The Book of Facts and Trivia

From Juan Ponce de León to John Wayne to Jane Doe to the little-known stories hidden inside bigger historical events, The Book of Facts and Trivia: American History combines the educational, profound, and trivial into a rich account of...
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From Juan Ponce de León to John Wayne to Jane Doe to the little-known stories hidden inside bigger historical events, The Book of Facts and Trivia: American History combines the educational, profound, and trivial into a rich account of American history facts (and the interesting role Johns--and Juans and Janes--played along the way)! You'll learn about the United States through hundreds of absorbing stories and interesting tidbits such as ...

• Our sixth president, John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), had a pet alligator while in the White House.
• Graceland, located in Memphis, Tennessee, is America's second-most visited home. The first is Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.
• In 1970, Continental Airlines made it a policy that every disembarking male passenger got a kiss on the cheek from a stewardess.
• Twenty to twenty-five percent of cowboys in the mid-1800s were black.
• The first public service announcement meant to encourage Americans not to litter appeared in 1956.
• Washington is the most common city/town/village name in America, followed by Springfield and Franklin.
• Actor Jack Black's mother was a satellite engineer and author who worked on the Hubble Telescope.
• Most of the Continental Congress officially signed the Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1776 (not July 4!).
• The Food Marketing Institute estimates that some two million shopping carts are stolen each year.
• Kansas City, Missouri, leads the nation in the number of fountains inside its city limits.
• The Statue of Liberty is 305 feet tall with a waist that's 35 feet across.
• And many more American history facts!
  

An absorbing guide to history, The Book of Facts and Trivia is a treat of stories, facts, and trivia guaranteed to both inform and entertain. It's a feast of fun oddities that are delightfully eye-opening!