Stuff You Should Know About Stuff: How to Properly Behave in Certain Situations

by Tripp Crosby, Tyler Stanton

Important guidance about life's most trivial "This book is hilarious." --Jon Acuff, New York Times-bestselling author of Start

Do you know how to properly conduct yourself in a public restroom? What about while in the midst of a profoundly awkward silence? Have you perfected how to get out of helping your friend move? If you answered no to those questions, you need Stuff You Should Know About Stuff, the book that future anthropologists will no doubt call "the Rosetta Stone of handling trivial life situations."

Tripp and Tyler, the sketch comedy duo who created the viral videos "Sh*t Nobody Says" and "Things You CAN'T Do When You're NOT in a Pool," bring you this guide instructing you how to navigate the treacherous waters of life's quandaries. You'll

*An Open Letter to Starbucks Patrons
*Movie Commandments
*Rules for My Waiter
*Concert Etiquette
*Photos and illustrations for people who enjoy photos and illustrations and stuff like that
*and much more

Learn how to deal with trivial situations, where we spend most of our time, trying to recover from going for the fist bump when a casual acquaintance wanted a high five.

"Probably one of the top ten books ever written. I can't wait to read it."--Jeff Foxworthy

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Self Help

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2014

About the author

Tripp and Tyler are a sketch comedy duo most known for their numerous viral YouTube videos. They have been writing, directing, and performing comedy since 2005 and have since amassed dozens of millions of views.

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Idiotic, Sexist, Homophobic, Drivel.

[Kathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually don't assign star ratings to books that I didn't finish, but I'm making an exception for this awful book. Its subtitle should be "How to Behave Like A Jerk in Certain Situations." I couldn't tell which parts of this "advice" were meant to be taken seriously or written off as attempted humor. For example, the section about "Acceptable Places to Litter" encourages readers to use movie theaters (with the stupid, selfish claim that "you're actually helping out the employees by giving them something to do"), recycling bins, under sand at the beach, and "from any bridge that is so high that the joy you get from watching the item fall and shatter outweighs any potential damage it will have on the environment." So yeah. I'm pretty sure this book is written for drunk frat boys.

One particular lowlight is the "Women, Please Stop..." section that includes gems like "Acknowledging that you fart--I shouldn't even have to tell you this." Ugh. If I was at a party where people were saying shit like this I would leave, so I'm leaving this book early.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

***Full disclosure -- I was given a copy of the book from the publisher for an honest review.***

I've been a fan of Tripp and Tyler for a while now, and really enjoy a vast majority of their comedy shorts. I've always been a fan of their observational humor -- they have a way of creatively pointing out cultural quirks and oddities that we all may notice, but not articulate quite as well.

This is where I'm torn. While I find Tripp and Tyler genuinely gifted comedians -- the book was only generally amusing. It just didn't hit me like I was hoping it would. It was sort of all over the place, jumping from one random list to the other, meandering from the comically insightful to disappointingly sophomoric. Some references were just stale. Maybe some the observations in the book have been pointed out enough to the point that now they're commonplace.

While there were definite high points (more than not I might add), the voice of the authors seemed very inconsistent at times -- I couldn't tell if the book wanted to be the thirtysomething weathered cynic or the college fratboy.

I don't know. What I do know is that the me ten years ago would have loved this. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it's probably not necessarily a good thing either.

[Kirsten · Rating 1 out of 5]

A sarcastic humorous look at people's behavior. Humor is juvenile and targeted towards men of the lowest common denominator. Mostly light, meaningless comedy and a waste of my time.

[JJ Esplin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only rated it a one because there is nothing lower. Normally I don't rate books at all, but just don't go there.

[Christopher Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

√ "Please Lock the Door of the 'Onesy'"

That means, the one-person rest room. Brilliant comic to accompany that behavior tip.

That little gem of a tip pretty much sets the tone for this funny book. Lots of cute tips--a lot are common sense, but some not so common. The writing resembles that of Scott Adams ("Dilbert.") Lots of snarky cracks. Here are some of my favorites:

♦ "You're the only one who cares about your new ringtone." Ouch!

♦ On presentations, "Please refrain from going through a long list of facts one by one." (Of course, this tip is presented vertically.)

♦ "Husband's honest opinion of dinner shall remain supressed until at least twenty-four hours after wife has asked."

Perhaps the funniest section is on when "spanking" another man is allowed. If you are in baseball uniforms okay, if in suits, not okay. Also, "Only spank in a moment of praise." And "Only Spank Once."

