There are two problems with this book. The first is that it's so short - every page has only one sentence on it (most of the book is empty space). Also, there is a major fact-checking problem. For example, it says that Jello emits brain waves when attached to an EEG (this is a common, obviously false urban legend. It emits some kind of signal, but not brain waves, of course!)

This was a book of supposed facts with one per page. Imagine my disappointment when I opened to page 146 and found an obvious falsehood enunciated not just once but emphasized again with the word "also"! Trivia is no fun if anyone can say anything.

What I loved about this book is that the information it contained was fresh and different from the typical trivia book. I first discovered it a year ago when a friend brought it along on a car trip and being confirmed know-it-alls, both of us were continually amused about what we didn't know (from the origins of popular phrases and products to tidbits about some of our favorite tv shows and movies). Since, I've given a number of copies as gifts. So I was extremely surprised when I read some of the dsigruntled reviews. Yes, there's only one factoid per page - but when they're all interesting, who cares? And I have to add this: The reader who claims the author said Jell-O emits brain waves, obviously misread the whole thing. What the book states is that "if Jell-O is hooked up to an EEG, it registers movements virtually identical to the brain waves of a healthy adult." The 'it' refers to the EEG - not the Jell-O! And for the record, this isn't urban folklore. Several years ago, the Smithsonian did a symposium on Jell-O (yes, the Smithsonian!). And they concur: It's the result of a study performed in 1993 by technicians at St. Jerome hospital in Batavia, NY, to confirm an earlier test by Dr. Adrian Upton. Hey, who knew?!?