Reviews (16)

All the answers!
Entertaining book and a quick read that answers all of life's puzzling questions.

Humorous, yet questionable
The content of Do Fish Drink Water? is largely quite entertaining, though its accuracy can oft be debated. Such references as the "osmosis of saltwater" (osmosis is singularly the diffusion of water, not salt) and other possibly incorrect conclusions detract from an otherwise amusing compilation of unusual questions and their answers.

amazing book
THIS BOOK ASKS YOU QUESTIONS AND TELLS YOU ANSWERS TO EVERY ONE OF THEM. QUESTIONS THAT NO ONE HAS NEVER EVER THOUGHT ABOUT ASKING BEFORE. IT IS A WONDERFUL THING TO READ ABOUT BECAUSE MOST OF IT IS QUESTIONS THAT ARE VERY INTERESTING THAT YOU MIGHT'VE NEVER HEARD ABOUT BEFORE, BUT ARE TRUE. IT IS LIKE RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT, BUT DIFFERENT IN IT'S OWN WAY. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Questions & Answers    2. Questions and answers    3. Reference    4. Trivia    5. Humour    6. Reference / Questions & Answers    7. Reference works   

Reviews (11)

vol 1, bathroom book
Their first shipment was damaged and returned to vendor, whereopon they refunded charge.2 weeks later I was suprised to receive a nearly new copy.

Great to Deploy With
I'm retired from the US military.When I was deployed on Operation Joint Endeavor in support of the Bosnia mission - I tucked this book into my ruck sack.The book was well read not only by myself but by others in the unit.The once-over-the-world summaries gave a much better understanding of books and plays we would otherwise not have read.My thanks to the author.

Refresher
This book is a great for refreshing your memory about general knowledge.It surely helps pass that time on the throne. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Literary Criticism    3. Reference    4. Modern fiction    5. Short stories    6. Trivia   

Reviews (3)

amazing book!
I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in how things work.Beautiful artistry and informative.My son loves it!

Inspires the not so avid reader to sit down and browse...
My 10 yr. old son brought this book home from the library and loved it. The graphics are second to none and the labels and short captioned boxes oftext encouraged him to read several excerpts. The broad range of equipmentcovered is intriguing even to an adult.It is educational for the youngreader to identify vehicles they've read about in school but nevervisualized. This book will be under our Christmas tree AND under the treeof a nephew who loves figuring out how things work!

Award-Winning Book
This book is a 1997 NCSS Notable ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Automobiles    2. Bulldozers    3. Children's 4-8    4. Children: Grades 2-3    5. Curiosities & Wonders    6. Design and construction    7. General    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Railroad trains    11. Technology - How Things Work/Are Made    12. Transportation - General    13. Juvenile Nonfiction / Curiosities & Wonders   

Reviews (8)

A smorgasboard of the unexplained
This listing of a wide variety of weird phenomenon with an index of places is very helpful for the field occultist. If you are interested in odd happenings that may have happened in YOUR HOME TOWN, you may find something in here that interests you!

Excellent
This book provided me with many hours and hours of fun. It has an extensive list of strange events and weird creatures that have been seen (and allegedly seen.) It isn't filled with nonsense talk like "One day the world may come to an end if we don't turn to our space brothers who enjoy probing our butts."
Let me tell you
Let me tell you, I ordered about 5 books at once. I skimmed through each, and found this one the worse. Then I read all 5, this one last, and this was the best one! It was done with only recorded incidents involving the criteria, and every subject was amazing. I definately recommend this one, if you're into anything paranormal. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Controversial Knowledge    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. Fiction    4. Mystery & Detective - General    5. Mystery/Suspense    6. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    7. New Age / Parapsychology    8. Occult sciences    9. Occultism    10. Supernatural    11. Unexplained Phenomena    12. Wonders And Curiosities    13. Body, Mind & Spirit / Unexplained Phenomena    14. Crime & mystery   

Reviews (5)

One of the best collections I've ever read of the Unusual
I found this book for the first time when I was 8 years old.My family had moved into the house of my father's godmother.I was an avid reader, and searching through her masses of books I found Strange Stories, Amazing Facts, with it's red cover and pages full of surprise and adventure.From trying to decipher the mysteries of the most haunted house in the world to traveling through the jungles to discover Angkor Watt, this book to me on a journey of imagination. I loaned the book several years ago to a young friend whom I thought could use the adventure.I'm glad to be able to buy it for myself again.

