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The Book of Extraordinary Facts
Expanding Your Mind One Fact at a Time
Our modern culture is obsessed with facts. Unfortunately, some people aren't interested in anything but "just the facts," dismissing anything that smacks of wonder or curiosity. But not all truths fit into logical and sensible boxes--sometimes the facts are truly extraordinary and beyond belief.
The Book of Extraordinary Facts is chock-full of entertaining information about history, nature, celebrities, crooks, places, sports, religion, technology, and the just plain ol' weird. Inside the book you'll also find scads of noteworthy gems, including:
*A blue whale's tongue outweighs the average adult elephant. That's a two-ton tongue!
*Competitive-eating champion Sonya Thomas set a record in 2005 when she ate 44 Maine lobsters in only 12 minutes. (Let's hope she wore comfy pants!)
*Not "digging" the traditional pine box coffin? Try a customized carrier in the shape of an egg, a shoe, a car, or--yes, really--a uterus.
*Ballet is a riot--literally! At least, it was in 1913 when three Russian artists defied all convention and premiered Igor Stravinsky's shocking ballet, The Rite of Spring.
*And much, much more!
Our modern culture is obsessed with facts. Unfortunately, some people aren't interested in anything but "just the facts," dismissing anything that smacks of wonder or curiosity. But not all truths fit into logical and sensible boxes--sometimes the facts are truly extraordinary and beyond belief.
The Book of Extraordinary Facts is chock-full of entertaining information about history, nature, celebrities, crooks, places, sports, religion, technology, and the just plain ol' weird. Inside the book you'll also find scads of noteworthy gems, including:
*A blue whale's tongue outweighs the average adult elephant. That's a two-ton tongue!
*Competitive-eating champion Sonya Thomas set a record in 2005 when she ate 44 Maine lobsters in only 12 minutes. (Let's hope she wore comfy pants!)
*Not "digging" the traditional pine box coffin? Try a customized carrier in the shape of an egg, a shoe, a car, or--yes, really--a uterus.
*Ballet is a riot--literally! At least, it was in 1913 when three Russian artists defied all convention and premiered Igor Stravinsky's shocking ballet, The Rite of Spring.
*And much, much more!
- GenresNonfictionReferenceHumor
682 pages, Leather Bound
Published January 1, 2012
22 people are currently reading
321 people want to read
About the author
Publications International
4,310 books73 followersPublications International, Ltd. (PIL) is a leading North American publisher, producing hundreds of new titles each year and printing millions of books annually. CEO Louis Weber founded the company in 1967 with a mission to provide high-quality, high-value products for consumers worldwide.
PIL publishes books in many categories, including the popular Brain Games® series of puzzle, sticker and coloring books, in addition to cookbooks, children’s books, craft, reference and much more.
PIL's bestselling Brain Games® product line features a wide array of puzzle books, including standards such as word searches, crosswords, sudokus, codewords, and cryptograms, as well as variety puzzle books themed around crime, Christmas, summer, celebrities, and more.
The New Seasons® division publishes a variety of stationery products that combine unique formats with the latest trends in design. Among these are Sticker by Number titles, Color and Frame books, notepad sets, journals, and recipe keepers. These products are the perfect vehicle to de-stress and relax, organize your day, and record and share memories.
Collectible Automobile® magazine, another division of PIL, presents an in-depth look at the cars and trucks that Americans have known and loved for decades. First published in 1984, Collectible Automobile® magazine is released six times a year.
PIL's cookbooks feature visually outstanding presentations of culinary classics and world cuisine, including books that focus on the Mediterranean diet, plant-based cooking, restaurant recipes, and the best in entertaining.
PIL publishes books in many categories, including the popular Brain Games® series of puzzle, sticker and coloring books, in addition to cookbooks, children’s books, craft, reference and much more.
PIL's bestselling Brain Games® product line features a wide array of puzzle books, including standards such as word searches, crosswords, sudokus, codewords, and cryptograms, as well as variety puzzle books themed around crime, Christmas, summer, celebrities, and more.
