Best Trivia

From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. Fortunately, such people can turn to Randall Munroe, the author of the XKCD comic strip loved by fans of internet culture. For Munroe, who writes with a clarity and wit honed over eight years of writing captions for his webcomic, the fact that a question might be impossible to solve is no deterrent to pursuing it.” —Wall Street Journal Speakeasy blog. while dealing with relationships and the meaning of a computer-centric life, xkcd has become required reading for techies across the world….The Internet has also created a bond between Mr. Munroe and his readers that is exceptional. "With his steady regimen of math jokes, physics jokes, and antisocial optimism, xkcd creator Randall Munroe, a former NASA roboticist, scores traffic numbers in NBC.com or Oprah.com territory. [A]t its best [xkcd] isn’t a strip comic so much as an idea factory and a shared experience."

Lively and information-packed, this book is literally busting its covers with fascinating, fun-tastic facts on super, sensational topics that kids love. "Filled with photographs, this beautifully designed book is organized into two-page spreads that each focus on a different topic, making it easy and fun to read."

You’ll also find all your favorite records and categories such as Big Stuff, Collections, Mass Participation and Fun with Food, plus the year’s most significant sporting achievements. Our editors have also taken inspiration this year from the world of superheroes – both fictional and real-world – so look out for our feature chapter charting your favorite caped crusaders in comic books, TV shows and movies. We also meet the real-life record-breakers with genuine superpowers, such as the Canadian strongman vicar who can pull a jumbo jet and an actual cyborg who uses technology to augment his senses. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (GWR) is the global authority on record-breaking achievement.

From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. Fortunately, such people can turn to Randall Munroe, the author of the XKCD comic strip loved by fans of internet culture. For Munroe, who writes with a clarity and wit honed over eight years of writing captions for his webcomic, the fact that a question might be impossible to solve is no deterrent to pursuing it.” —Wall Street Journal Speakeasy blog. while dealing with relationships and the meaning of a computer-centric life, xkcd has become required reading for techies across the world….The Internet has also created a bond between Mr. Munroe and his readers that is exceptional. "With his steady regimen of math jokes, physics jokes, and antisocial optimism, xkcd creator Randall Munroe, a former NASA roboticist, scores traffic numbers in NBC.com or Oprah.com territory. [A]t its best [xkcd] isn’t a strip comic so much as an idea factory and a shared experience."

From uncovering what happens to lost luggage to New York City's plan to crack down on crime by banning pinball, this book will challenge your knowledge of the fascinating stories behind the world's greatest facts. "Every story in the book is interesting, and Lewis includes a 'bonus fact' at the end of each story which is a mini mind bender on its own."

From uncovering what happens to lost luggage to New York City's plan to crack down on crime by banning pinball, this book will challenge your knowledge of the fascinating stories behind the world's greatest facts. "Every story in the book is interesting, and Lewis includes a 'bonus fact' at the end of each story which is a mini mind bender on its own."

Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love. Born a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, but a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. “[An] unforgettable memoir.” — Parade “What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. In the end, Born a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, but a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a comic’s origin story better than the one Trevor Noah serves up in Born a Crime . [He] developed his aptitude for witty truth telling [and]…every hardscrabble memory of helping his mother scrape together money for food, gas, school fees, and rent, or barely surviving the temper of his stepfather, Abel, reveals the anxious wellsprings of the comedian’s ambition and success. If there is harvest in spite of blight, the saying goes, one does not credit the blight-but Noah does manage to wring brilliant comedy from it.” — O: The Oprah. Magazine “What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. “This isn't your average comic-writes-a-memoir: It’s a unique look at a man who is a product of his culture—and a nuanced look at a part of the world whose people have known dark times easily pushed aside.” —Refinery29. told through stories and vignettes that are sharply observed, deftly conveyed and consistently candid. Growing organically from them is an affecting investigation of identity, ethnicity, language, masculinity, nationality and, most of all, humanity—all issues that the election of Donald Trump in the United States shows are foremost in minds and hearts everywhere. What the reader gleans are the insights that made Noah the thoughtful, observant, empathic man who wrote Born a Crime . Here is a level-headed man, forged by remarkable and shocking life incidents, who is quietly determined and who knows where home and the heart lie. “A gifted storyteller, able to deftly lace his poignant tales with amusing irony.” — Entertainment Weekly. Among the many virtues of Born a Crime is a frank and telling portrait of life in South Africa during the 1980s and ’90s. Born a Crime offers Americans a second introduction to Trevor Noah, and he makes a real impression.” — Newsday. “An affecting memoir, Born a Crime [is] a love letter to his mother.” — The. Washington Post. Noah is quick with a disarming joke, and he skillfully integrates the parallel narratives via interstitial asides between chapters. Perhaps the most harrowing tales are those of his abusive stepfather, which form the book’s final act (and which Noah cleverly foreshadows throughout earlier chapters), but equally prominent are the laugh-out-loud yarns about going to the prom, and the differences between ‘White Church’ and ‘Black Church.’” — Publishers Weekly (starred review). Incisive, funny, and vivid, these true tales are anchored to his portrait of his courageous, rebellious, and religious mother who defied racially restrictive laws to secure an education and a career for herself—and to have a child with a white Swiss/German even though sex between whites and blacks was illegal. and his candid and compassionate essays deepen our perception of the complexities of race, gender, and class.” — Booklist (starred review).

