Customer Reviews

1,001 More Facts Somebody Screwed Up

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The original book was mildly amusing--this one scrapes the bottom of the barrel. Many of the "fact someone screwed up" are not. This is just a compendium of trivia--and despite the title, there aren't 1,001 of them either. The author makes prominent note of that, as if providing a disclaimer. Then why the misleading title? MOreover, it seems a good number of the "corrections" provided by the author are based on his own experience. He doesn't cite any sources, so it's not clear why we should take him at his word. The book would read much better if the assorted tidbits of knowledge were organized in some fashion. Instead, they are presented randomly--natural science facts, history facts, literary facts, and so on are all interspersed. On the plus side, the trivia can be interesting--though more detail would have been nice. Each fact is given rather superficial treatment. I think better focus and greater detail would have helped this book a lot.

After reading through the book there are many comical comments. Many, however, are twisted statistics, un-amusing facts, and some others are just plain out wrong.

An example:

Jordan says Nero did not burn rome, but in fact was well away from the fire playing the lyre. (Not in the book, but the source of the phrase "fiddling while Rome burns" and "Get me a fiddle").

While Nero did not start the fire, he did not play the lyre during it either. He was out helping to extinguish the fire (read: grabbing a water bucket, filling, tossing, and hoping for the best).

Another:

Jordan states that not all games the object is to go forwards - that in tug of war, you go backwards.


I enjoyed reading it - it definately makes you think about things. Just be careful before quoting them at a party or re-structuring your pitiful existance around them.

Author Deane Jordan has come up with yet another series of mistaken beliefs and distorted history. Some of these are rib busting funny, and some amusing cocktail fare, but it's nice to know someone is checking up on common knowledge.

This is a good book for when your friend cant play and your done with homework. You can re-read it as many times as you want and it's still funny. A good amuser, though it could be better.