kurt_h's Full Review: Donald Voorhees - The Book of Totally Useless Info...
"The Book of Totally Useless Information" is a book of factoids and other informational tidbits by Don Voorhees.
For those of you who have questions that seem pretty mundane but that have no real quick answers, then this is one of the first books you should go to! Yes, those totally meaningless questions in life like 'From where does Porterhouse steak get its name?' are actually answered in this book! ("...it is a cut of beef loin next to sirloin that has less waste and is more succulent..." originally served in 1814 in Martin Morrison's Porterhouse in NYC) This book happens to be in a busy field brimming with answers to questions that have no easy answers. The big player in this field is the IMPONDERABLES series of books by David Feldman, which takes similar questions and presents researched answers.
"The Book of Totally Useless Information" does not present research sources nor does it go into deep background on each question. The downside of this is that you have to trust Mr. Voorhees at his word on these answers. On the plus side he packs the equivalent of two or three IMPONDERABLES books worth of questions into one book, without the excess verbiage of David Feldman. This is very much a Joe Friday 'Just the facts, ma'am.' sort of book, that spares a lean paragraph and a half for most answers and only occasionally splurges on three or four paragraphs for more difficult answers.
All of that said there are some genuinely useful answers contained in this book:
-Why does the plant goldenrod cause hayfever? Identified as a trick question as goldenrod does not cause hayfever in most people, but blooms at the same time as the real culprit ragweed.
-Why are the French referred to as "Frogs"? A look into medieval heraldry and royal houses gives the answer as the Frankish rulers once had three golden toads in their coat of arms. Over time referring to them as Toads moved to Frogs.
-Why do tree leaves change their color in autumn? The chlorophyll dies once nutrients are cut off by the tree which senses decreased sunshine, and the native pigments in the chlorophyll now can be seen.
This book is jammed with such answers, which I have incredibly shortened to give a taste of them above. That said the one thing this book does lack is organization. There are no chapters, topic headings nor any other way of sorting these bits of information like an index. These answers are presented essentially in a random order with little or no reasoning behind their presentation. You can quickly move from why there are 360 degrees in a circle to did Betsy Ross really sew the first official American flag with nothing intervening! Thus you never know what you will get when you turn the page, which makes the entire effort just a bit more difficult to absorb.
If you're aim is to be 'The Shell Answer Man' or other know-it-all, then this is a MUST book for you to acquire! My personal aspirations are not that high, but I do have an acquisitive memory for short bits like this book presents, thus making it an enjoyable read for those off-moments when I don't have time for a novel or even a short story. But, if you want to work a bit less and have more background into answers to the questions of everyday life, then you'll have to look to the IMPONDERABLES series for that added depth.
Here is enough useless information for everyone. In The Book of Totally Useless Information , Don Voorhees has compiled over two hundred explanations ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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