This pocket-sized tome contains more than 300 pages of fun, bite-sized trivia, compiled by the team behind television’s QI, a comical British panel game show: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, Anne Miller and James Harkin.
1,342 QI Facts to Leave You Flabbergasted is the latest in a series of similar titles from the same team, with the others being:
- 1,227 Facts to Blow Your Socks Off
- 1,339 Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop
- 1,411 Facts to Knock You Sideways, and
- 1,234 Facts to Leave You Speechless.
Enclosed are facts that you don’t need to know but will provide you with a head full of quirky trivia to drop into conversations for a laugh. According to the prized information within, for example, the US state of Florida accidentally made sex illegal in 2011 (page 140) and 46% of Japan’s population hide when someone rings the doorbell (page 260). The back cover, meanwhile, warns that selfies kill more people than sharks and the Queen owns a drive-through McDonalds.
Ideal for the coffee table or loo, 1,342 QI Facts to Leave You Flabbergasted is overflowing with short, sharp titbits. It can be picked up and opened randomly. The information is unordered but the snippets of trivia can be investigated further through an accompanying website that provides links to their sources for each fact.
The volume includes a 20-page index in tiny, crammed print that is presented in block format rather than a standard list. It’s difficult to read and seems to be provided more as a courtesy to the reader.
There’s many a laugh and lots of wow-factor with the pages. The book lives up to its name and provides steady chuckles. If watching horror films makes your blood thicken (page 271), 1,342 QI Facts to Leave You Flabbergasted is sure to thin it out.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet
Rating out of 10: 9
Distributed by: Allen & Unwin
Released: April 2018
RRP: $22.99
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