Whad'Ya Know?: Test Your Knowledge with the Ultimate Collection of Amazing Trivia, Quizzes, Stories, Fun Facts, and Everything Else You Never Knew You Wanted to Know

498 Pages·2009·19.37 MB·English

by  Michael Feldman

WWHAD’YA

test your knowledge with the
ultimate collection of amazing trivia,

quizzes, stories, fun facts, and

everything else you never knew

you wanted to know

KNOW?

Michael Feldman

host of the hit pri show

Whad’Ya Know? with Michael Feldman
Whad’ya
knoW?

Whad’ya
test your knowledge with the
ultimate collection of amazing trivia,
quizzes, stories, fun facts, and
everything else you never knew
you wanted to know
knoW?
Michael Feldman
Copyright © 2009 by Michael Feldman
Cover and internal design © 2009 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover design by Stewart Williams
Cartoons © John Sieger
Image on page 6 © Michael Shaw
Photo on page 129 © Eat Door
Photo on page 165 © Andy Manis, Washington Post
Images on pages 247, 344, 361, 405 © Nora Feldman
Thanks to Lyle Anderson for assorted snapshots and refrigerator magnets.
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval
systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or
reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered
trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not
associated with any product or vendor in this book.
Published by Sourcebooks, Inc.
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.sourcebooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Feldman, Michael
Whad’ya know? : test your knowledge with the ultimate collection of amaz-
ing trivia, quizzes, stories, fun facts, and everything else you never knew you
wanted to know / Michael Feldman.
p. cm.
1. American wit and humor. 2. Questions and answers. I. Title.
PN6162.F3915 2009
818’.5402—dc22
2009003935
Printed and bound in the United States of America
DR 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Ellie and Nora—
—lud!

contents

A Word from the Head .............................xv
Whad’Ya Know About People? ...................... 1
Statistics Don’t Lie…or Do They? ................... 2
Confessions of a Workavoidic ....................... 4
Zipping Points ................................... 6
Aging Discounted................................. 8
You Should Live So Long! ......................... 11
Thanks for the Memos: One Meatball ............... 14
Whad’Ya Know about People? Quiz—Round 1 ........ 15
69 Reasons to Have Sex ........................... 20
Jokes, by Profession .............................. 24
Thanks for the Memos: Violent Stool Shifters Arise!..... 39
Whad’Ya Know about People? Quiz—Round 2 ........ 40
The More, the Marriager.......................... 45
The IT Guy .................................... 48
Coming of Age in Iowa............................ 50
Thanks for the Memos: Keep on Truckin’............. 53
Whad’Ya Know about People? Quiz—Round 3......... 55
My Six Shoes.................................... 59
Sub Prime ...................................... 63
The Ten Absolutely Best Jobs....................... 66
The Ten Absolutely Worst Jobs...................... 70
Thanks for the Memos: The Whistler................ 74
Whad’Ya Know about People? Quiz—Round 4 ........ 76
Taking the Plunge................................ 80
Human Resourcing............................... 82
The Cabinet of Dr. Scholl ......................... 84
Dear Diarya..................................... 86
Hello, Fodder ................................... 89
Thanks for the Memos:
Incontinence Can’t Be Helped.................... 92
Whad’Ya Know about People? Quiz—Round 5 ........ 93

Whad’Ya Know About Places?...................... 97
Pyongyang, Here I Am! ........................... 98
Or Otherwise Disabling.......................... 100
Oh. Canada. ................................... 103
On the Road to Shambala......................... 106
Is That the Oval Office, or
Are You Happy to See Me? ..................... 108
Thanks for the Memos: Ye Olde Parking Centre ...... 114
Whad’Ya Know about Places? Quiz—Round 1........ 115
Home Away from Home ......................... 119
Whad’Ya, an Idiom? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Marco! Polo!................................... 123
The Michael States of America .................... 126
Whad’Ya Know about Places? Quiz—Round 2........ 142
The Michael States of America, Part 2 .............. 146
Thanks for the Memos: The Memorized Ones........ 166
Whad’Ya Know about Places? Quiz—Round 3 ......... 167
The Nazca Lines................................ 171
One Micronation, Under Tiny God ................ 173
Panache, Hey .................................. 175
The Sticky Wicket of National Character............ 178
Gendarme, ou est ma femme? ..................... 181
Thanks for the Memos: Next Year in Minot .......... 184
Whad’Ya Know about Places?
Quiz—Round 4 .............................. 185
Gwynaeth ..................................... 189
Can You Beat the Monkey? ....................... 192
Vary It Up! .................................... 195
Born in the UAE................................ 198
Thanks for the Memos:
Furthering International Misunderstanding ........ 201
Whad’Ya Know about Places? Quiz—Round 5........ 202
Thanks for the Memos: And the Bar Thing, Too! ..... 206
Things You Should Have Learned in School ....... 207
Things You Should Have Learned in
School Quiz—Round 1 ........................ 208
Thanks for the Memos: Terrorist Bake Sale .......... 213
Reuben, Reuben ................................ 214