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Mark Jacob
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10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything: A Collection of Fascinating Historical, Scientific and Cultural Trivia about People, Places and Things Kindle Edition

by Mark Jacob (Author), Stephan Benzkofer (Author), Chicago Tribune (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 504 ratings
A compendium of outrageous, hilarious or just plain shocking trivia about everything from history and politics to arts, religion, technology and much more.
 
For years, the Chicago Tribune’s “10 Things You Might Not Know” column has been informing and entertaining readers on a diverse range of subjects. This volume collects the best of these columns, offering readers obscure, fascinating facts on universal topics that will appeal to everyone from sports fans to history buffs, foodies, and more.
 
Expertly researched and thoroughly entertaining, 10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything contains a plethora of surprising trivia on numerous topics, with an especially close look into Chicago-area history and facts. For example, in Zion, Illinois it was once illegal to spit, eat oysters, wear tan-colored shoes, or whistle on Sundays.
 
10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything will leave readers brighter, wittier, and curious to learn more about myriad subjects and stories they will never forget.
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  1. Print length
    335 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Agate Midway
  4. Publication date
    May 10, 2012
  5. File size
    2.4 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Jacob is the associate managing editor for metropolitan news at the Chicago Tribune and the coauthor of six books. He lives with his wife in Evanston, Illinois.

Stephan Benzkofer worked for the Chicago Tribune for nearly 20 years and coedited, with Mark Jacob, the paper’s popular feature column, 10 Things You Might Not Know. He is now the owner of Benzkofer Communications and lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with his family.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B071X932PQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Agate Midway; Second edition (May 10, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 10, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.4 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 335 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 504 ratings

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Mark Jacob

Mark Jacob

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
504 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book entertaining with great lists of fascinating facts about people, places, and things, and appreciate it as a quick read for learning. The content variety receives positive feedback, with one customer noting it covers 121 columns on a large variety of topics. The book's focus on Chicago receives mixed reactions, with some appreciating the extensive coverage while others find it too much.

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57 customers mention "Interest"52 positive5 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and educational, containing fun little tidbits about various topics that even trivia buffs will enjoy, with one customer mentioning it provides many ideas for trivia questions.

"...Expect everything from laughs to tears in this great read. ENJOY!" Read more

"...it to be the "city folk" making fun of Iowa, but it was actually very neat...." Read more

"...Nope. These facts were obscure but fun. Others were eye bugging. Some were jaw dropping. Some were both. All were entertaining...." Read more

"It is a fun read with many interesting facts. I did find some to be a bit boring and did feel the need to skim over some pages...." Read more

28 customers mention "Readability"28 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a marvelous and easy-to-read coffee table book that's great for quick browsing. One customer mentions it's perfect for waiting at the airport.

"...Expect everything from laughs to tears in this great read. ENJOY!" Read more

"...and Elvis. Easy to recommend. Would make a great bathroom reader." Read more

"...However it is definitely worth getting if you like to read about random yet fascinating tidbits about a little bit of everything." Read more

"...If you like books like this, this one's a good one. I hope this author puts a few more of these out...." Read more

6 customers mention "Content variety"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the variety of content in the book, with one customer noting it includes 121 columns on diverse topics, while another mentions it covers a wide range of subjects.

"...It consists of 121 columns on a large variety of topics...." Read more

"..."useless" factoids, so I bought this book because it's lists of 10 things, each list having it's own category...." Read more

"Really just a big book of lists, mostly fun trivia. Because it is from the Chicago Tribune there is some bias towards things Chicagoan...." Read more

"I love trivia and this fit the bill. It covered a wide range of topics...." Read more

4 customers mention "Gift value"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book makes a great gift.

"Very interesting. Makes for a good Xmas gift when I'm done. Wow. So many interesting things I've never knew. And I'm 81 years old.😀..." Read more

"Bought as a grab bag gift to increase the knowledge of us 75 plusers. Think we'll maintain???" Read more

"Good Christmas gifts for 2 friends...." Read more

"Great gift for my 15yrold know-it-all...." Read more

9 customers mention "Focus"5 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's focus, with some appreciating the big section about Chicago while others find there is too much content about the city.

