The Encyclopedia of Useless Information
- Authors
- Hartston, William
- Publisher
- Sourcebooks Hysteria
- Tags
- trivia , general , humour , handbooks & manuals , reference , humor , handbooks; vade-mecums; etc , encyclopedias , curiosities and wonders , curiosities & wonders
- ISBN
- 9781402208287
- Date
- 2007-05-01T00:00:00+00:00
- Size
- 0.59 MB
- Lang
- en
Discover what all the other encyclopedias leave out
This is the superbly satisfying compendium of weird factoids too interesting to be contained in your average encyclopedia. Daring to cross-reference the un-cross-reference-able, to alphabetize what cannot be alphabetized, and to deliver the highest concentration of fun that can fit in one book's spine, this information is too useless to waste:
In Denmark, pigs go 'knor'; in Germany, horses go 'prrrh'; in ancient Greece, dogs went 'au au.' Italians sneeze 'ecci ecci.'
A teacher in Italy was disciplined in 1996 for passing students exam answers hidden in salami sandwiches.
In 1957 the U.S. air force completed a survey of the Atlantic Ocean but refused to divulge its width on the grounds that the information might be of military use to the Russians.
In Paris in 1740 a cow was hanged in public following its conviction for sorcery.