No molly coddle, he, Cecil Adams tackles the tough questions in life, including "Do cats have navels?" and "What are the real lyrics to 'Louie, Louie'?'" Uncompromising and always entertaining, he explodes myths, reveals shocking truths and answers over 400 of the...  more

No molly coddle, he, Cecil Adams tackles the tough questions in life, including "Do cats have navels?" and "What are the real lyrics to 'Louie, Louie'?'" Uncompromising and always entertaining, he explodes myths, reveals shocking truths and answers over 400 of the most pressing questions of this or any day.

All in perfectly bad taste Prepare to be amazed, appalled, disgusted, and hugely entertained by this compendium of indelicate oddities. Nothing is too inane, too insane, too bizarre, or too distasteful for this incredible, seemingly impossible, but absolutely true collection of facts from...  more

All in perfectly bad taste Prepare to be amazed, appalled, disgusted, and hugely entertained by this compendium of indelicate oddities. Nothing is too inane, too insane, too bizarre, or too distasteful for this incredible, seemingly impossible, but absolutely true collection of facts from across the ages and around the world. Did you know… -that Pope Benedict XII was such a hardened boozer that he inspired the expression “drunk as a pope”? (From “10 Historic Drunks.) -that as a special honeymoon treat, Prince Charles read Princess Diana passages from the works of Carl Jung and Laurens van der Post? (From “History's 10 Least Romantic Honeymoons.) -that the best-dressed gentlemen in medieval England exposed their genitals below a short-fitting tunic? (From “History's 10 Greatest Fashion Mistakes.) -that Alfred Hitchcock suffered from ovophobia—fear of eggs? (From “10 Phobias of the Famous.) -that King Louis XIV only took three baths in his lifetime, each of them under protest? (From 10 Great Unwashed.) -that in 1930, Sears customers became enraged when the catalog was first printed on glossy, non-absorbent paper? (From “12 Magical Moments in Toilet Paper History.)

For lovers of facts, students of popular culture, history buffs, and science enthusiasts, the fascinating stories behind 500 everyday items, expressions, and customs--from Kleenex to steak sauce, Barbie Dolls to honeymoons.

Russ Kick has proved himself a master at uncovering facts that "they" would prefer you never hear about. The giant Disinformation Guide series edited by Kick has become the definitive place to find revelations about government cover-ups, scientific scams, corporate crimes, medical malfeasance,...  more

Russ Kick has proved himself a master at uncovering facts that "they" would prefer you never hear about. The giant Disinformation Guide series edited by Kick has become the definitive place to find revelations about government cover-ups, scientific scams, corporate crimes, medical malfeasance, historical whitewashes, media manipulation, and other knock-your-socks-off secrets and lies.This CD-sized book packs the same powerful punch in a small, attractive package. Among Kick_s amazing discoveries, all thoroughly documented:The first genetically modified humans have already been born.Hitler_s blood relatives are living in the U.S. The CIA commits over 100,000 serious crimes per year. The U.S. planned to explode an atomic bomb on the moon. An atomic bomb was dropped on North Carolina. The main hero of the movie Black Hawk Down is a convicted child molester. The discoverer of HIV no longer believes the virus is the sole cause of AIDS. Kent State wasn_t the only massacre of U.S. college students during the Vietnam era. Lincoln didn_t free any slaves. A uniquely valuable tool to debunk modern mythology and the people and institutions serving it up, 50 Things You_re Not Supposed To Know makes an amazing gift item and will prove just as essential in fashionable bathrooms as on the most well-heeled coffee tables.

Impossible to read at one sitting, but utterly unputdownable, Schott's Original Miscellany is a unique collection of fabulous trivia.What other book boasts an index that includes shoelace lengths, sign language, and the seven deadly sins; dueling and dwarves; the hair color of Miss America and...  more

Impossible to read at one sitting, but utterly unputdownable, Schott's Original Miscellany is a unique collection of fabulous trivia.What other book boasts an index that includes shoelace lengths, sign language, and the seven deadly sins; dueling and dwarves; the hair color of Miss America and the Hampton Court maze?Where else can you find, packed onto one page, the names of golf strokes, a history of the Hat Tax, cricketing dismissals, nouns of assemblage, an unofficial motto of the US Postal Service, and the flag of Guadeloupe?Where else but Schott's Original Miscellany will you stumble across John Lennon's cat, the supplier of bagpipes to the Queen, the labors of Hercules, and the brutal methods of murder encountered by Miss Marple?A book like no other, Schott's Original Miscellany is entertaining, informative, unpredictable, and utterly addictive.

