A gleefully gruesome look at the actual science behind the most outlandish, cartoonish, and impossible deaths you can imagine.

What would happen if you took a swim outside a deep sea submarine wearing only a swimsuit? How long could you last if you stood on the surface of the sun? How far could you actually get in digging a hole to China? In Dead, senior staff scientist at the famed San Francisco Exploratorium Museum Paul Doherty and writer Cody Cassidy explore the real science behind these and other fantastic scenarios, teaching readers about physics, astronomy, anatomy, and more along the way.

Is slipping on a banana peel really as hazardous to your health as the cartoons imply? Answer: Yes. Banana peels ooze a gel that turns out to be extremely slippery—more so than apples and tangerines. Your foot and body weight provide the pressure. The gel provides the humor (and resulting head trauma).

Can you die by shaking someone’s hand? Answer: Yes. That’s because you’ve never actually touched another person’s hand because of atomic repulsion. If you actually touched the hand of the next person you shook with, the results would be as disastrous a medium-sized hydrogen bomb.

If you were Cookie Monster, just how many cookies could you actually eat in one sitting? Answer: Most stomachs can hold up to 60 cookies, or around four liters. If you eat or drink more than that, you’re approaching the point at which the cookies would break through the lesser curvature of your stomach. As soon as the cookies burst out, gas gangrene would grow, distributing dead and rotting material throughout your guts. In other words, not a sunny day on Sesame Street.