Why I love this book
My 8th grade english teacher would stories out og this book on ocation.I loved the stories in it, and looked all over for my own copy.I checked it out of libary and could not put it down.It instently impaced my life.I even wrote a play in high school drama class using some of the stories surronded by a teen related sort of "Saved by the Bell" plot.Anyway, I love this book, and I know everyong can find something in it that they love too.

Story Topics For All Interests
Every person who likes to read will enjoy this book. In the section about animals, there is an article about how extinct species can be brought back.They brought the Tarpan horse back by cross-breeding certain types of horses from all over the world. There's a story about freezing humans with diseases to bring them back to life in the future when a cure is found.This was written almost 30 years ago, and this still has not been mastered in our time.There's stories of hauntings, and unexplained events. It's a book with a bunch of short stories grouped in sections. Excellent reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Controversial Knowledge    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. Reference    4. Trivia   

Editorial Review

New Year's Eve 1982 marked the beginning of one of the most puzzling UFO cases in recent times: the Hudson Valley "siege." The siege begot over 7,000 sightings of a boomerang-shaped craft or crafts moving silently through the sky over New York and Connecticut between 1982 and 1995. Read more

Reviews (12)

night siege
great book on what went on in Hudson Valley, New York back in the late 1980's. Five stars! jim pianfetti

Plato's Cave Projected Onto the Hudson River Valley Skies
Despite its ominous title, Night Siege: The Hudson Valley UFO Sightings by Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Philip J. Imbrogno, and Bob Pratt is a sensible, sober book on the subject of unexplained aerial phenomena. Witnesses to the events and active participants in the investigation during the period described, the authors have limited the book to examining the dramatic 13 - year UFO wave that took place over the Hudson River Valley from 1982 through 1995. During that period, the UFOs were seen by an estimated 7,000 people and reported to authorities by at least a tenth of that number. The Government can't deny
A gripping read with powerful evidence that leads to the usual one and only conclusion - and still the government denies!Do not be put off by the appalling American English, with the terrible date system (days, months, years please), and few inconsistencies in the text.A map would have been useful, but otherwise there is not a single person who should not buy and read this book now. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Body, Mind & Spirit    2. Curiosities & Wonders    3. Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and    4. Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.)    5. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    6. Science Fiction    7. Sightings and encounters    8. UFOs & Extraterrestrials    9. Unidentified flying objects    10. Body, Mind & Spirit / UFOs    11. UFOs    12. USA    13. c 1980 to c 1990    14. c 1990 to c 2000   

Editorial Review

If you were in elementary school the last time you saw Read more

Reviews (1)

How good this book is and why you should buy it
This book is amazing; it is full of interesting and phenomonal facts.The writers of this book have cramed an amazing amount info into every line.It is very entertaining as well as being a book one would turn to toincrease their general knowledge of world facts.I suggest you buy thisbook now; it will be only a few minutes until you are absorbed in thiswonderful book.This book is one of the best books I have ever read. Thankyou for reading my message. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. Reference    4. Wonders And Curiosities   

Reviews (7)

Tee-hee!
This was a fun, light-hearted book that was easy to read in pieces...as my schedule allowed. It's not a serious or hearty read, so considering what it was meant to be, it hit the mark!

Great light reading
Bruce Felton's "What Were They Thinking?" is a breezy examination of Strange laws, bizarre beliefs, and downright crazy ideas throughout history.There's not a lot of detail in any one description of a bad idea, and I agree with another reviewer that some context may have shed a different light on certain ideas that are presented as off-the-wall, but I feel Felton's effort, on balance, is worthwhile.This book is intended strictly as light reading, and it fits that bill quite nicely.A typical story is that of a fellow who proposed blowing up the moon, so that the Earth's tilt would change, resulting in constant springlike weather worldwide. I'm not sure which aspect of the story is more astounding - that someone would come up with this idea, or that others would take him seriously enough to present detailed arguments as to why his idea wasn't such a good one."What Were They Thinking" is full ofamusing antecdotes, and is great for some lighthearted reading.

