The Book of Unusual Knowledge: Big Book of Fascinating Facts & Information | Hardcover Gift for Trivia Buffs, Curious Minds, Adults, Dad & Knowledge Seekers

by Publications International

From the day we're born, we know to eat, sleep, and seek comfort whenever possible. In school, we're taught the basics about how the world works. But sometimes, we just need to dig a little deeper. That's where The Book of Unusual Knowledge comes in. The stories within this volume shed some light on the extraordinary things that the human mind can conceive. You'll discover amazing information about animals and intriguing tidbits about some of today's most revered institutions. What could cause a man to bury ten Cadillacs nose down in a pasture? Why did the king of Prussia assemble an "elite" infantry unit composed entirely of unusually tall men? Find the answers to these questions in the pages that follow.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Reference, Science, Childrens, Trivia, Education

704 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Publications International, Ltd. (PIL) is a leading North American publisher, producing hundreds of new titles each year and printing millions of books annually. CEO Louis Weber founded the company in 1967 with a mission to provide high-quality, high-value products for consumers worldwide.

PIL publishes books in many categories, including the popular Brain Games® series of puzzle, sticker and coloring books, in addition to cookbooks, children’s books, craft, reference and much more.

PIL's bestselling Brain Games® product line features a wide array of puzzle books, including standards such as word searches, crosswords, sudokus, codewords, and cryptograms, as well as variety puzzle books themed around crime, Christmas, summer, celebrities, and more.

The New Seasons® division publishes a variety of stationery products that combine unique formats with the latest trends in design. Among these are Sticker by Number titles, Color and Frame books, notepad sets, journals, and recipe keepers. These products are the perfect vehicle to de-stress and relax, organize your day, and record and share memories.

Collectible Automobile® magazine, another division of PIL, presents an in-depth look at the cars and trucks that Americans have known and loved for decades. First published in 1984, Collectible Automobile® magazine is released six times a year.

PIL's cookbooks feature visually outstanding presentations of culinary classics and world cuisine, including books that focus on the Mediterranean diet, plant-based cooking, restaurant recipes, and the best in entertaining.

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

My sister gave this book to my husband for Christmas two or three years ago. I decided to read it because I was trying to find something I want to learn. As part of our library's summer reading challenges, they suggest learning something "you've always wanted to know more about," but I couldn't think of a single thing. I thought this book would give me ideas. It did. There's a very large variety of facts in this book.

So, thanks to this book, I want to learn more about vampire bats, more about Jesse James Strang who was a "king" to his people and a former member of the church I attend, and learn how to make baked Alaska. Other facts I found interesting:

*Vampire bats don't suck blood, they lick it. Their saliva contains an anticoagulant that keeps blood flowing. Scientists are trying to copy the enzymes to treat heart conditions and stop the effects of strokes.

*The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's Hurricane Hunters pilot C-130 airplanes straight into a hurricane's eye to measure data such as wind speed and direction to predict information about hurricanes.

*Everyone has a unique tongue print.

*Finger nails grow more quickly on the hand you write with and on the longest fingers.

*Longest you can go without sleep and live is 10 days.

*Cracking knuckles is the sound of bursting synovial bubbles, from synovial fluid in joints. Cracking knuckles can injure joints and weaken fingers, but doesn't directly cause arthritis.

*Gum base from chewing gum comes out in two or three days because it's indigestible.

*Elephants lie down in REM sleep.

*Ducks keep their brain half awake to protect themselves from predators.

My biggest question is: Why are none of the these facts backed up with references? It's not that I'm questioning any of them. I'm just curious the origins of all the information they cite. Also, who really wrote or edited this book? I'm going to look into it.

[Himanshu Bhatnagar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely US-centric. The title should make that clear. Some interesting tidbits but on the whole, not a very interesting read. There is so much more in the world that is interesting outside one nation!

[Shane Ver Meer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of the information in here is, as these types of books go, brief and not entirely accurate (I don't know their sources, but a few things I checked here and there were off the mark a bit). Regardless, I had some fun with it.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A large volume of interesting information on a variety of topics. I'm a big fan of fact books, such as Uncle John's Bathroom Readers, so I jumped at the chance to read this book. I had read about most of the topics before, but there were still a few surprising tidbits contained within. Quite frequently I found myself wishing that an article was longer and contained more information. A lot of the articles felt incomplete/rushed to me. It seemed like just as I was getting drawn in, there was a hurried closing paragraph and then on to the next topic. Despite it's length, it ended up being a fast read. Overall, a decent read that trivia fans will no doubt enjoy.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a triple stack of these books actually back in Xmas last year and have been slowly chipping away at them.

These are filled with essentially trivia knowledge about haunted houses, exotic foods, sporting events, etc. They are honestly perfect bathroom reads, as you can jump in, read about different species of bats, and jump out feeling like you've picked away a little bit of interesting knowledge.

I would say these are great gifts, even for non-readers as the content is usually 1-3 pages max per subject.

I did notice quite a bit of overlap within the three books. For example, the exotic food section with things like puffer fish, maggot cheese, etc... overall quite a bit of repeat material.

All in all though, these are fun. Fair warning though, the content is a bit dated, as the most current events you'll find within the books are early 2000's at best and goes to the left pretty far.. maybe even as far as the 1950's.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some gross stuff included but overall a good bathroom reader type book. Tidbits of mostly useless information that's just fun to know. Well, most of it anyway.

I didn't care for stuff about economics or politics. I was just looking for harmless entertainment. I have no interest in stories/articles that polarize the masses or incite activism. Thankfully, there was nothing too deep so I could easily skip the pieces I didn't care for.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completed but, always available to pick up as a reference ‘coffee table’ book or merely to enjoy in short reads. Lots of great historical facts and pop culture references!

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

True to the title this book is filled to the brim with knowledge I hadn't come across before. For a book of this type, I think it's surprisingly well laid out. Each topic is discussed quickly and interestingly.

[Chris McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

as advertised. a compendium of random facts about a whole bunch of topics. Some stuff I knew, some I didn't. A throwback to they type of book I loved growing up.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting information that is more than just trivia. A worthwhile read that is far from boring. This was a great Christmas gift.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.9/5

I actually really enjoyed this. It was given to me as a gift and the bite-sized knowledge kept me interested. It felt like when I would go down Wikipedia rabbit holes back in the day. Also, got a Madonna reference on the very last page so was excited for that.

Here are some things I enjoyed reading/learning about or found interesting:
-Nearly all Hollywood studios had dealings with the Nazi Regime until the beginning of WWII except for Warner Bros: releasing the controversial film Confessions of a Nazi Spy in 1939.
-The globe that once appeared in the background of NBC Nightly News spun backwards for years until someone caught on.
-Irna Phillips, a radio actress in the 1920s, created the first "soap opera" as a radio serial called Painted Dreams.
-South Africa's version of Sesame Street titled Takalani Sesame, has an HIV-positive Muppet due to the high level of HIV-positive children in the country.
-"The Dark Side of the Rainbow" or syncing Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz seems to have gain attention in the mid-90s from a radio DJ which then resulted in the phenomenon being reported on MTV News. Pink Floyd has denied any connection. Also, the movie is 100 minutes long and the album is only 43 minutes.
-I would like to visit the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington D.C.
-There is a Bible themed park called BibleWalk in Mansfield, OH where the Gospel is recreated and you can tour each testament.
-I would like to visit the Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri. It contains exhibits exploring the history of mental health.
-The Nazis were not only some of the worst people to ever exist, they were also extremely protective of the animal kingdom. Hitler was a proponent of animal rights.
-Starbucks is named after the first mate in Moby Dick.
-WD-40 equals Water Displacement + how many attempts it took to perfect it.
-Sears offered Money-Back Guarantee to farmers, and thats how they were able to gain popularity with their "Big Book". Also feels like Sears was the Amazon of yesteryear.
-There was a female Soviet fighter pilot during WWII that was referred to as "The White Rose of Stalingrad" who terrorized the Nazis.
-Harriet Tubman's contributions to both the freedom of slaves and the Union war effort were profound. After the war, she remained busy. During the Reconstruction period, she established schools to educate former slaves. She also helped found an old age home in Auburn, New York. Despite her achievements, however, Tubman received little public acclaim and lived a long life of relative poverty. Her memoir, Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, only attracted significant attention after she died in 1913 at age 93.
-LSD was formulated by accident in 1938 by Dr. Hoffmann. He later used it to see if it helped psychiatrically with test subjects: Cary Grant, Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, Aldous Huxley, and Andre Previn.
-Marie Antoinette wrote to Mesmer, of Mesmerism fame, to not quit his practice.
-Houdini was a debunker of fake spiritualists, testifying before a congressional committee in 1926.
-Jerry Springer was the Mayor of Cincinnati before his talk show. During his Mayor run he was caught in a prostitute-sex-scandal...because he used a check.
-Symmes Park in Hamilton is named after the guy who started the Hollow Earth theory, believing the entrance to be in the North Pole.
-Japanese soldier, Shoichi Yokoi, hid for 28 years to avoid American capture only to reassimilate into society. He then became a lecturer on survival techniques, despite his hesitation due to the Westernization of Japan.
-It's likely the word Easter arrived from the word Eostre, who was a mother goddess Saxons of Northern Europe worshipped. Eostre's emblem was the hare.
-During WWII, Superman was labelled a Jew by the Nazis.
-South Park started as a Christmas-card video shared by Hollywood insiders, including George Clooney.
-According to Esquire magazine, 58.2 percent of men surveyed found Betty Rubble more desirable than Wilma Flintstone.
-Tweety Bird is a boy.
-In 1991, two men from England confessed to creating the majority of crop circles found in England during the previous two decades.
-Lincoln saw his doppelganger in a mirror in 1860. His wife interpreted it as an omen.
-Coolidge, FDR, and Nixon were all pro-astrology.
-Nancy Reagan's involvement with astrologers such as Joan Quigley and Jeane Dixon are well documented in tell-all books, and Ronald admitted that he was superstitious and regularly read newspaper astrology columns. In fact, as California's governor, he signed legislation that removed astrologers from the state criminal code, thus making them more legitimate. These beliefs made the Reagans the butt of many jokes. In 1976, psychic Jeane Dixon missed a Reagan prediction, so Nancy fired her, showing that psychics, like musicians, are only as good as their last gig. Dixon was replaced by Quigley , who would boldly brag she'd helped end the Cold War.
-Teddy Roosevelt was a founding member of the American Society for Psychic Research.
-Barry Goldwater was interested in aliens and if there were any hidden at Wright-Patt's alleged "Hangar 18" but was denied access to the facility.
-In May 1972, Woodhull became the first woman chosen as a presidential candidate for the Equal Right's Party.
-Did not know that the Donner Party happened in part to misinformation in The Emmigrant's Guide to Oregon and California. (Pg. 386)
-Alexander Gardner was a famous civil war photographer.
-In 1890, Emperor Menelik II of Abyssinia became so enthralled with stories of the new "electric chair" from America that he ordered three of them, even though his country did not have any electricity at the time. (He kept one unplugged death chair as his throne.)
-Violet Jessop survived an attack on the British warship HMS Hawke, the Titanic, and the HMHS Britannic and continued to sail afterwards.
-In Key Largo, Florida there is Jule's Undersea Lodge, an underwater hotel.
-Shout out to the Longaberger Basket Building in Newark!
-In parts of Tibet, a funeral ritual known as a "sky burial" is practiced. In this ceremony, the body of the deceased is dissected and placed atop a mountain as an offering to the elements and birds of prey.
-I loved the bad predictions on page 446, particularly Thatcher saying "It will be years-not in my time-before a woman will become prime minister."
-Jeff Bezos failed at first by calling what would become Amazon as "Cadabra.com". The first book sold on Amazon was Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought.
-Basketball invented in 1891.
-Errol Flynn sounded like a predator with good, despicable lawyers.
-There is an odd connection between the Black Death and HIV: a large part of Europe's population has a mutation that prevents CCR5 receptors in the body's white blood cells acting as entry points. HIV cannot enter the white blood cells in that case, so people with 32 mutation are partially protected in this manner.
-Alexander the Great, Christopher Walken, and Carly Simon all have different colored irises between their two eyes. (Heterochromia)
-There is a museum in Philly called the Mutter Museum where morbid curiosities of the human body are on display.
-Tennessee Williams died from choking on the cap of an eye-drop bottle??
-Artie Shaw was married to both Lana Turner and Ava Gardner.
-Maria Callas was with Aristotle Onassis before he left her for Jackie Kennedy. The breakup devastated her.
-Tori Amos shoutout! Just that she got kicked out of the Peabody Conservatory.
-The singer of "Dominique", Sister Luc-Gabrielle committed double suicide with her lesbian lover in 1985.
-In 2002, President Bush choked on a pretzel in the White House while watching NFL playoffs. He lost consciousness.
-"Miracle Fruit" can make sour foods taste sweet. Sugar companies lobbied to ban the import of the fruit.
-Madonna paid $76 million to Guy Ritchie in 2008 as alimony.

[DavidO · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been awesome before the Internet, but now you can easily look things up. It also would have been better if it were more organized, instead of apparently suffering from some kind of written ADHD. Mostly it is about 680 pages of random facts, some much less interesting than others.

[tony dillard jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book over the summer during the 301 Endless Yard Sale taking place in Smithfield/Selma, North Carolina. A kid of about 15 was selling it. The mysterious title of The Book of Unusual Knowledge intrigued me. The picture of Stonehenge is was enticed me to pick it up. The factoid about how many endless hours it took to erect the stone monoliths sold me on the book. One portrait of Abe Lincoln and the book was mine.

This book is massive. Just under 600 pages in length if you remove the index. A hardback, it's 'deceptively lightweight' as my bride described it one night when I asked her to hand it to me.

Inside are articles on the real names of celebrities, Popes who were murdered in the Vatican, famous UFO sightings and much more. Some of the material isn't what I would consider 'unusual knowledge'. Information on the various sightings of the Virgin Mary is unusual. The history of that raining summer in Geneva which inspired Mary Shelley to write Frankenstein is not. With topics like movies, animals, pop culture and holidays, what is considered unusual knowledge is really up to the reader to decide.

This felt like one of those Uncle John's Bathroom Readers. Only there aren't any stupid puns about having to poop. There are a few quiz type activities like linking the musician name with their real identities. No article is longer than 3 pages. Okay; there might have been one or two that were 4 pages in length. Most were only a page long. So there's a ton of relatively short reads. However, it took me a long time to read because of how huge this book was.

BuzzFeed listed this 2012 fact book as one of the best gift ideas for the 2024 holiday season. The retail price on Amazon is decent and publisher Publications International Ltd. offers over a dozen more similarly bound books including one volume about cats and another about crime. I'm very tempted to buy another book to increase my unusual knowledge over as I did enjoy this book even though some of it seemed like pretty usual stuff

[Lance Hillsinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book of Unusual Knowledge is not your typical trivia book. Compared to similar books, for the most part, The Book of Unusual Knowledge provides, for the most part, greater context to odd facts. For instance, the book’s cover states that it took 30 million work hours to build Stonehenge. My favorite tidbit was about how Timbuktu supposedly got its name.

There are 22 chapters covering a variety of topics (Money and Business, Holidays, the Earth and Universe, religion, etc.). Not including an index, it is an impressive 679 pages long, and because of the way it is bound, it looks like an authoritative textbook. However, there is no bibliography or reference section, so there is no way to check sources and determine, for instance, where the figure of 30 million hours to build Stonehenge came from.

Further, at 679 pages, The Book of Unusual Knowledge is about 179 pages too long. Many facts cited would be known by most readers. Still, it is an interesting and sometimes humorous read (e.g. flubbed headlines).

There are no reference section nor a bibliography; not including these sections was probably a cost issue. (Your reviewer has long advocated, to save paper and reduce costs, such sections be made available online). With some extraneous entries and no way to check sources, The Book of Unusual Knowledge just barely merits four stars.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Book of Unusual Knowledge comes from 2012 Publications International, Ltd. The book has 677 pages of very small pieces about many. The pieces are usually two (or some smaller pieces (of three items0.

Here are pieces of the 100 pages. Each page is usually two pages.

Famous Movie Quotes (2 pgs.)

“Sesame Street” on a TV program for kids 22

NBC in New York when TV was coming in 1950’s 26

I’m Going to Disney World! 45

“Between 1821 to 1855, the population of New York City” 56

Curling in Scotland in the 1500s 66

“When Baseball and Beet Don’t Mix” 70

“Baseball’s in unique possession, the real source of our strength, is the fan’s memory of the times his daddy took him to the game to see the great players of his youth” 95

Each little piece of each page has something about something. Most some things that most about what we have seen (if you’re 50+).

And, the end of the book is 704.

Some of the two pages for a thing to red can be good (with two pages on a topic) Even when it’s very cold in our town.

[Larry McCloskey · Rating 4 out of 5]

How does one rate a book of trivia? It's not like there's a compelling story or interesting characters. Except maybe there are those things and more. Obviously, this isn't a book you're going to devote a weekend to reading, but the short stories and random bits of trivia kept me coming back for all 600+ pages and that's what matters.

The "unusual knowledge" itself is drawn from just about every subject imaginable, everything is arranged is handy "bite sized" pieces - I don't think any "topic" ran longer than 3-4 pages - and while some of these factoids have become common knowledge over the years, there's plenty of obscure, bizarre, and entertaining lore in here to keep you interested.

It's a fun book to have around the house when you're killing time, waiting for the oven to pre-heat, or when you're...taking care of other business.

[Douglas Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the kind of book you actually read cover to cover like a normal book. Per its title, it is a book of unusual and sometimes quirky information. It ranges from historical to current, advertising to space-age. I actually kept it in my bathroom to peruse on those long occasions. I perused it, reading articles about some things of interest, such as the North, by today's standards, spent 27.3 billion dollars on the Civil War to the South's 17.1 Billion. No wonder they lost. And skipping some articles, such as a history of hoop skirts.

A nice Christmas gift for someone you don't know what to buy. That's how I received it.

[Emory Ivie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a person who likes to constantly read something while I eat, this book has become a close friend of mine. I like the personable narration style and the short and intriguing articles I can quickly finish over a snack. I've probably read the entire thing twice.

I also appreciate that it's very objective and impartial, especially concerning religion.

I received a few sequels in the series and was not disappointed. If you like pondering over random and interesting facts, I highly recommend it.

[Kathy Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this for my 62 year old husband who loves to read and learn before falling asleep at night. I won't buy any more from this author as I keep hearing him say, "that's wrong information" Or, I notice him turning the pages, while scanning, because it is useless info to him. There are some interesting clips, but he has to search for them and then he'll read them out loud, if he finds them interesting and/or useful. I've been pretty bored with what he has read, mostly.

[T.J. Puritz · Rating 3 out of 5]

very dated but still a lot of fun.
I enjoyed the inclusion of the quizzes to test my knowledge of the different subjects by which the book is broken up.
Because it's written like it's in current time, and I even found one reference to the Covid Pandemic, I expected it to have included more up to date information.

[Rhonda Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read every book of what some call useless facts. but I find this to be one of the most interesting facts that many has never known . I love learning about a variety of things. This was a good book.

[James Hatz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a gift from my mom to keep me entertained while I was recovering from surgery. This book was a great gift and full of interesting facts and is very well edited. So many tidbits I would have never knew had I not read this book. Great gift for any curious reader.

[Chris Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trivia, trivia everywhere! LOL

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and fun, easy read. A few typos but no sources

[taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be reading this for a long time to come but I’m going to go ahead and give it 5 stars because i’m very much enjoying it!

(thanks mama 😘)

[Ryan]

I recommend it if you’re someone that likes fun facts or weird stories. I look forward to possibly checking out the sequels.

[Brian C Moxham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love useless knowledge books, and this did not disappoint!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love fact books and being able to just pick them up at random and reading a few pages. This one has a very nice mix of subjects and the format is well laid out. Very enjoyable.

[Jim White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a gift. It covered a wide array of subjects and parts of it were quite interesting. It was easy to read in small chunks also.

[Ron Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly and interesting facts and myths punctured. Fun.