The Pedant's Revolt: Know What Know-It-Alls Know - Hardcover

Barham, Andrea

3.35

213 ratings by Goodreads

9780385340168: The Pedant's Revolt: Know What Know-It-Alls Know

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385340168 ISBN 13: 9780385340168

Publisher: Delacorte Pr, 2006

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Pedants, revolt! In this irreverent, smart, obscenely entertaining book, Andrea Barham shatters the myths, misconceptions, fallacies, and falsehoods about all the things you thought you knew (and a few you never considered).

Lead pencils can give you lead poisoning.... Newton discovered gravity when an apple fell on his head....One dog year equals seven human years....Marie Antoinette said “Let them eat cake!”...Spelling Christmas “Xmas” is disrespectful....Fact or fiction? The Pedant’s Revolt: Know What Know-It-Alls Know sets the record straight on everything from the truth about starving a fever to why you shouldn’t “go for the burn.”

In chapters literary, medical, grammatical, historical, scientific, and biblical, you’ll discover the facts behind the fallacies that have somehow become accepted wisdom. From insects to food, grooming to Greeks, bumblebees to whales...from the animal kingdom to assassinations, Harpo Marx to Shakespeare, and questionable quotes such as “It’s all Greek to me,” this remarkable book reveals the often surprising origins of the legends and folklore we mistake for the gospel truth—and teaches you to think twice before repeating them.

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Review:

There's an awful lot of nonsense that is accepted as fact and this book, compiled by Andrea Barham, goes at least part of the way to putting it right. It's informative, interesting and amusing - and it will help you settle arguments (The Times)

A really funny book... it's all there, fully researched (Richard Madeley, Richard & Judy)

Barham guides us through hundreds of common misconceptions and sets us straight clearly and entertainingly (What's On Magazine)

An excellent new book . . . Ever since Ben Schott brought out his miscellany, there has been hundreds of trivia clones released. This takes a different slant and a very welcome one . . . A great book to dip into, one that will appeal especially to fans of the programme QI (Lowestoft Journal)

Exposes many of the common myths, legends and fallacies that have become entrenched in everyday thought in a humorous fashion (Sunderland Evening Echo)

About the Author:

ANDREA BARHAM is an author and technical writer in the U.K., and while she is a big fan of the world, she feels that there should be less wrongness and more rightness in it. Painfully aware of her inability to correct the bigger issues such as war, poverty, and global warming, she is concentrating on smaller issues more suited to her skills, which consist of “looking stuff up.” By correcting common misconceptions, such as the belief that your heart stops when you sneeze, she is hoping to create a domino effect and that eventually all wrongs will be righted, though she is not holding her breath (which, incidentally, you cannot die from). The Pedant’s Revolt is her fifth book.

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