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Miscellanea, and Oddities —
How-to Manuals —
Human Stupidity & Ideas — Recommended titles
by Bryan Curtis, Michael Kinsley Anchor, 2004. 272pp.
"If any regular column calls for a compilation, The Explainer is it. The Microsoft-funded online magazine Slate has been doling out answers to offbeat questions for years, becoming king of the information-rich deadpan response. How do you figure out the odds of an asteroid hitting the earth? How did the U.S. get a naval base in Cuba? Slate knows. ... For this volume, questions are arranged by quirky subject (like "Guns and Ammo"), and there's a special richness to its Washington-related queries, perhaps due to Kinsley's background as a D.C. pundit and general policy wonk. And though a rotating cast of writers has been behind the column, they manage a consistent tone. Alas, instead of always playing the straight man to the natural comedy of the questions, the editors don't have much fun with their answers (e.g., they refrain from ripping into Hollywood's fad du jour when facing a question like, "Where does Kabbalah come from?"). But the book has its own relentless charm, and the utilitarian premise makes it a winner..." --Publishers Weekly 
by Terri Hamilton St. Martin's Press, 2002. 356pp.
"Inside you'll find answers to such provocative questions as: What do a woman's facial features reveal about the vagina? Why was pubic hair left off classic Greek Statues? Who "discovered" the clitoris? How many girls are born with a penis each year? is the connection between the upper lip and the clitoris? What piece of bridal attire has its origins in the hymen? What do cool fingertips reveal about a woman's genital area? Dr. Hamilton explores the history, development, legends, and myths of human sexuality to provide the revealing answers to these and a host of other questions in this fascinating look at our most private parts." --book description
by Charles Panati Penguin Books, 1998. 526pp.
"Where did the word "love" come from? Has there ever been a gay pope? Who invented the condom? How did Valentine's Day originate? From the lascivious to the romantic, from the hard-core to the scientific and the scholarly, this engaging and eye-opening compendium of little known facts about sex is both informative and endlessly entertaining..." --book description 
by Charles Panati Perennial Currents, reissue edition 1989-. 480pp.
by Joel Levy Firefly Books, 2002. 224pp.
by Ed Zotti Ballantine Books, 1993. 224pp.
"As editor of two popular books, The Straight Dope and More of the Straight Dope, Ed Zotti has helped the legendary Cecil Adams answer the great riddles of our time. Now, in KNOW IT ALL!, Ed Zotti draws on this vast storehouse of knowledge to solve the mysteries that keep all of us up at night wondering...How do astronauts go to the bathroom in space?...Are cats color blind?...If somebody opened the emergecny exit on an airplane while it was in the air, would everybody on the plane be sucked out and killed?...and many, many more." --book description
by Ed Zotti, Cecil Adams Ballantine Books, 1999. 304pp.
"For more than a quarter of a century Cecil Adams has been courageously attempting to lift the veil of ignorance surrounding the modern world. Now, in his fifth book, he takes yet another stab, dissecting such classic conundrums as: If you swim less than an hour after eating, will you get cramps and die? What's the difference between a Looney Tune and a Merrie Melody? Can you see a Munchkin committing suicide in The Wizard of Oz? Was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre based on actual events? Did medieval lords really have "the right of the first night"? And much more!" --book description
by Ed Zotti, Cecil Adams Ballantine Books, 1998. 288pp.
"in this landmark volume: If Teflon is such a nonsticky substance, how do they get it to stick to the pan? Is the Great Cabal implanting microchips in our brains? Do fluorescent lights cause cataracts? What do Scotsmen wear under those kilts? Can some people extinguish street lamps by force of their bodily emanations? Is the U.S. Government really hiding alien spaceships? And more!" --book description
by Ed Zotti, Cecil Adams Ballantine Books, 1988. 512pp.
"Since 1973, the redoubtable Cecil Adams has collected, corrected, inspected, and dissected thousands of reader's questions, reporting his sagacious findings in the popular weekly column, The Straight Dope. His first book amazed millions. Now he returns with another incomparable compendium of fantastic facts, insouciant information, and delicious data on every subject of import to personkind: Is it true Thanksgiving was invented by the editor of Harper's Bizarre...? Why do your fingers wrinkle in the bathtub...? and hundreds more burning questions explained at last!" --book description
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