The Encyclopedia of Useless Information

The Encyclopedia of Useless Information

by William Hatrston
The Encyclopedia of Useless Information

The Encyclopedia of Useless Information

by William Hatrston

eBook

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Overview

Discover what all the other encyclopedias leave out


This is the superbly satisfying compendium of weird factoids too interesting to be contained in your average encyclopedia. Daring to cross-reference the un-cross-reference-able, to alphabetize what cannot be alphabetized, and to deliver the highest concentration of fun that can fit in one book's spine, this information is too useless to waste:


In Denmark, pigs go 'knor'; in Germany, horses go 'prrrh'; in ancient Greece, dogs went 'au au.' Italians sneeze 'ecci ecci.'


A teacher in Italy was disciplined in 1996 for passing students exam answers hidden in salami sandwiches.


In 1957 the U.S. air force completed a survey of the Atlantic Ocean but refused to divulge its width on the grounds that the information might be of military use to the Russians.


In Paris in 1740 a cow was hanged in public following its conviction for sorcery.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781402248382
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication date: 06/01/2007
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 388
File size: 809 KB

About the Author

William Roland Hatrston won the British Chess Championship in 1973 and 1975. He has written numerous books on chess and interesting facts and figures. His books include The Book of Numbers: The Ultimate Compendium of Facts About Figures and What Are the Chances of That?


William Roland Hatrston won the British Chess Championship in 1973 and 1975. He has written numerous books on chess and interesting facts and figures. His books include The Book of Numbers: The Ultimate Compendium of Facts About Figures and What Are the Chances of That?

Read an Excerpt

ARTICHOKE
Castroville, California, calls itself the Artichoke Capital of the World. The first Artichoke Queen of Castroville, crowned in 1947, was Marilyn Monroe.

MILK
Swedish cows were fitted with plastic discs impregnated with insecticide in 1984 to keep their heads fly-free in summer. Scientists say this improved milk yield.

ROULETTE
If you add together all the numbers on a roulette wheel, the result is 666, the number of the Beast in the Book of Revelation.

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