The Book of Unusual Knowledge
Publisher: Publications International, Ltd.
Published: Apr 01, 2012
Language: eng
Format: hardcover
Number of pages: 704
ISBN-13: 9781450845809
Description: The Book of Unusual Knowledge is a mammoth 704-page hardcover book crammed with a cornucopia of information-some useful, others not so much-but all of it completely captivating. It's perfect for anyone with a curious mind and a passion for learning. With quirky illustrations and a vast array of articles, anecdotes, lists, and games, this book will provide hours of fascinating reading. It will also expand your knowledge on a range of topics, including the animal kingdom, art, sports, technology, history, politics, the universe, and much, much more. Sample topics include: Are plastic bags killing sacred cows in India? Does NASCAR have roots in bootlegging moonshine? Did Ronald Reagan see not one-but two-UFOs during his lifetime? Gorgeous leatherette binding with gilded accents makes The Book of Unusual Knowledge a handsome addition to your library.
Table of contents: label: Introduction
title: You Can Never Get Enough Unusual Knowledge!
pagenum: 7; label: Chapter 1
title: Movies and Television
pagenum: 8
description: Highlights include: Hollywood - A Teetotaling Town? • Queen of the Soaps • Hollywood's Urban Legends • Reality TV: Watching Others Look Foolish Since 1948 • Dorothy Meets the Dark Side • From Soap Suds to the Silver Screen • Bugsy Siegel's "Screen Test" • Drama, Canadian Style • Prehistoric Hollywood • Protecting the Past • The Odd Genius of Ed Wood; label: Chapter 2
title: American Landmarks
pagenum: 42
description: Highlights include: Unusual Tourist Attractions • I'm Going to Disney World! • Get Your Kicks • Frank Lloyd Wright's Chicago • The Sixth Floor Museum • Hallelujah! • At the Center of It All • The National Museum of Funeral History • Cadillac Ranch • Where Madness Meets Medicine; label: Chapter 3
title: Games People Play
pagenum: 64
description: Highlights include: Iraq Embraces America's Pastime • Curious About Curling? • When Baseball and Beer Don't Mix • Old-school Olympics • Wacky Sports Injuries • The Tennis Star Who Wasn't • The Catcher Was a Spy • Unlikely Super Bowl Heroes • Double No-No • Moonshine and NASCAR: Are Kin? • Who's Too Old for the Olympics? • DL? I Don't Think So • Chucking Cow Chips • When Bicycles Ruled the (Sporting) World; label: Chapter 4
title: Art and Literature
pagenum: 110
description: Highlights include: The Night Frankenstein Was Born • The Unlikely Art Career of Grandma Moses • The Death of Sherlock Holmes • Losing Philip K. Dick's Head • The Remarkable Erich Remarque • Bram Stoker and Henry Irving: Close Friendship or Unrequited Love?; label: Chapter 5
title: All About Animals
pagenum: 128
description: Highlights include: Bat Bombs Away! • Plastic Panic: What's Killing India's Cows? • Presidential Pets • Warhorses — Literally • Sweating Like a Dog • The Purpose of Purring • Mao's War on Sparrows • The Great Sickness • Immortality in the Ocean • Fur-Loving Führer • Animals in Disguise • Laika - First Casualty of the Space Race • A New Breed of Nip and Tuck • Beasts of Burden • Infamous Zoo Escapes • Cher Ami: Heroic Pigeon • The World's Most Dangerous Animals • It's a Dog's Life • Holy Guano, Batman! • The Dogs of War • The Lowdown on Rats; label: Chapter 6
title: Money and Business
pagenum: 176
description: Highlights include: Where Did That Name Come From? • The Birth of the Good Humor Man • Mall of America: Consumer's Delight • "But Wait... There's More!" • Origins of 12 Modern Icons • The Power of the Wish Book • Dr. Pepper: "The Friendly Pepper-Upper"; label: Chapter 7
title: Intriguing Individuals
pagenum: 192
description: Highlights include: Queen of the Stalingrad Skies • The Woman Called "Moses" • The Collyer Brothers: Pack Rats Extraordinaire • Cary Grant's Acid Test • Fast Facts: Marilyn Monroe • Becoming "Black Like Me" • 10 Famous People Who Were Adopted • Franz Mesmer Transfixes Europe • A Doll of a Woman: Cindy Jackson • Houdini Unbound • The Jerry Springer Story • The Odd Odyssey of George Foreman • The Man Behind the Mouse • Howard Hughes: Oddball!; label: Chapter 8
title: Earth and the Universe
pagenum: 233
description: Highlights include: Strange Weather Facts • The Dirt on Green Architecture • The World's Most Toxic Places • Beach Squeaks and Dune Booms • If the Moon Were Made of Green Cheese... • The Big Shakedown • Fast Facts About Space • The Hollow Man; label: Chapter 9
title: Waging War
pagenum: 246
description: Highlights include: The Bounty Jumpers • The Plot to Kill Hitler • "Mister" Lindbergh: Fighter Pilot • American Women in Uniform Break Barriers • The Man Who Tried to Outrun War • Shoichi Yokoi: Lost Soldier, Found • The Making of West Virginia • Night Witches on the Russian Front • The Real "Man Who Never Was" • Allan Pinkerton: Spying for the Union Cause • Defying Death: The Rosenstrasse Protest • The Watermelon War • The Trials of a Ball-Turret Gunner • The Heroine of Auschwitz • Why Did the Nazis Keep a Record of the Holocaust? • Female Espionage Agents: Working Undercover for the Allies; label: Chapter 10
