It’s a fact: More than 20,000 trivia tidbits are included in this fully illustrated collection! The size of this massive collection of fun, challenging, and silly factoids is anything but trivial! Featuring more than twenty thousand trivia questions (and their answers), this compilation will provide hours—make that weeks, or maybe even months—of brain-bending fun. And vibrant two-color illustrations throughout make perusing this wealth of knowledge all the more entertaining!

All my life I’ve collected weird and wonderful facts. Even before ‘trivia’ was (or should that be ‘were’?) invented, I’ve been obsessed with the pursuit of what you might call worthless knowledge. Now, after a lifetime’s devotion to the cause, I’m proud to present to you my favourite facts of all time. My greatest hits, if you will. Most of what you will read has been acquired organically, from reading books, magazines and newspapers. However, I am happy to acknowledge material culled from the internet – which was where I first saw PROOF THAT HELL IS EXOTHERMIC and Hugh Gallagher’s brilliant THE ULTIMATE COLLEGE APPLICATION. I have tried to source – and/or get permission to use - these wonderful items but to no avail. However, I'm sure that their original authors would appreciate this wider audience.

All my life I’ve collected weird and wonderful facts. Even before ‘trivia’ was (or should that be ‘were’?) invented, I’ve been obsessed with the pursuit of what you might call worthless knowledge. Now, after a lifetime’s devotion to the cause, I’m proud to present to you my favourite facts of all time. My greatest hits, if you will. Most of what you will read has been acquired organically, from reading books, magazines and newspapers. However, I am happy to acknowledge material culled from the internet. I have tried to source – and/or get permission to use - these wonderful items but to no avail. However, I'm sure that their original authors would appreciate this wider audience.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A witty, charming, and engaging dive into trivia’s colorful history, from America’s highest-earning game show contestant of all time “Insightful, informative, and written with a strong dose of humor and humility. . . . I loved this book.”—Will Shortz, crossword editor, The New York Times Ken Jennings is trivia’s undisputed king—and as he traces his rise from anonymous computer programmer to nerd folk icon, he explores his newly conquered kingdom: the world of trivia itself. Trivia, he has found, is centuries older than his childhood obsession with it. Whisking us from the coffeehouses of seventeenth-century London to the Internet age, Jennings chronicles the ups and downs of the trivia fad: the quiz book explosion of the Jazz Age; the rise, fall, and rise again of TV quiz shows; the nostalgic campus trivia of the 1960s; and the 1980s, when Trivial Pursuit® again made it fashionable to be a know-it-all. Jennings also investigates the shadowy demimonde of today’s trivia subculture, guiding us on a tour of trivia across America. He goes head-to-head with the blowhards and diehards of the college quiz-bowl circuit, the slightly soused faithful of the Boston pub trivia scene, and the raucous participants in the annual Q&A marathon in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, “The World’s Largest Trivia Contest.” And, of course, he takes us behind the scenes of his improbable 75-game run on Jeopardy! But above all, Brainiac is a love letter to the useless fact. (Who knew that there’s a crater on Venus named after Laura Ingalls Wilder? Ken Jennings, that’s who.) Engaging and erudite, Brainiac is an irresistible celebration of nostalgia, curiosity, and geeky obsession—in a word, trivia.

What makes this the best trivia book? There are over 3,000 questions organized into 12 wide-ranging categories: animals, arts, history, literature, miscellaneous, movies, science and nature, sports, television, U.S. geography, U.S. presidents, and world geography. To make it quick and easy to test yourself without seeing the answers first, the categories are broken into short 20 question quizzes followed immediately by their answers, and additional details are frequently included to expand on the basic answer and add even more to your knowledge. For example: What is the largest venomous snake? What instrument did Bob Dylan play in his recording debut? What U.S. founding father was carried to the Constitutional Convention in a sedan chair carried by prisoners? What Stephen King novel features a villain who sometimes goes by the alias Bob Gray? The hard piece at the end of a shoelace is called what? What book does Forrest Gump keep in his suitcase? Who is the Bluetooth wireless technology named after? What year were the first Winter Olympics held? What was the first animated series to run on U.S. primetime television? What U.S. state has the most miles of rivers? Who was the youngest U.S. first lady ever? What is the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere? What is the fastest swimming fish? What painting depicts the sister and dentist of artist Grant Wood? Who was Temujin better known as? What writer coined the term "atomic bomb" approximately 30 years before its invention? What is the only number spelled out in English that has letters in alphabetical order? Gene Hackman received an Oscar for his portrayal of the sheriff of Big Whiskey in what movie? How long is an eon? What is the oldest championship in North American professional sports? Wile E. Coyote gets all his traps to try to catch the Roadrunner from what company? In the 48 contiguous U.S. states, what is the most northern state capital? What U.S. president imposed the first federal income tax? What is the driest continent? Alligators are only naturally found in the United States and what other country? What natural landmark was the inspiration for the song "America the Beautiful"? What famous battle took place July 1 to July 3, 1863? What are the two family names central to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? What toy was originally called the Pluto Platter? What is the only movie Alfred Hitchcock made twice? What is the point in the moon's orbit that is farthest from the earth called? Who holds the Major League Baseball record for career strikeouts as a batter? Who was the original host of television's The Tonight Show? What is the only U.S. state name that doesn't share any letters with its capital city? Who was the only U.S. president with a PhD? What is the world's highest elevation national capital city? This is book 13 of the What's the Best Trivia? series; look for other books in the series covering a variety of trivia topics.