The Utterly, Completely, and Totally Useless Fact-O-Pedia is awesome

By April MacIntyre Jan 31, 2011, 7:11 GMT

“I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about.”—Oscar Wilde

“I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about.”—Oscar Wilde

Useful and useless information is rolled up into one great gift book that will keep you page-turning and revisiting information you may have forgotten, or perhaps never knew.

Handy organized information that is listed in alphabetical order, from acrobatics to zombies, meet your new best friend, "The Utterly, Completely, and Totally Useless Fact-O-Pedia" is a riveting reference for mutlitudes of random facts about rock, mysteries, famous films, food, cities, movies, science, animals, and everything else under the sun.

Consider it a "Trivial Pursuit" tutorial so you are most triumphant in your next game day face off.

For example:

More than 7.5 billion Oreos are consumed each year. If they were stacked they could reach the moon and back five times!

One of the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge is set in sand instead of sturdy bedrock!

Elephants cycle through 28 sets of teeth in their lifetime!

The jalapeno was the first pepper to be taken into space!

Charlton Heston was considered for the role of Chief Brody while Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Jon Voight and Jan-Michael Vincent were considered for the role of Hooper!

The Human Heart can create enough pressure to squirt blood up to 30 feet!

Martial Arts were first created in India.  Buddhist missionaries brought it to Asia.

In Houston, TX, it is illegal to make noise while moving boxes! (Yet a plate of fresh Gulf oysters is easily found for under $5...)

Bill Cosby has been a spokesman for Jello since 1974!

In Italy, Darth Vader is known as “Dart Feder” because the word “Vader” sounds too similar to the Italian word for toilet bowl!

After only 30 seconds of use, a handkerchief will contain 15,000 germs!

The technical term for hiccups is “singulitis!”

Cats were once used to deliver mail in Belgium!

Human skin can release as much as three gallons of sweat on a hot day!

U.S. National Bubble Week begins on the first day of spring!

The world’s largest yo-yo is 256 pounds!

A chicken in Colorado lived for two years after its head had been cut off!

Aack!  Factoids of Aristotle and Barbie devolve into more information about whales and zippers. This is compelling quick reading that will make you ready for any cocktail party chit-chat or classroom banter.

Author Charlotte Lowe has spent the last twelve years as a book editor. Having lived in four countries and visited twenty-five, she has a voracious appetite for cultural knowledge and trivia.  We bet she's a scintillating party guest too! Ms. Lowe is a cultural attaché based in Toronto, Canada.

Skyhorse Publishing has published the tome, available here and here.