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Quite Interesting Facts #2
1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop
From the creators of the hugely popular BBC quiz show QI, a brilliant sequel to their New York Times-best-selling 1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off.
From the creators of the hugely popular BBC quiz show QI, a brilliant sequel to their New York Times-best-selling 1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off. 1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop is bursting with mindboggling morsels of trivia--informative, hilarious, sometimes arcane or utterly useless, but always entertaining.
Did you know?
- Wagner only ever wore pink silk underwear.
- There are 34,000 statues of Kim Il Sung in North Korea.
- There is a cult in Malaysia that worships a giant teapot.
- Earthworms have five hearts.
- Your eyebrows renew themselves every 64 days.
- Charles Darwin's tortoise Harriet died in 2006 at the age of 176.
Every fact in this magnificent little volume has been researched with punctilious care in order to bring you the truth in its purest form.
From the creators of the hugely popular BBC quiz show QI, a brilliant sequel to their New York Times-best-selling 1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off. 1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop is bursting with mindboggling morsels of trivia--informative, hilarious, sometimes arcane or utterly useless, but always entertaining.
Did you know?
- Wagner only ever wore pink silk underwear.
- There are 34,000 statues of Kim Il Sung in North Korea.
- There is a cult in Malaysia that worships a giant teapot.
- Earthworms have five hearts.
- Your eyebrows renew themselves every 64 days.
- Charles Darwin's tortoise Harriet died in 2006 at the age of 176.
Every fact in this magnificent little volume has been researched with punctilious care in order to bring you the truth in its purest form.
385 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2013
124 people are currently reading
615 people want to read
About the author
John Lloyd
227 books139 followersJohn Hardress Wilfred Lloyd is an English television and radio comedy producer and writer. His television work includes Not the Nine O'Clock News, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Spitting Image, Blackadder and QI. He is currently the presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Museum of Curiosity.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
December 4, 2020
As I've always been a big fan of the TV version of QI and an avid enthusiast of the books, it's no surprise that I wriggled with delight reading this. As always, I kept thinking "Oh, I must remember that one" and then promptly forgot it as the next fascinating snippet came along.
I try to ration the reading of these books out, limiting myself to a limited number of pages at each sitting but, as always, I failed this time and read this whole book in just two sittings; I just couldn't stop. If you like QI, you'll love this.
I try to ration the reading of these books out, limiting myself to a limited number of pages at each sitting but, as always, I failed this time and read this whole book in just two sittings; I just couldn't stop. If you like QI, you'll love this.
January 8, 2014
I love books with trivia and useless information! This one is full of interesting snippets that seem to lead into each other. A very easy and fun read
April 13, 2017
It made me laugh. And it made me feel smart when I knew some of the things in here already. ;)
November 7, 2020
Quite Interesting - as the title states - at first, if one loves random trivia. Then it starts to grate how most of the 'facts' center on penises, farting etc. There are only so many random facts about animal fournication and genitals that one can bear, penises just aren't that interesting, sorry guys . The book is written by John, John and James - which I guess also explains that I suspect a lot of the 'facts' aren't facts about humans, even when they state that, but men... See Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez if you want to get pissed off about that too!) And even after trying to ignore the juvenile obsession with penises (see, after you read it again and again, it gets kind of tedious, right: Penis, haha? Oh shut up!).
And then there is the issue of the "facts", while I'm no expert on animal penises (well I wasn't before reading this anyway), but I do know stuff about Denmark and Danish culture (actually I used to teach it) - but all the so-called facts in this area are, if not wrong, then at least quite far off. And that is just lazy! Anyone could have googled that Laurel and Hardy is not known as 'Gog and Cogge' in Danish, they're 'Gøg and Gokke' (I might accept the missing line in the ø, though with the English's recent infatuation with Danish hygge and crime fiction they've been renaming anything Nørdic, even if it was never spelled with an ø) - But the G changed to C is just bad fact checking. And well, that makes me wonder if any of the other 1338 facts and just an inaccurate or just wrong? Not great thoughts to have lurking in the back of your mind, when entertaining yourself with a 'fact'-book. So I gave up.
