Elledge's Nontrivial Trivia: The Seriously Enlightening Stories Behind Supposedly Simple Facts

by Jonn Elledge

From the inquisitive mind behind the #1 international bestseller A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders, all the facts you didn’t know you wanted to know—and the stories of how we’ve come to know them

This illuminating compendium follows the captivating stories behind far-ranging facts, wherever they lead. No topic is too trivial for serious consideration, from how one might determine the most average-size country in the world to determining who would win in a fight between Harry Potter and Spider-Man. Author Jonn Elledge covers the breadth and depth of human experience, weaving his way through words and numbers, science and the arts, the spiritual and the secular. It’s a feast of facts for a hungry mind, including entries on the cosmos, the planet (and the lines we draw on it), questions of measurement, history and politics, the natural world, leisure, and many “oddities” that don’t fit neatly into any category but are no less irresistible for it. Bizarre, brilliant, and overflowing with things you didn’t know you wanted to know, Elledge’s Nontrivial Trivia evokes a sense of awe at the scale of this planet—and the universe of wonders in which it sits.

Publisher’s  Elledge's Nontrivial Trivia was previously published in the UK as The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything.

Genres: Nonfiction

315 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 16, 2026

About the author

Jonn Elledge, English journalist and non-fiction author.

Reviews

[❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁]

One of my reads from NetGalley. I used to love books like this many years ago. The introduction made me want to continue, until I realized the tone of mockery in the next Chapter. It would've been an interesting read if he didn't start with the creation myth. Starting off a book by belittling the idea of God - especially when readers are of all kind - is a bad idea.

[Sara Hopper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I’ve read in a longggg time

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and The Experiment for an advance copy of this humourous look at the world, how we got here, where we might be going, along with answers to pressing questions, facts and figures to impress others, and answers to questions we never thought to ask.

I have always loved facts and little anecdotes about the world, something I probalby acquired from my father. My Dad loved dropping bon mots into conversations, making others at ease, making people laugh, breaking tension at serious events. Dad read a lot and kept track of things. From him I started keeping file cards as bookmarks. Something interesting, something cool I would write it down. A curse in a language I didn't know, write it down. A way to burn down a building to fool arson investigators, write it down. Crime books can teach so much. My father would have loved this book, for all the things that are covered, and the way that they are presented. And I never would have heard the end of them. Elledge's Nontrivial Trivia: The Seriously Enlightening Stories Behind Supposedly Simple Facts by Jonn Elledge is a little bit fact, a little bit figures, and lots of stories about how these bits of knowledge came to be, along with many things one wouldn't normally think about, but can't wait to share.

The book is broken into different areas, the world, how we got here, what happened along the way, and even a little about where we are going. A long list of diseases, how bad they were, and again what might be coming. Biggest calamitous events, from earthquakes, fires, wars and such. Biggest islands, most populous islands. Stories about animals, attacks, extinctions and more. Women's role in science and technology. Santa Claus around the world. Politics and other misdemeanors along with history, literature and whole lot more.

The book is funny in its presentation, though it might not be a book one reads straight through. I suggest dipping in and out, learn a few things, learn a few more things, and drive people nuts by sharing them constantly. The writing is good, and the presentation is very helpful. This was a British publication so some terms, some historical references, and some locations might take a little bit to puzzle out, but that is not a big problem. This is a fun book, loaded with lots of information, perfect for bar trivia, one's own enjoyment, ice breakers on first dates, or last dates and other social events.

[Cool · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for an unbiased review.

I love useless trivia and facts, pub quizzes, and puzzles, so I was very excited to read this new compendium from Elledge.

However, overall, I found this book a bit uneven. The first section, "The Cosmos and Everything In It," is mind-numbingly boring, overloaded with numbers and astronomy, and very little humor or accessibility- I skimmed most of it. This subject was covered far better in Bill Bryson's 2005 book "A Short History of Nearly Everything."

The following chapters were hit-or-miss; random facts about diseases, countries, and animals were interesting, but why do penguins get an entire chapter? Why would you have an entire section on "Things Invented By Women" and fail to mention "The Matilda Effect"? How could the "weird ways to do Santa Claus" omit Spanish Catalunya's Caga Tío ("The Log that Sh*ts")?

And most importantly: If this book is being widely distributed around the world, its "old British white male" voice, full of Aren't We Brits Clever and Don't I Sound Like Monty Python asides, needs to be localized. No one outside of the UK has any idea what "the London Borough of Croydon" is, in relationship to the size of the island of Kitts & Nevis (Croydon is a largely populated borough in Outer London), or what it means that "Mausolus is the Hoover of the ancient world." (Hoover is the UK's generic brand word for "vacuum cleaner"). If I hadn't lived in London, much of this book would have seemed confusing to me.

Much of the book is a compendium of Wikipedia or third party information (Elledge mentions this, to be fair), but regardless, it makes this book feel....unnecessary.

