Ever Wonder Why? [Mass Market Paperback]

Douglas B. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 1991

Everyone knows that...donuts have holes...we clink glasses before saying a toast...golfers yell "fore!" before teeing off...we nod our heads yes and shake our heads no...But how many of us know why? You'll learn the answers and a whole lot more in this fun and fact-filled almanac. And all you have to do is ask WHY?!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

I got lost in this book for hours. There are answers to questions I didn't even know to ask--and they're all fascinating. This book holds the kind of fun and unique facts that will impress and amaze your friends. Do you know why the sea is salty? Why $ means dollars? Why Swiss cheese has holes? Why prostitutes are called "hookers"? Why tennis balls are fuzzy?

Intrigued? I was. Now you'll have to buy this book to discover the answers. . . .

--Cassie Nylen, Copy Assistant

From the Inside Flap

Everyone knows that...donuts have holes...we clink glasses before saying a toast...golfers yell "fore!" before teeing off...we nod our heads yes and shake our heads no...But how many of us know why? You'll learn the answers and a whole lot more in this fun and fact-filled almanac. And all you have to do is ask WHY?!

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (November 24, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449147460
• ISBN-13: 978-0449147467
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Education > Questions & Answers
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Fun Facts > Curiosities & Wonders
  • #46 in Books > Education & Reference > Education > Questions & Answers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Real Letdown, November 27, 2001

By 

Timothy Jesser (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ever Wonder Why? (Mass Market Paperback)

When I was first given this book as a gift, I was quite excited. I am a trivia buff and the questions being answered in the book were really fun subjects. As I read, however, I quickly became suspicious. Why didn't the author allow virtually any room for multiple explanations of the origins of phrases and customs? How could he possibly have done the research required to answer all these questions thoroughly? Why did he seem to answer almost all questions with such certainty, even those with a brief explanation?

Doing some research of my own on a few questions (why is sidespin in pool called English, for example) and found that the author is often just passing on apocrophyl stories and urban legends. It seems as though mostly he researched perhaps one or two sources to answer each question.

Since getting to the bottom of urban legends and myths are what caused me to get so interested in trivia in the first place, I found this book a real letdown.

38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One or two gems here and usually interesting, July 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ever Wonder Why? (Mass Market Paperback)

Smith answers a lot of questions that we forget to ask, like why is horse meat considered inedible (it is associated with pagan sacrifice, he says). There are some gems like why do we shake hands -- yes, its a gesture that we do not bear arms, but did you know the shaking was to shake out any concealed knives up the sleeve?

However, I dont know if he is very good on science. He says the sky is blue because the atmosphere scatters the blue light more than any other part of the spectrum, but then he says that sunsets are red because they scatter red light less than other colors. Not consistent, obviously.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is great!, January 1, 2005

By 

Fala Powers (Los Angeles, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ever Wonder Why? (Mass Market Paperback)

This book really is great! I have never before had a book that every single member of my family actually fights over!! My little brother, my big sister, my mom, and my dad:every single one of us loves this book! It has taught me so many great facts! I even was awarded a free bottle of champagne on an airplane recently thanks to this book: a woman had a nose bleed the whole flight and this book explained how nose bleeds can be reduced or stopped by putting an ice pack on the back of your neck, and guess what it worked!! On top of that, once we reached our destination, all the people in our tour group would beg me to read excerpts of this book to them and the people in our tour group came from all over the world, from England to Gautemala- almost every single one of them wanted to purchase this book by the end of our trip! If you are considering purchasing this book..do it! I promise you will not regret it-this book is way too great to pass up!