And then there is the issue of the "facts", while I'm no expert on animal penises (well I wasn't before reading this anyway), but I do know stuff about Denmark and Danish culture (actually I used to teach it) - but all the so-called facts in this area are, if not wrong, then at least quite far off. And that is just lazy! Anyone could have googled that Laurel and Hardy is not known as 'Gog and Cogge' in Danish, they're 'Gøg and Gokke' (I might accept the missing line in the ø, though with the English's recent infatuation with Danish hygge and crime fiction they've been renaming anything Nørdic, even if it was never spelled with an ø) - But the G changed to C is just bad fact checking. And well, that makes me wonder if any of the other 1338 facts and just an inaccurate or just wrong? Not great thoughts to have lurking in the back of your mind, when entertaining yourself with a 'fact'-book. So I gave up.
January 18, 2021
Never ceases to amaze, the amount of funny, awkward, surprising facts that these guys manage to compile in these almost addictive books.
September 22, 2017
Necə hərdən maraqlı məqalə olanda oxuyuruqsa, bunu da ara-sıra yadımıza düşəndə oxumaq olar. Təkrarlar yoxdur, demək olar ki, əksəriyyət bilmədiyim faktlar idi. (Burda çox göylə getdim, hə? :P)
January 3, 2023
This is another difficult book to review! As the title states, it's a simple book of facts. Lloyd, Mitchinson and Harkin have collated facts from all areas of science, history, literature and more. While not a book you can sit down and read, it's great to dip into to read when bored (or sitting on the toilet).
The authors tried to link each of the facts together, so weirdly it does seem to have some kind of flow. The facts are usually very interesting, and you always hope that you'll be able to remember them in conversation.. but probably only a couple! The only drawback is that I think you have to take some of the facts with a pinch of salt, as they may be exaggerated or even just slightly wrong. This is a little annoying in a fact book, but I think most are close enough that you can forgive most of this.
1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop is definitely a worthwhile book if you like random, weird facts. And although you can't read it like a normal book, putting it on the coffee table (or in the toilet) is perfect for an interesting dive into the weird world.
The authors tried to link each of the facts together, so weirdly it does seem to have some kind of flow. The facts are usually very interesting, and you always hope that you'll be able to remember them in conversation.. but probably only a couple! The only drawback is that I think you have to take some of the facts with a pinch of salt, as they may be exaggerated or even just slightly wrong. This is a little annoying in a fact book, but I think most are close enough that you can forgive most of this.
1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop is definitely a worthwhile book if you like random, weird facts. And although you can't read it like a normal book, putting it on the coffee table (or in the toilet) is perfect for an interesting dive into the weird world.
February 2, 2015
1,339 QI (Quite Interesting) Facts To Make Your Jaw Drop is jam packed with funny, interesting and quirky facts that you'll want to read aloud to anyone within listening distance.
There's a combination of facts that flow logically on from each other without being broken down into specific chapters (e.g. animals, human body, history etc) that made for a seamless, uninterrupted read.
I borrowed this book from the library and everyone who saw it in my living room couldn't resist picking it up and then reading out a snippet or two. Perfect!
Here are three of my favourite facts from the book:
It's impossible to hum while holding your nose. Page 76
Burning Mountain, Australia, is a natural coal fire that has been alight for 6,000 years. Page 146
A group of kittens is called a 'kindle.' Page 148
Dubai's Burj Khalifa skyscraper is so high, and its lifts are so fast, that you can watch the sun set at ground level, travel to the roof and watch it set again. Page 225
1,339 QI (Quite Interesting) Facts To Make Your Jaw Drop is a brilliant coffee table book presented in a small hardback edition perfect for throwing in your bag and taking with you to pass the time.
Highly recommended for a variety of readers, young and old.
There's a combination of facts that flow logically on from each other without being broken down into specific chapters (e.g. animals, human body, history etc) that made for a seamless, uninterrupted read.
I borrowed this book from the library and everyone who saw it in my living room couldn't resist picking it up and then reading out a snippet or two. Perfect!
Here are three of my favourite facts from the book:
It's impossible to hum while holding your nose. Page 76
Burning Mountain, Australia, is a natural coal fire that has been alight for 6,000 years. Page 146
A group of kittens is called a 'kindle.' Page 148
Dubai's Burj Khalifa skyscraper is so high, and its lifts are so fast, that you can watch the sun set at ground level, travel to the roof and watch it set again. Page 225
1,339 QI (Quite Interesting) Facts To Make Your Jaw Drop is a brilliant coffee table book presented in a small hardback edition perfect for throwing in your bag and taking with you to pass the time.