There are also guidelines for when men are allowed to hug other men. There are special rules that allow for expressions such as "Great to see you man, it's been a while," versus "Farewell, man." In this latter case, a farewell hug is okay, but "just make sure it happens at the last possible second... hug then get the hell out of there."

√ Well, you get the idea. All in all, a funny book that is a cute way to pass the time. Not a deep book, but would did you expect from a book that begins with restroom door-locking etiquette?

[Kali · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought this was a trivia/etiquette sort of book. It's more of a "guys trying to be funny whilst denigrating others' behavior because the world revolves around them" book. DNF.

[Joana Felício · Rating 4 out of 5]

READ THE ORIGINAL REVIEW ON MY BLOG: http://thebookaddictsblog.blogspot.pt...

I got this ebook from Netgalley in return of an honest review.

Who says life doesn't come with instructions? We all know how we should behave at a funeral or a wedding (maybe), but what about choosing a picture for your Facebook profile or when it is inappropriate to say 'That's what she said'? These guys asked the perfect questions and came up with a manual for the trivial moments in life when we find ourselves wondering what to do, and they did in the funniest way possible.

I would say I related to about 90% of this book (the urinal part is not my forte) and that really helped to read through it in a sitting. I can't remember a single moment when I wasn't smiling or laughing hysterically or nodding in agreement.
On the other side, I kind of felt sorry for poor Neil in the examples and conversations used in this, but then a funny comic would appear to illustrate the point and I would be laughing so hard I forgot all about him.

The references in this were spot on and made this something incredibly special.
All this said, this is a pretty honest and useful book, an I can think of a great deal of people who could really do with a bit of these glorious tips...
I have since then researched more into the authors and I surrendered to their youtube channel. What a great time! Some of the parts in this book are from videos they made and I found the 'You're Doing Twitter Wrong' one just perfect!

I don't think everyone would enjoy this or find it funny, but I would seriously recommend this to anyone with a good sense of humour and that understands level 56 sarcasm.

[Dirty Dayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stuff Stars
I seriously requested this book and had to wait three months for approval!!! Why would I do that!! I should have just bought it immediately!!!! For anyone that likes Tucker Max like wisdom this book is for you! It’s so funny and true that I can’t stop recommending it! This is just amazing. The pictures included are hilarious as well! The entire time you will have a smile on your face and go… I thought I was the only one who thought that way!

[Sally Hannoush · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book hilarious and had a great time reading it. I won't be ashamed to add that I happened to learn a lot of new things. It had a very good perspective on things and "stuff." My friends and I can relate to some of these observations which made this book more entertaining. I actually hurt myself laughing over some of the content. Newsflash: reading this book in public will cause odd looks. I also loved all the cartoons spread throughout the book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has a sense of humor or is sarcastic enough to get it.
P.S. Reference to the Soup Nazi earned my respect from the get go-although I did enjoy other references that made me smile.

[Kaci read-and-be-merry · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at approximately 3%. I was given an ARC of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There is funny-rude, there is amusingly cynical, and then there's this book. I couldn't even get past the section on hibachi grills. The joke about waiters speaking English was not funny, nor was the constant berating of servers right off the bat- they already make crappy wages, there's no need to add insult to injury. I'm as politically incorrect as the next guy, but this
Book made me cringe with its unnecessary meanness.

[Tera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely funny and at time completely irrelevant. Easy book to read in short burst and is somewhat better to do so versus reading all at once. Found that after reading longer sections, the humor was less funny and some what trite. Overall still a really enjoyable read.
arc from NetGalley

[Jbussen · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me this wasn't even a decent bathroom reader. I thought it would have been funny. Maybe it is but definitely not for me, and I love sophomoric humor. I also thought that while being humorous they would legitimately tackle "situations". Example: "Serious" situation, you care caught driving, walking, or breathing while Black. I hoped the book would give legitimate advice humorously. There are some social situations where it is important to know how to "Adult". These were not answered seriously, yet with humor. They were answered in a way that all I have to say is not funny, not informative, and I still don't have a real answer.

[Christiaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny funny funny.

Recommendation: unless you want all sorts of unwanted attention, I suggest that you do NOT read this book on your kindle/iPad/smartphone in a public place/Starbucks/airplane. I laughed out loud so much that people came over to see a. what I was reading and b. if I was ok.

I certainly hope the commissioners of all major sports leagues will take Tripp and Tyler's suggestions on how to make sports more exciting for the viewers (and participants alike) to heart and make them happen.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny!

[Jeremy Ferrero]

This book is hilarious and easy to read. If you want to laugh a little at the common things of life, then this is the book for you.

[Niklas Krupka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well bit funny but not that much

[Scott Winegarden · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is funny, but not as funny as their videos. Their humor doesn't translate as well to print.

