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The Book of General Ignorance

Think Magellan was the first man to circumnavigate the globe, baseball was invented in America, Henry VIII had six wives, Mount Everest is the tallest mountain? Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong again.

Misconceptions, misunderstandings, and flawed facts finally get the heave-ho in this humorous, downright humiliating book of reeducation based on the phenomenal British bestseller. Challenging what most of us assume to be verifiable truths in areas like history, literature, science, nature, and more,

The Book of General Ignorance is a witty ?gotcha? compendium of how little we actually know about anything. It?ll have you scratching your head wondering why we even bother to go to school.

Revealing the truth behind all the things we think we know but don?t, this book leaves you dumbfounded about all the misinformation you?ve managed to collect during your life, and sets you up to win big should you ever be a contestant on Jeopardy! or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Besides righting the record on common (but wrong) myths like Captain Cook discovering Australia or Alexander Graham Bell inventing the telephone, The Book of General Ignorance also gives us the skinny on silly slipups to trot out at dinner parties (Cinderella wore fur, not glass, slippers and chicken tikka masala was invented in Scotland, not India).

Thomas Edison said that we know less than one millionth of one percent about anything: this book makes us wonder if we know even that much.

You?ll be surprised at how much you don?t know! Check out THE BOOK OF GENERAL IGNORANCE for more fun entries and complete answers to the following:

How long can a chicken live without its head?
About two years.

What do chameleons do?
They don?t change color to match the background. Never have; never will. Complete myth. Utter fabrication. Total Lie. They change color as a result of different emotional states.

Who invented champagne?
Not the French.

How many legs does a centipede have?
Not a hundred.

How many toes has a two-toed sloth?
It?s either six or eight.

How many penises does a European earwig have?
a)Fourteen
b)None at all
c)Two (one for special occasions)
d)Mind your own business

Which animals are the best-endowed of all?
Barnacles. These unassuming modest beasts have the longest penis relative to their size of any creature. They can be seven times longer than their body.

What is a rhino?s horn made from?
A rhinoceros horn is not, as some people think, made out of hair.

Who was the first American president?
Peyton Randolph.

What were George Washington?s false teeth made from?
Mostly hippopotamus.

What was James Bond?s favorite drink?
Not the vodka martini.
  more

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Hardcover, The Book of General Ignorance

The #1 British bestseller reveals all of the hugely entertaining misconceptions, mistakes, and misunderstandings in...

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The Book of General Ignorance

John Mitchinson / 2007 / 266 pages Books

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ProductReviews81/100 (57 Reviews)

Recent Reviews

5/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Jan-11-2009
The Book of General Ignorance

This is a perfect present for someone who is a know-it-all, or aspires to be one. I bought this book for my 21 year old brother who is hard to shop for and he read it for hours on Christmas morning. I wish I had bought more copies!

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5/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Nov-19-2008
What a fun read

I had a good time reading this book. Not only do you find out interesting facts,but the whys and wherefores.If you like the History Channel you'll love this book.I recommend it.

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1/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Oct-19-2008
Don't believe everything you read

I found an error right in the first few paragraphs: the authors take the Nepali name of Mt Everest (Sagarmatha) as Tibetan, and the Tibetan name (Chomolungma) as Nepali. This is such a simple, easily verifiable fact (a quick check with...

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5/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Oct-12-2008
Quite Interesting, you know

If you know and like the British Quiz Show 'Quite Interesting' then this book is a must. General Ignorance is a regular part of this hilarious panel quiz hosted by Stephen Fry and the book puts together all the suprising information that...

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Selected Reviews

5/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Jan-11-2009
The Book of General Ignorance

This is a perfect present for someone who is a know-it-all, or aspires to be one. I bought this book for my 21 year old brother who is hard to shop for and he read it for hours on Christmas morning. I wish I had bought more copies!

read full review | report as inappropriate
3/5
From: Amazon
Posted: May-22-2008
coffee table or toilet reading?

This isn't a bad book to have lying around. Birds that produce milk. The best-endowed animal of all!! (Barnacles!), and many other facts I thought I knew (who is America named after?) Male chickens? Etc. I had no idea...

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1/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Oct-19-2008
Don't believe everything you read

I found an error right in the first few paragraphs: the authors take the Nepali name of Mt Everest (Sagarmatha) as Tibetan, and the Tibetan name (Chomolungma) as Nepali. This is such a simple, easily verifiable fact (a quick check with...

read full review | report as inappropriate
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