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The Book of General Ignorance

By John Mitchinson, John Lloyd

(28)

| Hardcover | 9780307394910

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Book Description

Think Magellan was the first man to circumnavigate the globe, baseball was invented in America, Henry VIII had six wives, Mount Everest is the tallest mountain? Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong again.

Misconceptions, misunderstandings, and flawed facts finally get the heave-ho in this humorous, downright humiliating book of reeducation based on the phenomenal British bestseller. Challenging what most of us assume to be verifiable truths in areas like history, literature, science, nature, and more,

The Book of General Ignorance is a witty “gotcha” compendium of how little we actually know about anything. It’ll have you scratching your head wondering why we even bother to go to school.

Revealing the truth behind all the things we think we know but don’t, this book leaves you dumbfounded about all the misinformation you’ve managed to collect during your life, and sets you up to win big should you ever be a contestant on Jeopardy! or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Besides righting the record on common (but wrong) myths like Captain Cook discovering Australia or Alexander Graham Bell inventing the telephone, The Book of General Ignorance also gives us the skinny on silly slipups to trot out at dinner parties (Cinderella wore fur, not glass, slippers and chicken tikka masala was invented in Scotland, not India).

Thomas Edison said that we know less than one millionth of one percent about anything: this book makes us wonder if we know even that much.

You’ll be surprised at how much you don’t know! Check out THE BOOK OF GENERAL IGNORANCE for more fun entries and complete answers to the following:

How long can a chicken live without its head?
About two years.

What do chameleons do?
They don’t change color to match the background. Never have; never will. Complete myth. Utter fabrication. Total Lie. They change color as a result of different emotional states.

Who invented champagne?
Not the French.

How many legs does a centipede have?
Not a hundred.

How many toes has a two-toed sloth?
It’s either six or eight.

How many penises does a European earwig have?
a)Fourteen
b)None at all
c)Two (one for special occasions)
d)Mind your own business

Which animals are the best-endowed of all?
Barnacles. These unassuming modest beasts have the longest penis relative to their size of any creature. They can be seven times longer than their body.

What is a rhino’s horn made from?
A rhinoceros horn is not, as some people think, made out of hair.

Who was the first American president?
Peyton Randolph.

What were George Washington’s false teeth made from?
Mostly hippopotamus.

What was James Bond’s favorite drink?
Not the vodka martini.

Critics

The Book of General Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong

Review-a-Day Saturday, November 24th, 2007 Voice your opinion about this review by posting a comment on the Powells.com blog The Book of General Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson The (Not So) Obvious ... (read full critics)

powells published on Mon, 6 Sep 2010

3 Reviews

3 people find this helpful

A BBC programme turned into a book. It tells you many of the common sense you got from hearsay are actually wrong. Magellan was not the first man to circumnavigate the globe, Mount Everest isn't the tallest mountain, Alexander Bell didn't invent the phone.......
It always arouse my curiosity ... (continue)

A BBC programme turned into a book. It tells you many of the common sense you got from hearsay are actually wrong. Magellan was not the first man to circumnavigate the globe, Mount Everest isn't the tallest mountain, Alexander Bell didn't invent the phone.......
It always arouse my curiosity as to how flawed facts or beliefs can take root and become common sense. However, this book won't give you any answer of this. Anyway, the book is really entertaining.

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Mike said on Jul 23, 2007 | Add your feedback

the ideal book to take at work

I read their first one, the one about animals (in the delightful italian version).
I found this one a bit hard to digest at times, because apparently they know one more than anyone else, but overall a great read for when you're at work and cannot spend too much of your attention on a novel.

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Viollka said on Aug 26, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

A fun quick read - great for topping up on useless trivia

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Jon Randy said on Jan 13, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback