mental floss presents Forbidden Knowledge: A Wickedly Smart Guide to History's Naughtiest Bits

by Will Pearson (Editor)

Paperback, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

AG243 .M37

Series

Mental Floss

Genres

Publication

Collins (2005), Edition: 1St Edition, 320 pages

Description

Think of anything bad, from art heists to Genghis Kahn, and it's likely to be included in this wickedly smart and humorous guide to the seedy underbelly of basically everything. The brainiac team at "mental_floss", creators of the hit magazine and last year's Condensed Knowledge, have scoured the darkest, dirtiest corners of history and the globe to gather this ultimate collection of the bad stuff you're not supposed to know and you certainly never learned in school. Organized by theme, with chapters for each of the seven deadly sins, the book includes feuds, plagiarists, hoaxes, lies, schemes, scandals, evil dictators, mob bosses, acts of revenge, angry queens, cannibals and much more, all organized into bite-sized--albeit foul-tasting--lists (i.e."The Fascist Style Guide: Five Dictator Grooming Tips", "Four Biblical Girls Gone Wild" and "Three Delicious Animals We Charbroiled Into Extinction."). It's the perfect way to add some spice to a dull conversation and proves that learning can be not only easy, but exquisitely sinful.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member la_femme_jennifer
This was an enjoyable book, and perfectly suited for reading before falling asleep since it is a collection of small (usually 1-2 page) snippets of information. As someone who likes reading before bed but has a hard time putting down a book with a good plot, resulting in much less sleep than
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 intended, this is a great alternative. It's arranged around the 7 deadly sins, which helps give it some structure, however, some of the entries were a little dry and I mostly skimmed over the Sloth section. But overall, it's interesting and I certainly did learn a few new facts that I've been able to use in casual conversation and on one occasion it helped me answer a trivia question. If you're a fan of the magazine (which I am), then I think you'll enjoy this book. I've moved on to another of theirs, "In the Beginning", which is also nice bedtime reading.
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LibraryThing member mstrust
The staff of Mental Floss magazine must have grown up loving The People's Almanacs as much as I did. I re-read those books over and over and when I left home my mom allowed me to take them with me. Mental Floss is for anyone who loves finding out weird bits of information about people and events
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 from history, like the fact that the Ottoman Empire lost its footing when a lazy sultan, nicknamed "The Drunk", came to power and couldn't be bothered. It's a big book full of fun stuff.
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LibraryThing member bookwormteri
Fun read for trivia buffs presented in an appealing way. Categorized under the 7 Deadly Sins, there is a wide array of information.
LibraryThing member glade1
This is a fun little collection of factoids about people and events through history, organized in sections based on the seven deadly sins. It is a bit dated in some cases, as it is about 10 years old, but the older info is still fascinating. When I find myself thinking that the world today is going
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 to hell in a handbasket, I can reflect on these little tidbits and realize it's really not any worse than it's ever been. Humans have been getting up to cruel, crazy, and kinky things for as long as they have existed!
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LibraryThing member BenKline
Fun easy little 'trivia' book to read. Sound facts, though there is no citations (but mental_floss is a pretty good accredited source, so there might be only small trivial issues), it's easy to read, and light, basically a bathroom book. Broken down into the 7 deadly sins, it ranges the gambit from
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 tiny and trivial interesting facts to large facts that we don't know (but probably should) to things like you know X but it's really Y. Overall fun book.
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Subjects

Curiosities and wonders

Language

English

Original language

English

Original publication date

2005

Physical description

320 p.; 9.25 inches

ISBN

006078475X / 9780060784751

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