A witless presentation of witlessness
It's summed up on the back of the jacket:"... a compendium of history's most ... fool notions, useless products ..." Substitute "publishing's" for "history's", and there you have it.All of which begs the [next] question -- what was *I* thinking when idiotic enough to purchase this piece of slack-jawed trash? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Errors, inventions, etc    3. General    4. History    5. History: American    6. Humor    7. Miscellanea    8. Reference    9. Humor / General   

Subjects:  1. Animals - Insects, Spiders, etc.    2. Butterflies    3. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 2-3    5. Curiosities & Wonders    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. Migration    9. Science & Nature - Biology   

Reviews (6)

False Advertising: There Is Not The Top Ten Of EVERYTHING Listed...
All right, that said strictly in jest, this is a particularly fun book that if studied, will surely help you sound smarter than you really are in front of your friends, and as an added bonus increase your scoring ability with the opposite sex at MENSA conventions, PBS fund drives, and science club reunions. (Although as a caution, knowing too much minutia might also be a liability if used in the wrong places, like honky tonk bars, death metal concerts, or when you're in front of a judge and you hear him cite an incorrect fact while about to sentence you for your traffic violation.) The information here is sometimes pedestrian (um, top ten soundtrack albums? Bor-ing!) but more often than not these lists are interesting (AARP Magazine is the most read publication in America?), obscure (the element with the highest melting point is carbon), and so far as I could tell, reassuringly accurate. There are some surprises here (Andorra has the highest life expectancy in the world? Honduras has the highest murder rate? Mel Gibson was the highest-earning celebrity on earth in 2004? whodathunkit?) though in a few cases, these lists cited the obvious (the blue whale is the heaviest marine species? No, really?).Overall, this was a nice read that was filled end to end with information and facts, was well-illustrated, and was written so that a reader could take what was presented in little chunks, or plow thru the entire volume in one sitting and not be too overwhelmed. I assume there will be a 2007 edition? I can't wait.

Trivia, ice breakers and really cool lists
I have purchased this book for 5 years running.The new layout is super and the categories are as intriguing as ever.I use this to tie to content for training classes.We have fun with it and we make it in to a fun contest.They learn along the way too.

Great training tool
I do corporate trainings and everyone loves when we do a 5-minute "Top Ten" exercise.I am able to re-engage participants quickly by soliciting their guesses.Definitely worth the $$! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities and wonders    2. General    3. Miscellanea    4. Reference    5. Reference And Information Services    6. Trivia    7. World records    8. Reference / Trivia   

Reviews (5)

I laughed my butt off
I don't normally write reviews, but for this, I just couldn't stop. If laughter is the best medicine - then maybe I don't need to see the doctor now. I laughed my butt off - Do you think I should apply for a refund? Do you think the product was defective some how? Was that supposed to happen? My frind says I'm full of c**p, but let me tell you NOT any more! He has no sense of humor. It was outstanding. Never Disappointed
Having rediscovered "Bathroom Readers"I was not disappointed . Full useless information that is the perfect salve to the rest of the trafffic on the information superhighway. Best trivia books so far
I've bought all of the Uncle John books, and have enjoyed them throughly. I've also noticed that a lot of the questions on "Who wants to be a millionaire", I have previously read the same information in one of Uncle John's books.Surprised the heck out of my kids when I can answer the questions that has the current contestant stumped. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American wit and humor    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. General    4. Humor   

Reviews (10)

Serene, exotic and overwhelmingly beautiful!
Keeping a marine aquarium can be an intensely rewarding experience, especially if you have the right tools. This book, The Captive Marine Aquarium, is one of them!

Great accomplishment
The author might have set a new standard for anyone who is interested in writing or publishing a book about captive marine aquarium.The readers should at least have an opportunity to see how successful the author's own aquarium is.
Two thumbs up!
Finally a marine aquarium book that is full of beautiful photographs all taken from the author's captive systems instead of diving trip.
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Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Fish    3. General    4. Nature    5. Nature / Field Guide Books    6. Photo Techniques    7. Photography    8. Subjects & Themes - General   

Reviews (3)

Answering life's deeper questions...
The Imponderables book series by David Feldman is the pinnacle of interesting and useful bathroom reading! Since the beginning of the series, Feldman has been highlighting questions that we didn't even know we had (like exactly why is it that a mile is 5,280 feet? and where is Donald Duck's brother?) then he finds "the experts" on any given subject to answer the question. At the end of each question and answer, you are left with a little better insight into the world around you (and you can go out and impress your friends with an expanded catalog of obscure anecdotes). READ THIS REVIEW
This was a awesome book I read. I found it when we were cleaning the basement, and I read most of it on a trip. It is a book that answers many interesting questions as in "Why is Bettie Rubble not a charator in the Filnstones Vitimans?" I hope you pick this or another "Imponderables" book.

