Fast on the heels of the "New York Times" bestseller "The Book of General Ignorance" comes "The Book of Animal Ignorance," a fun, fact-filled...
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Aug 11, 2008
Susie
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Did you know that a "Riggwelter" is a sheep that's fallen on its back and is too heavy to get back up? That hummingbirds can fly upside-down? That in 1450, a piano was created using live pigs to generate the tones instead of strings? That the latin name for the American Bison is bison bison bison? That the only reason an Aardvark is a widely known animal is because the Oxford dictionary editor in 1928 decided to include it as the first word?
Yeah, I didn't either.
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Yeah, I didn't either.
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Nov 25, 2008
Spencer
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brunei ants have guards that will intentionally explode their heads when threatened causing a sticky mess that slows down the intruders.
bears can give birth in their sleep.
if sealed and stored properly, honey is the one food that will never spoil.
jellyfish don't have brains.
ants act collectively, and together an ant colony has as many neurons as a human. ants dont gather food, harvester ants usually bring in foilage on which the farmer ants grow fungus.
a female che More...
bears can give birth in their sleep.
if sealed and stored properly, honey is the one food that will never spoil.
jellyfish don't have brains.
ants act collectively, and together an ant colony has as many neurons as a human. ants dont gather food, harvester ants usually bring in foilage on which the farmer ants grow fungus.
a female che More...
Apr 24, 2011
Sandra
rated it: 
Ein wirklich interessantes Buch voller unnützem Wissen über die Tierwelt.
Mich hat es wirklich sehr überrascht, was man alles für Tiere gefunden (und ausgerottet) hat und was diese Tiere alles können. Schön wird dabei deren Fähigkeiten auf den Menschen umgerechnet, sodass man sich gut vorstellen kann, was so ein Tier alles leisten kann - als Beispiel müsste der Mensch innerhalb von 20 Minuten 30 Tonnen Erde umgraben, um es mit dem Maulwurf (oder es war irgendein andres grabungsfähiges Tier More...
Mich hat es wirklich sehr überrascht, was man alles für Tiere gefunden (und ausgerottet) hat und was diese Tiere alles können. Schön wird dabei deren Fähigkeiten auf den Menschen umgerechnet, sodass man sich gut vorstellen kann, was so ein Tier alles leisten kann - als Beispiel müsste der Mensch innerhalb von 20 Minuten 30 Tonnen Erde umgraben, um es mit dem Maulwurf (oder es war irgendein andres grabungsfähiges Tier More...
Nov 14, 2011
Chris
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A fairly entertaining read. The book reviews a collection of animal species or broader group (mostly familiar beasties) and drops a heap of trivia about them. The entries covering a group like frogs or beetles feels a bit disjointed (Species A does this. Species B does this) but does show the diversity of a taxon. Not surprisingly, a lot of the information focuses on courtship and reproduction. In general, most of the information in each entry I knew, but that added some credibility to a book wi
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Jan 13, 2009
Jennifer
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I just started this book and love it so far. It is inspired by old fashioned bestiaries but all the crazy information is actually true!
For example,” Beavers can stay submerged for up to 15 minutes. In 1976 the College of Physicians and Faculty of Divinity in Paris classified beaver as a fish because of its scaly tail. That meant the French settlers of North America could officially eat beaver during lent and on other fast days."
or this... "If the male nine-banded armad More...
For example,” Beavers can stay submerged for up to 15 minutes. In 1976 the College of Physicians and Faculty of Divinity in Paris classified beaver as a fish because of its scaly tail. That meant the French settlers of North America could officially eat beaver during lent and on other fast days."
or this... "If the male nine-banded armad More...
Dec 15, 2008
Kevin
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This booked is filled with all kinds of fun & fascinating facts covering the entire animal spectrum. From mites so small we can't even see them, to the biggest of them all, the mighty Blue Whale . There's even a chapter on us humans. But after reading this book my biggest question is what is this British fascination with the word bottom ? The authors used this word countless times and I couldn't help but think, c'mon guys we're adults, if you can't use come to grips with the ass word, how abou
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Jan 07, 2010
Elizabeth
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The Book of Animal Ignorance by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson (pp. 288)
This book is not one might expect from the cover. It is written as a trivia sequel to The Book of General Ignorance from the men who present the BBC program and website: Quite Interesting. The title format is shared with its predecessor, but makes little sense when it comes to the actual content. It is simply 100 of the most common animals presented in two page summaries covering some weird and fascinating fac More...
This book is not one might expect from the cover. It is written as a trivia sequel to The Book of General Ignorance from the men who present the BBC program and website: Quite Interesting. The title format is shared with its predecessor, but makes little sense when it comes to the actual content. It is simply 100 of the most common animals presented in two page summaries covering some weird and fascinating fac More...
May 16, 2009
David
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This book is similar in spirit to "The Book of General Ignorance," also by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. However, instead of a general trivia, question-and-answer format, this book is full of amazing facts about animals, organized in alphabetical order by animal. It's a fascinating and fun read, and the illustrations by Ted Dewan are clever and often very cute.
There are occasional editing problems. In the entry on giraffes, it claims that they have one more neck vertebr More...
There are occasional editing problems. In the entry on giraffes, it claims that they have one more neck vertebr More...
Feb 07, 2009
Tori
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This hodge-podge of factoids about familiar animals (and despite what the title claims, insects as well) is a entertaining compilation of facts you may not have ever thought to have wanted to know about nature.
