Have you ever just wandered around the book stacks at your local library? I highly recommend browsing, because surprising little gems can pop up in a most serendipitous fashion!
I was browsing the nonfiction shelves at the Cascade Park Community Library the other day. I was hanging out in the 000s (I’m referring to the Dewey decimal call number). In very, very broad terms, this area focuses on “generalities.” This is where books about computer science, journalism and libraries can be found, as well as general works such as encyclopedias. As I was perusing the titles, a funny thing happened. “Weird-o-pedia” practically leapt off the shelf into my hands. OK, maybe I’m exaggerating, but it’s not a lie when I say that this bright yellow book stood out among its much paler neighbors. That’s when I decided that it would be fun to spend some time shining the reader’s lamp on unexpected titles from each major Dewey section.
To launch this journey, I have selected “Weird-o-pedia” from the general-but-interesting 000s. A collection of peculiar facts about, well, lots of stuff, this week’s book satisfies my penchant for storing random pieces of information in my librarian brain. If you, too, enjoy watching “Jeopardy” and you can’t help but appreciate quirky details, you’ll get a kick out of learning that “chickens see color better than humans,” and Nov. 19 is world toilet day.
This is the perfect book to amaze your friends with “did you know?” queries. To get you started: Did you know that a Boeing 747 has 6 million parts, half of which are fasteners? Or how about this: Men are more susceptible to catching colds than women. And “a crocodile can shift its internal organs backwards in its body, should an emergency arise?” Ouch!
