The information miners at the Bathroom Readers’ Institute have unearthed a priceless collection of surprising, amazing, wow-inducing, and hilarious articles. Divided by length for your sitting convenience, 24-Karat Gold is chock-full of little-known history, random origins, weird news, celebrity secrets, urban legends, dumb criminals, clever wordplay, quirky quotations, and more. Just go to any page--who knows what treasures await you? Some samples: * Judges Gone Wild* The Barbie Scandals* Canada’s Underpants King* The History of the Umbrella* America’s Forbidden Island* Helen Keller: Vaudeville Star* The Double A-bomb Survivors* Mind Your Zarfs and Wambles * What the Hokey Pokey is Really All AboutAnd much, much more!

    From test patterns to Top Chef, from My Three Sons to Mad Men, as well as TV news, advertising, scandals, sitcoms, dramas, reality shows, and yadda yadda yadda, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Tunes into TV is “dy-no-mite!” Read about…   * Gilligan’s seven deadly sins* The inside story of TV’s first commercial* What goes on behind the scenes of Jeopardy!* The most incredibly bizarre shows from around the world* Why Gene Roddenberry tried to beam the original Star Trek cast into space* What reality show producers don’t want you to know* How the King of Late Night crushed his competition* What really went down on the island of LOST* Unexpected sitcom fatalities* TV’s greatest chimpsAnd much, much more!

    Some of the lists included are:10 Tiny Terrors: a list of the ten most petite world leaders (yes, some were shorter than Napoleon!)43 Famous People Who Were Adopted (e.g. Steve Jobs, Debbie Harry, Mark Twain, Alexander the Great)15 Movies Featuring Giant Rabbits10 Top Cheese Eating Countries( note correspondence to the top ten happiest countries)8 Dastardly Ponzi Schemes38 Ancient Cities (That People Still Live In)28 Prehistoric Creatures Named for Famous People or Cool Things (e.g. Dracorex Hogwartsia, Attenborosaurus, and Psephorus Terrypratchetti)Illustrated in full color with playful images, graphs, charts, captions, and photographs, this colorful book brings a new face to trivia and is sure to wow readers, surprise them, and make them laugh from cover to cover. Listomania functions as a practical information resource as well as a fun and quirky gift for readers of any age.

    . . here is the first and only book that visually tells us the intimate story of Peter, Paul, and Mary and their music, through their own words and with iconic images that follow their passionate, fifty-year journey to the center of America’s heart. The very best of thousands of photographs, many rare and never before published, taken over five decades by some of the world’s top photographers, follow them from their earliest performances in the 1960s, when Mary was the most desired, beautiful, and charismatic performer and a new role model for women. Follow the trio as they lead America to discover the passionate soul of folk music. Join the struggle for racial equality, social justice, and freedom in this memorable journey, from the historic 1963 March on Washington with Martin Luther King, Jr., to the trio’s appearance before a half million people in 1969 to end the Vietnam War, to their singing at the Hollywood Bowl for Survival Sunday in 1978, helping to launch the anti-nuke movement, the world’s first international environmental movement.Through these images, you can feel and almost hear the trio’s songs calling for a more caring, better world as you see them performing with a courage and conviction that became for so many the embodiment and sound track of their generation’s awakening to conscience, to activism, and to a new dream for all of humankind. Peter, Paul, and Mary’s songs of defiant hope and a certain unmasked innocence are still a powerful part of our American consciousness, and this book reenacts the history of how the trio marked our lives with their indelible stamp of honesty of the sort we yearn to recapture and recreate in our own time—for ourselves, our children, and the generations to come.

    Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the award-winning mental_floss magazine, authors Will Pearson, Mangesh Hattikudur, and Ethan Trex offer a cornucopia of additive, edifying, oddball, and irreverent information guaranteed to make dedicated trivia fans “feel smart again.” In the spirit of their top-selling book, Condensed Knowledge, mental_floss: The Book is perfect for everyone who likes to laugh while they learn.

    You’ll read about dumb crooks and criminal masterminds, mafia henchman and low-level goons, ancient warriors and Old West gunslingers, crazed cops and jovial judges, and even a few loony lawyers and crooked Wall Street types. It’s the True Crime book that only Uncle John could make! Here are some of the unusual suspects . . .- New York City’s “Mad Bomber”- The Biddle Brothers and the Queen of the Jail- Law and Order: Special Pants Unit- Dopes who hide their dope in the strangest places- America’s first private eye- NASCAR’s bootlegging beginnings- The real pirates of the Caribbean- Why CSI makes the cops’ job even harder- Billy the Kid and other outlaws who died with their boots on- George Luger, Samuel Colt, and other fathers of guns- The greatest train robberies- Arrested for farting- And much more!

    From questions even a muggle should know all the way through to trivia that would test Dumbledore himself, this is a fantastic way to enjoy the wizarding world even more. This version has been specially formatted for Kindle by Andrews UK.

    John Oldale has logged half a million miles visiting more than ninety nations. Now, he celebrates our weird and wonderful world in a cornucopia of fascinating facts brought vividly to life through the unexpected stories behind them. Touching on history, travel, politics, natural history and more, he paints a unique portrait of each country from the mightiest to the most miniscule. You won't find the following in your average travel guide: ·        Why is kissing on trains banned in France?·        In what country are litigants expected to present their case at court in the form of a poem?·        Which war did women win in 1929 just by sitting down?·        If Panama hats aren’t from Panama, where are they from?·        Who eat fresh camel dung as a cure for dysentery (and why does it work)?·        Why were US disk jockeys once told they could play birthday requests on any day except the one requested?·        Which modern dictator banned old age, libraries and gold teeth, and was later replaced by his dentist?·         And 2,000 more funny, trivial, poignant, and telling facts  A must for active and armchair globe-trotters alike, A World of Curiosities will engross anyone who is at all curious about the world beyond their door. Explore and enjoy.

    It contains crucial information such as important dates, player nicknames, and outstanding achievements by singular players. This guide to all things Blackhawks covers the team's 49-year drought, its run to the 2010 Stanley Cup, and the transition from Chicago Stadium to the United Center.

    From the baby porcupine to the kitten to the zebra, each animal has a pronounced identity--not unlike the eccentric uncle or prodigal cousin displayed among family portraits.

    Sure, everyone knows the Pilgrims sailed to the New World on the Mayflower, but how many people know what that ship smelled like? And it’s a somewhat-known fact that Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics to the Star Trek theme song, but few people know why he wrote them. Do you? You’ll learn the answer to both of these conundrums--and hundreds more--after you read Impossible Questions. So expand your knowledge a wide array of topics including science, history, politics, sports, entertainment, language, and more. The questions may seem impossible, but the answers are just a page away!

    Rediscover your favorite films and put your movie knowledge to the test with more than 4,000 questions that draw on a century of landmark cinema. Questions range from early Hollywood to the 1960s and beyond, including key genres, stars, directors, behind-the-scenes facts, famous quotes, and more all highlighted by spotlight trivia features and hundreds of images and film stills. A foreword by TCM host Robert Osborne and a challenging Experts Only section round out this ultimate volume for classic film aficionados.

    Robertson writes with charm and fluency on a massive range of topics-the first computer, the first department store, the first black head of state (it's not who you think), and a seemingly limitless array of others. The United States, in particular, has been a cradle of innovation-44 percent of modern innovations, by his calculation-and Robertson has identified a first time in America for each entry. Comprehensive yet carefully curated, Robertson's Book of Firsts catalogs watershed events of social relevance. It includes major achievements, like the first women to serve in a regular army (bravo, Canada, and would you believe as early as 1906?), but not mere curiosities, like the first women to serve disguised as men. The result is a catalog of useful inventions and beginnings of trends, an index of American and global culture of a kind you can't get anywhere else. Handsomely designed, elegant, and effortless to read, this is both a work of essential reference and a beautiful gift for history buffs, scientists, inventors, and anyone with an inquiring mind.

    Best of all, if you get inspired, you’ll get tips and wisdom on how to set a world record of your own. The book will released by Workman on October 10th, 2011.

    Did you know that there are one million earthworms in an acre of soil, or that an average American eats 10 pounds of marshmallows in a year? Did you know that the act of yawning and stretching at the same time is known as pandiculation?These facts, and hundreds more in a wide variety of subjects including history, science, sports, music and more, make Hmm...I Did Not Know That a must read for trivia buffs and fact fanatics.

    A book on medieval and renaissance cooking including more than 330 recipes, articles on how to do a feast, information on what ingredients were available when, and more.

    In the year 2030, issues we’re just now starting to address will be a very big deal. Like: What will 8 billion people eat? How can humans produce less trash? Which cool technologies will be used to figure all this out? Packed with real-world relevance and brain-stretching scenarios, this book empowers the problem solvers of tomorrow to start taking action today.

    Laws that govern everyone are sent from a country far across the ocean. Step into the lives of the colonists, and get the real story of government and politics in Colonial America.

    They uncover abandoned places and haunted spaces, dig up ancient mysteries, shine a light on secret societies, and tell some spine-tingling cemetery stories. So, forget presidents, wars, treaties, and other important things; this entertaining compilation gives you America's first (and only) self-proclaimed emperor, Abigail Adams' ghost at the White House, aliens attacking New Jersey, and more!

    It contains kitchen tips and suggests vegetarian substitutes to the meat recipes. One World Kids Cookbook aims to instill a passion for good, wholesome, healthy food as well as a passion for life. Fabulous dishes from around the worldfrom jollof rice to fajitas Easy-to-follow instructions with step-by-step color photos Recipes made with no-fuss ingredients found in your local supermarket Fascinating facts and stunning photos on all countries featured

    Country sayings are deeply rooted in our everyday language. Dip inside and you'll find the origins of many familiar proverbs and time-honoured phases associated with the weather and the passage of the seasons, farming, animals and livestock, and the superstitions that once underscored so much of country life.Widely used as many of the sayings may be, their origins and early meanings still hold surprises for the modern reader, and cast a fascinating and revealing light on the lives of our rural forebears.