Weird-O-Pedia Encyclopedia

Here is the ultimate collection of startling, strange and incredibly weird facts about (supposedly) ordinary things. We are surrounded by the bizarre, and the most mundane things in our lives are packed with surprises. This book tries to peel the 'normal' away from so many everyday things, from the food we eat to the stuff we keep in our medicine cabinets, to reveal the strangeness underneath.
 

Great for dipping into whether at home, on the train, on a long car journey (not whilst you're driving of course), this a fun and educational collection of facts about all sorts of things, but it is not what you might expect from the title. It's one where facts can be read out aloud after a long Sunday Lunch or family get together. There are no ghosts or aliens, no world record breakers or any of the sort of things you find in Ripley's Believe It Or Not. No, this is trivia about the unusual world around us and about ourselves as well. 

Here is a taster

• Humans are the only animals that enjoy spicy food (there’s a reason no one sells Tabasco-flavored cat food)
• Napping can save you from a heart attack  (assuming you are not operating heavy machinery at the time)
• Psychologists can assess your personality from how you dip fries in ketchup (nice fries, sociopath)
• Surfing the Internet actually makes you smarter  (but not as smart as reading this book will) 

About the Author
Alex Palmer has written for the New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, the Rumpus, and the Huffington Post, among other publications. He is also the author of Literary Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Literature. He is well versed at the weird and not so wonderfully ordinary.