[Seth Heasley · Rating 3 out of 5]

While their take on handwashing in the restroom is horrifying, there's some other good stuff in here.

[MaryAnn Lockey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found that my simplest most private thoughts are shared by many others. Thoughts that you don’t even think are thoughts. Very amusing.

[Thomas Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. This needs to be taught in schools.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining. An audiobook would be great.... I read many sections in their voices.

[fery ;l · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you I learnt nothing

[Rodney Booe · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Stuff You Should Know About Stuff: How to properly behave in certain situations" is definitely a book, and I have read it. If you are not familiar with Tripp and Tyler's work, they are a top-notch comedy duo. This book is filled with practical, yet hilarious tips and observations about life and the situations we all find ourselves in.

I first encountered Tripp and Tyler's comedy at Catalyst Conference, a conference for church leaders. This book is an accurate reflection of their work. SYSKAS takes it up a notch from the previously, independently, released book Everyday Absurdities by Tyler Stanton. (Though some of the content was familiar to me.)

If I am going to be honest about Tripp and Tyler's work, this book included, I always leave a little disappointed in certain aspects of what they do. In my context, church leadership, I always think "That would make a great illustration...except for that bleeped out cuss word or the fact that they aren't wearing any pants while they play basketball." It's almost as if they want to take it a step farther or push the envelope a little more. I find some of their videos perfectly clean for my context, but others...not so much. There are parts of the SYSKAS book that are perfectly clean (most all of it, in fact), but then there are a few parts that I really wish they'd left out.

In my context, I cannot recommend their videos to people because I cannot recommend all of them. I cannot tell a group of kids to check out their YouTube page because I don't want them to think I endorse everything. The same is true in very few part of the book.

Before you write me off as an old prude and point out the face that I am a total hypocrite, I recognize this book isn't written to a ministry audience. It is not any more offensive than anything I see on network television. I think it would have been just as funny without those passage and would not have diminished anyone’s feelings towards their God-given gift of comedy.

That being said, if you are cool with mildly offensive language sprinkled through your reading, this is an very funny book, but speaks volumes of truth through simple observations. It communicates perfectly so much of what we were thinking anyway.


**Full Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from Tripp and Tyler in return for writing an honest book review. The above was exactly that.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 2.5 of 5

I am a fan of 'bathroom reader' books. You know ... books with packets of information delivered in small bits so that you can read just as long as you need to and not get carried away by a story. Typically these are trivia books, or joke books, but Stuff You Should Know About Stuff, by Tripp & Tyler, which is neither, qualifies as bathroom material. In more than one sense of the term.

Tripp & Tyler are apparently a comedy duo, though I am not familiar with them (I may have heard my children mention their name). This makes a lot of sense because it reads a lot like an attempt to put into book form a stand-up comedy routine. This is an idea that just doesn't work, especially if, like me, you can't hear the author's voices.

There were moments that made me chuckle, and moments when I nodded my head at the truthfulness of a humorous situation they pointed out, but these moments were far too few for a 200+ page book.

The book delivers a college-male-eye-view at topics ranging from "Rules for My Waiter" to "Public Restroom Etiquette" ("Know when to hold it...and develop a minor intestinal problem rather than risk having the stench embed itself in your clothes.") to "What to Do When There's Awkward Silence" to "Checklist for Middle School Popularity in 1993" to "Things Guys Never Do with or Around Other Guys" ("Apply sunscreen to another man anywhere other than his back."). I think you get the picture.

I'm clearly not the target audience for this book, but then...I'm not sure who is. Is this the sort of book that would appeal to fans of Adam Sandler and Seth Rogan films? Quite possibly. Is that a big book-buying audience? Well...that's not for me to decide.

This is, however, precisely the sort of book I would keep in my bathroom for those times when I find I have a little time on my hands, should it be given to me as a gift. It is not, though, the sort of book I would buy on my own. Not knowing the authors were comedians, I was expecting a book to have a little more 'fact' -- stuff I SHOULD know about -- mixed with humor ("stuff"). Instead, it was college humor drivel.

Looking for a good book? Stuff You Should Know About Stuff by Tripp & Tyler doesn't really have anything you should know, but rather takes a slightly humorous look at things you already know.

