Product Description
How many of these questions can you answer without calling the New York Public Library’s Telephone Reference Service? Who really designed the American flag?
How hot is the sun’s surface?
How does quicksand work?
When was the Ark of the Covenant last seen?
Who sat at the Algonquin Round Table?
Where does the name “The Grateful Dead” come from?
Why is Christmas abbreviated as Xmas?
Can any creatures besides humans get a sunburn?
How m… More >>
Book of Answers: The New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service’s Most Unusual and Enter
I wouldn’t read this book if it were given to me because I don’t believe in evolution. We get goosebumps because we used to be hairy? come on-why aren’t we still evolving?
Rating: 1 / 5
The Book of Questions is a collection of offbeat information, i.e. questions that have been asked of the New York Library over the past twenty years. They fall under several different headings, some of which include American History, American Statistics, Animal World, Crime and Criminals, Fine Arts, The First, Geography, Human Body, Literature, Myth and Folklore, Pop Culture, Odds and Ends, Science and Sports. Some of the questions are serious, some quite odd, some relevant, some not so relevant; all though are absolutely interesting.
The book is set up in a question and answer format and is a work that any true lover of trivia will drool over. From the origin of words to the speed various animals travel to the history of our culture, it is all covered. Many of the questions are amusing but all will educate. This is not a book that you would want or need as a reference book as the questions are too scattered, and let’s face it, you can find the answer to most of these inquiries almost instantly via your computer these days. This is a nice book to having lying around to browse through in those off moments when you have the time. Simply put, this is a fun book to own.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
Rating: 4 / 5
Reference librarians are the colest, and this book proves it. It’s fun to pick a random page and learn something new– perfect for the passenger to read out loud on a road trip.
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought this book for my 14 y.o. nephew for his birthday. I am not good at “boy” presents, let alone a teenage boy,(who is athletic and ALL boy), but this was a great choice. He loves the book, and is frequently quoting from it.
Rating: 5 / 5
As a reference librarian, it’s always fun to have confirmation that other libraries get strange questions. This is a fun compendium of popular and not-so-popular questions.
That said, I am more than slightly disturbed that they do not cite their sources. I’m not saying that I doubt the answers that are given, it’s just unusual that they’re not not saying where the answers came from….
But it’s still a fun book.
Rating: 4 / 5