"...Well organized and I especially liked the many references to the Chicago area. I learned a lot from the listings/" Read more

"...There are just too many lists about Chicago and items in other lists that are about Chicago...." Read more

"...But what the heck, Chicago is a fascinating city." Read more

"Too much Chicago stuff--still a good book--especially the second half of it...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • NeysaZ
    5.0 out of 5 stars More than you expect!
    Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    We lived in the Chicago area for a few years and took the Tribune. I loved this feature and was so happy to see it in book form. There was a lot here that I had not seen before. Expect everything from laughs to tears in this great read. ENJOY!
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Jetpack
    4.0 out of 5 stars Nice read of the Tribune column
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Not being a Chicago Tribune reader, I wasn't familiar with this work. However, for the first time in a while I checked out the free Kindle history offers and found this. And was pleasantly surprised.

    4,825 locations in length, so not too short. It consists of 121 columns on a large variety of topics. I was a bit dubious when I found my own state on here, as I expected it to be the "city folk" making fun of Iowa, but it was actually very neat.

    I've read this using the index at the start to pick columns that most interest me - examples Chicago Bears, Racism, Lovers, Tipping (don't tip in Japan apparently), WWII (can you imagine being one of the German soldiers at Stalingrad and getting a crate of millions of condoms?) and Elvis.

    Easy to recommend. Would make a great bathroom reader.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Terry
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining
    Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Seeing this title, who could resist? Don't look at me, obviously. I took it as a personal challenge. Just to see if I could get just one.

    Nope. These facts were obscure but fun. Others were eye bugging. Some were jaw dropping. Some were both. All were entertaining.

    Just remind yourself for the first ten chapters this book is brought to us by the editors of the Chicago Tribune. Eventually it goes into facts about other things or other places.

    Very entertaining. I really read the entire book in four hours.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Jamie R.
    3.0 out of 5 stars Neat facts
    Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    It is a fun read with many interesting facts. I did find some to be a bit boring and did feel the need to skim over some pages. However it is definitely worth getting if you like to read about random yet fascinating tidbits about a little bit of everything.
    One person found this helpful
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  • TinyWanda
    5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely Structured
    Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    In full disclosure; I didn’t read the entire book. I just kind of went through the first few chapters and I found it amusing enough, but there was a time when I was younger, around 11 or so, I would have read this entire book and memorized about 80% of it, but I’m just too old now and these kinds of things don’t interest me as much as they once did ( ? )
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  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great read for a Snow Day
    Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    It is amazing what you can get done on a snow day. This book was free at the time on my kindle and caught my interest. You see my husband always knows useless information and I thought this would give me a one up on him. In a few ways it will but most of all it helped in increasing my tweets. Oh, I did get a few facts that will help me impress my students. Not to mention that I learned a ton of things that I didn't know...
    5 people found this helpful
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  • MiloXiang
    5.0 out of 5 stars My kind of book
    Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I love books like this, but many fail to come through with actual interesting facts that you don't know. Not everything in this book is interesting, but a good bulk of it is--more than expected anyway. If you like books like this, this one's a good one. I hope this author puts a few more of these out. If he's putting these in the Chicago Tribune, I assume it's still a running segment. If so, I hope there's more where this came from.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Why buy books from Sun papers, and pay shipping,
    Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Very interesting. Makes for a good Xmas gift when I'm done. Wow. So many interesting things I've never knew. And I'm 81 years old.😀
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • From London
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on February 2, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Highly recommended.
    Report
  • Rowan
    2.0 out of 5 stars What I didn't know
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This collection of fascinating historical scientific etc failed to mention that nearly every fact and interesting bit of trivia revolves around the USA. Which, for the rest of us, leaves us none the wiser. 10 Things about nowhere near everything.
    Report
  • frede
    4.0 out of 5 stars FUN READ AND YOU LEARN SOMETHING WHEN YOU HAVE A FEW MINUTES TO SPARE TO READ SNIPPETS
    Reviewed in Canada on April 4, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    ENJOYABLE
    Report
  • Canadian Baconator
    3.0 out of 5 stars OK book, but could use more info.
    Reviewed in Canada on August 16, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Ok information, but the book is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. More detail could have helped.
    Report

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