 |
|
| Hobby Forum Index » Arts - Books - Childrens » ID this trivia book, pre-1980?... |
|
Page 1 of 1 |
|
| Author |
Message |
| Lenona... |
 Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 9:17 am |
|
|
|
Guest
|
From Booksleuth, modified:
This was a big, thick paperback - very likely a foot tall. It's from
1978, IIRC. In it, all sorts of "useless trivia" is listed about
things all over the world - and from history. Most things only take a
few sentences, but some stories take two pages and include a large
illustration. The ones like that I remember include the story of the
"wolf girls" from India named Amala & Kamala, the story of Houdini,
the story of the bloodthirsty Mongol ruler Tamerlane, 19th-century
fashion ads, and three stories about very strong men who were 1) a
19th-century English prisoner, John Gully, who rises to stardom as a
boxer and doesn't fall 2) Milo of Crotona, a huge Greek athlete from
6th-century B.C. who carried an ox, and later, got trapped and
devoured by wolves 3) Montreal's Louis Cyr who had four horses
harnessed to him - two to each arm - and they couldn't budge him. The
little pieces I remember included an explanation of why computer chess
would never work, some crooked sailors who threw incriminating papers
overboard only to have them turn up in the belly of a shark later, the
story of vaudeville's Cherry Sisters, a woman who married her beloved
dog in a ceremony, and the controversy surrounding Garth Williams'
"The Rabbit Wedding."
Lots more, but I hope those are enough clues for someone who's read
it.
Well, I MAY have the answer. Google Books can be amazing help when you
use short, unique phrases!
Incredible but true! by Kevin McFarland, 1976 or 1978. Illustrated in
B & W by Luis Dominguez.
"A collection of anecdotes about extraordinary people, unusual plants
and animals, unique structures, and astounding historical events."
If anyone can confirm that it matches the description I gave earlier,
do tell.
I found "Incredible but True!" However, it seems to be a different
edition. The one I remember was a softcover and Luis Dominguez was one
of two illustrators. The other illustrator did the pictures for the
shorter pieces, such as one where it says, in one sentence, that
"bride" comes from an old Teutonic word meaning "to cook." In the
picture, a bride is carrying a tall stack of saucepans. Those
illustrations look old and innocent, sort of 1940s-style. Also, there
are 334 articles in the hardcover - but I only remember 22 of them.
(On the back cover, it mentions the books "Trivia Encyclopedia" by
Fred Worth, "The Joy of Trivia" by Bernie Smith, and "Triviata" by
Fullerton. Does any of those match?)
Lenona. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
The time now is Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:48 am
|
|