to the more concrete (to his credit, the "things" are "correctly" named in the table of contents). Great fun for the alpha geeks and curious kids in your life...and just in time for holiday shopping. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Original, Entertaining and Educational *by W***O on December 8, 2015* "Thing Explainer" is such an awesome, fun and original book that is educational for people of all ages. I wasn't familiar with the book until I saw it reviewed on Bill Gates blog (he's very favorable) and wound up pre-ordering it. The idea of explaining complex things using only the 1,000 most common words in English was super intriguing. I also have three children, 16, 13 and 11, and was interested in what they thought as well as learning how Munroe's technique might help me better communicate complex subjects, not necessarily science related, but also things like history, current events, etc. My oldest son happened to open the box when it arrived and was surprised since he had separately heard about the book and didn't know I ordered it. He would up commandeering it for a couple of days and went through it completely before returning it to me with the line "it's brilliant'. I wound up going through it randomly and think the combination of the language simplicity as well as illustration style along with the physical size make it a must have for any curious mind. Sure, Munroe's choice of 1,000 words is arbitrary, but the forced use of everyday and mundane words is what enables this book to appeal to such a broad variety of people, ages and intellect, while simultaneously educating and entertaining. And as I mentioned, it also provides a valuable teaching technique to help one communicate complicated things to others in ways that make them more interesting and understandable. I subsequently put the book on a coffee table and quite a few folks with varied backgrounds have picked it up, thumbed through it and smiled as one of the "things" motivated them to stop, engage and learn. I'd highly recommend the physical edition as I intentionally bought it vs. a digital copy because of the use of illustrations and for the ability to leave it out and share, a decision I'm super happy about. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My 6 yo loves this book *by J***N on November 21, 2025* My child loves this book and is always asking me to read to him from here. I think the simplified language is sometimes over the top ("sky boat"), but it's a great book for what it is. ## Frequently Bought Together - Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words - How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems - What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ph/products/20562118-thing-explainer-complicated-stuff-in-simple-words](https://www.desertcart.ph/products/20562118-thing-explainer-complicated-stuff-in-simple-words) --- *Product available on Desertcart Philippines* *Store origin: PH* *Last updated: 2026-05-30*