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The Book of Useless Information (Paperback)

~ (Author) "All U.S. presidents have worn glasses; some of them just didn't like to be seen wearing them in public..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, World War, New York (more...)
2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Thousands of things you didn't think you needed to know-and probably don't.

All you never needed to know, and couldn't be bothered to ask.

One person's useless information could prove invaluable to someone else. Then again, maybe not. But to The Useless Information Society, any fact that passes its gasp-inducing, "not-a-lot-of-people-know- that" test merits inclusion in this fascinating but ultimately useless book.

Did you know...
- That fish scales are used to make lipstick?
- Why organized crime accounts for ten percent of the United States's annual income?
- The name of the first CD pressed in the U.S.?
- The shortest performance ever nominated for an Oscar?
- How much Elvis weighed at the time of his death?
- What the suits in a deck of cards represent?
- How many Quarter Pounders can be made from one cow?
- How interesting useless information can be?

The Book of Useless Information answers these teasers and will captivate readers with the joy of pursuing pointless knowledge.

About the Author

In 1995, a secret society of Britain's foremost thinkers, writers, and artists formed to trade and share in what founding member, playwright and journalist Keith Waterhouse, would call "totally bloody useless" information-usually over a pint or two at a local pub. Now, The Useless Information Society regurgitates its bizarre findings for American readers in this first of what they threaten will be several volumes.

Noel Botham is chairman and founding member of the UIS.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Perigee Trade (June 27, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0399532692
  • ISBN-13: 978-0399532696
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.5 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #86,726 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #11 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > British > Humor

More About the Author

Noel Botham
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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (8)
1 star:
 (8)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.4 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars readers: exercise critical thinking when reading this book, May 23, 2007
Some of the "facts" cited seem to need fact-checking, particularly in the sciences, where some facts are presented in an incomplete way.

Also, in the quotes section, he quotes Al Gore as saying "I invented the Internet."

In fact, Gore has NEVER said this. It's an easily checked fact, and I'm surprised the authors did NOT check this canard out. You can check out the debunking of the Al Gore "fact" (myth, really) at snopes dot com, or legal minds dot com or any number of other places where honest people took the time to find out the truth.

This one mistake (coupled with other clumsily written "facts" in the book, make me wonder about the correctness of other "facts" they have published, and I haven't even gotten halfway through the book, yet.

Reader--caveat emptor. And now I'm kinda sorry I bought the book.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars The Book of Useless Information Is Mostly Useless, August 14, 2007
Wonderful idea, to gather tidbits of trivia and put them in one book. Trouble is, this poorly-written source of light reading not only cites no sources for its offerings of information, but it is so riddled with glaring errors of fact that it is mostly useless as a means of either broadening personal knowledge, or as a reference book.

For example, a very brief scan of its misinformation includes:

Page 60, where Ernest Vincent Wright's 50,000-word novel composed sans the letter "e" is listed as `Gatsby' when in fact the work in question is `Gadsby'. `Gatsby' as we all know is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

On page 165, the book claims that Christianity has 1,000,000,000 followers, and the religion with the next highest number is Islam, with half that many. In fact Christianity has more like 1,400,000,000 adherents, Islam in excess of a billion---and rising.

Page 5 has us reading that in 1812 Theodore Roosevelt completed a speech after being shot in the chest. Roosevelt wasn't even born until 1858!

Page 42 tries to convince us that probable comic strip ADHD sufferer Dennis Mitchell owns a dog known as Gnasher, when as everyone who reads Dennis the Menace knows, his pet is called Ruff.

Am I being too hard on this book? I don't know. Even allowing for typos and the occasional error, this book is undermined by its weaknesses, and I wouldn't recommend it just because you can't be sure you can trust it.

Which is a shame.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars This book is not accurate, June 23, 2007
I love books full of facts. I just hate it when the facts are not true. Sirloin was not named after a king knighted a piece of meat. Mariah Carey did not say that quote about Africa, and Al Gore never dais that he invented the internet. What is the point of this book if you cannot trust it. It also does not contain a bibliography--so you cannot fact check. The best place to check out all of the false facts is at snopes. com.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Not just incorrect "facts" but obviously incorrect statistics
Many reviewers have commented on the glaring factual errors, though none have pointed out that the license plate on the VW on the cover of Abbey Road is not 281F, it's 28IF,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Tony Fleming

5.0 out of 5 stars the book of useless information
The book arrived on time and in good condition. We are enjoying the book very much.
Published 7 months ago by Carmen M. Glaze

1.0 out of 5 stars In fact, this book is "Totally Useless"
I enjoyed this book, especially the information which contradicted the other information. As a connoisseur of trivia books, this one IS truly useless. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Laura A. Black

4.0 out of 5 stars A Book for Trivia Lovers!
This is part of a series of books of Useless Information...so much fun to read, so interesting...facts we may or may not have heard in the past are here for us now! Read more
Published 9 months ago by RSB

1.0 out of 5 stars Sloppy and Superficial
There were numerous outright errors in this book, and much of the rest was unimpressive. While there were some items that looked interesting, they were overshadowed by the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Henry Adams

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Man "TR"
Just the perfect size of mindless drivel to read while on the ivory throne (works better for men).
Published 13 months ago by M. A. L. KANOO

2.0 out of 5 stars ...Useless Information

The Book of Useless Information :

A good idea for a gift when you have run out of ideas. It's easy to
send by mail, too.
Published 13 months ago by Frank Hodges

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely hilarious!!
First of all, do not trust any reviews by anyone who states they did not read the whole book. This is basically a 286 page long April Fools joke and those who gave it a bad... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Drew the Nerd

2.0 out of 5 stars Useless because it is wrong
yep, as an avid reader of trivia, snopes, straight dope, etc., I encountered quite a few "facts" that are really just rumors but have been proven false or at least remain... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Garr Godfrey

2.0 out of 5 stars Totally unreliable, but kind of fun
If one hadn't read any of the reviews first, as was my case (the book was a gift from someone who knew my love of the trivial), you soon get to that wait a moment, I don't think... Read more
Published 21 months ago by my10sense

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