Each entry is covered in a page or two and while won't make you an expert about any animal, might help you on trivia night at the bar. The descriptions are funny as well as enlightening, written with a wink and a nod.
Each entry is covered in a page or two and while won't make you an expert about any animal, might help you on trivia night at the bar. The descriptions are funny as well as enlightening, written with a wink and a nod.
Jun 15, 2008
Shauna
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I'm rather enjoying this book--I'm learning all sorts of wacko facts I had no idea about (albatrosses can go for YEARS without landing; they can soar for six DAYS without once flapping their wings). But the format of the book doesn't really lend itself to reading straight through--this would be a great book for the bathroom (except I'm anti-reading material there). It's organized alphabetically with each chapter devoted to one type of animal. There are about 100 chapters--I'm on Bee. This could
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Jul 14, 2011
Kim
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An interesting look at at a selection of animals from A to Z. From the most common of animals like bees and worms to the rare like the tuatara and the quoll.
Some things I've read or known but even with the most common animal there were still new and interesting facts.
One thing I have learned is far too many animals eat their own feces or spray their urine on everything including each other.
Some things I've read or known but even with the most common animal there were still new and interesting facts.
One thing I have learned is far too many animals eat their own feces or spray their urine on everything including each other.
Jan 17, 2012
Kim
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Entertaining book of entries on various animals with surprising facts about each. However, the authors rely a bit too heavily on penis bones, barbed penises, double penises, animal rape and other facts about how each creature mates. The whole penis thing got boring by the end of the book. Not appropriate for children until they are ready to process sexual violence.
Dec 26, 2008
Claudine
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A fun, quick read. Anyone who is fascinated by animals and/or likes trivia will enjoy this book. The authors include obscure and interesting facts about a myriad of animal species, proving that truth is stranger than fiction, and that we humans are really the least interesting creatures on the planet.
Aug 02, 2011
Kirsten
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If you love animals and party trivia, this book is for you! Tons of fun facts about a wide variety of animals. They dispel common myths, discuss some of the unique adaptations, and tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the sex lives of animals. Very well-researched! A fun, light read!
Dec 04, 2011
Brian
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Wit and hilarity at a Douglas Adams level. Or maybe close to that level. Either way, this is a great book, but it isn't for kids. If you like animals and enjoy reading sites like Cracked.com, you'll find appeal in this book.
Jan 23, 2010
yengyeng
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Should technically be shelved under "stranger than fiction". Fertile hunting ground for bits and bobs of random trivia and an absolute must-read for people who like to play hao-lian/show-off trivial pursuit at dinner parties.
Apr 02, 2011
Nick
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How appropriate to have finished this on April Fool's day. My husband and son thought I was joking when I first started to read some of these facts aloud. I did have to censor some of what I read to my son (he is 7). I'm not quite ready for some of the discussions that would have to follow! All in all it was a fascinating book with more facts than I could ever possibly remember.
Aug 25, 2010
Don't read this book in the vicinity of anyone who hates it when you read out snippets to them! Jam-packed with entertaining zoological facts so crazy that I had to look many of them up, just to check I wasn't being hoaxed.
May 06, 2011
Trish
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A very funny book - sometimes I could even see Stephen Fry and Alan Davies how they talk about these incredible but very entertaining facts about some animals as they do in "QI".
Dec 06, 2009
Dana
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This book is a lot of fun and chock full of information. Of course, the reproductive stuff is most titillating - the female hyena has an penis she give births out of and the kangaroo has 3! vaginae (really? spell checked corrected me on "vaginas".) - but the other facts about anatomy and habitat and evolution are also fascinating. Like the woodpecker has a mechanism in his head that adjusts the placement of his brain when he pecks - driving it to the back of his skull when his plung
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Jan 10, 2009
Steven
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This book was amusing, but the author talks about animal sex too much. I mean, it's interesting and all, but do you really need to hear about it every other page? Sheesh.
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Oct 25, 2011
Olaf Lewitz
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Lots of quite interesting and little-known stuff about animals... Loved it and still read in it, occasionally:-)
Sep 13, 2011
Lindsay
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Animals are pretty amazing, and this book had some incredible facts and was written in a really interesting and humorous style.
Jan 21, 2009
Stephen
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A lot of facts about various animal species that actually is what it says on the cover - Quite Interesting.
Jan 13, 2009
Jess
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I read this as a follow-up to "The Book of General Ignorance". Fabulous series. I laughed like a loon.
Feb 03, 2010
Jennifer
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Fascinating book...I learned about all sorts of intersting animals I had never heard of and learned fun facts about familiar animals.
I only wish it went on longer.
I only wish it went on longer.
Dec 10, 2009
James
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Man, I could read like a thousand of these. It's pretty much as well-done as a book of trivia could possibly be (done) without including multi-level transparencies and fold-out charts and topographical magic eye treasure maps fully annotated with 3-D footnotes.
Jul 23, 2009
Heather
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Not exactly new information, for the most part, but the writer's style is entertaining.
Jan 23, 2009
Tracey
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An entertaining and educational look at a wide swath of the animal kingdom, (with good, dry, British humour scattered along the way)
The material is arranged alphabetically and each critter gets a 2-3 page spread chock full of trivia with ingenious sketches detailing a physical aspect of the animal.
The material is arranged alphabetically and each critter gets a 2-3 page spread chock full of trivia with ingenious sketches detailing a physical aspect of the animal.