The New Seasons® division publishes a variety of stationery products that combine unique formats with the latest trends in design. Among these are Sticker by Number titles, Color and Frame books, notepad sets, journals, and recipe keepers. These products are the perfect vehicle to de-stress and relax, organize your day, and record and share memories.
Collectible Automobile® magazine, another division of PIL, presents an in-depth look at the cars and trucks that Americans have known and loved for decades. First published in 1984, Collectible Automobile® magazine is released six times a year.
PIL's cookbooks feature visually outstanding presentations of culinary classics and world cuisine, including books that focus on the Mediterranean diet, plant-based cooking, restaurant recipes, and the best in entertaining.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 2, 2023
I received this book as a Christmas gift from family members. It's not a bad book, but neither can I say it gripped me either.
The book is a random assortment of factoids, articles, etc, that the publishers think most people don't know or would find interesting. It's writing style is generally that of Ripley's Believe It or Not, NY Post's Page Six, or the Reader's Digest --- short, shallow, sensationalistic --- which generally rubs me the wrong way.
Some topics are interesting; however, as is the case with tabloid journalism and mainstream entertainment media, there's a persistent tendency to play up the tawdry, the grotesque, and the freakish. Serial killers, cult leaders, nut cases, and odd balls get their day in much of this book.
As a history buff, most annoying, there's a willingness to miss the forest for the trees when covering famous people. For example, focusing on the quirks or flaw in some historical figure to the exclusion of informing the reader of that person's role in changing history or broadening human knowledge. I especially loathed segments in it on some luminary discussing their sex life --- and the only justification for it being "Some experts think that [so-and-so] was secretly a [fill-in-the-blank sexual such and such]" --- no facts, no evidence, no documentation to back such conjecture --- just some unnamed experts idle ruminations. It's sloppy, lazy journalism --- doesn't inform, doesn't educate, and skews those who, prior to reading the article, may have known little about the person into thinking that this or that relatively minor issue or quirk is the predominant thing to know about them when there was so much more to them and none of the article's unsupported speculations may even be true.
It's not a bad book. I guess it's a good bathroom book --- something to read while doing one's business on the can, to occupy the time with something titillating or mindless . But, if you want to find good information on a person, place, or event --- my advice --- get the most reputable book you can find on it that discusses it in context to inform, not just entertain, instead of something from pop media.
The book is a random assortment of factoids, articles, etc, that the publishers think most people don't know or would find interesting. It's writing style is generally that of Ripley's Believe It or Not, NY Post's Page Six, or the Reader's Digest --- short, shallow, sensationalistic --- which generally rubs me the wrong way.
Some topics are interesting; however, as is the case with tabloid journalism and mainstream entertainment media, there's a persistent tendency to play up the tawdry, the grotesque, and the freakish. Serial killers, cult leaders, nut cases, and odd balls get their day in much of this book.
As a history buff, most annoying, there's a willingness to miss the forest for the trees when covering famous people. For example, focusing on the quirks or flaw in some historical figure to the exclusion of informing the reader of that person's role in changing history or broadening human knowledge. I especially loathed segments in it on some luminary discussing their sex life --- and the only justification for it being "Some experts think that [so-and-so] was secretly a [fill-in-the-blank sexual such and such]" --- no facts, no evidence, no documentation to back such conjecture --- just some unnamed experts idle ruminations. It's sloppy, lazy journalism --- doesn't inform, doesn't educate, and skews those who, prior to reading the article, may have known little about the person into thinking that this or that relatively minor issue or quirk is the predominant thing to know about them when there was so much more to them and none of the article's unsupported speculations may even be true.
It's not a bad book. I guess it's a good bathroom book --- something to read while doing one's business on the can, to occupy the time with something titillating or mindless . But, if you want to find good information on a person, place, or event --- my advice --- get the most reputable book you can find on it that discusses it in context to inform, not just entertain, instead of something from pop media.
May 26, 2021
same old repeated books in every volume
June 27, 2021
I received a triple stack of these books actually back in Xmas last year and have been slowly chipping away at them.
