Mental Floss presents In the Beginning: From Big Hair to the Big Bang, mental_floss presents a Mouthwatering Guide to the Origins of Everything Paperback – November 6, 2007

I am surprised that there are not more reviews for this book. This was the first Mental Floss book that I purchased.If you're someone who has moments when you're doing something and ask yourself "I wonder who invented this?", or "Have people really been using this for a hundred years?" then you'll thoroughly enjoy this book. If you're someone who has a few extra minutes to kill and likes reading short entries with fascinating information that you'll probably never use, then you'll enjoy this book.One of the major highlights of this book is the humorous slant that it is written in, which can only expected from Mental Floss. There are also sketched drawings throughout the entries. It is, by no means, written like an encyclopedia.My only complaint is that there is not an index in this book; instead, it broken into "chapters" which are listed in the front of the book. These chapters include***:"Arts and Literature": From Shakespeare to Jazz."Bad Stuff": Mythical Creatures, Drugs, Epidemics, and more fun/depressing things."Fashion and Beauty": From the basics like Soap and Lotion to Hairstyles and Swimsuits."Food and Drink": From what eat like Pasta and Gum to the Dishwasher and Toaster."Fun and Games": From Boardgames to Roller coasters."Government, Law, and Money": From the Royal Family to Taxes and Coupons."Pop Culture": Batman and beyond! (Sorry I couldn't help myself, hehe.)"Romance": Why do we get married? Who invented breast implant?"Science and Medicine": The Big Bang, Flight, Prosthetics, Electroshock, Organ Transplants, oh my!"Spinning the Globe": Increase your knowledge of foreign affairs (and how they got that way)!"Traditions": Religion to Holidays."Useful Stuff": From the Wheel (how stereotypical) to air-conditioning, traffic lights, scissors, and even staples.***I did not list all the entries of the chapters, but listed a few to give you an idea of what they included. There are plenty more entries in the chapters, but I do not have the time nor the patience to type them all out and doubt you have the patience to read them.All in all, this is a great addition to anyone's bookshelf.

Hey... we all want our kids to ace those SAT's... and we're tired of nagging them to study/learn more..... and we freak out in the middle of the night wondering..... will my child get in??? I ordered a bunch of these types of books-- they are delightful. And... they make the necessary SAT learning -- FUN. Invest in this fun stuff -- while they prep for their SAT's...Invest in the hard core SAT prep stuff too.... but at least this is fun!

I've been reading Mental Floss magazine for years and own many of their books. This is probably my least favorite. It's got great information but seems to lack the wit and humor that their known for. I'd recommend it if you are a big fan of mental floss, but if not, I'd suggest you start with one of their other books!

This is a nice fact / trivia book that I think is perfect as a "Bathroom Book". The information is interesting, accurate, and broken down into short vignettes that is great for reading when you only have 5 minutes at a time.Recommended.Keith Appleby , Author  American Pub Trivia .

I had never experienced B.C.E or C.E. before this book. All of my 72 years it was B.C. or A.D. Why the change? Where does political correctness end and common sense take over? I would not recommend this book because of this.

This isn't a terrible book, but most of the material is a repetition of material already presented in the magazine. Disappointing.

I'm a program director for a Memory Care Facility it was not very good

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