The best kind of knowledge is uncommon knowledge.Okay, so maybe you know all the stuff you're supposed to know--that there are teenier things than atoms, that Remembrance of Things Past has something to do with a perfumed cookie, that the Monroe Doctrine means we get to take over small South...  more

The best kind of knowledge is uncommon knowledge.Okay, so maybe you know all the stuff you're supposed to know--that there are teenier things than atoms, that Remembrance of Things Past has something to do with a perfumed cookie, that the Monroe Doctrine means we get to take over small South American countries when we feel like it.  But really, is this kind of knowledge going to make you the hit of the cocktail party, or the loser spending forty-five minutes examining the host's bookshelves?Wouldn't you rather learn things like how the invention of the bicycle affected the evolution of underwear?  Or that the 1949 Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to a doctor who performed lobotomies with a household ice pick?  Or how Catherine the Great really died?  Or that heroin was sold over the counter not too long ago?For the truly well-rounded "intellectual," nothing fascinates so much as the subversive, the contrarian, the suppressed, and the bizarre.  Richard Zacks, auto-didact extraordinaire, has unloosed his admittedly strange mind and astonishing research abilities upon the entire spectrum of human knowledge, ferreting out endlessly fascinating facts, stories, photos, and images guaranteed to make you laugh, gasp in wonder, and occasionally shudder at the depths of human depravity.  The result of his labors is this fantastically illustrated quasi-encyclopedia that provides alternative takes on art, business, crime, science, medicine, sex (lots of that), and many other facets of human experience.Immensely entertaining, and arguably enlightening, An Underground Education is the only book that explains the birth of motion pictures using photos of naked baseball players.Richard Zacks is the author of History Laid Bare: Love, Sex and Perversity from the Ancient Etruscans to Warren G. Harding, which was excerpted in classy magazines like Harper's and earned the attention of the even classier New York Times, which noted that "Zacks specializes in the raunchy and perverse."  The Georgia State Legislature voted on whether to ban the book from public libraries.  He has studied Arabic, Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and Hebrew, and received the Phillips Classical Greek Award at the University of Michigan.  He has also told his publisher that he made a living in Cairo cheating royalty from a certain Arab country at games of chance, although the claim remains unverified.  His writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, The Village Voice, TV Guide, and similarly diverse publications.  Zacks is married and busy warping the minds of his two children, Georgia and Ziegfield.  He resides in New York City, and can be reached via e-mail at rzacks@echonyc.com.From the Hardcover edition.

When Tusko the Elephant woke in his pen at the Lincoln Park Zoo on the morning of August 3, 1962, little did he know that he was about to become the test subject in an experiment to determine what happens to an elephant given a massive dose of LSD. In Elephants on Acid, Alex Boese reveals to...  more

When Tusko the Elephant woke in his pen at the Lincoln Park Zoo on the morning of August 3, 1962, little did he know that he was about to become the test subject in an experiment to determine what happens to an elephant given a massive dose of LSD. In Elephants on Acid, Alex Boese reveals to readers the results of not only this scientific trial but of scores of other outrageous, amusing, and provocative experiments found in the files of modern science. Why can’t people tickle themselves? Would the average dog summon help in an emergency? Will babies instinctually pick a well-balanced diet? Is it possible to restore life to the dead? Read Elephants on Acid and find out!

From the creators of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Useless Information comes another enlightening, entertaining, and ultimately useless assortment of trivia. If you find yourself transfixed by the most trivial of trivia, or mesmerized by the most minor of minutiae, The...  more

From the creators of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Useless Information comes another enlightening, entertaining, and ultimately useless assortment of trivia. If you find yourself transfixed by the most trivial of trivia, or mesmerized by the most minor of minutiae, The Useless Information Society's latest findings can satisfy your every need. This wide-ranging collection will fill every nook and cranny of your brain with information you'll surely never need, but will enjoy learning anyway! Did you know... - that penguins can jump six feet out of the water? - that everyone is color-blind at birth? Would you care to know... - what the first meal eaten on the moon was? - what country drinks the most Coca-Cola? (Hint: It's not the United States.) In 1995, a secret society was formed comprising Britain's foremost thinkers, writers, and artists to trade and share in useless information (or, as founding member Keith Waterhouse, playwright and journalist, would have it, "totally bloody useless").

