Other books in this series promise to blow your socks off, make your jaw drop, knock you sideways and leave you speechless. Most of these facts are, in fact, stunning.
Walruses suffer from dandruff.
Hens given alcohol lay half as many eggs.
Pope John Paul II drew his own comic books.
These facts are presented mostly in single, simple sentences, allowing a reader to be flabbergasted at a rate of four times per page. Yet many of these facts do raise questions, at least in my mind.
The oldest living turkey in Britain is called Dinner. As this book was published in 2016, chances are that turkey has already become dinner, making this no longer a fact.
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| Bad mood? |
When Donald Trump is in a bad mood, he wears a red hat. How many times have you seen Trump with a big smile on his face while wearing a red MAGA hat?
The loudest word ever shouted was "Quiet!" by a primary-school teacher from Northern Ireland. Interesting, but how can anyone possibly know that was the loudest word every shouted?
Half of all museum specimens are thought to be wrongly labeled. The key word in that sentence is thought. I thought that was stupid. Does my thought make it a fact?
Jack London, Hugh Walpole and P.G. Wodehouse were all published by Wills & Boon. Perhaps in Great Britain, where this book was first published, this fact may be interesting. Few Americans who have never heard of Mills & Boon are likely to be flabbergasted.
Newborn babies have accents. Huh?
46% of Japan's population hide when someone rings the doorbell. How do you suppose that was determined so precisely?
More people are killed by teddy bears than by grizzly bears. I don't question that one at all. I'm just flabbergasted.
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