What is bellybutton lint made out of? How many people holding hands would it take to encircle the equator? How much can a cloud weigh? In varied fonts and with a combination of digitally created illustrations and photographs, Weird but True delivers the answers to 300 questions you probably never actually asked but will find fascinating anyway. A few may leave you scratching your head like I was when I read “Some sand dunes bark” on page 171 or nodding your head in acknowledegement again, as I was, when I read “If you eat too many carrots your skin can turn orange” (pg 180)-- a harmless experiment you can try with a 6 month old baby. But most will leave the reader with a furrowed brow wondering away: “Human ears evolved from ancient fish gills” (pg 188). A handy index makes your favorite facts findable when you want to prove you’re not making something up, like “99% of people can’t lick their elbows” (pg 199) or “The year 2020 is the next time you’ll see a full moon on Halloween.” (pg 193).
National Geographic. Weird by True! 300 Outrageous Facts. New York: National Geographic Society, 2010.
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