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The Amazing Book of Useless Information
The Essential Book of Useless Information: The Most Unimportant Things You'll Never Need to Know
More facts! Less substance! The newest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Useless Information series.
The useless information never ends in the newest, most crucially meaningless entry in the Useless Information series. This latest cornucopia of amazingly pointless facts and figures will have trivia buffs marveling at all the things they never needed to know.
The useless information never ends in the newest, most crucially meaningless entry in the Useless Information series. This latest cornucopia of amazingly pointless facts and figures will have trivia buffs marveling at all the things they never needed to know.
257 pages, Paperback
First published September 23, 2009
14 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 4, 2023
I bet you don't know where the world's largest an colony is and are probably thinking, "who cares?". This little book is full of pointless facts that are fun to store in one's memory banks and find a way to bring them up in conversation. Your friends will think you are strange but it certainly is an ice-breaker.
None of the information in this whimsical book is essential but it surely is fun to read that: Mickey Mouse is banned in Romania, women sleep and dream more than men, Hawaii is the only state that has a royal residence, the first public performance of KISS drew an audience of three people.
As the liner note on the book says,"The most unimportant things you'll never need to know". A great down time book which will give you a chuckle and make you feel vindicated that you eat popcorn and Twizzlers at the movies since you are joining the majority.
None of the information in this whimsical book is essential but it surely is fun to read that: Mickey Mouse is banned in Romania, women sleep and dream more than men, Hawaii is the only state that has a royal residence, the first public performance of KISS drew an audience of three people.
As the liner note on the book says,"The most unimportant things you'll never need to know". A great down time book which will give you a chuckle and make you feel vindicated that you eat popcorn and Twizzlers at the movies since you are joining the majority.
February 19, 2010
I usually enjoy collections of various trivia, but an author should be careful in what he/she presents as facts. For instance, on page 240, I would hardly consider the absolute statement of "Women and children prefer creamy [peanut butter:]; men, chunky" to be a fact. I guess I'm an anomaly, being a woman and preferring chunky peanut butter. There should be a qualifier prefacing the declaration, such as "in general" or, if the case, "some polls show that".
I also did not appreciate many of the author's asides, especially in regards to, on page 145, what seems to be a jab at feminism: "The World Meteorological Association started giving hurricanes women's names in 1953 (much to the chagrin of feminists)." Really, to the chagrin of the feminists? If we're making commentary, then the shame should be prescribed to the Association and not its supposed target.
These two points, which could be supplemented by a number of other examples, seriously question the integrity of the other 'facts'--but it's clear by the book's presentation and design that it's meant to be a quick, frivolous read. And it's too bad, as any knowledge, even if in appearance unrelated, is enrichening in some way.
I also did not appreciate many of the author's asides, especially in regards to, on page 145, what seems to be a jab at feminism: "The World Meteorological Association started giving hurricanes women's names in 1953 (much to the chagrin of feminists)." Really, to the chagrin of the feminists? If we're making commentary, then the shame should be prescribed to the Association and not its supposed target.
These two points, which could be supplemented by a number of other examples, seriously question the integrity of the other 'facts'--but it's clear by the book's presentation and design that it's meant to be a quick, frivolous read. And it's too bad, as any knowledge, even if in appearance unrelated, is enrichening in some way.
January 5, 2020
Eh.
The book does contain a lot of information. However, I feel it is written for people in high school or jut generally uneducated people. Much of the information is quite useful, and much of it is quite well-known. Examples include that India broke up into Hindu India and Islamic Pakistan in 1947 after the British left.
Another problem I have with the book is that most of the information was pop-culture type info. Did you know that about this celebrity? Or this rock band, movie, sports team, etc. And the author spent a lot of time going back to the crude. Lots of information about sex in the book.
What's worse, is that when he tried to give scientific facts the author fell flat on his face. For example, he said that Giraffes, like all mammals, only have 7 vertebrae. Well, I have 33 - all mammals have 7 CERVICAL vertebrae. And when listing the closest galaxy to us, the author said it was the Sagitarius Dwarf Galaxy, even though the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, which had been discovered years before this book was published and years before some of the other date-sensitive information in the book. In general, the more scientific 'facts' were very unreliable.
Altogether, there was a lot of interesting stuff in this book. There's also a lot of interesting stuff on Wikipedia. In all honesty, judging by the layout of the book and the types of information found, I think the author just browsed Wikipedia and scribbled down a few things he saw on each page before searching the next item on his list.
The book does contain a lot of information. However, I feel it is written for people in high school or jut generally uneducated people. Much of the information is quite useful, and much of it is quite well-known. Examples include that India broke up into Hindu India and Islamic Pakistan in 1947 after the British left.
Another problem I have with the book is that most of the information was pop-culture type info. Did you know that about this celebrity? Or this rock band, movie, sports team, etc. And the author spent a lot of time going back to the crude. Lots of information about sex in the book.
What's worse, is that when he tried to give scientific facts the author fell flat on his face. For example, he said that Giraffes, like all mammals, only have 7 vertebrae. Well, I have 33 - all mammals have 7 CERVICAL vertebrae. And when listing the closest galaxy to us, the author said it was the Sagitarius Dwarf Galaxy, even though the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, which had been discovered years before this book was published and years before some of the other date-sensitive information in the book. In general, the more scientific 'facts' were very unreliable.
