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The Big Book of Useless Knowledge: 250 of the Coolest, Weirdest, and Most Unbelievable Facts You Won’t Be Taught in School
An encyclopedia of mind-bogglingly random facts that will lodge in your brain and refuse to leave.
Heard about the lizard that shoots blood from its eyes? Or the ancient Romans who used pee as mouthwash? Did you know that going on a roller coaster can cure kidney stones?
In this compendium of obscure facts readers will be treated to baffling knowledge they would never learn at school. Broken into chapters including geography, space, and history, a team of experts has scoured the world to find the silliest and most pointless facts that it has to offer.
Accompanied by hilarious illustrations, kids will meet the prehistoric camel with no humps, the tortoises that went to the Moon (and came back again), and dancing cave people. They will learn crucial life skills like how to walk on custard and how to unboil an egg by spinning it 5,000 times a minute. And they will read the heartwarming story of a court jester called Roland the Farter – can you guess what his special skill was?
( the information in this book isn’t really useless. It will inspire, shock, and amuse the reader – and maybe spark an interest that will last a lifetime. It just won’t help you with any exams!)
Heard about the lizard that shoots blood from its eyes? Or the ancient Romans who used pee as mouthwash? Did you know that going on a roller coaster can cure kidney stones?
In this compendium of obscure facts readers will be treated to baffling knowledge they would never learn at school. Broken into chapters including geography, space, and history, a team of experts has scoured the world to find the silliest and most pointless facts that it has to offer.
Accompanied by hilarious illustrations, kids will meet the prehistoric camel with no humps, the tortoises that went to the Moon (and came back again), and dancing cave people. They will learn crucial life skills like how to walk on custard and how to unboil an egg by spinning it 5,000 times a minute. And they will read the heartwarming story of a court jester called Roland the Farter – can you guess what his special skill was?
( the information in this book isn’t really useless. It will inspire, shock, and amuse the reader – and maybe spark an interest that will last a lifetime. It just won’t help you with any exams!)
Kindle Edition
Published May 14, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 22, 2024
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Neon Squid, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley.
This is a delightful audiobook of unusual facts presented with humor with a primary to middle grade target audience. The facts are grouped in chapters with adorable names like 'useless nature knowledge' or 'useless places knowledge'. This is short, light, interesting, and educational. This hits the sweet spot of being fun for kids and cute for adults. Some of the humor was a bit basic, but it helped that the grandkids loved it. This would be the perfect audiobook for a family car trip or even while working on a puzzle together as a family. My grandkids loved this so much that I'm hoping there'll be sequels. Ideally, the younger kids are exposed to this kind of fun educational option, and the more likely they are to continue to enjoy and seek out fact based knowledge across their lifetime.
The narrator of this nonfiction children's book is Tim Campbell. Mr. Campbell employs a light and upbeat tone, which is very engaging. This high-quality audiobook production includes a track of light sounds as background music. My grandkids loved this, and it seemed to help them engage with the narrative. The music is loudest between chapters and fades when the narrator is speaking. I did not like this effect in my earbuds but found it quite fun on speaker. My grandkids are of grade school age and were surprisingly interested in this narrative.
Thank you to Neon Squid, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
This is a delightful audiobook of unusual facts presented with humor with a primary to middle grade target audience. The facts are grouped in chapters with adorable names like 'useless nature knowledge' or 'useless places knowledge'. This is short, light, interesting, and educational. This hits the sweet spot of being fun for kids and cute for adults. Some of the humor was a bit basic, but it helped that the grandkids loved it. This would be the perfect audiobook for a family car trip or even while working on a puzzle together as a family. My grandkids loved this so much that I'm hoping there'll be sequels. Ideally, the younger kids are exposed to this kind of fun educational option, and the more likely they are to continue to enjoy and seek out fact based knowledge across their lifetime.
The narrator of this nonfiction children's book is Tim Campbell. Mr. Campbell employs a light and upbeat tone, which is very engaging. This high-quality audiobook production includes a track of light sounds as background music. My grandkids loved this, and it seemed to help them engage with the narrative. The music is loudest between chapters and fades when the narrator is speaking. I did not like this effect in my earbuds but found it quite fun on speaker. My grandkids are of grade school age and were surprisingly interested in this narrative.
Thank you to Neon Squid, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
May 4, 2024
"The Big Book of Useless Knowledge" by Neon Squid is not a story. It is a list of 250 trivial bits of knowledge. In the audiobook narrated by Tim Campbell, there is background music, which is particularly annoying, especially if you change the speed of the playback. There is no transition or separation between the trivia within each category.
The knowledge categories or chapters are as follows: nature, human bodies, places, prehistoric, history, culture, science, earth, and space.
To give you an idea of what's in the book, here are my favorite bits of knowledge from each category of the book:
Nature knowledge
❤️ Wombats poop cubic shapes.
Human body
❤️ There is no such thing as double jointed, just stretchier ligaments.
Places
❤️ The Great Wall of China has sticky rice mixed in with the mortar in the wall's construction.
Prehistoric
❤️ Sharks have been around longer than trees.
History
❤️ Purple clothing was very popular in the Bronze age, 5000 yrs ago. The purple dye was made from smooshed up Sea Snail mucus.
Culture
❤️ 1/2 of the world's population speaks only 0.3 % of 7000+ known languages. The most commonly spoken languages are:
Mandarin
English
Spanish
Arabic
Hindi
Science
❤️ Roller coasters can cure (help break up) kidney stones. Research supports this.
Earth
❤️ Rainbows are perfect circles. We only see the part above the horizon unless we're in the air in a plane or in a high mountain.
Space
❤️ Mars has a red sky in the day and blue sky at sunset.
---
I was not able to binge listen to this. It was too much information at once. I did find a lot of things interesting, but it came at me too fast to retain much of it. I would prefer to read or hear more info about each one and have less overall bits.
Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for providing me with this early release audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
The knowledge categories or chapters are as follows: nature, human bodies, places, prehistoric, history, culture, science, earth, and space.
To give you an idea of what's in the book, here are my favorite bits of knowledge from each category of the book:
Nature knowledge
❤️ Wombats poop cubic shapes.
Human body
❤️ There is no such thing as double jointed, just stretchier ligaments.
Places
❤️ The Great Wall of China has sticky rice mixed in with the mortar in the wall's construction.
Prehistoric
❤️ Sharks have been around longer than trees.
History
❤️ Purple clothing was very popular in the Bronze age, 5000 yrs ago. The purple dye was made from smooshed up Sea Snail mucus.
Culture
❤️ 1/2 of the world's population speaks only 0.3 % of 7000+ known languages. The most commonly spoken languages are:
Mandarin
English
Spanish
Arabic
Hindi
Science
❤️ Roller coasters can cure (help break up) kidney stones. Research supports this.
Earth
❤️ Rainbows are perfect circles. We only see the part above the horizon unless we're in the air in a plane or in a high mountain.
Space
❤️ Mars has a red sky in the day and blue sky at sunset.
---
I was not able to binge listen to this. It was too much information at once. I did find a lot of things interesting, but it came at me too fast to retain much of it. I would prefer to read or hear more info about each one and have less overall bits.
Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for providing me with this early release audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
May 17, 2024
My 7 year old ate this book up. We listened to it on car trips. He laughed non stop. He asked so many clarifying questions. We all learned something, even my 6 year old who tried his very best to not enjoy himself.
The narrator was great; very similar to a narrator on an educational tv show geared towards kids. It felt familiar to him without any explanation.
Thank you NetGalley, Neon Squid, and Macmillian audio for this audiobook ARC. We really enjoyed it!
The narrator was great; very similar to a narrator on an educational tv show geared towards kids. It felt familiar to him without any explanation.
Thank you NetGalley, Neon Squid, and Macmillian audio for this audiobook ARC. We really enjoyed it!
July 11, 2024
4.5 stars
May 20, 2024
5 ⭐’s for content
4 ⭐’s for audio version
Overall: Rounded to 5 ⭐’s on GR
This audio book is so fun and full of useless facts, most of which were new to me! There were a few that my kids knew from watching Octonauts but there were many that blew their minds as well.
I have found myself listening to it on my own and then coming back and listening to it again with the kids. It's a great way to engage with the kids especially in car rides and keeps them off their devices. It's best listened to in small chunks and perfect for short trips.
I've been walking around telling everyone useless facts which turns out they're not useless, they're great conversation starters!
I would recommend this audiobook for adults and kids and I'll be looking for other audiobooks from NS as well.
I took off a star for the audiobook version because I didn't care for the background music. It means I can't change the narration speed without it sounding weird and some of the music was particularly sleep inducing for listening to facts while driving, which is when we do the bulk of our listening. The narrator was good overall but without much pause between facts coupled with the music it became monotonous at times.
We were lucky to receive this as an advanced audio copy from NetGalley and Neon Squid in exchange for an unbiased/fair review. Thank you!
4 ⭐’s for audio version
Overall: Rounded to 5 ⭐’s on GR
This audio book is so fun and full of useless facts, most of which were new to me! There were a few that my kids knew from watching Octonauts but there were many that blew their minds as well.
I have found myself listening to it on my own and then coming back and listening to it again with the kids. It's a great way to engage with the kids especially in car rides and keeps them off their devices. It's best listened to in small chunks and perfect for short trips.
I've been walking around telling everyone useless facts which turns out they're not useless, they're great conversation starters!
I would recommend this audiobook for adults and kids and I'll be looking for other audiobooks from NS as well.
I took off a star for the audiobook version because I didn't care for the background music. It means I can't change the narration speed without it sounding weird and some of the music was particularly sleep inducing for listening to facts while driving, which is when we do the bulk of our listening. The narrator was good overall but without much pause between facts coupled with the music it became monotonous at times.
We were lucky to receive this as an advanced audio copy from NetGalley and Neon Squid in exchange for an unbiased/fair review. Thank you!
April 24, 2024
Thank you for the opportunity to listen to the advance listen edition of 250 useless facts. This version has music throughout the entire 4-5 hour audio. This audiobook was extremely well done, well written and interesting.
My 5 year old nephew is beginning to read and really likes non fiction. I would love this to be a version with both the word and the text; hoping that the publisher releases such a version. So many facts that I think my young nephew would just love! I definitely plan to purchase for him.
Kudos to author Neon Squid for keeping this book both interesting and informative.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio / Macmillan Young Listeners for approving my request to listen to the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Great job with narration by Tim Campbell.
Release date is May 14, 2024.
My 5 year old nephew is beginning to read and really likes non fiction. I would love this to be a version with both the word and the text; hoping that the publisher releases such a version. So many facts that I think my young nephew would just love! I definitely plan to purchase for him.
Kudos to author Neon Squid for keeping this book both interesting and informative.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio / Macmillan Young Listeners for approving my request to listen to the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Great job with narration by Tim Campbell.
Release date is May 14, 2024.
May 13, 2024
The Big Book of Useless Knowledge was such a fun family book! My 5 year old and I listened to the audiobook, occasionally letting the other kids (and even Dad) join in on the listening. We learned a ton of things, and it’s been fun sharing these facts with others.
The audiobook was really well done. The narrator did a great job, and the sound effects that went along with the different chapters and sections were so neat.
I highly recommend this audiobook for a fun listen while in the car with the family. Or for stocking up on knowledge to gain fun knowledge to share at the dinner table. Break it up into chunks, and take your time. This really is a big book, so there’s hours of listening and plenty to enjoy.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced audiobook copy.
