This vivid, engrossing book reveals the fascinating stories behind the objects in your world, what you wear, what you eat, what entertains you, and more. Discover the history behind the world’s tallest skyscrapers, find out when people first started drinking caffeine and why it wakes us up, and learn how GPS came to be. For those who loved the …
Everyone knows that…donuts have holes…we clink glasses before saying a toast…golfers yell “fore!” before teeing off…we nod our heads yes and shake our heads no…But how many of us know why? You’ll learn the answers and a whole lot more in this fun and fact-filled almanac. And all you have to do is ask …
Read Kate Ascher’s posts on the Penguin Blog.A fascinating guided tour of the ways things work in a modern city Have you ever wondered how the water in your faucet gets there? Where your garbage goes? What the pipes under city streets do? How bananas from Ecuador get to your local market? Why radiators in apartment buildings …
Witches and demons, ghosts and vampires, aliens and voodoo spirits… from spooky to chilling to downright weird, signs of the supernatural have terrified — and fascinated — people for centuries. Dare to discover some of the world’s most puzzling enigmas in this remarkable book, which reveals a dazzling array of haunted castles, forbidden hideaways and otherwise eerie landmarks. …
When Do Fish Sleep? : An Imponderables Book (Imponderables Books)
Ponder, if you will …Why are tennis balls fuzzy? How come birds don’t tip over when they sleep on telephone wires?What makes yawning contagious?Why, oh why, do roosters have to crow so early in the morning?Pop-culture guru David Feldman demystifies these topics and so much more in When Do Fish Sleep? — the unchallenged source of answers to …
Taxidermy Art: A Rogue’s Guide to the Work, the Culture, and How to Do It Yourself
In this collection of taxidermy art, you’ll find a winged monkey with a fez and a martini glass, a jewel-encrusted piglet, a bionic fawn, and a polar bear balancing on a floating refrigerator. Author Robert Marbury makes for a friendly (and often funny) guide, addressing the three big questions people have about taxidermy art: What is it all …
The New Book of Lists: The Original Compendium of Curious Information
The original, benchmark compendium of facts weirder than fiction, intriguing information, and must-talk-about trivia that has sold over eight million copies worldwide and spawned many imitators. For nearly three decades David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace have been researching curious facts and unusual statistics and the incredible stories behind them. Now the most entertaining and informative of these have …
Weird Carolinas: Your Travel Guide to North and South Carolina’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets
Take a walk on the WEIRD side, Carolina-style!What makes the Carolinas–North and South–so strange, spooky, wild, and wacky? Follow former Charleston resident Roger Manley and find out: Spanish moss reaches out from dark trees on lonely roads, the Great Dismal Swamp shelters unknown beasts, the coastline is marked with hidden inlets where pirates buried treasures and German U-boats …
Ask the Past: Pertinent and Impertinent Advice from Yesteryear
Want to know how to garden with lobsters? How to sober up? Grow a beard? Or simply how to make a perfect omelet? Look no further. Rather, look backward.Based on the popular blog, Ask the Past is full of the wisdom of the ages–as well as the fad diets, zany pickup lines, and bacon Band-Aids of the ages. …
Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Attack of the Factoids: Bizarre Bites of Incredible Information
Weighing in at over 400 pages, Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Attack of the Factoids is a fact-a-palooza of obscure information. Like what, you ask?Well, did you know that bats always turn left when they exit a cave? How about that in the 1960s astronauts trained for moon voyages by walking on Hawaiian lava fields? Also, Lloyd’s of London …