Altogether, there was a lot of interesting stuff in this book. There's also a lot of interesting stuff on Wikipedia. In all honesty, judging by the layout of the book and the types of information found, I think the author just browsed Wikipedia and scribbled down a few things he saw on each page before searching the next item on his list.
February 26, 2019
This is a great bathroom book. It’s full of interesting (but useless) facts on a number of subjects such as TV, Movies, Music, the Arts, USA, The World, Gender, Fashion, Love and Marriage, Science, You, Animals, Plants, Games/Sports, Food, Worst-Case Scenarios and Crime.
This is just one book in a #1 New York Times Bestselling Series.
I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the others as I love reading random facts.
The only thing that could have made the book better was if it was a Canadian book and had Canadian facts (since I’m Canadian.)
Sample Facts:
There have been thirty-nine book sequels to The Wizard of Oz, thirteen of them by L. Frank Baum.
The band KISS started out with the name Wicked Lester
Habseligkeiten, meaning “belongings”, was selected by The German Language Council as the most beautiful sounding word in the language. (A word only a German could love.)
John F. Kennedy was the only Catholic president.
In Victorian England, a woman needed a chaperone to visit the doctor. She would show the doctor on a doll where the problem was and if he needed to physically examine her, he would do so in the dark, with her under a sheet.
The only point where the temperature reads the same on the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales is -40 degrees.
A group of geese on the ground is a gaggle. A group of geese in the air is a skein.
This is just one book in a #1 New York Times Bestselling Series.
I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the others as I love reading random facts.
The only thing that could have made the book better was if it was a Canadian book and had Canadian facts (since I’m Canadian.)
Sample Facts:
There have been thirty-nine book sequels to The Wizard of Oz, thirteen of them by L. Frank Baum.
The band KISS started out with the name Wicked Lester
Habseligkeiten, meaning “belongings”, was selected by The German Language Council as the most beautiful sounding word in the language. (A word only a German could love.)
John F. Kennedy was the only Catholic president.
In Victorian England, a woman needed a chaperone to visit the doctor. She would show the doctor on a doll where the problem was and if he needed to physically examine her, he would do so in the dark, with her under a sheet.
The only point where the temperature reads the same on the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales is -40 degrees.
A group of geese on the ground is a gaggle. A group of geese in the air is a skein.
Read
September 23, 2019This is the third book in this series that I have enjoyed. Since there's no plot to keep track of, you can read for 5 min and put it down and pick it up again two days later without missing a beat. Just playful fun.
June 27, 2018
Some really interesting little tidbits that have somehow stuck in my head
November 21, 2025
This book is just what the title says. Not all of it is useless. Some would be great fodder for a trivia quiz.
August 13, 2013
My Thoughts: This book is great. I found it so entertaining and so informative. The facts aren't stated in some boring list format like something you would have to learn for school. The facts are sorted out in an organized way, sure, but most importantly they are hilarious. The author sometimes adds his two cents in the form of jokes. How they are worded is funny too. Actually, even most of the facts themselves are funny. Are you getting that this is a funny book because I feel like I might not be clear enough.
The one problem I had with this book was that I felt the need to share all the information with other people. Of course, this could be bad if those people don't want to hear about it. I often caught myself repeating the facts to those around me. I recommend reading it with another person.
In Conclusion, I now know way more about some things than I want to, like some animal mating habits for example. I loved this book and will probably read it again so that I can make sure I absorbed all the information it contains. It's great to read in little pieces or all at once because the sections are split up but flow well. I recommend that you read it if you enjoy knowing useless information about random things like I do.
http://one-chapter-ahead.blogspot.ca/
The one problem I had with this book was that I felt the need to share all the information with other people. Of course, this could be bad if those people don't want to hear about it. I often caught myself repeating the facts to those around me. I recommend reading it with another person.
In Conclusion, I now know way more about some things than I want to, like some animal mating habits for example. I loved this book and will probably read it again so that I can make sure I absorbed all the information it contains. It's great to read in little pieces or all at once because the sections are split up but flow well. I recommend that you read it if you enjoy knowing useless information about random things like I do.
http://one-chapter-ahead.blogspot.ca/
February 13, 2012
We all know I love random bits of information, so how could I go wrong with this series? I bought two of these while I worked at Borders, but now I might have to collect them all. They are nicely organized into chapters by categories - such as food, or movies, etc. I always take this book with me on road trips and read out the good ones to keep the driver entertained :-)
March 20, 2013
I love this book :) Random facts all the way through and its fun to remeber them because you never know when a trivia game will come up...or if you want to be a show off, this book can help you too. Its just a fun book to read
April 28, 2014
This was one of the best trivia collections I've ever read. The facts were fresh and interesting and never felt tedious to read. I greatly enjoyed it. Can't wait to check out the other books in the series :)
April 19, 2010
Meh. I like me some trivia, but this book didn't have anything that made me say "Wow!". The best part is the first page on squirrels!
January 31, 2011
I simply want to say that I read this book almost entirely in the bathroom.
January 8, 2011
all of these are terrific!
May 26, 2011
How do I not need to know this stuff. IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR LIFE
September 22, 2012
a nice little bathroom reader
June 10, 2013
Cool facts. Fun and quick to read.
April 26, 2016
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13985210
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13985210
July 17, 2019
Trivia, but interesting.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews