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1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop by James Harkin, John Lloyd, John Mitchinson
thecanadagoose's review against another edition
3.0
This is another difficult book to review! As the title states, it's a simple book of facts. [a:Lloyd|1579|John Lloyd|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1513797641p2/1579.jpg], [a:Mitchinson|232560|John Mitchinson|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Harkin|1555015|James Harkin|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] have collated facts from all areas of science, history, literature and more. While not a book you can sit down and read, it's great to dip into to read when bored (or sitting on the toilet).
The authors tried to link each of the facts together, so weirdly it does seem to have some kind of flow. The facts are usually very interesting, and you always hope that you'll be able to remember them in conversation.. but probably only a couple! The only drawback is that I think you have to take some of the facts with a pinch of salt, as they may be exaggerated or even just slightly wrong. This is a little annoying in a fact book, but I think most are close enough that you can forgive most of this.
[b:1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop|20723817|1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop|John Lloyd|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400883856l/20723817._SY75_.jpg|25886679] is definitely a worthwhile book if you like random, weird facts. And although you can't read it like a normal book, putting it on the coffee table (or in the toilet) is perfect for an interesting dive into the weird world.
The authors tried to link each of the facts together, so weirdly it does seem to have some kind of flow. The facts are usually very interesting, and you always hope that you'll be able to remember them in conversation.. but probably only a couple! The only drawback is that I think you have to take some of the facts with a pinch of salt, as they may be exaggerated or even just slightly wrong. This is a little annoying in a fact book, but I think most are close enough that you can forgive most of this.
[b:1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop|20723817|1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop|John Lloyd|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400883856l/20723817._SY75_.jpg|25886679] is definitely a worthwhile book if you like random, weird facts. And although you can't read it like a normal book, putting it on the coffee table (or in the toilet) is perfect for an interesting dive into the weird world.
annelives's review against another edition
3.0
If you like random facts that are for the most part interesting this is the book for you.
anetq's review against another edition
1.0
Quite Interesting - as the title states - at first, if one loves random trivia. Then it starts to grate how most of the 'facts' center on penises, farting etc. There are only so many random facts about animal fournication and genitals that one can bear, penises just aren't that interesting, sorry guys . The book is written by John, John and James - which I guess also explains that I suspect a lot of the 'facts' aren't facts about humans, even when they state that, but men... See [b:Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men|41104077|Invisible Women Data Bias in a World Designed for Men|Caroline Criado Perez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550931169l/41104077._SY75_.jpg|64218580] by Caroline Criado Perez if you want to get pissed off about that too!) And even after trying to ignore the juvenile obsession with penises (see, after you read it again and again, it gets kind of tedious, right: Penis, haha? Oh shut up!).
And then there is the issue of the "facts", while I'm no expert on animal penises (well I wasn't before reading this anyway), but I do know stuff about Denmark and Danish culture (actually I used to teach it) - but all the so-called facts in this area are, if not wrong, then at least quite far off. And that is just lazy! Anyone could have googled that Laurel and Hardy is not known as 'Gog and Cogge' in Danish, they're 'Gøg and Gokke' (I might accept the missing line in the ø, though with the English's recent infatuation with Danish hygge and crime fiction they've been renaming anything Nørdic, even if it was never spelled with an ø) - But the G changed to C is just bad fact checking. And well, that makes me wonder if any of the other 1338 facts and just an inaccurate or just wrong? Not great thoughts to have lurking in the back of your mind, when entertaining yourself with a 'fact'-book. So I gave up.
And then there is the issue of the "facts", while I'm no expert on animal penises (well I wasn't before reading this anyway), but I do know stuff about Denmark and Danish culture (actually I used to teach it) - but all the so-called facts in this area are, if not wrong, then at least quite far off. And that is just lazy! Anyone could have googled that Laurel and Hardy is not known as 'Gog and Cogge' in Danish, they're 'Gøg and Gokke' (I might accept the missing line in the ø, though with the English's recent infatuation with Danish hygge and crime fiction they've been renaming anything Nørdic, even if it was never spelled with an ø) - But the G changed to C is just bad fact checking. And well, that makes me wonder if any of the other 1338 facts and just an inaccurate or just wrong? Not great thoughts to have lurking in the back of your mind, when entertaining yourself with a 'fact'-book. So I gave up.
noveladdiction's review against another edition
4.0
I love stuff like this. I won't remember even a quarter of these facts in the future, but I certainly loved learning them.