The audiobook was really well done. The narrator did a great job, and the sound effects that went along with the different chapters and sections were so neat.
I highly recommend this audiobook for a fun listen while in the car with the family. Or for stocking up on knowledge to gain fun knowledge to share at the dinner table. Break it up into chunks, and take your time. This really is a big book, so there’s hours of listening and plenty to enjoy.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced audiobook copy.
April 17, 2024
My kids and I absolutely loved this audiobook. We love random facts and this book has 250 of them! They’re divided into categories and the narrator does a great job hooking you into each chapter. The extra sounds bring the audiobook to life. We learned so many new facts that we had never heard of before, which is saying a lot since we read lots of books with random facts. We can’t wait until the next edition of The Big Book of Useless Knowledge. My kids already want to listen to this one again.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook prior to publication.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook prior to publication.
July 31, 2024
A big fat book of knowledge that while, as they title suggests may be useless was generally fascinating to my kids. I even learnt some new facts as well.
Nicely written and split into topic sections, the illustrations are cartoony and bright. My daughter loved the space section in particular, and my son appreciated the references to butts, burps and farts (sigh).
Both of my kids have been repeating their favorite facts to anyone who will listen and it has sparked some excellent curiosity in them.
Nicely written and split into topic sections, the illustrations are cartoony and bright. My daughter loved the space section in particular, and my son appreciated the references to butts, burps and farts (sigh).
Both of my kids have been repeating their favorite facts to anyone who will listen and it has sparked some excellent curiosity in them.
April 20, 2024
This was a classic collection of facts for kids. I would think late elementary school age and up would be the target audience. They will enjoy the facts, plus that words like "burp", "fart", "butt", and "poop" are included. Being an adult, I knew a lot of these facts, but even I learned a thing or two.
I listened to the audiobook, but I think it would be nice to listen to this along with a physical copy of the book. I know that this style of book usually has great illustrations and pictures.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC Audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I listened to the audiobook, but I think it would be nice to listen to this along with a physical copy of the book. I know that this style of book usually has great illustrations and pictures.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC Audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
May 5, 2024
A fun book of mostly useless knowledge. Quick read, good narration. The background music could be turned down just a pinch.
Physical copy recommended for bathroom readers, or someone trying to up their reads-per-month.
(I received this ALC via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you.)
Physical copy recommended for bathroom readers, or someone trying to up their reads-per-month.
(I received this ALC via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you.)
May 25, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC!
The Big Book of Useless Knowledge was a very quick and enjoyable listen. Some of the factoids I already knew, others were mildly interesting, and a few were quite surprising and fun. Also, Neon Squid is a terrific pen name for a children's non-fiction author. Worth the read!
The Big Book of Useless Knowledge was a very quick and enjoyable listen. Some of the factoids I already knew, others were mildly interesting, and a few were quite surprising and fun. Also, Neon Squid is a terrific pen name for a children's non-fiction author. Worth the read!
May 9, 2024
This audiobook was a big hit with my kids! We listened to it on a road trip, and they wanted to start it over once the audio finished. This book is full of fun facts that will keep your kids entertained and engaged.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC
Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC
August 9, 2024
One of the best kids audiobooks I have ever read
September 20, 2024
This was so much fun!
November 18, 2024
Really interesting book with snippets/factoids accompanied by illustrations that match the subject.
May 12, 2025
"Knowledge is power." - Thomas Hobbes
June 1, 2025
Solid, for what it is — an endless string of facts that lean toward poops and farts that an 8-year-old will appreciate on a roadtrip.
October 23, 2025
Fun! I recommend on audio while you're doing something. Learn and be productive.
June 2, 2024
[ARC via Netgalley] My 6 y.o. begged to listen to this book every time we were in the car. It truly is a book of useless facts that are silly, outlandish, and have you wondering how it can possibly be true. Wide variety of facts and the narrator was great. Plenty of poop, fart and butt facts which is always a crowd pleaser with boys. 😂
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews