Useful Knowledge

In 1987, F. Tupper Saussy made a choice that would change everything—rejecting a federal sentence and stepping into life as a fugitive. But this wasn’t just an escape. It was the beginning of an obsession: to uncover the hidden forces behind the United States of America. What he found is as shocking as it is controversial.

From celebrated historian of knowledge Jonathan Lyons comes The Society for Useful Knowledge, telling the story of America's coming-of-age through its historic love affair with practical invention, applied science, and self-reliance. Lyons illustrates how a social movement in support of useful knowledge is key to understanding the flow of American history and the development of our society and culture from colonial times to our digital present.

Hot on the heels of the #1 bestsellers The Onion's Our Dumb Century and Jon Stewart's America comes The Areas of My Expertise, the brilliant and uproarious #15 bestseller (i.e., a runaway phenomenon in its own right-no, seriously) - a lavish compendium of handy reference tables, fascinating...

Everyday objects hide odd explanations worth a closer look. Why does a popcorn kernel pop, why does a cold glass turn wet, and why can two discounts leave you paying more than you expected? Familiar things often have surprising jobs, histories, or rules behind them. This book turns those small mysteries into clear explanations, playful questions, comparisons, and short stories. Open to a kitchen puzzle, an odd invention, a price tag, a map, or a word. Chapters move among food, household physics, the brain, nature, technology, time, and more. Try a question or game before reading its answer,...

What if the most useless things you’ve ever learned were actually the most important? Basic Useless Culture: Useless Knowledge Surprisingly Useful is a journey through the invisible ideas, forgotten inventions, and strange facts that quietly built the modern world and continue to shape your everyday life. It explores questions most people never stop to ask. Why does the alphabet look the way it does? Why do clocks divide time into 60 seconds? Why can’t time move backward? Why do maps lie? Why do we have useless body parts, strange habits, and persistent myths about our own brains? This ...

This collection of popular newspaper columns by award-winning journalist William Leon Wright present listeners to an enlightening fresh approach to reasoning on the scriptures. You listen. You reason. You decide. Enjoy an entertaining examination of both the Bible and proven science in relation to creation and evolution! Bible Knowledge 101 offers fact-based information without rhetoric or histrionics. This audio book offers the truth that many religions have chosen to ignore, while educating and entertaining listeners of all ages!

“Quotist” means quote artist or writer. These are quotes about my random thoughts, analyses, practical knowledge, useful info you probably didn’t know, or interesting facts I have run into, occasionally. These are the first 15 quotes. 1. Most people falsely assume that “Rocky (1976)” is the first film Sylvester Stallone starred in – wrong! In Wikipedia, I actually counted that it’s the 18th movie he has ever appeared or taken a role in. Not giving up may be the key to success. 2. Along with our fundamental eating and sleeping desires, humans have a strange unrecognized desire ...

Kaum eine andere Phase im Leben einer Frau ist so kurios, abwechslungsreich und spannend wie die eigene Schwangerschaft. Der Körper verändert sich, der Geschmackssinn spielt verrückt und ein heranwachsender Mensch zieht mehr und mehr alle Aufmerksamkeit auf sich. Übertroffen wird diese Phase in ihrer Kuriosität nur noch von den ersten Lebensjahren des Nachwuchses und all dessen rasante Entwicklungen.