Alternative Facts

by Alex Palmer

Did you hear that Pope Francis endorsed Trump? Or that you have to pay to perform "Happy Birthday to You" in public? How about that the Soviet Union once banned microwaves out of fear that they were spreading diseases? These are all totally true things!* Everyone is saying so.

There's a lot of weird news out there today (thanks, Internet!). But given the speed of modern media, often these stories get disseminated faster than they can be fact-checked. As Mark Twain once said, "a lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on." (Actually, that's been attributed to about a half-dozen different people in various publications, but still, the point remains.)

In Alternative Facts, author Alex Palmer (Weird-o-pedia) collects 200 of the oddest stories he could find, ranging from history to pop culture and science, which have been disseminated over the years, whether true or not. You'll have to flip to the back of the book to find out which ones were real and which were not; but you couldn't be fooled that easily, right?

[* Actually, just one of those things is really really true; can you guess which one?]

Hardcover

Published March 1, 2021

About the author

Alex Palmer is the author of five nonfiction books including New York Times bestseller The Santa Claus Man and the forthcoming Happiness Hacks. A journalist and excavator of fascinating facts, he is also the author of Weird-o-pedia, Alternative Facts, and Literary Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Literature.

His writing has also appeared in Esquire, Best Life, Slate, Mental Floss, Smithsonian, Vulture, and The Rumpus, among others.

See more at www.alexpalmerwrites.com.

Reviews

[Stephanie]

I got this book from goodreads first reads. This book is like the literary version of fact or crap. I thought I knew enough random/useless trivia to do really well but the scores don't lie - apparently gullible is actually written on the ceiling but I didn't look to see but my shoes are not untied and I looked down anyway. The info was great and not run of the mill by any stretch but still engaging and fun.

[Tamara]

This is a fun book that can be used as a party game. I read it with my older kids, and they enjoy guessing whether something is a Fact or Alternative Fact. We all learn some interesting things along the way. Thanks to Goodreads for a copy if this timely entertainment!