The book will be your strongest ally in combatting social awkwardness and will arm you with plenty of icebreaking pieces of trivia, suitable for any occasion.
Following the success of my site http://www.RaiseYourBrain.com and numerous requests from readers, I decided to compile some of the most interesting facts in an e-book. That's why I decided to collect the best gems of breath-taking trivia and to present you a great compilation of facts, suitable for a broad audience. This is the result of years of sifting through history and reference books on a myriad of subjects as well as searching the Internet and paying attention to the news.
This book is intended to be fun for anyone older than 14 - even the most ‘spicy’ entries, neatly separated in the chapter ‘Facts about human and animal sexuality”, remain factual and abstain from profanity. To my greatest delight, an avid reader of my site explained that she has been preparing daily fact sheets for her son’s lunch box. She prints out three facts every day to create some lunchtime fun for her son, thus enticing him to read more and provoking his intellectual curiosity. I wish my parents had done something like that for me!
I confess that most trivia books are insufferably boring. This book is different, packed with interesting, educational and fun ingredients; it seeks to entertain as well as challenge. It will provide you with never-ending intellectual ammunition for a lifetime of dinner parties. You will amaze your friends and family by recounting to them that the greatest Chinese pirate of all times was a woman, or that herrings use flatulence to communicate!
The book will be your strongest ally in combatting social awkwardness and will arm you with plenty of icebreaking pieces of trivia, suitable for any occasion.
Excerpt
1. In many Israeli schools, algebra is taught without the use of the symbol ‘+’, as it looks like a Christian cross. They use an inverted ‘T’ instead (see below).
2. Mercury is the planet closest to the sun and yet is not the hottest one in our solar system. Venus, the second closest planet, is in fact far warmer.
3. Chewing gum, yoga and poorly-made dental fillings make you flatulent.
4. The words ‘gym’ and ‘gymnastics’ both derive from the Greek word for ‘naked’.
5. ‘Karaoke’ means ‘empty orchestra’ in Japanese.
6. In a classic deck of cards, the king of hearts is the only one without a moustache.
7. What we know today as Arabic numerals actually originated in India. In Arabic, they are known as ‘Indian numbers’.
8. Sudan has far more pyramids than Egypt.
9. In the black and white TV era, female anchors used green or black lipstick.
10. One of the most frequent regrets of those on their deathbed is: ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’.
11. Pope Francis was a bouncer in his youth.
12. Fucking is an Austrian village (see below) where the beer ‘Fucking Hell’ is produced (‘hell’ means ‘clear’ or ‘light’ in German).
13. There are about 50 million kangaroos in Australia, more than two for every Australian.
14. The moon and the sun appear to be the same size due to the coincidence that the moon is 400 times smaller and 400 times closer than the sun.
15. The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley’s chewing gum.
16. ‘Goodbye’ originates from ‘God bye’, which came from ‘God be with you’.
17. McDonald’s began as a hot dog stand.
18. The first official match of the NBA (the men's professional basketball league in North America) was not played in the USA. It took place in Toronto, Canada, on 1 November 1946, with the Huskies hosting the New York Knickerbockers.
19. Today, there are more Uber cars in New York City, USA, than there are yellow cabs.
20. The 17th Prime Minister of Australia, Harold Edward Holt, disappeared on 17 December 1967 and was never seen again.
21. Solariums are outlawed in Australia and Brazil.
22. Mr. Smith-Cumming was the first director of the British Intelligence service, MI6. Ironically, he introduced a method of using semen as invisible ink.
23. Ketchup originates from China.
24. Bicycle was invented after the steam-powered locomotive.
25. If the speed of evolution of Intel microprocessors (since 1971) had been applied to cars, in early 2016 one car would have cost five cents and would have travelled faster than light.
Professional Reviews
A wide variety of interesting facts
A very interesting book with a wide variety of facts that will only increase your appetite to know more. The facts range from funny to mysterious. I have read many articles about such facts and there are quite a few apps I have previously downloaded which claimed to introduce people to some stunning facts. But this book has interested me more. This is a kind of book you'd want to keep with you if you want to surprise your friends.
It's always fun to learn about things that are not very commonly discussed. This is why I love reading non-fiction books such as this one. I'd definitely recommend it. Everyone, even people who are not much into reading, will enjoy this one. Give it a try!
Love it.
I backed this book on Kickstarter. It is quite entertaining and all the facts I checked were genuine (I was a test reader and googled several dozens that appeared too crazy to be true). I already use the acquired knowledge to impress friends and co-workers ;) . Due to the nature of the information inside, it can't be read in one go if you don't want to be overwhelmed. I did the reading intermittently and, in my opinion, it's great for commuters, suitable for a vacation- or a bathroom-read. Waiting for the paperback edition, which will be great for a gift.
Totally recommended!
Totaly recommended read! Couldn't leave my kindle until I finished it
Very interesting and intriguing. Most of the facts are so amazing so had to do my own research for a few of them - all confirmed true ;) Well organized and easy to read. Love it!
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