Facts can simply be facts, but for them to be memorable, mind boggling, thought-provoking, or simply wonderful, they must have a certain je ne sais quoi.
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In a nutshell
Yawns Freeze Your Brain is a general knowledge facts book by Mick O’Hare. It is organised in topics that span science, history, medicine, the universe and much more.
Book Club Notes
This is the kind of book to add to your reading list if you partake in general knowledge pub quizzes or have a magazine rack in your bathroom that could use fresh material. This is a very cute well organised book that you can pick up whenever you have a few minutes free with no commitment to follow through.
10 Facts that I tagged
The title “yawns freeze your brain” is referring to temperature not pausing. Some scientists believe that yawning makes your brain cooler, helping to keep it at its optimum functioning temperature.
Only 2% of humans have green eyes. The largest concentrations are in Scotland and Ireland. Fun fact: I am part of that 2%.
About 70% of dust in your home is dead human skin cells.
It takes seven years to paint the Eiffel Tower which is constantly needed because it is made from iron and this stops it from rusting.
Aeroplane windows have rounded corners because the pressure is more evenly distributed. With square corners, the metal would be constantly flexing causing rips.
South Africa has three capital cities. Cape town is the legislative capital, Pretoria is the administrative capital and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital.
The real name for a hashtag is an octothorp.
The misquoted lyrics in Toto’s Africa are actually “There’s nothing that a hundred men on Mars could ever do”
One of the most useless inventions was an attachment to a vacuum cleaner that could cut your hair. It was by south african designer Jan Louw and didn’t catch on because it hurt too much.
Australia fined NASA $400 for littering in 1979 when the US’s space station Skylab came plummeting back to earth. It took 30 years to be settled by a radio station who was embarrassed that NASA never paid.
Read If
You enjoy random general knowledge, dad jokes and easy reads.
Rating
Writing – 8/10
Applicability – 5/10
Timelessness – 8/10
Shareability – 5/10
The Nitty Gritty
Published by: Bedford Square, Distributed by Jonathon Ball
Genre: Non-Fiction, General Knowledge
ISBN: 978-1-83501-140-9
Pages: 208
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A note on our book ratings
Readability: How easy is it to read and understand what the author is saying? Do you need a dictionary or PhD to understand it?
Writing: How well written is the book? Do you find yourself wowed by the writing or unimpressed?
Applicability: How applicable is this book to daily life? Is there enough advice and actions that are easy to start applying?
Timelessness: Is the content of the book timeless or is it something that in a few years won’t have relevance?
Shareability: How likely are you to share the book?