These are filled with essentially trivia knowledge about haunted houses, exotic foods, sporting events, etc. They are honestly perfect bathroom reads, as you can jump in, read about different species of bats, and jump out feeling like you've picked away a little bit of interesting knowledge.
I would say these are great gifts, even for non-readers as the content is usually 1-3 pages max per subject.
I did notice quite a bit of overlap within the three books. For example, the exotic food section with things like puffer fish, maggot cheese, etc... overall quite a bit of repeat material.
All in all though, these are fun. Fair warning though, the content is a bit dated, as the most current events you'll find within the books are early 2000's at best and goes to the left pretty far.. maybe even as far as the 1950's.
These are filled with essentially trivia knowledge about haunted houses, exotic foods, sporting events, etc. They are honestly perfect bathroom reads, as you can jump in, read about different species of bats, and jump out feeling like you've picked away a little bit of interesting knowledge.
I would say these are great gifts, even for non-readers as the content is usually 1-3 pages max per subject.
I did notice quite a bit of overlap within the three books. For example, the exotic food section with things like puffer fish, maggot cheese, etc... overall quite a bit of repeat material.
All in all though, these are fun. Fair warning though, the content is a bit dated, as the most current events you'll find within the books are early 2000's at best and goes to the left pretty far.. maybe even as far as the 1950's.
Want to read
November 15, 2021The sexual history of corn flakes
Read
September 11, 2022Very good book, learned a lot and It helped me with my commonplace book
October 20, 2022
Very interesting
January 17, 2023
Interesting facts! I read a little bit every day to my mom and we were both fascinated by a lot of the things discussed in here. I'll be getting more books from this series.
Read
May 2, 2023Today's Last and Final Fun Fact is: George Washington was a red-head!
July 27, 2023
This book is like a ‘junkyard of facts’, with trivia thrown together, although categorized. I used to love trivia fact books, but this is my last one. I’m done!
March 23, 2025
fascinating stuff, some cool some not so interesting. enjoyable to read a little at a time. wish i could remember it all.
April 4, 2025
Finished reading this extensive book of facts last weekend. Compared to the other two "Book of _" I'm reading, this one has more on Arts, Culture, History & Geography, of which I appreciated.
May 11, 2025
Companion to the Book of Unusual Knowledge, it's a nice book to peruse while in the bathroom with nothing else to do and you've run out of magazines. Not something I would take on the train with me.
November 4, 2024
Random knowledge. Fun.
September 24, 2014
I received this as a gift from a loving friend. I do not expect ever to read through it, though the sample that I perused does not rule it out entirely. It is a good companion for private moments that everyone suffers.
Abbreviated chapter titles run thus:
1. Hollywood
2. Sports & Pastimes.,
3. Health & Body
4. Food & Drink
5. Love
6. Pop Culture
7. Arts & Culture
8. History
9. World Around Us
10. Conflict & Combat
11. Science, Technology
12. Flora, Fauna
13. Something to Believe In
14. Crime & Death
15. Wierd!
16. Odds-& Ends
--. Index
Abbreviated chapter titles run thus:
1. Hollywood
2. Sports & Pastimes.,
3. Health & Body
4. Food & Drink
5. Love
6. Pop Culture
7. Arts & Culture
8. History
9. World Around Us
10. Conflict & Combat
11. Science, Technology
12. Flora, Fauna
13. Something to Believe In
14. Crime & Death
15. Wierd!
16. Odds-& Ends
--. Index
May 1, 2015
A book that covers so much territory from History to culture to signs one's government is under a dictatorship this has a lot of info. Never taking itself completely seriously this is close to an encyclopedia, only entertaining. There is a huge chance whatever subject you want to read about it is in here, as broad in scope as possible.
My favorite sections involve movies, covering the history of the Hollywood sign to actor quotes and movie lists.
Try it out, it is pretty extraordinary!
My favorite sections involve movies, covering the history of the Hollywood sign to actor quotes and movie lists.
Try it out, it is pretty extraordinary!
January 20, 2015
An enjoyable book of facts about a wide variety of topics. Makes for a great general interest or side table book.
December 10, 2016
Reading books like this is like eating peanuts. Always wanting one more fact.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews