How to levitate: walk barefoot on a muddy river bank and step on an eel. Some countries think them good to eat, while others think they are disgusting. To scientists, eels are irritatingly mysterious. We know that European and American eels breed in the Sargasso Sea but no one has succeeded in breeding them in captivity. People have hung them with jewellery, worshipped them as gods, and even fed human slaves to prized captive eels. Richard Schweid’s Consider the Eel (Da Capo Press/Perseus, $16.95/£13.50) mixes slippery tales with fabulous recipes. First catch your eel…
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
2
The race to understand how and when Thwaites glacier will collapse
3
Ancient human DNA found on cave art for the first time
4
If you aren't terrified by this heatwave, you should be
5
Europe’s heatwave is the hottest and most humid ever
6
Can home batteries help save the climate and save you money?
7
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
8
A promising natural technique to remove CO2 could backfire
9
The best sci-fi novel in 2026 so far – plus 6 other great reads
10
You should turn off fans when it's too hot – but how hot is too hot?
