History Literature / TheWayThingsWork

* BittersweetEnding: The ending of ''The Last Mammoth''. Mammoth fails to find others of his species, meaning mammoths as a whole will most likely go extinct when he dies. Nor does he want anything to do with digital technology But he has pumpkin pie and chocolate-coated apples to replace swamp grass, which itself will soon go extinct, and a friend in Bill.

* AudienceSurrogate: Mammoth in ''The Digital Domain'' serves as this as he journeys through Bill's realm, being confused and bewildered by the way Bill's machines work. The text even emphasizes this, stating that, just like Mammoth, many normal people struggle to comprehend the principles of digital technology.

* BandageMummy: The chapter on flying has one poor flying mammoth end up one of these after "an unusually clumsy four-point landing". Its curiously familiar shape hearkens to the aerodynamic form of modern jet planes.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Mammoths are generally slow to anger, but the consequences of them losing their temper are quite destructive.

* BittersweetEnding: The ending of ''The Last Mammoth''. Mammoth fails to find others of his species, meaning mammoths as a whole will most likely go extinct when he dies. But he has pumpkin pie and chocolate-coated apples to replace swamp grass, which itself will soon go extinct, and a friend in Bill.

* {{Technophobia}}: Mammoth in ''The Last Mammoth'' is a downplayed version of this, specifically in regards to digital technology.
-->''While Mammoth had been impressed by much of the digital domain, there was also plenty about it that left him feeling uncomfortable. In the end, it was just too much, too big, too fast and too unfamiliar. Mammoths, after all, had never really embraced the concept of progress, and this one wasn't about to start now.''

* BittersweetEnding: The ending of ''The Last Mammoth''. Mammoth fails to find others of his species, meaning mammoths as a whole will most likely go extinct when he dies. But he has pumpkin pie and chocolate apples to replace swamp grass, which itself will soon go extinct, and a friend in Bill.

* OhCrap: The inventor has a mild case of this when he notes the agitated state of a mammoth getting its tusks trimmed. Seconds later, he’s proven right - and gets a good demonstration of the principles of the third-class lever into the bargain.

* ElephantsAreScaredOfMice: The mammoths are scared of mice. One use of this is that when a mammoth has warmed your bed for you, you make squeaking noises to get the mammoth out.

* [[ElephantsAreScaredOfMice Mammoths Are Scared of Mice]]: If the mammoth story from the chapter on springs is anything to go by. Apparently, it runs in the family.

** Also goes for Bill’s offer of “companionship” to Mammoth (see ExactWords above).

--> ''So it came to pass that Mammoth, who generally distrusted high walls, warily entered Bill's gates.''

* MetaphoricallyTrue: The inventor’s explanations for what he observes, while hampered by his limited understanding, do contain elements of truth which the book itself elaborates on.

** ''The Way Things Work Now'' (2016) includes sections on more modern technological breakthroughs, such as touch screens, hybrid cars, drones and blu-ray players.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: The inventor helps some lemon farmers by equipping them with metal lances - lightweight zinc for them and copper for their mammoth partners. What he doesn't know is that zinc and copper are two components of a battery, and whenever man and mammoth spear a single lemon at once, they end up creating a circuit that shocks them both.

--> It should be noted that a mammoth's weight is its greatest defence, and that just by standing or sitting still, it is able to resist all but the most determined efforts to move it.

Spawned [[WesternAnimation/{{Cro}} a TV series]] and was updated as ''The Way Things Work Now'' in 2016.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: The mammoths are generally slow to anger, but when they are angered the consequences are quite destructive.
** "On Tusk Trimming And Attendant Problems" shows what happens when a mammoth getting her tusks trimmed loses her temper with the attendants.
** "The Digital Domain" has Mammoth, after realizing he's been duped by the virtual reality helmet, fly into a rage and smash the contraption to pieces.
* BittersweetEnding: The ending of "The Last Mammoth". Mammoth fails to find others of his species, meaning mammoths as a whole will most likely go extinct when he dies. But he has pumpkin pie and chocolate apples to replace swamp grass, which itself will soon go extinct, and a friend in Bill.

* [[HonorableElephant Honorable Mammoth]]: While generally dopey, the mammoths are usually portrayed as gentle creatures unless provoked. Played straight in one chapter, where a mammoth figures out the concept of screws on his own and uses it to save a princess.

** He also doubts that the familiar shape taken by a [[BandageMummy bandaged mammoth]] could ever get off the ground.

* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: PlayedForLaughs in the chapter on telecommunication. The tribespeople's atrocious spelling leads to so many unintentional insults that they stop communicating altogether.

