Is it true that King Louis XIV never bathed? Was Doc Holliday really a doctor? Who were the twelve knights of King Arthur's Round Table? And what do Scots traditionally wear under their kilts? You'll get the answers to these fascinating questions and many, many more in the wildly entertaining, un-put-down-able Just Curious About History, Jeeves. Based on the legion of unexpected questions posed at the popular Ask Jeeves Web site, Just Curious tackles all the puzzlers, bafflers, and stumpers that find their way into our everyday lives. What were the Pig Wars and were they actually caused by pigs? Who were the first gangsters? Did Cleopatra really wear makeup? Was Ivan the Terrible that terrible? Sure curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back. So if you want to know how tall Napoleon was, whether Captain Kidd had any little Kidds, or who the heck Charles the Fat was, look no further than Just Curious About History, Jeeves -- the unequivocal say-all, end-all, be-all authority on history's who, what, where, when, why, and how.

HOW MUCH ELECTRICITY CAN YOU GET FROM AN ELECTRIC EEL? WHEN CAN MISTLETOE BE THE KISS OF DEATH? HOW MANY SHEEP DOES IT TAKE TO GET ENOUGH WOOL FOR A SUIT? WHAT DID BOOK WORMS EAT BEFORE THERE WERE BOOKS? The mysteries of the natural world are endless, but your trusty manservant, Jeeves, has the answers to hundreds of nature's most fascinating mysteries. Based upon questions received at the popular Ask Jeeves® website, Just Curious About Animals and Nature, Jeeves is a fun and freewheeling safari of discovery that can tame even the most savage intellectual curiosity. Packed with incredible facts on everything from the size of a giraffe's tongue (yow, two feet!) to just how fast a fly can fly (4.5mph) to whether dogs have belly buttons (yes, they do), this is a book certain to both amuse and amaze. With a little help from everybody's butler, you'll unlock the secret behind the firefly's glow, wonder at the language of hippos, and scratch your head when you learn the truth about poison ivy. Certain to help you develop the kind of brainpower that will impress your friends and frighten your enemies, Just Curious About Animals and Nature, Jeeves is perfect for fans of flora and fauna, or for anyone who wants to know the whats, whens, whys, and hows of nature.

Why does it rain frogs in Mexico? Will a yo-yo "sleep" in zero gravity? How long is a jiffy? How much does an eyeball weigh? In the field of science there are often more questions than answers. Curiosity is the root of all discovery...and with "Just Curious About Science, Jeeves," you're likely to make a few new findings of your own. Based on the scientifically stimulating questions culled from the popular Ask Jeeves(R) Web site, "Just Curious About Science" is a treasure trove of information that brings you from the Big Bang -- boom! -- all the way to the high-tech world of today. From cosmic dust to cloning, E=MC2 to E-mail, and microencapsulation to microwaves, you'll expand your scientific know-how to include such subjects as astronomy, biology, kitchen chemistry, physics, meteorology, and more. So whether you're looking to measure the speed of light (about 186,355 miles per second) or solve the mystery of inhaled helium (it's all about good vibrations), look no further than "Just Curious About Science" -- located just 149,597,890 kilometers from the sun.

Here you sit, brokenhearted ...with nothing to read but the writing on the wallpaper? Don't get flushed with despair! W. C. Privy's Original Bathroom Companion is a book that's good for your heart – the more you read, the better you'll feel. Designed to make a porcelain throne into a seat of higher learning, it's guaranteed to make a big splash with you, your friends, and your family. You want trivia, brain-teasers, facts, stories, or instructions on how to build an igloo? Then don't just stand there looking distressed – sit down and go with the guy whose name has become synonymous with the best in restroom reading: W. C. Privy!

From devastating remarks made by teachers ("Addled, backward dunce" said about young Thomas Edison) to the rich and famous on campus (William Randolph Hearst kept a pet alligator at Harvard), this is a spirited and humorous collection of facts about teachers and students.

Erin Barrett and Jack Mingo are the Queen and King of trivia, relied upon by game shows including Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and game manufacturers. Millions of people read their daily newspaper column and together they've written twenty books. The sixth book in the Totally Riveting Utterly Entertaining (TRUE) Trivia Series puts a magnifying lens on the wacky world of writers. It Takes a Certain Type to Be a Writer will tell you everything you could possibly want, or were afraid, to know about writers, publishing, and the writing life. Bite-sized facts are organized into chapters including "Everyone's a Critic," "Stranger than Fiction," "From Bad to Verse," "Kiddie Lit," "A Word's Worth," and many more. You'll learn things like: Where Proust wrote (in bed with gloves on) What Voltaire drank (70 cups of coffee a day) And how James Cain prepared himself for yet another publisher's rejection. (The title The Postman Always Rings Twice had nothing to do with the plot of the best-selling novel. It was a private joke of author James Cain. His postman would ring his doorbell twice whenever the many-times-rejected manuscript came back from a publisher.)

Number 2 in the W.C. Privy series, this bathroom companion is chock full of jokes, stories, historical factoids, quizzes, trivia, and pop culture fun. An ecletic reading array, the book includes: *Rules and Histories of Laughably Obscure Sports *The Night They Invented Champagne--the Accidental History of Bubbly Wine *I Was There! Eyewitness Accounts of Pompeii, the Chicago Fire, the Defeat of Custer, the San Francisco Earthquake *How to Escape Killer Bees *How to Build a Log Cabin *Before They Were Stars: Actors, Writers, Politicians and Rockers

A TIME Magazine Top 10 Nonfiction Book of 2012 A New Yorker Best Book of the Year Los Angeles Magazine's #1 Music Book of the Year This revelatory book of music history examines what is perhaps the best known and most-popular symphony ever written—and its famous four-note opening. Reaching back before Beethoven’s time, Matthew Guerrieri uncovers premonitions of the opening notes in the rhythms of ancient Greek poetry and the music of the French Revolution. He discusses the Fifth’s impact when it premiered, tracing the artistic, philosophical, and political reverberations across Europe to China, Russia, and the United States, from Romanticism to ring tones, from propaganda to pop. This fascinating piece of musical detective work is a treat for music lovers of every stripe.

Every day, Jeeves receives millions of questions at Ask.com. From this incredible storehouse of inquiries, authors Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett have selected the most intriguing to answer in a book that is as witty and informative as the Internet butler himself.

In this age of high consumption shopping is going stronger than ever as a national pastime. We are a culture obsessed and beguiled by the desire for consumer goods. Journalist and shopping addict Klaffke documents the history of shopping, from a time when cattle were currency to the current age of contemporary shopping phenomenon like QVC and eBay. From the history of the mall, to a look at the darker side of shopping culture - kleptomania, shopping addictions, anti-consumerism - this is the definitive chronology of the materialist age.