[martyn benny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elledge's Nontrivial Trivia is a joyful celebration of curiosity that proves there are no truly trivial questions only fascinating stories waiting to be uncovered. Jonn Elledge has an exceptional talent for taking seemingly ordinary facts and revealing the rich history, science, politics, and human ingenuity behind them.

What makes this book so enjoyable is the sheer variety of topics it explores. One moment you're learning about geography, the next you're immersed in bizarre historical conflicts, strange measurements, or delightfully unexpected comparisons from popular culture. Every chapter offers something surprising, making it nearly impossible to stop after reading just one entry.

Elledge's writing is informative without ever becoming dry. His wit, conversational style, and ability to explain complex subjects with clarity make even the most unusual facts memorable. Rather than presenting isolated trivia, he consistently provides the historical and cultural context that transforms interesting facts into meaningful stories.

I also appreciated how the book inspires readers to remain curious about the world. It reminds us that knowledge isn't simply about memorizing facts it's about understanding the connections between people, places, ideas, and history. That sense of wonder runs throughout the entire book.

Whether you're interested in history, science, geography, politics, language, or simply enjoy discovering unexpected facts to share with friends, Elledge's Nontrivial Trivia is enormously entertaining. It's the kind of book you can read cover to cover or dip into at random, always finding something that leaves you both smiling and a little wiser.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Elledge’s Nontrivial Trivia is a thematically arranged collection of trivia facts to enlighten and entertain collected and curated by Jonn Elledge. Originally published in the UK in 2021, this worldwide reformat and re-release is due out 16th June 2026 from The Experiment. It's 320 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout, which is very useful since the entries are full of links to further info.

The information is arranged thematically: the cosmos, the human planet, measurement, history and politics, the natural world, communication (and language), leisure culture food & sport, oddities, and death & the afterlife. Each entry is roughly 1-2 pages in length and contains many factoids and short 1-2 paragraph length sub-entries.

Interesting and relevant. It's appropriate for all ages. It would be a good choice for public or home reference library.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Jacen Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A middling trivia book. Which, you can find worse but you can also likely find better. But it isn't unentertaining on numerous levels. And like most trivia books, can do a lot worse than giving an urge to if not double check certain information than to use parts as a jump off point into learning more about a thing or more about related things. The author, helpfully, places down his sources of course. Which is the least one expects from a trivia book. So at least if it ends up being a wrong bit of trivia, at least you know where the wrong information came to the author.

I did find the way of putting footnotes into the ebook version to be slightly frustrating. I prefer numbers to symbols and then the act of adding +1 of the symbol as time goes on means it can look pretty silly once we pass about 4 or 5 times of using the same symbol. But that has little bearing on the meat of the book.

I have not read the previous 'versions', so I can't speak to much of anything that would require previous reads.

Thank you NetGalley and The Experiment for the review copy.

[Ro U]

Exactly what it sounds like: a trivia book where the real entertainment is in the footnotes. Elledge writes with dry British humor and organizes things thematically rather than just dumping random facts at you, which makes it more readable than most of its genre.

Best approached as a dip-in-and-out book. Fair warning that it skews pretty British in its references, so some things will need googling if you're not already familiar.

This would be a good gift for anyone who loves pub trivia or just likes knowing weird things.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Experiment for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[OutlawPoet · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book this is!

I honestly thought it might be one of those books where they just list one million bits of random trivia. Instead, it's a logical and impeccably curated (and in depth) book about so many important and fascinating things!

Some of my favorites included the creations myths, curious stories of the universe (planets and stars and solar systems, oh my!), and all sorts of disasters. And the information is not just told as a dry list of facts. It's full of details, history and humor!

I learned so much!

This is entertaining and informative.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review the ARC of this book.

Wow, what an extensive and expansive book of knowledge and trivia! I requested to review this book after recognizing the author’s name as a contributor on several podcasts I listen to; I had no idea what to expect of it other than it being a book of trivia.

This book is well-researched and will boost your knowledge on almost any subject! It would be a great gift for someone who loves to learn new facts. Highly recommend!

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oodles of trivia, oodles of delight.
This one took me a long time to get through, but it was lots of fun to dip in and out of.
Elledge offers plenty of trivia, neatly arranged by categories and related humorously, which is how I tend to prefer my non-fiction.
The foot notes were exhaustive but hilarious.
Plus, I learned a bunch of random and fascinating information.
To me, the best thing about trivia is that it reminds us of how weird the world around us is. So dig in and enjoy.
Thanks Netgalley.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I thought the explanations of science trivia were excellent. I found most of the other topics covered interesting and the writing to be conversational, with a lot of clever wording. Although there are a lot of footnotes, they are all worth reading; this is where a good deal of humour can be found. Overall, this was a very worthwhile read. Thank you to Netgalley and The Experiment for the advanced reader copy.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm appreciative of the choice of problematize the trivia within - this is as much a book about the lines we draw around trivia than it is about the facts themselves. What's the tallest structure? Well, what do you mean by structure? And so on.

[Brian Durance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down