The Mental Floss History Of The World by Mental Floss

The Mental Floss History Of The World by Mental Floss

Pop quiz! Who said what about history?

History is . . .
(a) more or less bunk.
(b) a nightmare from which I am trying to awaken.
(c) as thoroughly infected with lies as a street whore with syphilis.

Match your answers:
(1) Stephen Daedalus of James Joyce's Ulysses
(2) Henry Ford
(3) Arthur Schopenhauer

It turns out that the answer need not be bunk, nightmarish, or diseased. In the hands of mental floss, history's most interesting bits have been handpicked and roasted to perfection. Packed with little-known stories and outrageous--but accurate--facts, you'll laugh yourself smarter on this joyride through 60,000 years of human civilization.

Remember: just because it's true doesn't mean it's boring!

Now with Breaking News

If You Thought the Last Depression Was Great . . .

Answers: (a) 2 (b) 1 (c) 3

Steve Wiegand is an award-winning journalist and history writer. His 35-year journalism career was spent at the San Diego Evening Tribune, where he was chief political writer; San Francisco Chronicle, where he was state capitol bureau chief; and Sacramento Bee, where he was a special projects writer and politics columnist.

Wiegand is the author, co-author, or contributing author of eight books, including U.S. History for Dummies, which is currently in its fourth edition and has been published in both Chinese and German; the Mental Floss History of the World; Papers of Permanence; Lessons from the Great Depression for Dummies; and The American Revolution for Dummies.

He is a graduate of Santa Clara University, with a bachelor's degree in American history and literature, and has a master's degree in mass communications from San Jose State University.

He lives in Arizona.