[Ashley N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey, we made a book of lists about random stuff that is generally funny to most people. I do like lists, and I like stuff that is funny, and of course I want to know stuff about stuff. Witty, but I won't remember it in a week. A few highlights:

-Phone Rules - "The single best thing about smartphones is not having to talk on them"

-How bad is the doctor's waiting room? - "Even more miserable than a room where you are forced to converse with Bill Belichick for fifteen minutes while he cuts the sleeves off of his sweatshirts"

-Christmas Gifts for An Enemy - "Front row seats at a Nickelback concert (with Creed opening)"

-Computer Tips for Mom and Dad - "You should consider Googling something first. Google knows every answer to every question ever conceived. Google is never busy. And Google is never going to judge you for asking a stupid question. Search first, ask last"

The organization of topics/lists was extremely scattered and I found that distracting. Hopefully that will be cleaned up prior to publication, as I read from an ARC. There was a table of contents with a short list of headers, but the content didn't seem to match up, instead it seemed randomly presented. I felt footnotes were overused. If you need that many asides to make your point, either include it in the point or get a new point. Kindle formatting was horrible, but again, ARC. I'm willing to reserve judgement on that.

Overall, definitely funny, but ultimately forgettable.

*ARC provided by Netgalley*

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tripp and Tyler are a sketch comedy duo most known for their funny and viral YouTube videos. They started creating their original material in 2006 and have they’ve amassed over 30 million YouTube views and over 100,000 subscribers. Each year they host live events for over 250,000 people where they perform original sketches, interact with the audience, and interview notable personalities.

They've written this book about stuff we should should know about stuff. The chapters cover:

* Public situations - rules for waiters, movie commandments, concert etiquette, recommendations for hotels and more
* Situations involving communication - phone rules, excuses when you see someone you haven't called back, Twitter rules and more
* Very specific situations - tipping, becoming a runner, birthday customs to eliminate and more
* Situations involving friends - helping someone move, when you don't remember their name, wedding rules and more
* Situations involving (more than) friends - ruining Valentine's Day, surviving chick flicks and more
* Situations involving certain other people - problems with weathermen, computer tips for Mom and Dad, gum chewers and more
* Situations they wanted to include in the book but couldn't figure out how to categorize - pretentiousness, signs of a TV addict, things to quit and more

It's a cute funny quick read.

Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2014/11...

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the same two that brought you "Conference Call in Real Life" look it up on youtube or go to http://www.trippandtyler.tv comes a great little humor book.

This book would make a great gift to the dad, brother, (older) son, etc in your life. As mentioned in the book:

Last-Minute Gift. 

If you forget to get a gift for someone,
all you have to do is follow these five simple steps.
1) Wrap up a phone book.
2) Give it to the person.
3) When he/she acts confused and disappointed, just
say it’s a joke.
4) Wait for the uproarious laughter to
die down and tell him/her the real gift is on the way.
5) Forget to get that person a real gift.

If you like reading books that are light and easy to pick up and put down, you'll enjoy reading this book. The only disappointments are these: the use of footnotes gets old and the book would be about 100 pages shorter if it were formatted better. Think: If I use courier new versus times new roman, my essay will be twice as long.

Worth the read but i am sure that the audio book as read by the writer duo Tripp and Tyler would be much funnier. I am also sure that we will be seeing a new youtube series based on the chapters of the book.

[Janeka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: e-ARC provided by BenBella Books through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Quotes may not appear in the final edition.

There are a lot of unwritten rules in the world today. This is our attempt to write them down, and doing in so, make the world a more tolerable place.

"Stuff You Should Know About Stuff" is a great collection of little topic essays on the most random situtations, we've all been faced to before... Including:
* What To Do When There's Awkward Silcence
* How to Tweet Properly
* Public Pool Disclaimers - yes, there's always that kid you want to punch after he hit you over and over again with his ball
*Movie Commandments

It is also filled with movie and other-nerdy-related-stuff references, like"Breaking Bad and Inception, and some funny illustrations.

hmmm, such a crush on Joseph Gordon-Levitt


I flew through it during an evening, and it was just what I was expecting and antecipating. Very good! :)

[Adam Pomfret · Rating 4 out of 5]

***I was given a copy of the book from the publisher for an honest review.***

I wanted to give this book a 0 stars at first because I thought Tripp & Tyler would be telling me all the stuff I should know like: "The CORRECT Theological Issue to Take", "What Political Positions I Need to Have", or "What Superfoods Will Boost My Testosterone". I hope this isn't a spoiler, because none of that is in there.

With that being said, I think every high-school senior should read this book. Or, maybe you should buy this as the perfect graduation gift? This would also make a good wedding gift; the new couple will be off to an excellent start in their young marriage and you can feel good about yourself for keeping them together strictly due to the information in the book.

So, after I completed the book, I was going to give it 5 stars, but then I thought Tyler was really a bit too harsh on Japanese restaurants. There are only so many restaurants you can make fun of before it costs you a star Tyler.