Highly recommended for a variety of readers, young and old.
January 30, 2014
Second volume of the poetry of facts. And it doesn't really matter that much that there are some mild generalizations and... ehmm... some spicing up here and there to make it a touch more sensational - it succeeded again to wake a feeling of childlike wonder of deep internal hilariousness and beauty of the observed universe. and that's already quite something.
it's not a literary product, it's a literal windchime.
it's not a literary product, it's a literal windchime.
Read
February 10, 2014Brilliant, it's not the kind of thing you can sit down and read for hours but it's great to pick up time to time and have a laugh and learn something new. I challenge all of you who read it to read it in a room of people and not read one out loud to everyone, no matter where you are i assure you that you will end up telling everyone the statue of Liberty's shoe size or something like that.
March 7, 2015
lots of cool facts. i love the trivia and the way they flow the book...like they mention a fish in a fact, then the next is about fish that might mention seaweed, so the next is about seaweed and so on....it now has a permanent place on my book shelf
December 18, 2016
Truth be told- I reread a few pages every night before I go to bed-- did you know the earth moves through the universe at 2 million miles an hour? Makes me want to hold on. I like how these types of facts put things in perspective. Just the facts.
January 2, 2014
All the facts that you would love to be able to recount in conversation but you know you will forget. Great book, just like the first one.
October 23, 2014
It is illegal for U.S. citizens to eat penguins. Now ALL I WANT TO DO IN THE WORLD is eat a penguin and be all, "You'll never take me alive!"
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June 15, 2015
I love stuff like this. I won't remember even a quarter of these facts in the future, but I certainly loved learning them.
March 30, 2022
For my full book review, go here: https://thebeerthrillers.com/2022/02/...
For a quick excerpt:
The facts come at you hard and heavy and fast in this quick to read but compact and dense volume. There is four facts per page and there isn’t an exact order to any or all of them. You’ll go from Tolstoy learning to ride bike at 67 to The Swiss are the only Europeans to eat dog meat.
Which right there is one of those spurious ‘facts’ as I mentioned earlier. Firstly, its an extremely over generalized comment / fact. Secondly, its extremely loosely defined. I understand what the ‘fact’ above is saying – that the culture of Swiss people accepts eating dog meat and do so regularly; but it also feels – especially now in the modern (2020’s) era, that its just a massive simplification and over generalization. Especially also throwing out the “only Europeans” part too.
Moving on, we come to one that as a “myth” has been debunked by many many many people over the past decades. From page 215:
The lower the ration between a man’s index and ring fingers, the longer his penis will be.
This has been debunked so often throughout the history of sexual knowledge and education. Its also one of the most regularly Googled things (men looking for help on the size of their penis, if their big enough, if their too small, how do you know the size of a man’s penis by looking at him, is there a correlation between feet size and penis, is there a correlation between finger length and penis size, etc etc etc etc). And time and time again it has been shown that there is no correlation.
But here it is in print…. but don’t worry, they have a site you can use to get more information and to fact check right? Oh…. oh no….. that leads a to a ‘404 Not Found’.
Hmmm, so just how many other facts aren’t really facts?
Some more facts:
It is illegal for US Citizens to eat Penguin meat. (217)
Nostophobia is the fear of going home. (83)
Turning up the music 22% in a bar makes people drink 26% more. (97)
Earthworms have five hearts. (129)
One in every seven minutes spent online is spent on Facebook. (268)
You can only see a rainbow if your back is to the sun. (305)
And there is plenty more.
This is a fun volume, and lots of the ‘oh cool’ or ‘oh thats interesting’ or ‘hmmmmmm’ type of trivia and facts. Part of the problem with volumes like this though, is that the facts are presented so fast and furious at you that there’s no real way to retain any of it all. (Outside of looking up these facts, I wouldn’t remember them.) And thats just a hindrance of the style and format of books like this, not necessarily an indication of this book in particular.