title: Happy Holidays
pagenum: 295
description: Highlights include: An Eggs-cellent Easter Tradition • Misremembering Memorial Day • Happy Juneteenth! • Giving Thanks in a Time of War • The Cola Claus • New Year's Traditions • Groundhog Reckoning Day • You're Way Off, Columbus • For the Love of Mom; label: Chapter 11
title: Pop Culture and Games
pagenum: 313
description: Highlights include: The Good Old Days of Soda Fountains • When Fads Go Bad • LEGO Love • Girl Scout Beginnings: Southern Dames and Warfare Games • Popular Hairstyles Through the Ages • There She Is... • "Toon Truths" • Forget Getting In: Studio 54 • The Secret Life of Big Tex • Men's Societies • Hot Pants • The ABCs of SCRABBLE; label: Chapter 12
title: The Supernatural
pagenum: 344
description: Highlights include: Circle Marks the Spot: The Mystery of Crop Circles • Stranger than Fiction: Doppelgängers • The Great Texas Airship Mystery • The Philadelphia Experiment • The Really Secret Service • Alleged Celebrity UFO Sightings • Ohio's Mysterious Hangar 18; label: Chapter 13
title: History
pagenum: 369
description: Highlights include: Ms. President • The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire • A Brief History of Underwear • The Curse of King Tut's Tomb • What Really Caused the Chicago Fire? • Ghastly Medieval Torture Devices • The Titanic's Mystery Ship • Sailing from Slavery to Freedom • The NAACP's Inspirational Origin • The King Who Talked with Trees • The Diaries of Mary Chesnut • The First Flag-Raising on Iwo Jima; label: Chapter 14
title: Around the World
pagenum: 415
description: Highlights include: Weird Hotels • Watch What You Say! • Labor of Love: The Taj Mahal • Hong Kong: The City That Isn't • In English, Por Favor • Odd and Unusual Structures • The City that Rose from the Sand • Thomas Tresham Tied Triangles Together; label: Chapter 15
title: Technology and Inventions
pagenum: 441
description: Highlights include: ARPANET: The Grandfather of the Internet • Dem Bones: X-ray Shoe-Fitting Machines • 8 Things Invented or Discovered by Accident • America's First Skyscraper • The Real Origin of the Barbie Doll • Smile—You're on Camera Obscura • Inventors Killed by Their Inventions • The Frisbee: From Pie Plate to Toy • The Segway • The Cat Who Came in from the Cold • The Little Disc that Could • The Early Days of Video Games • The Firefighter's Best Friend • Invented by Canadians • When Broken Dishes Mean Business • Really Wrong Predictions; label: Chapter 16
title: Death and the Macabre
pagenum: 482
description: Highlights include: True Tales of Being Buried Alive • Lying in Wait • Memorable Epitaphs • Millions of Mummies • Strange Ways to Die • The Mysterious 27 Club • Chaplin's Coffin Held for Ransom; label: Chapter 17
title: Politics
pagenum: 501
description: Highlights include: America's Only King • Cleveland's Secret Cancer • Drama in Government: 10 Actors Turned Politicians • The Lincoln-Kennedy Debates • The Capital(s) of the United States • A Gay Time in the Oval Office? • Stealing the President • Who Is the Real First President?; label: Chapter 18
title: Crime
pagenum: 532
description: Highlights include: Lana Turner and the Death of a Gangster • The Real Dracula • Life on the Body Farm • The Clairvoyant Crime-Buster • Long Live the Crime-Fighting King • The Mystery of the Missing Comma • Crockefeller • The Sex-sational Trial of Errol Flynn • Animals on Trial; label: Chapter 19
title: Health and the Human Body
pagenum: 560
description: Highlights include: What Was the Black Death? • 7 Medical Myths • Eat Worms, Lose Weight! • Lincoln and the Blue Mass • Heterochromia: The Eyes Have It • Hair, There, and Everywhere • 6 Modern Health Problems • Medical Oddities at the Mütter Museum • 23 Phobias and Their Definitions • The Blue People of Kentucky • Burn, Baby, Burn • Cigarette Trivia • Famous Hypochondriacs • Amazing Facts About the Human Body; label: Chapter 20
title: Music
pagenum: 605
description: Highlights include: Big Band Leaders • KISS and Makeup • Former Names of 17 Famous Bands • Nobody Puts Josie in the Corner • Fab Four Fast Facts • 9 Fictional Bands with Hit Songs • International Opera House • Blind Man's Bluff • Marian Anderson at the Met • The Double Life of Billy Tipton • Stage Names vs. Real Names; label: Chapter 21
title: Food and Drink
pagenum: 630
description: Highlights include: World's Healthiest Foods • 15 Things You Didn't Know About Popcorn • Does Processed Food = Junk Food? • Pretzel Facts • Pepsi's Mad Scientists • The McDonald's Kingdom • That's Offal! 7 Dishes Made from Animal Guts • Living the Freegan Lifestyle • Food Fight! • Religion and Food • Beer Time • 10 Weird and Wacky Food Festivals; label: Chapter 22
title: Religion
pagenum: 663
description: Highlights include: Mary and Her Message • Murder in the Vatican • The Relished Relic • The House of David — God's Hairy Messengers • We Three-ish Kings • Breaking the Bonds: Divorce Around the World; title: Index
pagenum: 680