An Uncommon History of Common Things by Patrick Bethanne

An Uncommon History of Common Things by Patrick Bethanne

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An Uncommon History of Common Things by Patrick Bethanne

Pop culture fans and trivia lovers will delight in National Geographic's highly browsable, freewheeling compendium of customs, notions and inventions that reflect human ingenuity throughout history. Dip into any page and discover extraordinary hidden details in the everyday that will inform, amuse, astonish, and surprise. From hand tools to holidays to weapons to washing machines, this book features hundreds of colorful illustrations, timelines, sidebars, and more as it explores just about every subject under the sun. Who knew that indoor plumbing has been around for 4,600 years, but punctuation, capital letters, and the handy spaces between written words only date back to the Dark Ages? Or that ancient soldiers baked a kind of pizza on their shields- when they weren't busy flying kites to frighten their foes?
Bethanne Patrick is a writer and book critic. Her features, profiles, and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, People magazine, and other publications.

John Thompson is the author and co-author of more than a dozen books including Dakotas, America’s Historic Trails, and National Geographic Almanac of American History.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781426204203
ISBN 10 1426204205
Title An Uncommon History of Common Things
Author Patrick Bethanne
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher National Geographic Society
Year published 2009-11-17
Number of pages 304
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.