Its a perfect book to quick read on the ‘john’ or for car rides and things like this. Its super quick to read if you just read it straight through in a couple of sittings. And its perfect as an accompaniment to things like Mental Floss YouTube videos and the such. Sadly I find that the facts might be things you could quibble on, find fault in, or might be wrong. And as per their own book and site, you can’t fully fact check them, so that’s a big problem for me right there. But I guess, luckily, you are far likely not to remember too many of the facts afterwards anyway, so its a ‘wash’.
For a quick excerpt:
The facts come at you hard and heavy and fast in this quick to read but compact and dense volume. There is four facts per page and there isn’t an exact order to any or all of them. You’ll go from Tolstoy learning to ride bike at 67 to The Swiss are the only Europeans to eat dog meat.
Which right there is one of those spurious ‘facts’ as I mentioned earlier. Firstly, its an extremely over generalized comment / fact. Secondly, its extremely loosely defined. I understand what the ‘fact’ above is saying – that the culture of Swiss people accepts eating dog meat and do so regularly; but it also feels – especially now in the modern (2020’s) era, that its just a massive simplification and over generalization. Especially also throwing out the “only Europeans” part too.
Moving on, we come to one that as a “myth” has been debunked by many many many people over the past decades. From page 215:
The lower the ration between a man’s index and ring fingers, the longer his penis will be.
This has been debunked so often throughout the history of sexual knowledge and education. Its also one of the most regularly Googled things (men looking for help on the size of their penis, if their big enough, if their too small, how do you know the size of a man’s penis by looking at him, is there a correlation between feet size and penis, is there a correlation between finger length and penis size, etc etc etc etc). And time and time again it has been shown that there is no correlation.
But here it is in print…. but don’t worry, they have a site you can use to get more information and to fact check right? Oh…. oh no….. that leads a to a ‘404 Not Found’.
Hmmm, so just how many other facts aren’t really facts?
Some more facts:
It is illegal for US Citizens to eat Penguin meat. (217)
Nostophobia is the fear of going home. (83)
Turning up the music 22% in a bar makes people drink 26% more. (97)
Earthworms have five hearts. (129)
One in every seven minutes spent online is spent on Facebook. (268)
You can only see a rainbow if your back is to the sun. (305)
And there is plenty more.
This is a fun volume, and lots of the ‘oh cool’ or ‘oh thats interesting’ or ‘hmmmmmm’ type of trivia and facts. Part of the problem with volumes like this though, is that the facts are presented so fast and furious at you that there’s no real way to retain any of it all. (Outside of looking up these facts, I wouldn’t remember them.) And thats just a hindrance of the style and format of books like this, not necessarily an indication of this book in particular.
Its a perfect book to quick read on the ‘john’ or for car rides and things like this. Its super quick to read if you just read it straight through in a couple of sittings. And its perfect as an accompaniment to things like Mental Floss YouTube videos and the such. Sadly I find that the facts might be things you could quibble on, find fault in, or might be wrong. And as per their own book and site, you can’t fully fact check them, so that’s a big problem for me right there. But I guess, luckily, you are far likely not to remember too many of the facts afterwards anyway, so its a ‘wash’.
May 8, 2021
(You'll never look at that bit of literature the same, now, will you?)
Or
(Oddly, not me, though)
Or
(But really...who would do this?)
Or
(I admit, that's pretty grim!)
Or, for you Germaphobes:
(Kinda makes you want to switch to credit only, huh? Especially now)
Being that this book was published in 2014, I have to wonder if some of these facts, especially those involving percentages, world records, and numerical figures and such, are still current (). Also, I'm pretty sure Pluto was still considered a planet when this was published. But perhaps it will be again, if we give NASA a few years to reconsider things.
Still, this book was pretty entertaining and a great way to kill time between tasks on a slow Saturday. And I did learn some stuff I didn't know before. Lots, actually.
Or
(Oddly, not me, though)
Or
(But really...who would do this?)
Or
(I admit, that's pretty grim!)
Or, for you Germaphobes:
(Kinda makes you want to switch to credit only, huh? Especially now)
Being that this book was published in 2014, I have to wonder if some of these facts, especially those involving percentages, world records, and numerical figures and such, are still current (). Also, I'm pretty sure Pluto was still considered a planet when this was published. But perhaps it will be again, if we give NASA a few years to reconsider things.
Still, this book was pretty entertaining and a great way to kill time between tasks on a slow Saturday. And I did learn some stuff I didn't know before. Lots, actually.
