Tawdry Knickers and Other Unfortunate Ways to Be Remembered
Tawdry Knickers and Other Unfortunate Ways to Be Remembered

Author: Alex Novak

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2010-10-05

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 1101443987

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Some are born notorious. Others have notoriety thrust upon them. Few realize that their morning mouthwash bears the name of a life- saving British baron or that their sugary graham crackers would be abhorred by the health-food fanatic who concocted the flavorless original recipe. Throughout history, the proper names of figures both noble and notorious have slipped into the common and uncommon corners of our vocabulary. Tawdry Knickers and Other Unfortunate Ways to Be Remembered details the lamentable lives and legacies of history's most infamous namesakes and the words they inspired: *Henry Shrapnel died of natural causes, despite having invented the shells whose shattering fragments would rain hellfire on soldiers from the Battle of Waterloo through the Vietnam War. *Poor virgin St. Audrey suffered from a bulging neck tumor and the unwanted advances of an unsympathetic husband, but never lived to hear crass vendors eventually hawk her "tawdry" lace. *If New York blueblood Harmen Knickerbocker isn't rolling over in his grave, his nineteenth-century drawers are at least in a twist over having his venerable family name associated with underwear. *Barbara Handler has never been happy about providing the name for the original Barbie, to say nothing of her doll's plastic relationship with Ken-named for her real-life brother. *In contrast to these, dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel avoided the inevitable "merchant of death" epitaph awaiting him by using his enormous explosives fortune to establish the Nobel Prize Foundation. Want to know where your words come from? The surprising, humorous, and often ironic stories behind ninety notable eponyms will take you on an undercover tour of the etymological sausage factory.

10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything
10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything

Author: Mark Jacob

Publisher: Agate Publishing

Published: 2012-05-10

Total Pages: 469

ISBN-13: 1572847999

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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.

Of Parrots and People
Of Parrots and People

Author: Mira Tweti

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 9780670019694

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Discusses scientific findings on the intelligence, personality, and rich lives of parrots that challenges flawed assumptions about nonprimates. Topics include animal welfare, what parrots are worth on the black market, and their uncanny ability to bond with humans.

Who the Hell Is Pansy O'Hara?
Who the Hell Is Pansy O'Hara?

Author: Jenny Bond

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2008-07-29

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 1440639426

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The captivating stories behind fifty of the greatest authors and their most famous literary creations Before Who the Hell is Pansy O'Hara ?, there had never been a single volume that explored the backstories of so many of the greatest books in the English language. A work sure to captivate all lovers of language and literature, it reveals in short, pithy chapters, the lives, loves, motivations, and quirky, fascinating details involving fifty of the best-loved books of the Western world. - When stacked up, the original manuscript of Gone With the Wind stood taller than Margaret Mitchell, its 4' 9 1/2" author - Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, was part of the Allied team that cracked the Nazi's Enigma code - Leo Tolstoy's wife copied War and Peace by hand . . . seven times From The Great Gatsby to Harper Lee, from Jaws to J. K . Rowling, Who the Hell Is Pansy O'Hara? offers an entertaining and informative journey through the minds of writers and the life experiences that took these amazing works from notion to novel.

Instant Physics
Instant Physics

Author: Tony Rothman

Publisher: ibooks

Published: 2018-04-17

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 1596877561

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For all of you who break out in a sweat at the thought of thermodynamics, or freeze up at the mention of quantum mechanics, like a bolt from the blue, INSTANT PHYSICS will zap you through the fascinating history of our most basic, yet baffling, science. From the thousand-year search for proof of the existence of the ever-elusive atom to the varied and heated arguments behind the big bang theory, INSTANT PHYSICS answers all the heavy questions with a light touch. You'll learn:* How the Greek philosophers used the sledgehammer of mathematics to break apart the mysteries of the physical universe.* Why gravity is a "romantic" force.* How to tell the difference between a gluon, a meson, and a quark, even if you can't see them.INSTANT PHYSICS is crammed with special features, including chapter summaries, who's who lists, biographical and historical tidbits, and a host of illustrations, photos, equations, diagrams, and drawings.

The Prodigal Tongue
The Prodigal Tongue

Author: Lynne Murphy

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2018-04-10

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 1524704881

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CHOSEN BY THE ECONOMIST AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR An American linguist teaching in England explores the sibling rivalry between British and American English “English accents are the sexiest.” “Americans have ruined the English language.” Such claims about the English language are often repeated but rarely examined. Professor Lynne Murphy is on the linguistic front line. In The Prodigal Tongue she explores the fiction and reality of the special relationship between British and American English. By examining the causes and symptoms of American Verbal Inferiority Complex and its flipside, British Verbal Superiority Complex, Murphy unravels the prejudices, stereotypes and insecurities that shape our attitudes to our own language. With great humo(u)r and new insights, Lynne Murphy looks at the social, political and linguistic forces that have driven American and British English in different directions: how Americans got from centre to center, why British accents are growing away from American ones, and what different things we mean when we say estate, frown, or middle class. Is anyone winning this war of the words? Will Yanks and Brits ever really understand each other?

The Deep History of Ourselves
The Deep History of Ourselves

Author: Joseph LeDoux

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2020-08-25

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 0735223858

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Longlisted for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award A leading neuroscientist offers a history of the evolution of the brain from unicellular organisms to the complexity of animals and human beings today Renowned neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux digs into the natural history of life on earth to provide a new perspective on the similarities between us and our ancestors in deep time. This page-turning survey of the whole of terrestrial evolution sheds new light on how nervous systems evolved in animals, how the brain developed, and what it means to be human. In The Deep History of Ourselves, LeDoux argues that the key to understanding human behavior lies in viewing evolution through the prism of the first living organisms. By tracking the chain of the evolutionary timeline he shows how even the earliest single-cell organisms had to solve the same problems we and our cells have to solve each day. Along the way, LeDoux explores our place in nature, how the evolution of nervous systems enhanced the ability of organisms to survive and thrive, and how the emergence of what we humans understand as consciousness made our greatest and most horrendous achievements as a species possible.

Consumed
Consumed

Author: David Cronenberg

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2014-09-30

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1416596135

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The story of two journalists whose entanglement in a French philosopher's death becomes a surreal journey into global conspiracy.

Rats Saw God
Rats Saw God

Author: Rob Thomas

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-06-12

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 1439115362

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Steve details his descent from bright star to burnout in this newly repackaged edition of the definitive, highly acclaimed novel from the creator of Veronica Mars and Party Down. Houston, sophomore year: Steve is on top of the world. He and his friends are the talk of the school. He’s in love with a terrific girl. He can even deal with “the astronaut”—a world-famous hero who happens to be his father. San Diego, senior year: Steve is bummed out, drugged out, flunking out. A no-nonsense counselor says he can graduate if he writes a 100-page paper. So Steve starts writing, and as the paper becomes more and more personal, he reveals how a National Merit Scholar has become an under-achieving stoner. And in telling how he got to where he is, Steve discovers how to get to where he wants to be.