Reports facts and the most recent theories concerning ancient civilizations, archaeological discoveries, unexplained catastrophes, and other mysteries from man's past, illustrating accounts with hundreds of photographs, paintings, and maps. Voyage to Atlantis -- The search for...  more

Reports facts and the most recent theories concerning ancient civilizations, archaeological discoveries, unexplained catastrophes, and other mysteries from man's past, illustrating accounts with hundreds of photographs, paintings, and maps. Voyage to Atlantis -- The search for Eldorado, land of gold -- The land of the Queen of Sheba -- Who really discovered the new world? -- Strange stones of western Europe -- Soul-statues of Corsica -- The secrets of Stonehenge -- The giants of Easter Island -- Teotihuacán, city of the gods -- The lost empire of the Indus Valley -- The silent stones of Tiahuanaco -- The world's first cities -- The last refuge of the Incas -- The men who built the Tower of Babel -- Pyramids in the Americas -- Inside the pyramids of the pharaohs -- When the Sahara was green -- The Scythians, fierce horesmen of the steppes -- Zimbabwe, Africa's lost civilisation -- Splendour in the jungle at Angkor -- The Olmecs, a race of precursors -- The magnificent realm of the Mayas -- Enigmatic messages of the Nazcas -- Did a black hole hit Siberia?

Ever feel like you're being kept in the dark? Do you feel like the facts and history you rely on might not be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but?Just in time for 2004's Christmas parties and other holiday get-togethers, Russ Kick delivers a second round of stunning information, forgotten...  more

Ever feel like you're being kept in the dark? Do you feel like the facts and history you rely on might not be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but?Just in time for 2004's Christmas parties and other holiday get-togethers, Russ Kick delivers a second round of stunning information, forgotten facts and hidden history. The first volume was the gift to give and get for the holiday season of 2003; surprising, shocking and controversial, the "things" in Volume 2 will make 2004's holiday parties sizzle with debate over Kick's revelations-all thoroughly researched and documented.Sized for quick reference, filled with facts, illustrations, and graphic evidence of lies and misrepresentations, 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know-Volume 2 presents the vital, often omitted details on human health hazards, government lies, and secret history and warfare excised from your schoolbooks and nightly news reports.Russ Kick and The Disinformation Company have published five successful books together since 2001. Each one has become a bestseller, establishing Russ as the leader in gathering and disseminating the hidden history, forgotten facts, secret stories and covert cover-ups that "they" don't want you to know!Russ Kick is the editor of Abuse Your Illusions: The Disinformation Guide to Media Mirages and Establishment Lies; Everything You Know Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Secrets and Lies; and You Are Being Lied To: The Disinformation Guide to Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes and Cultural Myths. He is the author of 50 Things You're Not Supposed To Know and The Disinformation Book of Lists.

Authoritative and browsable, comprehensive and fun, 10,000 Answers is both a portal to the world of little-known facts and an absorbing destination itself. This book stands in the tradition of Fred Worth's Trivia Encyclopedia, a cult classic that unfortunately was never updated and had no...  more

Authoritative and browsable, comprehensive and fun, 10,000 Answers is both a portal to the world of little-known facts and an absorbing destination itself. This book stands in the tradition of Fred Worth's Trivia Encyclopedia, a cult classic that unfortunately was never updated and had no index. Perfect for trivia buffs who've had to wait too long for a new book like this, 10,000 Answers is also entertaining and accessible for any lover of odd, interesting, engaging facts -- and of course, "Millionaire" watchers.Features Include:• Foreword by Will Shortz, The New York Times puzzle editor• Unlike other trivia books, it's organized by answer• A full category index helps you find subjects quickly• Truly encyclopedic -- over 10,000 entries on a wide range of subjects• Hundreds of lists (the original 31 Flavors of Baskin-Robbins ice cream; Henry VIII's six wives)

