Which brilliant mathematician broke enemy codes during World War II, laid the foundation for artificial intelligence, underwent 12 months of "hormone therapy," and then was found dead in his bed, poisoned by cyanide? Which bank relies on peer pressure as collateral for loans? Which fitness champion walked barefoot to work carrying a 40-pound bag of sand and preached the virtues of nudity and sleeping on the floor? And the monks of which world religion cover their mouths with cloth to prevent them from ingesting insects and violating their belief in nonviolence? Stay tuned for the answers . . . If something is worth knowing, it’s in Encyclopaedia Britannica, one of the most exhaustive and definitive sources of information and knowledge in the world. In Glad You Asked, you’ll find many facts and ideas, some novel, some essential, but all interesting, culled by Encyclopaedia Britannica and presented in a descriptive and accessible manner. The results are the names, dates, facts, events, phrases, and ideas all readers will want to have in their arsenal of knowledge.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. has been a leader in reference and education publishing since 1768. The company is known for the 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica and its pioneering work in electronic publishing. Its products include Britannica Online School Edition and other digital and printed products, such as the new Britannica Discovery Library. Long recognized for its authority and breadth, Britannica continues to publish the leading scholars from around the world; its stellar list of contributors includes more than 100 Nobel Prize winners. Britannica makes its headquarters in Chicago. Michael Feldman is the creator and host of Public Radio International’s popular quiz show Whad’Ya Know?, which originates from his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. He is also the author of Wisconsin Curiosities, Thanks for the Memos, and Something I Said?: Innuendo and Out the Other.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Little Misleading,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Glad You Asked: Intriguing Names, Facts, and Ideas for the Curious-minded (Paperback)
I was a little disapointed in this book. I expected random interested facts written in the style of Michael. Instead, it is a alphabetical list of random items from the Encyclopedia Brittanica with only snippets of Michael's insight. Still read it though. It was better than a sleeping pill. 2 pages and I would be out like a light.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Glad You Asked,
This review is from: Glad You Asked: Intriguing Names, Facts, and Ideas for the Curious-Minded (Hardcover)
I thought this book would be interesting to find little known facts and become updated on subjects already known. Michael Feldman introduces each section and provides humorous anecdotal remarks, but from the start gets it wrong. He introduces the book and praises Encyclopedia Britannica on massing great information, but on page xii he errs with "...bezoars,fossilized stones of animal dung, were once widely praised and prized as magical cure-alls...".
A bezoar is ingested foreign matter that does not pass though the intestines. The word he was looking for is coprolite, fossilized dung. I bring this up because if the introduction isn't correct, how can we believe the rest of the book? The editors of the encyclopedia should have proofed it.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
Art is something you know when you see it, but culture tells you which reproduction to hang over the couch. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
World War, New York, Soviet Union, Nobel Prize, San Marino, United States, Hong Kong, South America, Middle Ages, North America, Southeast Asia, Roman Catholic, Cold War, John Paul, Mississippi River, World Heritage, American Revolution, Greenhouse Effect, Pearl Harbor, Persian Gulf War, Summer Games, Adolf Hitler, East Timor, Genghis Khan, Los Angeles New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Art is something you know when you see it, but culture tells you which reproduction to hang over the couch. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
World War, New York, Soviet Union, Nobel Prize, San Marino, United States, Hong Kong, South America, Middle Ages, North America, Southeast Asia, Roman Catholic, Cold War, John Paul, Mississippi River, World Heritage, American Revolution, Greenhouse Effect, Pearl Harbor, Persian Gulf War, Summer Games, Adolf Hitler, East Timor, Genghis Khan, Los Angeles New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
See all 100 books this book cites
- On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin on 4 pages
- On the Origin of Species (Penguin Classics) by Charles Darwin on 4 pages
- Divine Comedy (Oxford World's Classics) by Dante Alighieri on page 12, and page 37
- The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Robert Darwin on page 126, and page 127
- Natural Selection (Phoenix 60p paperbacks) by Charles Darwin on page 126, and page 127
See all 100 books this book cites
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