August 31, 2021
I'm not a great fan of the programme, it feels too much like having to watch best mates, which you are not one of them, having a good time!
BUT, the books are brilliant, a catalogue of truly amazing facts, some appear unbelievable, but are true, and you can check them out via the QI website for the actual information source.
I read lots of these books late at night, just before slumber, they could keep you up longer - but you would be the better for it.
You will be quoting some of these facts for a long time. e.g. 16 million people in China live in caves and President Xi Jinping lived in cave when he was young!
Give one to a friend that is a member of Qanon for Christmas!
Ian M Pindar (The writing IMP)
BUT, the books are brilliant, a catalogue of truly amazing facts, some appear unbelievable, but are true, and you can check them out via the QI website for the actual information source.
I read lots of these books late at night, just before slumber, they could keep you up longer - but you would be the better for it.
You will be quoting some of these facts for a long time. e.g. 16 million people in China live in caves and President Xi Jinping lived in cave when he was young!
Give one to a friend that is a member of Qanon for Christmas!
Ian M Pindar (The writing IMP)
July 17, 2018
Quite interesting indeed! I found it fun to read through the facts and find ones that I knew and ones that actually did make my jar drop. That being said, there are at least a few inaccuracies in there or incorrect claims, but overall, it seems that these guys did their research.
I like that it was laid out in such a way that each fact was tangentially related to the last, creating a smooth flow between each. This meant that, despite the fact that the thoughts in this book are not connected in the same way as it would be in a novel or textbook, readers can still pass from one fact to the next without much of a break. Worth checking out!
I like that it was laid out in such a way that each fact was tangentially related to the last, creating a smooth flow between each. This meant that, despite the fact that the thoughts in this book are not connected in the same way as it would be in a novel or textbook, readers can still pass from one fact to the next without much of a break. Worth checking out!
October 3, 2019
“Truth is the daughter of search. Arabic proverb”.
Authors John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, and James Harkin provide readers with “1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop,” and they do not disappoint.
It has a little bit of everything, such as definitions, history, animal facts and many others.
Authors John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, and James Harkin provide readers with “1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop,” and they do not disappoint.
It has a little bit of everything, such as definitions, history, animal facts and many others.
September 15, 2023
Pretty much random facts (there is a vague link from one to the next throughout), it's informative but likely to wash over you and something absolutely to dip in and out of. Shame it looks like the website and its links aren't working any more. I wish I had a better memory for some of the more interesting titbits in this book, unfortunately I've forgotten pretty much all of them already.
June 7, 2024
Very good for what it is, just a random listing of weird facts.
The coolest thing, though, is that each fact seems related to the one before it in some way. Some connections are more obscure than others, but it becomes a thing unto itself to discover why each fact follows the last.
Lots of fun.
The coolest thing, though, is that each fact seems related to the one before it in some way. Some connections are more obscure than others, but it becomes a thing unto itself to discover why each fact follows the last.
Lots of fun.
January 20, 2018
Enjoyed reading the facts. Some are very interesting.
Enjoyed reading the facts. Some are very interesting. Enjoyed reading the facts. Some are very interesting. Enjoyed reading the facts. Some are very interesting.
Enjoyed reading the facts. Some are very interesting. Enjoyed reading the facts. Some are very interesting. Enjoyed reading the facts. Some are very interesting.
February 10, 2018
Loads of absorbing interesting facts
Loads of absorbing interesting facts. Plenty of variety. Interesting ways of grouping items for fun and illumination. Worth getting the book if you're into all this.
Loads of absorbing interesting facts. Plenty of variety. Interesting ways of grouping items for fun and illumination. Worth getting the book if you're into all this.
January 8, 2018
An interesting, frequently amusing and intermittently stimulating miscellany of trivia. QI without the annoyance of celebrity egos...
August 14, 2017
Short facts about everything imaginable makes interesting reading in short snippets of available time. Perfect to pick up when you only have a short time to read.
July 19, 2018
Good
For anyone
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For anyone
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October 30, 2018
Bullshit
December 21, 2018
I have never learned so much useless information in my life! I loved every minute of it and I also find myself spouting a lot of this trivia to others, whether they like it or not.
January 2, 2019
So many random facts! I loved it
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews