Answers to Questions You've Never Asked: Explaining the 'What If' in Science, Geography and the Absurd

by Joseph Pisenti

The #1 bestselling trivia collection with bizarre facts to entertain you for hours, from the creator of YouTube’s RealLifeLore.
  Where can I move to so that I’m never tempted by McDonald’s again? How far into the Pacific does Trump’s wall stretch? If Plato came back to life, what would he think of modern democracy? Why do all empires fail? Who decides what countries are allowed to participate in the Olympics? What makes Finland so great?  
When you take the most absurd parts of history, science, economics, and geography, you end up with a pretty confusing picture of humanity. Why do we have borders, what’s the furthest you can get from the ocean, how do you qualify as a country, and why did Vikings wear those silly helmets? These are just a few of the strange questions that bounce around the head of YouTube sensation Joseph Pisenti, aka RealLifeLore.
 
In his debut book, Pisenti explores the nonsensical humor of the universe with in-depth analysis of empires, economies, and ecosystems as he helps answer the ridiculous. Why, you ask? Because someone has to. Using line drawings, graphs, and charts, Pisenti not only details the absurd—he also provides explanations on why things are . . . and why they aren’t.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, History, Trivia, Audiobook, Business, Popular Science

220 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 22, 2022

Reviews

[ScienceOfSuccess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great book for 10-12 Years old kid fascinated in geography and history...

The author wrote down 100 or so useless question, then googled answers, and wrote a book...

[Summer DBM · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love random trivia and speculative science, so I enjoyed reading some of this. This book, however, would have benefited from an extra round of edits or two (or three or four.) At first, it was minor typos: an incorrect verb tense, Minnesota spelled as Mennesota. But sentences soon became repetitive, confusing, or lacking a verb entirely!

The final nail in the coffin was stating that Jeb Bush was the governor of California. This is a book about facts! Your facts need to be, well, factual!

This book had solid potential, but really needed some more work-shopping prior to publication.

[Rodri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si bien empezó fuerte, se ha ido diluyendo bastante la “curiosidad” que generaba. Está okey, pero si durase un par de capítulos más a ese ritmo, lo hubiese dejado.

[Samuel Minzey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read, but there are a few typos. If you enjoy RealLifeLore, you will enjoy this book.

[Brent · Rating 1 out of 5]

Huge, glaring factual errors (who uses World News Daily as a cited source?). Give it a miss.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hoo boy. This book would've been a lot better if it was a little longer and without the section with American presidents. The section about presidents just feels like padding, it's written completely differently to the book before and afterwards and it makes for less compelling reading. A week after finishing it, the only things I actually remember from that section was that the current one is the only one to not have a pet, and that Lincoln was the tallest (at time of writing). I probably would've been equally bored through most other topics (including leaders of my own country) told in this way, but the choice of focus on the topic(am I the outlier for not caring about presidential pets beyond the couple who had llamas and alligators?) didn't help.

But the rest of it is actually not bad. Like, interested in checking out Reallifelore not bad. Genuinely interesting things that aren't the same interesting things I have read elsewhere (granted, not always the fault of where ever I read it due to copycats), just let down a bit by the lack of content. But then, I got it as part of the humble bundle, so it's more a three star review at standard price (unless the trivia works better in the proper edition, as it stands, its a bit odd having to cycle through the entire book when it's only tangential to the chapter).

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love trivia, but this book was not trivia. This book is about what-if history (which is useless), taking a political stance (which of course it has to because it was published after 2015), and the narcism of the author for being a youtuber, but you know, not like those other guys: this author is smart and makes content for intelligent people (now you don’t have to read the introduction. You’re welcome).

I gave this two stars because I learned exactly one thing that is both interesting and useful.

[Cleber Fregatto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Keep in mind that the answers you’ll get are for questions the autor has therefore you have never asked. This book was a disappointment for me, the autor is American and writes for an American audience, which makes the book very self contained. There is a huge section only about every single american president. Save yourself some time and if you have a question you have never asked before, just Google it.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's not much to review. You mostly get the idea with the title. Overall this was awesome and entertaining.

[Sophie Rayton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seemed like it would be really fun and interesting, but it wasn't.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally trivia tends to terrify me.

This is no exception.

Most of the chapters in this book are okay, no problems at all and everything is an interesting fact I didn't know until I read it (unless I've seen a little of it on Real Life Lore, the author's youtube channel). Things that seem sort of essential even if they're not necessary: Why was currency on a gold standard? What is on the opposite side of earth from myself? What do you absolutely need to know about every President of the United States? And these are interesting and I feel like knowing the answers to these questions at least helps me understand why things work the way they do a little better.

Then there's the section about the nuclear football.

If you don't understand what this refers to, it's a little breifcase being carried around by someone near the President at all times. Should the President decide, it would take minutes for him (or her) to give a command, the Secretary of Defense would have to confirm the order came from the President (and has no power to veto this, only to confirm the order came from the President himself) and the football would open, there would be a set of nuclear strike plans and how to initiate them, and presumably it would be a few minutes from there to the actual deployment of America's nuclear arsenal. There are almost no checks for this, the President has the football and if he (or she) puts it into play there's very little anybody can do to stop him (or her) legally, except probably declare him (or her) unfit for duty which literally could take hours to days. If he (or she) gets killed, don't worry, the VP has a football as well, but it only activates if the President is confirmed out of action. The list of who gets the football from there is essentially the same as succession for the Presidency.

Even if the POTUS is someone you agree with on most issues, it's up there for terrifying in my opinion.

Good work Mr. Pisenti, trivia again makes it a little harder to sleep at night.

[George · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fun “facts”

I was given this book for Christmas because I generally like fun facts and learning interesting things. I was not aware of the channel real life lore, neither do I think the person that gave me this book was.

I don’t really know who this book is written for. When I started it I figured it was for tweens and teens, but then it gets really mature. I can only assume this is aimed at fans of real life lore. However, there were a lot of problems. Many other reviewers have pointed out the spelling and grammar errors. It’s not terrible and becomes more egregious as you get closer to the end, but I can work with it.

But then we get to the “facts” now some of these are kinda interesting. Like “what would happen if empires reunited” or “why is gold so important?” These are interesting but there are things that were included that simply aren’t true. The romans never reached America, regardless of what History channel wants us to believe. The Vikings never made it to the Mississippi. I only know these are false, because I love and study this stuff. Mistakes like this hurt all of his other claims in my eyes. This only becomes more annoying with presidents where the author’s own bias enters. I understand and allow for bias, just be honest about it and don’t present it as unquestioning fact

I can’t really recommend this book to anyone, unless you’re a fan of real life lore and want to support its creator.

[Riska Purnama · Rating 3 out of 5]

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION: WHO AM I AND WHY DOES THIS BOOK EXIST?

CHAPTER ONE WHY DO STRANGE BORDERS EXIST?

CHAPTER TWO WHAT IF HISTORICAL EMPIRES WERE TO REUNITE TODAY?

CHAPTER THREE HOW FAR AWAY CAN YOU GET FROM CERTAIN THINGS?

CHAPTER FOUR HOW MANY COUNTRIES ARE THERE IN THE WORLD—

NOBODY KNOWS!

CHAPTER FIVE A TUTORIAL ON CREATING YOUR OWN COUNTRY

CHAPTER SIX PRESIDENTS, POLITICS, AND THE NUCLEAR FOOTBALL

CHAPTER SEVEN WHY IS MONEY BACKED BY GOLD?

CHAPTER EIGHT WHAT IS CREDIT AND WHERE DID IT COME FROM?

CHAPTER NINE WHAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ROAD IN THE WORLD?

CHAPTER TEN CAN YOU TURN THE EARTH INTO A SANDWICH?

