1339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop

Did you know....

Edgar Allan Poe's iconic poem, "The Raven" was originally going to be about a talking parrot. (changes things, doesn't it?)

Or... The artificial sweetener Splenda was originally going to be marketed as an insecticide, but became a sweetener when an assistant misheard an order to "test" the product and tasted it instead. (good thing it wasn't poisonous)

Or... Elvis really did wear Blue Suede Shoes--to his senior prom. (Ah, irony)

Or... The first ever hot-air balloon passengers were a sheep, a rooster, and a duck. (There's a bad joke in there somewhere)

Or... There exists a type of horsefly that is named after Beyonce. (That fly must be pretty fly)

Or... An Olympic gold medal is 92.5% silver. (makes you wonder what silver medals are made of, doesn't it?)

Impress your friends and your teachers with weird, wild, wacky and, in some cases, totally freaky facts from John Lloyd's 1339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop (dewey# T031.02L). From the creators of the BBC quiz show QI and the sequel to 1227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off, 1339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop is positively addicting! Read it cover to cover or open it open it at random. Either way, you're sure to learn something new that will change the way you view the world! I know I'll never look at the Jurassic Park movie the same way again! Or Walt Disney, for that matter... I now know which curious tourist attractions to visit if I ever find myself in South Korea with a few hours to kill (I just won't use the Korean version of "lol" when I'm texting my American friends about it, 'cause that could be very awkward!)... I know that Winston (or any of our aquarium fish friends) should never, under any circumstances, be given Prozac... AND I know who first used "u" as an abbreviation for "you" (and it wasn't the texting generation).

Each fact in this fun book has been researched and proven true to the best of the authors' abilities. 

For more, visit the website.

p.s. In case you're wondering: Despite what Mythbusters say, you CAN fold a piece of paper in half more than 7 times (you can fold it 13 times, to be exact).