As a fiction reader, I still enjoyed the things this book.
This book teaches you lots of interesting stuff, and asks lots of interesting stuff.We never thought we would never get the answers.However, David Feldman got them for us.HOORAY!I could have gave it 5stars, since it was a very interesting things that helped me help otherswith imponderables, and taught me stuff that was head-scratching.Read more

Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. Reference    3. Trivia    4. Humour   

Reviews (1)

Brilliantly Useless!
My kingdom for an invitation to a cocktail party after having started perusing this book. Just think how erudite I'll sound when I start spouting off these facts no one may actually NEED to know but many will most definitely find interesting. Not to mention the next time I can rope a few friends into a game of Trivial Pursuit.Boggles the mind. The power!
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Subjects:  1. Curiosities and wonders    2. English Satire And Humor    3. General    4. Handbooks, vade-mecums, etc    5. Humor    6. Humor / General   

Reviews (3)

Great Addition to the 'Weird' Series
I love all the 'Weird' books, especially the 'U.S.' and the 'Weird New Jersey' book, but amongst the other states, this one is a real treat.First off, it's well written by expert Troy Taylor. Secondly, the pulse of the book never ceases.From the start it grabbed me and had me turning pages, when usually these books are something you pick up and put down, just because there is so much to digest.there are some great ghostly tales and other-worldly visits that make this compilation stand on top of my stack of 'Weird' books.

I like Troy Taylor's books....
and this is the second book of his that I have read. The first was Haunted Illinois, which was also very good. I love books about haunted places and local (Illinois and Chicagoland) history.I found this book quite easy to read and interesting.

Weird Illinois
I enjoyed the book and it was an easy read, Short stories and local history. It made me want to go visit some of the sites written about. I didn't know Illinois had so much to offer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities and wonders    2. Folklore & Mythology    3. Illinois    4. Miscellanea    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Travel - United States    8. United States - Midwest - Illinois    9. ILLINOIS - IL Folklore/Humor TRD HC    10. Travel / United States / Midwest / East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)   

Reviews (1)

Sometimes Looking Smart Is Better Than Being Smart
The editors of Mental Floss Magazine have put together the type of quick-read book I thoroughly enjoy since it boosts your knowledge quotient with a minimum of effort. Launched in 2001, the bimonthly magazine has been targeting renaissance trivialists who look for the connections among seemingly different elements in the world to make sense of their existence. "What's the Difference?" focuses on the common dilemma of clarifying distinctions among a familiar series of seemingly similar word pairs. It will help you avoid the glazed look you may have emitted during your last high-faluting conversation.
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Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. Curiosities and wonders    3. Games    4. General    5. Handbooks, vade-mecums, etc    6. Humor    7. Miscellanea    8. Popular culture    9. Reference    10. Trivia    11. United States    12. Wonders And Curiosities    13. Humor / General    14. Humour   

Reviews (4)

A really great compilation of everyday questions and answers
The question "Why?" is the most difficult question to answer.Douglas B. Smith put together a compilation of more than 200 questions about everyday sayings and trends so people may not take them for granted.The word "piggybank", for example, did not originate with the pig, the farm animal that says "oink, oink", but the orange clay of old European dishes and cookware, called "pygg".Wedding and marital traditions are covered extensively, and so are nautical expressions.One example of the latter is the "devil", as in "there'll be the devil to pay" and "between the devil and the deep blue sea"; that is the hard-to-reach seam, below the waterline most of the time, on a ship built with wood.It is so good a read it even addresses the simple question that many children wonder, like "Why is the sky blue?"
This book is great!
This book really is great!I have never before had a book that every single member of my family actually fights over!! My little brother, my big sister, my mom, and my dad:every single one of us loves this book! It has taught me so many great facts! I even was awarded a free bottle of champagne on an airplane recently thanks to this book: a woman had a nose bleed the whole flight and this book explained how nose bleeds can be reduced or stopped by putting an ice pack on the back of your neck, and guess what it worked!! On top of that, once we reached our destination, all the people in our tour group would beg me to read excerpts of this book to them and the people in our tour group came from all over the world, from England to Gautemala- almost every single one of them wanted to purchase this book by the end of our trip! If you are considering purchasing this book..do it! I promise you will not regret it-this book is way too great to pass up!

A Real Letdown
When I was first given this book as a gift, I was quite excited. I am a trivia buff and the questions being answered in the book were really fun subjects.As I read, however, I quickly became suspicious.Why didn't the author allow virtually any room for multiple explanations of the origins of phrases and customs?How could he possibly have done the research required to answer all these questions thoroughly?Why did he seem to answer almost all questions with such certainty, even those with a brief explanation?Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities & Wonders    2. General    3. Reference    4. Reference / Curiosities & Wonders    5. Self-Help & Practical Interests   

Reviews (3)

Quirky Must-Have
This is an excellent book for those living in or passing through Missouri.Funny, informative, entertaining, and well-organized, the author takes us through the entire state of oddities and other sundry things, in a state where the natives are both charming and self-effacing.This book deserves two thumbs up for sure!

Show me more!
This is a great read: not only does it give practical advice for the MO tourist wishing to stray from the beaten path, it's also a great read for anyone interested in reading a bunch of darn good stories. Highly recommended.

A fun armchair traveller read - or a cool trip planner
My wife and I had a lot of fun reading this book - the author has a real appreciation of people of all stripes, and a good sense of humor. We visited a lot of weird and wonderful places in Arkansas a few years ago, but now it's obvious that Missouri has even more wackiness to offer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Curiosities and wonders    2. General    3. Guidebooks    4. Miscellanea    5. Missouri    6. Travel    7. Travel - United States    8. United States - Midwest - West North Central (General)    9. United States - South - East South Central (General)    10. United States - State & Local - General    11. Travel / United States / South / East South Central (AL, MS, KY, TN)   

Editorial Review

Robert Anton Wilson is the grand pooh-bah of late-20th-century conspiracy theory, but regular Wilson fans may find Read more

Reviews (36)

Fun, but needs updating
This book is great for browsing through occasionally - would probably be good bathroom reading - as long as you don't take it too seriously. The "conspiracies" range from satirical to loopy to almost believable. My favorite is the unbelievably convoluted "plot" surrounding the death of Princess Diana. Since I've just finished another book about conspiracy theories, I was disappointed not to find anything on the "reptilian" aliens, which seem to be quite popular on the late-night fringe - or at least they were a few years ago when I worked the third shift across from an Art Bell fan.
The book THEY don't want you to read
`Everything is Under Control' is an A to Z listing of hundreds of conspiracy theories and cover-ups that pervade the minds of paranoids. The main issue I had with the book is how quickly the author cruises through topics. Some items are touched on so lightly that I'm not even sure what Mr. Wilson is talking about. It's disappointing not because the subject matter is boring but because it's so interesting that the short descriptions left me wanting more.
Unreadable
This book is lousy.There is no depth to any theory portrayed and it is organized as an encyclopedia.
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Subjects:  1. Conspiracies    2. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    3. Controversial Knowledge    4. Curiosities & Wonders    5. Current Affairs    6. History    7. Mass Media    8. Miscellanea    9. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Unexplained Phenomena    12. Political Science / Political Freedom & Security / Intelligence    13. Self-Help & Practical Interests   

Reviews (1)

With many unknown, odd and dramatic historical anecdotes
Abbot Fay's I Never Knew That About Colorado: A Quaint Volume Of Forgotten Lore is a fascinating compendium of bits and pieces of obscure Colorado history. Here are to be found the true stories of such little known events personalities as Colorado's post-Civil War slavery; Adolph Hitler's Colorado ranch; Mark Twain and Denver censorship; when it literally snowed ducks on I-70; the bombing of Colorado during World War II; "The Man Who Word Out His Coffin"; and many more such astonishing history-based tales. I Never Knew That About Colorado is highly recommended reading for students of Colorado history, and anyone who enjoys relatively unknown, odd and dramatic historical anecdotes. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Colorado    2. Folklore    3. History    4. History - U.S.    5. Miscellanea    6. Travel    7. Trivia    8. United States - State & Local - General    9. United States - West - Mountain (General)    10. Colorado - Local History    11. United States - State & Local