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523 Hard To Believe Facts

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Which was the first country to give the citizenship to a robot? Which English word has all its letters in alphabetical order? What is the Sismo Detector? Discover the answers to these seemingly random facts and more!

The interesting trivia in this page turning fact book were collected by Nayden Kostov, founder of the RaiseYourBrain website and author of popular fact books such as: “1123 Hard to Believe Facts” and “853 Hard to Believe Facts.” As the third installment of this series, 523 Hard to Believe Facts has more detail for each fact, as requested by previous readers!

These facts are a result of years of sifting through history and reference books, as well as searching the Internet and researching the news. Each fact is suitable for nearly any age – the “spiciest” entries are separated by their own chapter but still use clean language!

Become a trivia whiz with even more facts in the Hard to Believe Facts series!

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 11, 2019

1228 people are currently reading
1050 people want to read

About the author

Nayden Kostov

27 books243 followers
Born in Bulgaria, I have lived in places like Germany, Belgium and Iraq, before settling down with my family in Luxembourg. With varied interests, I have always suffered from an insatiable appetite for facts stemming from an unrestrainable intellectual curiosity. It has certainly influenced my academic background and career: after acquiring Master degrees in Greek Philology, German and English Translation, I graduated in Crisis Management and Diplomacy and, most recently, undertook an MBA.

My career has been equally broad and diverse, swinging from that of an army paratrooper and a military intelligence analyst; through to that of a civil servant with the European Commission, and presently, that of a clerk, performing purely financial tasks in a major bank. Member of MENSA.

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5 stars
147 (25%)
4 stars
204 (35%)
3 stars
157 (27%)
2 stars
46 (7%)
1 star
25 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
Profile Image for Matt.
1,031 reviews
January 6, 2021
A book of trivial facts- lots of them. It’s a mindless way to spend an afternoon. Reading through these makes me wonder- will I ever need to recall any of these? Time will tell.
Profile Image for Billy Buttons.
Author 19 books194 followers
March 13, 2021
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: 523 HARD TO BELIEVE FACTS
Author: Nayden Kostov

Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 19
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Writing Style: 6/10
Content: 6/10
Cover: 8/10
Of the 19 readers:
12 would read another book by this author.
16 thought the cover was good or excellent.
19 felt it was easy to follow.
12 would recommend this book to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 5 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
Of all the readers, 10 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘subject knowledge’.
18 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
12 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.

Readers’ Comments
“A fun, interesting set of facts. Perfect if you just want to browse through them or impress people with strange and wonderful tidbits of information.” Female reader, 47
“If your job is to organize a pub quiz, this would be a great help to you.” Male reader, age 38
“Lots of interesting facts, lots of not so interesting facts. All a bit haphazard but, if you happen to be looking for a little light reading or wanted to find a subject to discuss at the dinner table, this might be for you.” Female reader, age 60
“Very random but still very interesting. I don't know how accurate all the facts are but, personally, I wouldn't put any of them in a PhD dissertation - just in case! It's a quirky little book. I think most people will find a few facts of interest. A few of them even surprised me.” Female reader, aged 54
“Educational fun. It'll pass the time when you're bored. The writing style is not just factual but has a slight opinionated slant to it. That's not a bad thing; it helps to make it a little more interesting.” Male reader, age 40

To Sum It Up:
‘Lots of fun, interesting facts. Perfect for anybody organizing a quiz.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Profile Image for Dan Stern.
952 reviews11 followers
May 31, 2020
it's the kind of book you can put down and pick up again whenever...
Reviewed in Canada on January 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
... but you keep reading obsessively anyway because it's filled with loads of interesting things. obviously some things were more interesting than others, but overall it was an enjoyable read full of amusing surprises and there were even a few facts that i literally couldn't believe without double-checking.
6 reviews
October 17, 2019
This time Mr Kostov added more detail to the facts, which is an improvement in my opinion. The trivia remains crazy and informative. Thumbs up!
63 reviews1 follower
May 18, 2020
Strangely fasinating
Profile Image for C.
370 reviews3 followers
November 29, 2022
This is a very entertaining book about 523 facts that you may not believe. It's a short book that counts down to 1 of everything from cars, trivia, history, books, and many pieces of information. I really enjoyed this book that I won on GoodReads in a giveaway on Thanksgiving. I would read more books by this author.

The picture on front of this book is genius.

If you have 3 hours to spare, download 523 Hard To Believe Facts by Nayden Kostov.

Thank You to the author and GoodReads Giveaways for kindle copy.
Author 2 books7 followers
August 18, 2023
A well-curated, entertaining book of random facts and historical minutiae that you'll wish you could remember later on to liven up (or begin) social exchanges. Put a copy in your bathroom, and you'll wonder why your guests are spending so much time there. Bring a copy on a plane trip, and you won't mind the inevitable flight delay that keeps you grounded for hours. Well, you'll mind, but maybe a bit less.
63 reviews1 follower
August 30, 2023
A quick, fun read

I really did want to read something that was not heavily academic or theoretical.

To be honest, at times, it seemed as though the facts were just so frank that I wanted the source right away. I was encouraged when I read the end.

I would recommend this for a quick read from your daily normal.
Profile Image for Lisa.
246 reviews5 followers
December 5, 2020
The title is self-explanatory really! The book is split into sections: myth vs fact, unbelievable facts about virtually everything, disturbing facts about our world (that's the part I found most interesting), and facts about human and animal sexuality.
104 reviews
September 13, 2022
Outstanding!

The facts stated in this book are very interesting. It is amazing to know for a fact that they are absolutely true. Quite a few cause wonder at how many decusion makers have lost teir minds, or perapzps, could never truly use reason at all.
13 reviews
September 18, 2022
Awesome book!.

Really enjoyed it! Have read others by Nayden Kostov... They're always great. It's also always fun to just blurt out random facts that I've read at my family... Lol. Looking forward to reading more!
Profile Image for Sarah Ehinger.
822 reviews10 followers
December 10, 2022
I won this book as a goodreads giveaway. Fact books such as this are fun to read and can be interesting to share with others while reading. This one is certainly not for kids but was filed with interesting facts.
28 reviews
August 17, 2023
Full of interesting facts

I've read quite a few of these trivia books. I've enjoyed this book a lot. It's full of interesting facts. And above all, everything in the book is accurate.
1,232 reviews11 followers
September 20, 2023
Lots of facts

Like with all trivia books there are facts that get repeated, but for me that is the fun of reading such a book. You get to find new gems of information and renew old information that you have forgotten over time. By the way some of the fact were hard to believe.
Profile Image for Ron.
967 reviews5 followers
November 4, 2023
Interesting Trivia

A fun read, if you are a trivia buff. Entertaining and educational in a weird and humorous way.

One of those Books you put on your phone to read while waitin somewhere.
Profile Image for Theresa Wade.
733 reviews2 followers
January 5, 2024
Full of facts

The book had several facts that I was not aware of. One recommendation could offer to the author would be to provide the facts in a better organization format by grouping facts under categories.
Profile Image for Amy.
Author 2 books11 followers
January 18, 2020
An enjoyable fun read

A good and quick read of many interesting and verified facts. I enjoyed it very much and definitely recommend it!
6 reviews
February 28, 2020
Excellent read!

Very enjoyable book, and unexpectedly funny in spots - I would unquestionably recommend this book to anyone. You will enjoy
Profile Image for David E. Hachey.
40 reviews
June 15, 2020
Interesting

In parts this was very interesting. In some areas I found what was written to be crudely done. More finesse in editing could help in many instances.
848 reviews7 followers
January 4, 2021
Interesting

Three facts seemed interesting to me. Some of them were eye openers. It made for entertaining conversation with my husband.
366 reviews
January 5, 2021
These Weird Facts Show That the World is a Strange Place

A very interesting book that goes beyond simply stating a fact but explains why it is so. I enjoyed it.
15 reviews
January 8, 2021
This is a fun read. I love trivia and obscure facts. Well done.
80 reviews
January 11, 2021
I didn’t know that?

This book was so interesting as it was just a bunch of random facts that are very interesting. I will go back and buy one of his other books now.
Profile Image for Dorothy  Scott.
412 reviews
February 2, 2021
Interesting

If you like to learn about facts and information, this is a book for you. Lots of interesting facts to fill your head.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews

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