1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off by John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, and James Harkin
Review by Lauren
copy from library; all opinions are my own
Review: This book really doesn’t need explaining. As the title suggests, this is a book full of 1,227 “quite interesting” facts. All in all, I really appreciated most of what was included in this volume and I would love to read similar books. I think learning random facts is a lot of fun. Sometimes it even makes you want to look into the fact more and learn the details surrounding it.
Since this book is essentially self-explanatory, there really isn’t a lot to say other than I recommend it. The authors are British so there are some facts included that I didn’t completely understand, but most of what it’s included would be suitable for any reader. This book would make an awesome gift for that hard to buy person or even to use as a stocking stuffer during the holiday season.
And now, I want to share some of the book’s interesting facts to show you what you can expect:
“Oranges and lemons smell different due to chemically identical molecules that are mirror images of each other. An orange is really just a left-handed lemon.”
-p.52
“The boa constrictor is the only living animal whose common name is exactly the same as its scientific name.”
-p. 69
“The inventor of ‘Best before’ dates – originally for milk- was Al Capone’s brother Ralph.”
-p.148
“In 2011, cheese was the most stolen food in the world.”
-p.244
And there you have it, some of the facts included in this book! I really enjoyed reading this and would love to own a copy. While reading the book I shared many of the facts either in person with my family or on Facebook. A lot of people seemed to enjoy them, so this is definitely suitable for many.
I like books like this too! Here is one I read a few years ago and enjoyed:
http://www.amazon.com/Nipples-Hundreds-Questions-Doctor-Martini/dp/1400082315
Pardon the pun but I bet this really is quite interesting! I actually think I would love to read this one.
lol…this one is getting added to my Christmas wish list and buy list. It's one of those books that's perfect to keep in the magazine bin in the bathroom for those ummm…longer visits. 🙂
This looks entertaining!
xx
Wow, those are interesting facts. I loved the one about milk but my absolute favourite was the one about cheese being the most stolen food.
Fun. I like random fact books.
Ha this sounds like a really fun read I love knowing random facts like these!
I confess that I didn't know this one but it must be interesting to have something like that. It's different but from time to time I need that.
AFter reading this, you can ensure that a conversation never gets dull, plus you will have a leg up on trivial pursuit!
Sounds interesting!
The left handed lemon for oranges is interesting.
Not sure if this will be up my alley since I'm not normally a nonfiction reader, but the facts sound REALLY interesting! Thanks for sharing Lauren! <3
~ Zoe @ The Infinite To-Read Shelf
Oh yeah I'm a huge fan of random, interesting facts! This would make a great coffee table book. Also I had to google this: I didn't know the minds behind one of my favourite TV shows (QI) wrote this book!! That is so cool. If you've never seen QI, hosted by Stephen Fry, before then I highly recommend it!!
I like the facts you shared! I think this would be a good gift for about anyone. I love these kinds of books!
I'm fascinated that there are so many people that go around stealing cheese! This sounds like a great book to amaze people with astounding facts.
http://cleopatralovesbooks.wordpress.com
I love random facts! I need to see if my library has this one!