* SingleTear: Just before he enters the digital domain, Mammoth sheds a single tear, which saturates Bill's tennis shoes.

* UpdatedReRelease: Done twice in accordance with TechnologyMarchesOn:

** ''The Way Things Work Now'' (2016) includes sections on more modern technological breakthroughs, such as touch screens and blu-ray players.

* NeverMyFault: Bill gets defensive when Mammoth accuses him of playinga trick with the virtual

* BweareTheNiceOnes: It's not a wise idea to get a mammoth angry, as slow to anger as they are.
** "On Tusk Trimming And Attendant Problems" shows what happens when an agitated mammoth getting her tusks trimmed decides to do something about it.
** "The Digital Domain" has mammoth, after realizing he's been duped by the virtual reality helmet, fly into a rage and smash the contraption to pieces.

* SufficientlyAdvancedBambooTechnology: Somehow, somebody in the land of the mammoths manages to build a working nuclear power plant.

* ExactWords: Bill offered companionship to Mammoth... of a sort. He just never said it would involve virtual reality. This comes back to bite him when Mammoth tries to get intimate with the virtual mammoth.

* LastOfHisKind: Mammoth in ''The Last Mammoth'', who enters Bills digital domain in the hope of companionship.

* PaintingTheMedium: On the entry for suction machines, there is a mammoth with suction cup shoes on the line that separates the title from the other machines.

'''''The Way Things Work''''' is a 1988 science book by Creator/DavidMacaulay with Neil Ardley, which explains [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the way things work]], from simple levers to computers, flight simulators and robots. The workings of machines are shown in cutaway illustrations, often depicting giant versions of machines operated by people moving about inside (or in some cases, by angels), while the principles behind them are often described through humorous stories involving woolly mammoths.

* GiantFood: The chapter on cams and cranks opens with a story detailing a mammoth-powered mechanism used to create giant omlettes.

* MetaphoricallyTrue: The inventor’s explanations for what he observes, while hampered by his limited understanding, do contain elements of truth which the book itself elaborates on. Also goes for Bill’s offer of “companionship” to Mammoth.

* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: PlayedForLaughs in the mammoth story opening the chapter on telecommunications. The tribespeople's atrocious spelling leads to so many unintentional insults in this manner that they stop communicating altogether.
* OhCrap: The inventor has a mild case of this when he notes the agitated state of a mammoth getting its tusks trimmed. Seconds later, he’s proven right.

* {{Technophobia}}: Mammoth in ''The Last Mammoth'' is a downplayed version of this in regards to digital technology in particular. While he doesn't ''hate'' or ''fear'' Bill's technology, it's just too complicated for him, and having struggled to comprehend it throughout the story, he finally resolves to have nothing to do with it.
-->''"While Mammoth had been impressed by much of the digital domain, there was also plenty about it that left him feeling uncomfortable. In the end, it was just too much, too big, too fast and too unfamiliar."''

* BittersweetEnding: The ending of "The Last Mammoth", as a metaphor for the rise of digital technology. Mammoth fails to find others of his species, meaning mammoths as a whole will most likely go extinct when he dies, and wants nothing to do with the Digital Domain after being fooled by a virtual reality headset. But he has pumpkin pie and chocolate apples to replace swamp grass, which itself will soon go extinct, and a friend in Bill. Bill is the only supplier of this food, however, and thus he knows Mammoth will have to return to the Digital Domain to get them, meaning that he will have to accept digital technology sooner or later.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: The inventor character finds it "ludicrous" when a colleague suggests he makes a mammoth-fan that is powered by a stream of water rather a stream of men jumping on to a mattress.

* {{Technophobia}}: Mammoth in ''The Last Mammoth'' is a downplayed version of this. He doesn’t ''hate'' or ''fear'' Bill’s technology, it’s just too complicated for him, and in the end he decides to have nothing to do with it.

* BittersweetEnding: The ending of "The Last Mammoth", as a metaphor for the rise of digital technology. Mammoth fails to find others of his kind, meaning they will most likely go extinct when he dies, and wants nothing to do with the Digital Domain after being fooled by a virtual reality headset. But he has pumpkin pie and chocolate apples to replace swamp grass, which itself will soon go extinct, and a friend in Bill. Bill is the only supplier of this food, however, and thus he knows Mammoth will have to return to the Digital Domain to get them, meaning that he will have to accept digital technology sooner or later.