The Second Book of General Ignorance
Everything You Think You Know Is (Still) Wrong
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The Second Book of General Ignorance
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Narrated by:
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Julian Elfer
About this listen
Just when you thought that it was safe to start showing off again, John Lloyd and John Mitchinson are back with another busload of mistakes and misunderstandings. Here is a new collection of simple, perfectly obvious questions you'll be quite certain you know the answers to. Whether it's history, science, sports, geography, literature, language, medicine, the classics, or common wisdom, you'll be astonished to discover that everything you thought you knew is still hopelessly wrong.
For example, do you know who made the first airplane flight? How many legs does an octopus have? How much water should you drink every day? What is the chance of tossing a coin and it landing on heads? What happens if you leave a tooth in a glass of Coke overnight? What is house dust mostly made from? What was the first dishwasher built to do? What color are oranges? Who in the world is most likely to kill you?
Whatever your answers to the questions above, you can be sure that everything you think you know is wrong. The Second Book of General Ignorance is a must-have for everyone who knows they don't know everything and an ideal stick with which to beat people who think they do.
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Interesting.
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By: John Mitchinson, and others
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How to Invent Everything
- A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler
- By: Ryan North
- Narrated by: Ryan North
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 430
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 365
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 364
What would you do if a time machine hurled you thousands of years into the past...and then broke? How would you survive? With this book as your guide, you'll survive - and thrive - in any period in Earth's history. Best-selling author and time-travel enthusiast Ryan North tells you how to invent all the modern conveniences we take for granted - from first principles. This manual contains all the science, engineering, art, philosophy, facts, and figures required for even the most clueless time traveler to build a civilization from the ground up.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Get the book
- By Tim McNerney on 11-26-18
By: Ryan North
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Who Ate the First Oyster?
- The Extraordinary People Behind the Greatest Firsts in History
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- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 437
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 374
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 374
Who wore the first pants? Who painted the first masterpiece? Who first rode the horse? Who invented soap? This madcap adventure across ancient history uses everything from modern genetics to archaeology to uncover the geniuses behind these and other world-changing innovations. With a sharp sense of humor and boundless enthusiasm for the wonders of our ancient ancestors, Who Ate the First Oyster? profiles the perpetrators of the greatest firsts and catastrophes of prehistory.
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2 out of 5 stars
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It could be better...
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By: Cody Cassidy
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Poisons
- From Hemlock to Botox and the Killer Bean Calabar
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- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
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- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 71
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Story4 out of 5 stars 70
A wide-ranging and provocative look - teeming with little-known facts and engaging stories - at a subject of the direst interest. Poisons permeate our world. They are in the environment, the workplace, the home. They are in food, our favorite whiskey, medicine, well water. They have been used to cure disease as well as incapacitate and kill. They smooth wrinkles, block pain, stimulate, and enhance athletic ability. In this entertaining and fact-filled audiobook, science writer Peter Macinnis considers poisons in all their aspects. He recounts stories of the celebrated poisoners in history and literature....
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5 out of 5 stars
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#MyNonFictionAddiction
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By: Peter Macinnis
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The Joy of Sweat
- The Strange Science of Perspiration
- By: Sarah Everts
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 94
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 80
Sweating may be one of our weirdest biological functions, but it’s also one of our most vital and least understood. In The Joy of Sweat, Sarah Everts delves into its role in the body - and in human history. Everts’ entertaining investigation takes listeners around the world - from Moscow, where she participates in a dating event in which people sniff sweat in search of love, to New Jersey, where companies hire trained armpit sniffers to assess the efficacy of their anti-sweat products. Along the way, Everts traces humanity’s long quest to control sweat.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Quirky topic, but engaging
- By K. Bachelor on 05-02-22
By: Sarah Everts
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Gulp
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,922
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,464
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Story4 out of 5 stars 3,469
Best-selling author Mary Roach returns with a new adventure to the invisible realm we carry around inside. Roach takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour. The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: The questions explored in Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts?
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3 out of 5 stars
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Funtastic Voyage
- By Mel on 04-05-13
By: Mary Roach
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The Fun Knowledge Encyclopedia
- The Crazy Stories Behind the World's Most Interesting Facts - Trivia Bill's General Knowledge, Volume 1
- By: Bill O'Neill
- Narrated by: Rob Maxwell
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 102
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 101
Are you the trivia buff in your friend group? Maybe you're just always hoping to learn more random facts to keep up your sleeve. Whether you're a regular trivia fanatic or someone looking for a fun audiobook to listen to, this audiobook goes beyond the scope of general knowledge into some of the most interesting facts and intriguing trivia tidbits out there.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
this book is awesome!
- By TinkerMel on 09-27-17
By: Bill O'Neill
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191 Fascinating World Facts That Will Blow Your Mind and Get You Thinking
- Facts You Need to Know Before You Die
- By: John Waitsburg
- Narrated by: Ross Pipkin
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 26
In 191 Fascinating World Facts That Will Blow Your Mind and Get You Thinking, you're going to learn about the world's secrets that will help you gain more knowledge. You will be able to use these facts with whomever, whenever, wherever; there's no wrong time to tell these fascinating facts.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Just great!!!
- By straa on 08-08-21
By: John Waitsburg
-
Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You
- A Lively Tour Through the Dark Side of the Natural World
- By: Dan Riskin
- Narrated by: Dan Riskin
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
It may be a wonderful world, but as Dan Riskin explains, it's also a dangerous, disturbing, and disgusting one. At every turn, it seems, living things are trying to eat us, poison us, use our bodies as their homes, or have us spread their eggs. In Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You, Riskin is our guide through the natural world at its most gloriously ruthless. Using the seven deadly sins as a road map, Riskin offers dozens of jaw-dropping examples that illuminate how brutal nature can truly be.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Just a bunch of random animal behaviors.
- By Goddess on 05-18-23
By: Dan Riskin
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Surviving the Extremes
- A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance
- By: Kenneth Kamler MD
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 71
Physiological constraints confine our bodies to less than one-fifth of the earth's surface. Beyond that fraction lie the extremes. What happens when we go to them? Dr. Kenneth Kamler has spent years observing exactly what happens. A vice president of the legendary Explorers Club, he has climbed, dived, sledded, floated, and trekked through some of the most treacherous and remote regions in the world. A consultant for NASA, Yale University, and the National Geographic Society, he has explored undersea caves, crossed the frozen Antarctic wastelands, and more.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Egotist.
- By Sam Square on 09-08-24
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The Sediments of Time
- My Lifelong Search for the Past
- By: Meave Leakey, Samira Leakey
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
Preeminent paleoanthropologist Meave Leakey brings us along on her remarkable journey to reveal the diversity of our early pre-human ancestors and how past climate change drove their evolution. She offers a fresh account of our past, as recent breakthroughs have allowed new analysis of her team’s fossil findings and vastly expanded our understanding of our ancestors. Meave’s own personal story is replete with drama, from thrilling discoveries on the shores of Lake Turkana to run-ins with armed herders and every manner of wildlife, to raising her children....
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliant!
- By tess koffler on 04-07-21
By: Meave Leakey, and others
-
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
- A New History of a Lost World
- By: Steve Brusatte
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,446
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,995
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,975
In this stunning narrative spanning more than 200 million years, Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field - discovering 10 new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies and fieldwork - masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and new history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic origins, spectacular flourishing, astonishing diversity, cataclysmic extinction, and startling living legacy.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
"The Rise of the Scientists Who Study Dinosaurs"
- By Daniel Powell on 09-16-18
By: Steve Brusatte
-
Racing the Clock
- Running Across a Lifetime
- By: Bernd Heinrich
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
Part memoir, part scientific investigation, Racing the Clock is the book biologist and natural historian Bernd Heinrich has been waiting his entire life to write. A dedicated and accomplished marathon (and ultra-marathon) runner who won his first marathon at age 39, Heinrich looks deeply at running, aging, and the body, exploring the unresolved relationship between metabolism, diet, exercise, and age. Why do some bodies age differently than others? How much control do we have over that process, and what effect, if any, does being active have?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A masterpiece on nature, running and our mortality and how they are beautifully intertwined.
- By outsideD on 07-20-24
By: Bernd Heinrich
-
The Complete (Short) Guide to Absolutely Everything
- Adventures in Math and Science
- By: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry
- Narrated by: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 55
Geneticist Adam Rutherford and mathematician Hannah Fry guide listeners through time and space, through our bodies and brains, showing how emotions shape our view of reality, how our minds tell us lies, and why a mostly bald and curious ape decided to begin poking at the fabric of the universe.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Humour and understandability.
- By Chris B on 09-08-24
By: Adam Rutherford, and others
-
At Home
- A Short History of Private Life
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,496
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,743
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,727
Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.”
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bryson does it again
- By Robert on 10-15-10
By: Bill Bryson
-
A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27,916
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 21,198
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21,094
Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Only Book I reread imediatley after reading
- By Andrew on 11-09-09
By: Bill Bryson
-
The Disappearing Spoon
- And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,056
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,786
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,795
Reporter Sam Kean reveals the periodic table as it’s never been seen before. Not only is it one of man's crowning scientific achievements, it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Great Book, Great Narration, But...
- By Henny Button on 09-18-10
By: Sam Kean
-
You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News
- Shocking but Utterly True Facts
- By: Cracked.com
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,204
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,098
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,094
You're going to wish you never got this audiobook. Some facts are too terrifying to teach in school. Unfortunately, Cracked.com is more than happy to fill you in. Think you're going to choose whether or not to buy this book? Scientists say your brain secretly makes all your decisions 10 seconds before you even know what they are.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Buenas fabulas de humor
- By Cynthia on 10-27-14
By: Cracked.com
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- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
Celebrity, with its neon glow and selfie pout, strikes us as hypermodern. But the famous and infamous have been thrilling, titillating, and outraging us for much longer than we might realize. Whether it was the scandalous Lord Byron, whose poetry sent female fans into an erotic frenzy; or the cheetah-owning, coffin-sleeping, one-legged French actress Sarah Bernhardt, who launched a violent feud with her former best friend; or Edmund Kean, the dazzling Shakespearean actor whose monstrous ego and terrible alcoholism saw him nearly murdered by his own audience....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful Performance!
- By Leanna Humble on 11-01-24
By: Greg Jenner
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Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters
- Thirty-Nine Tiny Mistakes That Changed the World Forever
- By: Jared Knott
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4 out of 5 stars 43
How often does a single tiny mistake cause an entire civilization to collapse? More often than you think! Listeners of Jared Knott’s book Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters will be amazed at the little things that changed history in a big way.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very, very interesting facts
- By dexter on 11-02-21
By: Jared Knott
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Interesting Facts and Stories
- A 3-in-1 Trilogy of the Most Interesting Facts and Stories - A Special Gift for Curious Minds
- By: Alex Clearwater
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 16 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
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Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Step right up, trivia lovers, curious cats, and voracious know-it-alls, there's a new compendium in town. Introducing "Interesting Facts and Stories: A 3-in-1 Trilogy of the Most Interesting Facts and Stories - A Special Gift for Curious Minds." This isn't your run-of-the-mill fact book. No, sir. This is a rip-roaring, brain-tickling trilogy that's set to quench your thirst for knowledge and serve up some hearty laughs along the way. First up, we've got "Interesting Facts Unleashed," a globe-trotting, time-travelling tome that'll take you from the depths of the ocean to the outer reaches of...
By: Alex Clearwater
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50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True
- By: Guy P. Harrison
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 139
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 119
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Story4 out of 5 stars 118
Maybe you know someone who swears by the reliability of psychics or who is in regular contact with angels. Or perhaps you're trying to find a nice way of dissuading someone from wasting money on a homeopathy cure. How do you find a gently persuasive way of steering people away from unfounded beliefs, bogus cures, conspiracy theories, and the like? Longtime skeptic Guy P. Harrison shows you how in this down-to-earth, entertaining exploration of commonly held extraordinary claims.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Skepticism, so Dull & Condescending
- By Mr Conway on 03-11-13
By: Guy P. Harrison
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Worst Ideas Ever
- A Celebration of Embarrassment
- By: Daniel Kline, Jason Tomaszewski
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 1,074
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 967
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Story3 out of 5 stars 965
From memorable disasters such as New Coke, the XFL, and Tiger Woods’ marriage to less-remembered failures such as Yugo, Cop Rock, and Microsoft’s BOB, Worst Ideas Ever revisits history’s biggest blunders. Whether it’s a pop culture failure or a political one, Worst Ideas Ever uncovers the ridiculous stories behind mistakes so huge, you’ll have to constantly remind yourself that they actually happened.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Wears out quickly
- By Sara on 04-28-14
By: Daniel Kline, and others
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Brain Boosting Facts for Curious Minds, A Trivia Book for Adults & Teens
- 1,522 Intriguing, Hilarious, and Amazing Facts About Science, History, Pop Culture & More!
- By: Daniel Kane
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 3
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story3 out of 5 stars 3
Unleash your inner Einstein with the most exhiliarating, laugh-out-loud trivia book ever written! Be catapulted on a whirlwind adventure through the zany, weird, and utterly fascinating realms of knowledge, as we take trivia to a whole new level of fun! Packed with 1,522 mind-blowing facts spanning science, history, pop culture, and more, this rip-roaring, side-splitting tome is perfect for trivia buffs and inquisitive minds of all stripes, comprising everything from the astonishing to the absurd, the hilarious to the hair-raising, and everything in between. "Brain-Boosting Facts for ...
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2 out of 5 stars
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Redundancy
- By Kat on 11-07-24
By: Daniel Kane
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The Story Behind
- The Extraordinary History Behind Ordinary Objects
- By: Emily Prokop
- Narrated by: Emily Prokop
- Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 21
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Story4 out of 5 stars 15
Many of us learn about the major inventions that shape our world. But we too often overlook the objects we use every day. In The Story Behind, Emily Prokop, creator of the Webby Award nominated podcast, explores the who, how, and huh? of everything from Band-Aids to bubble gum; hypnosis to Hula Hoops; and lullabies to lead pipes. Along the way, she demonstrates how the major events of history - from wars, plagues and revolutions to historic achievements and discoveries - have influenced some of the world’s most pervasive inventions.
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2 out of 5 stars
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One third of the book is repeated after initial description of subject under “TLDR” ..?
- By Dogs Land on 03-25-24
By: Emily Prokop
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Liquid Rules
- The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives
- By: Mark Miodownik
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,237
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,936
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,938
We all know that without water we couldn't survive, and that sometimes a cup of coffee or a glass of wine feels just as vital. But do we really understand how much we rely on liquids, or the destructive power they hold? Set over the course of a flight from London to San Francisco, Liquid Rules offers listeners a fascinating tour of these formless substances, told through the language of molecules, droplets, heartbeats, and ocean waves.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Interesting book!
- By Wayne on 08-04-19
By: Mark Miodownik
What listeners say about The Second Book of General Ignorance
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- E. Hooper
- 08-29-24
Great facts
Lots of great information. And funny too!! Recommended for any like myself that likes strange facts about random things
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- moloch
- 06-13-24
Great facts and info
Definitely a 5 star book of interesting facts and information. My only complaint is the cheesy, never funny ‘jokes’ at the end of the segments. There was simply no need.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Carina Dar
- 08-07-20
A book to listen to many times
Very entertaining, I have listened to this a couple of times and will probably listen a couple more. It never gets old.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bonnie Kennedy
- 04-07-21
It's all stuff from QI
I'd hoped it would be some extra or new information, and there is a little extra detail in it, but it's mostly just stuff that was covered in QI. It's interesting and informative, the narration is great, and I enjoyed it, but it's a little redundant.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Douglas Rotchell
- 02-26-22
Excellent time killer!
Have you ever been dragged to the Mall with your party to shop? Then this excellent collection by the Elves makes 1 hour seem like 10 minutes!
My only 2 criticism’s are I wish it was longer as I didn’t want it to end and at an average of 3 minutes a chapter it was difficult to use “end of chapter“ feature on my timer.
I am confident that the Third book in this series will not disappoint.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- 1738
- 02-13-23
The facts were… ok
I love stuff like this, it was interesting but in many sections, I didn’t have much interest. It’s subjective of course.
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