His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have an enormous, dedicated following, as do his deeply researched answers to his fans’ strangest questions. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and wit, gleefully and accurately explaining everything from the relativistic effects of a baseball pitched at near the speed of light to the many horrible ways you could die while building a periodic table out of all the actual elements. What if there were a book that considered weird, sometimes ridiculous questions, and it was so compelling that you found yourself skimming its pages to find out what would happen if you threw a baseball at light speed? As he does in his extraordinarily popular xkcd webcomic, Munroe applies reason and research to hypothetical conundrums ranging from the philosophical to the scientific (often absurd, but never pseudo) that probably seemed awesome in your elementary school days—but were never sufficiently answered. When the goal of any researcher is to lay claim to a tiny niche in a crowded discipline, it’s hard for laypeople to find answers to the really important interdisciplinary questions. Fortunately, such people can turn to Randall Munroe, the author of the XKCD comic strip loved by fans of internet culture. while dealing with relationships and the meaning of a computer-centric life, xkcd has become required reading for techies across the world….The Internet has also created a bond between Mr. Munroe and his readers that is exceptional. But at its most ambitious, it either packs massive amounts of interesting information into a small space, or engages in breathtaking experiments with the medium….

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas. Tackling evolutionary concepts from a historian’s perspective, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind , describes human development through a framework of three not-necessarily-orthodox “Revolutions”: the Cognitive, the Agricultural, and the Scientific. His ideas are interesting and often amusing: Why have humans managed to build astonishingly large populations when other primate groups top out at 150 individuals? Because our talent for gossip allows us to build networks in societies too large for personal relationships between everyone, and our universally accepted “imagined realities”--such as money, religion, and Limited Liability Corporations—keep us in line. Though the concepts are unusual and sometimes heavy (as is the book, literally) Harari’s deft prose and wry, subversive humor make quick work of material prone to academic tedium. He’s written a book of popular nonfiction (it was a bestseller overseas, no doubt in part because his conclusions draw controversy) landing somewhere in the middle of a Venn diagram of genetics, sociology, and history. An engrossing read.” (Dan Ariely, New York Times Bestselling author of Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality , and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty ). “Yuval Noah Harari’s celebrated Sapiens does for human evolution what Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time did for physics.… He does a superb job of outlining our slow emergence and eventual domination of the planet.” ( Forbes ). “Writing with wit and verve, Harari…attempts to explain how Homo sapiens came to be the dominant species on Earth as well as the sole representative of the human genus.… Provocative and entertaining.” ( Publishers Weekly ). “In this sweeping look at the history of humans, Harari offers readers the chance to reconsider, well, everything, from a look at why Homo sapiens endured to a compelling discussion of how society organizes itself through fictions.” ( Booklist Best Books of the Year).

From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. Fortunately, such people can turn to Randall Munroe, the author of the XKCD comic strip loved by fans of internet culture. For Munroe, who writes with a clarity and wit honed over eight years of writing captions for his webcomic, the fact that a question might be impossible to solve is no deterrent to pursuing it.” —Wall Street Journal Speakeasy blog. while dealing with relationships and the meaning of a computer-centric life, xkcd has become required reading for techies across the world….The Internet has also created a bond between Mr. Munroe and his readers that is exceptional. "With his steady regimen of math jokes, physics jokes, and antisocial optimism, xkcd creator Randall Munroe, a former NASA roboticist, scores traffic numbers in NBC.com or Oprah.com territory. [A]t its best [xkcd] isn’t a strip comic so much as an idea factory and a shared experience."

Everything a player needs to create heroic characters for the world’s greatest roleplaying game The Player’s Handbook® is the essential reference for every Dungeons & Dragons® roleplayer.

Praised as a "treasure trove of political, economic, scientific and educational statistics and information" by The Wall Street Journal , The World Almanac and Book of Facts will answer all of your trivia needs—from history and sports to geography, pop culture, and much more. Historical Anniversaries: The World Almanac 's recurring feature expands to incorporate milestone events and cultural touchstones dating to the book's founding year, from the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson to the publication of Little Women . Other New Highlights: A brand-new biography of the 45th president and profile of the Trump administration; official 2016 election results; and statistics on criminal incarceration and sentence lengths, health care, overdose deaths, shootings, terrorism, and much more. 2017—Year in Sports: Hundreds of pages of trivia and statistics that are essential for any sports fan, featuring a preview of the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympic Games, complete coverage of the 2017 World Series, new tables of NBA, NHL, and NCAA statistics, and much more. Sarah Janssen is the senior editor of The World Almanac® and Book of Facts .

Lively and information-packed, this book is literally busting its covers with fascinating, fun-tastic facts on super, sensational topics that kids love. "Filled with photographs, this beautifully designed book is organized into two-page spreads that each focus on a different topic, making it easy and fun to read."

Lively and information-packed, this book is literally busting its covers with fascinating, fun-tastic facts on super, sensational topics that kids love. "Filled with photographs, this beautifully designed book is organized into two-page spreads that each focus on a different topic, making it easy and fun to read."