What do you think?
Rate this book
The Fun Knowledge Encyclopedia: The Crazy Stories Behind the World's Most Interesting Facts
Have you ever wondered what happens to luggage that goes unclaimed at the airport? How about the origin of naming hurricanes after people? For a behind-the-scenes look at some of the craziest, interesting, and need-to-know facts, we've got you covered with The Fun Knowledge The Crazy Stories Behind the World's Most Interesting Facts. The book contains hundreds of trivia facts and stories, ranging from the interesting and informative to the simply outrageous. Are you the trivia buff in your friend group? Maybe you're just always hoping to learn more random facts to keep up your sleeve. Whether you're a regular trivia fanatic or someone looking for a fun read, the book goes beyond the scope of general knowledge into some of the most interesting facts and intriguing trivia tidbits out there. Everyone can use some fun facts in their life! No other fact books cover anything and everything from the most insane rent agreement in New York history, to the way in which the Titanic disaster could potentially have been averted. The knowledge encyclopedia you've been searching for is finally here. Learn how much a hot dog cart permit costs in New York City, and explore some of the oddest houses in the world. The Fun Knowledge The Crazy Stories Behind the World's Most Interesting Facts is the trivia book of all trivia books. Find everything you've ever wanted-- but never quite needed-- to know, all under one cover.
- GenresNonfictionReference
284 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 4, 2017
1110 people are currently reading
309 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 12, 2017
This is a nonfiction book filled with interesting pieces of trivia, arcane historical facts, and tidbits of little known knowledge, each little piece made bite-sized and easy to understand for the common man.
The book has something for everybody, literally. The subjects contained in this book vary from art museums for only bad art, to zip-ties scaring away magpies, and from Andy George's $1500 sandwich to Zachary Taylor coining the term "First Lady". It has a handy index to find what you want, and the website resources for the author's material are listed thoroughly in the back if you are interested in learning more. Warning: such a diverse range of subjects does include several that are rather crude and/or adult in their nature, so this is not a book that children should read, as harmless as it may appear.
On the negative side, I don't think that this book should be called an "encyclopedia", because it is very random in its layout and is not organized at all. Webster's 1828 Dictionary states that an encyclopedia must be alphabetized to fall under that name. Funk & Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary has a slightly broader definition: it says an encyclopedia has to be systematically arranged. This book is neither.
Also on the negative side, the book sometimes goes to unreliable resources on the web (such as Twitter and YouTube), and several things that the author states as fact seem rather skeptical to me. I don't think the author is lying, not at all, and that isn't what I mean. I simply think that some of the information he was going on might have been exaggerated or incorrect. There's a lot of that on the internet.
There were a few things that I didn't like about the book, but the pros outweigh the cons in my opinion. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars, or possibly 4.
The book has something for everybody, literally. The subjects contained in this book vary from art museums for only bad art, to zip-ties scaring away magpies, and from Andy George's $1500 sandwich to Zachary Taylor coining the term "First Lady". It has a handy index to find what you want, and the website resources for the author's material are listed thoroughly in the back if you are interested in learning more. Warning: such a diverse range of subjects does include several that are rather crude and/or adult in their nature, so this is not a book that children should read, as harmless as it may appear.
On the negative side, I don't think that this book should be called an "encyclopedia", because it is very random in its layout and is not organized at all. Webster's 1828 Dictionary states that an encyclopedia must be alphabetized to fall under that name. Funk & Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary has a slightly broader definition: it says an encyclopedia has to be systematically arranged. This book is neither.
Also on the negative side, the book sometimes goes to unreliable resources on the web (such as Twitter and YouTube), and several things that the author states as fact seem rather skeptical to me. I don't think the author is lying, not at all, and that isn't what I mean. I simply think that some of the information he was going on might have been exaggerated or incorrect. There's a lot of that on the internet.
There were a few things that I didn't like about the book, but the pros outweigh the cons in my opinion. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars, or possibly 4.
April 23, 2022
So...its taken me years to finish this book.
I'm not lying.
But that's only because I only read it when I'm traveling or stuck waiting around somewhere lol
It's the perfect book for amusing little facts, insight, history tidbits, science snippets, and the list goes on. I've read this in airports, out loud on long trips (to help keep the driver awake) in waiting rooms, on the beach in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, in Louisville hotel rooms when I can't sleep. Everywhere. That's not to say that every single paragraph or article is funny, or endlessly fascinating - there are some misses, but the hits and genuinely interesting things far outweigh them.
If you don't want to flip through a public magazine, or simply enjoy digging just beneath the surface on random ass topics- this is the book for you.
I'm not lying.
But that's only because I only read it when I'm traveling or stuck waiting around somewhere lol
It's the perfect book for amusing little facts, insight, history tidbits, science snippets, and the list goes on. I've read this in airports, out loud on long trips (to help keep the driver awake) in waiting rooms, on the beach in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, in Louisville hotel rooms when I can't sleep. Everywhere. That's not to say that every single paragraph or article is funny, or endlessly fascinating - there are some misses, but the hits and genuinely interesting things far outweigh them.
If you don't want to flip through a public magazine, or simply enjoy digging just beneath the surface on random ass topics- this is the book for you.
August 23, 2025
The crazy stories behind the world's most interesting facts - Trivia Bill's General
Knowledge. - @ 2017, Read 8/23/2025. EBK-M, Kindle, Nonfiction.
It's called an encyclopedia, but it isn't really, because it's not arranged alphabetically. But it contains hundreds of odd facts, some of which might interest you. Such as: Benjamin Franklin's idea that medical people should come up with a way to make farts smell more perfume-like?
Or how do hurricanes get their names? How the Titanic disaster could have been avoided? Who first coined the term "First Lady"? And a short trivia fact about the loneliest whale in the world.
3☆'s = Good. Not earth-shattering, but short, little facts for the trivia buffs of this world!
Knowledge. - @ 2017, Read 8/23/2025. EBK-M, Kindle, Nonfiction.
It's called an encyclopedia, but it isn't really, because it's not arranged alphabetically. But it contains hundreds of odd facts, some of which might interest you. Such as: Benjamin Franklin's idea that medical people should come up with a way to make farts smell more perfume-like?
Or how do hurricanes get their names? How the Titanic disaster could have been avoided? Who first coined the term "First Lady"? And a short trivia fact about the loneliest whale in the world.
3☆'s = Good. Not earth-shattering, but short, little facts for the trivia buffs of this world!
January 20, 2018
An interesting trivia read, with a fun variety of information. Bill O'Neill's book has everything from the crooks who stole a computer and turned themselves in-because the computer had criminal evidence they felt morally inclined to surrender, to whale "52"-the loneliest whale in the sea.
Full of a variety of tidbits like this, The Fun Knowledge Encyclopedia is more of a varied topic book than 'Trivia Bill's' other books. This gives it a lot more latitude in topics. Be prepared for a little of everything here.
Full of a variety of tidbits like this, The Fun Knowledge Encyclopedia is more of a varied topic book than 'Trivia Bill's' other books. This gives it a lot more latitude in topics. Be prepared for a little of everything here.
January 4, 2018
A bunch of facts
There was a lot of good trivia. I was shocked to find sources. Well done. I hope to read many more.
There was a lot of good trivia. I was shocked to find sources. Well done. I hope to read many more.
December 3, 2019
Love this book!
Each time I was able to sit down and read a little more of this book, I was entertained and learned something new.
Each time I was able to sit down and read a little more of this book, I was entertained and learned something new.
March 24, 2020
Great funny honest
This book is great
I will consider this book to anybody family friends and even co workers.This book has lots of informational facts.
This book is great
I will consider this book to anybody family friends and even co workers.This book has lots of informational facts.
May 26, 2020
Great book which lists facts I did not know. I love strange and interesting facts and this book is a great find.
January 28, 2021
Boring most of the time
April 12, 2021
A fun and interesting book. Ideal for quiz night and to just improve your general knowledge.
November 23, 2021
This book is packed with knowledge. You learn everything from history of hurricanes to surprising celebrity tidbits, food history as well the anatomy . Deeply fascinating! Worth the read!
May 15, 2022
Short (1 or 2 paragraphs) articles on a variety of topics. Very enjoyable and interesting. Good for trivia lovers everywhere .
January 25, 2024
Fun...
...but poorly written. It's chock full of interesting articles, which will please the trivia enthusiast. However, the poor writing detracts from enjoyment.
...but poorly written. It's chock full of interesting articles, which will please the trivia enthusiast. However, the poor writing detracts from enjoyment.
March 10, 2024
So good
June 14, 2024
this was a fun listen while exercising
July 29, 2022
Lot's of fun reading here. It's a great "in between" book to peruse even while engrossed in another book!!
September 26, 2017
3.5 / 5
The Fun Knowledge Encyclopedia is full of random facts and trivia, ranging from very interesting to some more hum drum (and what I found interesting you might not, and vice versa). But with something with some many little tidbits there will be something new and interesting for everyone.
Each section is a couple of minutes long and could be made up of one bit of trivia, with some background, or lots of little facts. So that adds up to hundreds of facts and trivia in this book.
There is no real organisation with them. They are just randomly scattered. So finding a particular one, or even a particular topic, again would prove difficult.
It's not ground breaking. It may be difficult to ever reference, or provide any backing to when you re-quote the trivia, but it's interesting and entertaining for several hours of listening.
Narration by Rob Maxwell was good. Also 3.5 / 5. It was well paced, and it engaged with subject - for non fiction the narrator was solemn when needing to be and amusing when the book was. There 2 or 3 times where lines were repeated, due to retakes that weren't cleaned up post production, and there was some occasional background noise, thus bringing the overall narration score down.
The Fun Knowledge Encyclopedia is full of random facts and trivia, ranging from very interesting to some more hum drum (and what I found interesting you might not, and vice versa). But with something with some many little tidbits there will be something new and interesting for everyone.
Each section is a couple of minutes long and could be made up of one bit of trivia, with some background, or lots of little facts. So that adds up to hundreds of facts and trivia in this book.
There is no real organisation with them. They are just randomly scattered. So finding a particular one, or even a particular topic, again would prove difficult.
It's not ground breaking. It may be difficult to ever reference, or provide any backing to when you re-quote the trivia, but it's interesting and entertaining for several hours of listening.
Narration by Rob Maxwell was good. Also 3.5 / 5. It was well paced, and it engaged with subject - for non fiction the narrator was solemn when needing to be and amusing when the book was. There 2 or 3 times where lines were repeated, due to retakes that weren't cleaned up post production, and there was some occasional background noise, thus bringing the overall narration score down.
July 21, 2017
This is a trivia miscellany type book, full of the sort of facts you get from reading your great-aunt's email forward, or from falling too far down the Wikipedia hole. Trivia ranges from historical oddities, gramar and etiquette and pop-culture. Kind of a fun read, though no discernible organization. There are a bunch of internet links, as sources at the end, but a little hard to follow if you want to verify a story (you have to find the corresponding link for your article yourself, e-book lacks hyperlinks). This is kind of a good bathroom reader type book
I received a free Kindle copy of this from an author giveaway in exchange for an Amazon review.
I received a free Kindle copy of this from an author giveaway in exchange for an Amazon review.
October 12, 2017
I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I enjoy random facts so this audio book was very fun for me. I know others might not find this so. I love learning new things and checking out if what is said is true. At first I thought I was not going to like the narrator Rob Maxwell but I soon decided his way of speaking was perfect for this type of book. I will be listening to this book again because it is so full of information it is was hard to retain everything. I would recommend this book if you like random trivia.
January 6, 2018
A fun book, but nothing to write home about. The only detail I actually remember from the book (even though I literally just now put it down! Ha!) was the name of the inventor of hawaiian pizza; Sam Panopoulos. I dislike hawaiian pizza enough to post about it on Facebook, which is probably why it's still in my mind. The rest was easy come, easy go, and I don't remember any of it.
April 9, 2018
A lot if cool facts wrapped into one book. I liked the readiness of each section. Ranged from funny to serious
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews