How Did They Do That?: Wonders of the Far and Recent Past Explained

by Caroline Sutton

The totally satisfying answers to more than 100 questions that drive normal people - not to mention infomaniacs and trivia buffs - crazy.

- Questions about matters great and small, from ancient times to yesterday.

- Illustrated with illuminating technical drawings and unusual vintage photographs.


How did they spend $40 million making Heaven's Gate?
How did they decide the length of a mile?
How did Beethoven compose when he was deaf?
How did they discover the Hope diamond?
How did they know the size of the Earth over 1,700 years before anyone sailed around it?
How did they set the price of the Louisiana Purchase?
How did the FBI devise the "Ten Most Wanted" list?
How did they decide which horses were Thoroughbreds?
How did they pick the Four Hundred?
How did they start the Guiness Book of World Records?
How did the Indians decide that cows were sacred?
How did they discover penicillin?
How did they build the Great Pyramid at Giza?
How did they decide how tall to make the Empire State Building?
How did they know there was an El Dorado?
How did they start the Chicago fire of 1871?
How did Hannibal cross the Alps?

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Reference, Trivia

332 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Andy Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a nice pick-up/set-down type, since it is a collection of short articles describing the history of various events, inventions, and situations. I found it generally pretty interesting, although I'm guessing some of the facts are a little out-of-date, due to new research in some of the areas addressed. Good bathroom material, if you're into that sort of thing.

[Leif C. Crowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing

The title was clever. It soon became all too clear that the contents was generally dull. Perhaps a talented editor and careful proof reading could have saved it. I wonder if the author sampled a broad cross section of readers to discover what topics and burning questions they would like this book to address. Save your time and money.

[Eddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a "bathroom reader" (at least that's how I used it). It's a little dry, a little out dated and really some of the topics I couldn't care less about. Several were interesting, but overall I prefer the imponderables books they're much more entertaining.

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few interesting tidbits. Very poorly organized. I skipped a lot.

[Stephanie Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great facts

Things I never knew, things that I did know, and things odd. Liked the way you could quickly read a fact and go on to a new fact.

[Benjamin · Rating 2 out of 5]

My greatest criticism of How Did They Do That? is that it is... irregular in the quality of it's component articles (e.g., the article on Schliemann's discovery of Troy was poorly researched, whereas comparable articles on the construction of the Eiffel Tower and Stonehenge were quite good, I thought), but I did learn several new things that I'd be interested in reading about further (like the Baader-Meinhoff gang story). Also, it is really hard to take Sutton seriously when her answers are shorter than the questions, all the more so when she is obviously being trite. Overall, a decent "comfort read", but not anything I'd be proud to display on my shelf.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice assortment of questions and answers that range from the filming of 'Heaven's Gate' to the discovery of radium. My major complaint is that many of the chapters could have used another paragraph at the end putting the subject in historical context and/or explaining its' continued significance. I often found myself turning the page to read 'the rest of the story' only to find we had moved on to the next topic. Written in the 1980s, which means that some of the information is slightly out of date, but it also means that many sources were used, not just Wikipedia.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit it...I am pathologically nosy. I don't believe in rhetorical questions, and spend crazy amounts of time looking up information to questions I or others have about...well, pretty much anything. A book like this is right up my alley. It tells the whens, whos, hows, and even whys of dozen of inventions and discoveries. Anybody with a brain for facts or trivia, or is just an insufferable know-it-all (like me)will absorb this info like a thirsty man absorbs beer.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

How Did They Do That? Wonders of the Far and Recent Past Explained by Caroline Sutton (Hilltown 1984)(032.02) is written in the "Straight Dope" genre; it asks and answers questions which may or may not have puzzled the reader. The difference in this volume versus the "Straight Dope" is that this volume answers many questions that do not interest the reader. It appears to be well-researched, however, and well edited. My rating: 5/10, finished 3/7/14.

[Barbara Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

You should buy this grand informational book! The book features many questions you might have, for example - how did they discover radium?, how did they build the Great wall of China?, and etc. I Would recommend this book to a friend.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some long-winded explanations (wayy too much more than I wanted to know) about some things, but overall it was really interesting.

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fun book is a trivia maven's dream (despite the fact that a lot of its content is out of date now.)

[Barbara Bertino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of how they did that stories. Gives a lot of history of how things happened. Good read