For centuries, philosophers, scientists, and charlatans have attempted to decipher the baffling mysteries of our past, from Stonehenge to the lost continent of Atlantis. Today, however, DNA testing, radiocarbon dating, and other cutting-edge investigative tools, together with a healthy dose of...  more

For centuries, philosophers, scientists, and charlatans have attempted to decipher the baffling mysteries of our past, from Stonehenge to the lost continent of Atlantis. Today, however, DNA testing, radiocarbon dating, and other cutting-edge investigative tools, together with a healthy dose of common sense, are guiding us closer to the truth. Now historian Peter James and archaeologist Nick Thorpe tackle these age-old conundrums, presenting the latest information from the scientific community–and the most startling challenges to traditional explanations of mysteries such as:• The rise and fall of the Maya• A lost cache of Dead Sea Scrolls• The curse of Tutankhamun• The devastation of Sodom and Gomorrah• The Nazca Lines and the Vinland Map• The existence of Robin HoodThese true mystery stories twist and turn like a good whodunit, as James and Thorpe present the evidence for and against the expert theories, shedding new light on humankind’s age-old struggle to make sense of the past. Ancient Mysteries will entertain and enlighten, delight the curious and inform the serious.

Here they are -- the basic questions of existence with answers! As editor of two popular books, THE STRAIGHT DOPE and MORE OF THE STRAIGHT DOPE, Ed Zotti has helped the legendary Cecil Adams answer the great riddles of our time. Now, in KNOW IT ALL!, Ed Zotti draws on this vast storehouse of...  more

Here they are -- the basic questions of existence with answers! As editor of two popular books, THE STRAIGHT DOPE and MORE OF THE STRAIGHT DOPE, Ed Zotti has helped the legendary Cecil Adams answer the great riddles of our time. Now, in KNOW IT ALL!, Ed Zotti draws on this vast storehouse of knowledge to solve the mysteries that keep all of us up at night wondering: How do astronauts go to the bathroom in space? Are cats color blind? If somebody opened the emergency exit on an airplane while it was in the air, would everybody on the plane be sucked out and killed? and many, many more. It is questions like these upon which the fate of mankind rests. Ask, read, and remember. You will be tested!

What could Tommy Dorsey have been thinking in 1940 when he installed his orchestra in the monkey house of the Philadelphia Zoo to perform a concert for the apes? Could artist Rudy Giacomo have been serious when he proposed building a 39 mile manicotti around Manhattan Island? Was the Nobel...  more

What could Tommy Dorsey have been thinking in 1940 when he installed his orchestra in the monkey house of the Philadelphia Zoo to perform a concert for the apes? Could artist Rudy Giacomo have been serious when he proposed building a 39 mile manicotti around Manhattan Island? Was the Nobel Prize Committee on drugs when they conferred the 1949 prize in Medicine to the man who perfected the lobotomy? Bad ideas are everywhere--they're the tile grout of history, the crabgrass of civilization, poking up through every crack in our thinking. According to government statistics, they outnumber good ideas six hundred to one. What Were They Thinking is a compendium of some 400 harebrained schemes, fool notions, and misguided obsessions both grandiose and mundane. In it readers will uncover one man's effort to market a board game based on the Lebanese civil war...an Iowa State University professor's proposal to blow up the moon...and Senator Victor Biaka-Boda's ill-considered campaign trip to the Ivory Coast hinterlands. (Not only did he lose the election, his constituents ate him.) Within these pages, the aim has not been to probe the motives behind bad ideas, but simply to recount and, above all, revel in them. The stories in What Were They Thinking? range from the horrific to the hilarious; many are both. But none are fanciful. Every item has been carefully researched from published, non-fiction sources such as newspapers, trade journals, magazines, government reports, research studies, corporate literature, and reference books. Says Felton, "To have been any less exacting in my insistence on accuracy would have been a terrible idea."

A consumer book of shopping secrets.  Great book with great insight on a variety of subjects that can help make your everyday life easier, contains "secrets" for improving your family life, health, business, brain power, etc.

General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1883 Original Publisher: Govt. Print. Off. Subjects: Weather Weather lore History / General Juvenile Nonfiction / Science