Series: Useless Knowledge

An encyclopaedia of mind-bogglingly random history facts that will lodge in your brain and refuse to leave. Heard about King Henry II's polar bear that was allowed to swim in the River Thames? Or the Filipino soldier who refused to believe that WWII was over and continued to fight until the 1970s? Do you know which US president was a...

An encyclopaedia of mind-bogglingly random science facts that will lodge in your brain and refuse to leave. Have you heard about the poisonous tree in the Amazon rainforest that grows exploding fruit? Did you know that manatees control their buoyancy with farts? Or that the first vending machine was invented in ancient Egypt? In this compendium of obscure facts, readers...