CHAPTER ELEVEN THE LEAST YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

EVERY US PRESIDENT

CONCLUSION MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS AND FACTS

TRIVIA ANSWERS

NOTES

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the walk through the obscurity of questions including what is the highest point to space (had not thought of it like that bef0re). As I had the audiobook of this, my teenager woke up during the drive as the information about each of the presidents was shared. With her current class in AP politics, this was intriguing and she then listened to the rest of the book. Good travel book and also a good book of just general information :)

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presents some interesting facts that I found fascinating. I loved all the details about US presidents. Just, well, it’s clear that the author hates Donald Trump and, regardless of your political affiliation, it gets a little tiresome how much vitriol he piles on him versus any other president. Other areas involve economics and geography. Those parts are interesting, if a little repetitive.

[Dan Stern · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have given this book a solid and well deserved 4.5/5: It reads like one of RLL's Youtube videos. There is humour and the subject matter is explained in a simple yet profound way. However, there's a little something that makes the videos amazing that is lacking. I ended up given the book 3/5 for the last chapter about Presidents. I don't know what Joseph was thinking: I found this chapter (which takes almost a quarter of the book) to be much too long and, frankly, boring.

[Shrey Hatle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good book to help you with those bar trivias as it sheds light on a lot of interesting facts. The author touches upon multiple topics (Geography, History, Economics), but for the most part the book reads like a YouTube script and generally lacks details which leaves you wanting more. The last chapter about presidents was unnecessary.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the YouTube channel RealLifeLore, and this book is written by the person who does that channel. It has content in the same vein as RLL, and was an enjoyable read.
My review says I read the Kindle edition, but I actually bought the hardback from Amazon. Goodreads does not have an entry for that version though.
Nitpicky: it needs a proofreader. Many editing and spelling errors.

[Shaun MacLellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a gift. I've followed the rule that I must read every book I receive or purchase all the way through. This book is perfect for someone in high school or something looking for a relaxing read while traveling. Based on previous books I've read this year it lacked the much-needed depth and clarity I enjoy.

[Dkolacinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm the grandmaster of "Little Known Facts", especially as our children grew up. Using these LKF (at any given time 40% to 60% real), I hope I thought to think critically and not accept everything they were time. This book was a quick and pleasant read, but gave me little material. It was like the questions which might have appeared on Jeopardy, but which were ultimately rejected.

[Niks Skersts · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is true, most of them weren't things I had asked to myself, and there were some very good points, but apart from them, a lot of them were either plainly boring or things that would fit in a history class, like the last point about presidents.

[Kennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started listening to this audio book to avoid social interaction and it wound up being super interesting. It's pretty short, so I recommend it if you too would like to avoid talking to workmates but want to be fairly edu-tained.

[Leah Nestor-Kane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humourous, interesting and a quick read. Some parts were a tiny bit monotonous or "rambly" and there were a few typos that were distracting, however if you're interested in random stuff such as what the Roman Empire would look like today, definitely reccomend you check out this book

[Mohammad Gabr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book nice to read. It contains quick information about something you didn't think about. it is written in easy English.
the only chapter that I found isn't suitable for the scope of the book is about the American presidents and it is a very long chapter.

[Trinity Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off slow with the geographical/country stuff, but kicked into gear in the second half. The long section about the presidents was more interesting than I thought it would be. Kind of made me want an entire book of just that - facts and myths about each president.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful little book. Teaches obscure facts through the window of 11 categories, ending with a good memorable summary of the 44 first presidents of the united states. A quick read, fully worthwhile for leisure time.

[Muhammad Usman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very amazing book. Taught me a lot of trivia. However, I felt like it was too short. And the guy who wrote it did a face reveal, which I preferred if he didn’t because of what he wrote in the intro.

I would love to see an updated version, though. Or maybe a sequel.

[Rashmi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good information on topics that you'd probably not think of exploring on your own. Narration could've been better.

[Roberto Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who like to be a voice and not an echoe, awesome book, fully recomended

[Kacy Smith Paterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining- great choice for Audible as well as dinner conversation fodder.