The Book of Answers: The New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service's Most Unusual and Entertaining Questions |  | Authors: Barbara Berliner, George Ochoa
Publisher: Prentice Hall
List Price: $9.95
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Seller: green_earth_books
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 2134839
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st ed
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 4.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 0134065549
EAN: 9780134065540
ASIN: 0134065549
Publication Date: November 1990
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
How many of these questions can you answer without calling the New York Public Library's Telephone Reference Service? Who really designed the American flag?
How hot is the sun's surface?
How does quicksand work?
When was the Ark of the Covenant last seen?
Who sat at the Algonquin Round Table?
Where does the name "The Grateful Dead" come from?
Why is Christmas abbreviated as Xmas?
Can any creatures besides humans get a sunburn?
How many muscles does it take to smile? To frown?
Why are rabbits' feet considered good luck? You could, of course, do all the painstaking research yourself. Or you could pick up the phone and call the resourceful, erudite, quick-witted librarians of the New York Public Library's Telephone Reference Service, Tel Ref, for whom questions like these are all in a day's work. For the past twenty years, Tel Ref has met the information needs of a public as diverse as the subjects in the Library's catalog, and now they've compiled their most interesting, unusual, and most-often-asked queries into The Book of Answers -- a delight for browsers, a treasure trove of fascinating information, and the perfect companion to The New York Public Library Desk Reference.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
 Great for Tween/young Teens December 16, 2009
Colette Badger (Mexico, New York United States)
I bought this book for my 14 y.o. nephew for his birthday. I am not good at "boy" presents, let alone a teenage boy,(who is athletic and ALL boy), but this was a great choice. He loves the book, and is frequently quoting from it.
A FUN BOOK. December 3, 2008
D. Blankenship (The Ozarks)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Book of Questions is a collection of offbeat information, i.e. questions that have been asked of the New York Library over the past twenty years. They fall under several different headings, some of which include American History, American Statistics, Animal World, Crime and Criminals, Fine Arts, The First, Geography, Human Body, Literature, Myth and Folklore, Pop Culture, Odds and Ends, Science and Sports. Some of the questions are serious, some quite odd, some relevant, some not so relevant; all though are absolutely interesting.
The book is set up in a question and answer format and is a work that any true lover of trivia will drool over. From the origin of words to the speed various animals travel to the history of our culture, it is all covered. Many of the questions are amusing but all will educate. This is not a book that you would want or need as a reference book as the questions are too scattered, and let's face it, you can find the answer to most of these inquiries almost instantly via your computer these days. This is a nice book to having lying around to browse through in those off moments when you have the time. Simply put, this is a fun book to own.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
EVER HEARD OF A GREAT DACHSHUND? -- YOU WILL HERE April 30, 2003
Loren D. Morrison (Los Angeles County, U.S.A.)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Calling the reference desk at your public library has always been one of the quickest and easiest ways to get a question answered or a bit of research done. Questions asked range from the serious to the ludicrous, but, almost without exception, they get answered. Barbara Berliner, head of the New York Library's Telephone Reference Service since 1986 has compiled a list of some of the more interesting questions and answers from this period. The result of this effort is THE BOOK OF ANSWERS.THE BOOK OF ANSWERS is another of those books that can best be reviewed by citing some of the questions and answers that make up the text. The librarians' ability to answer some of the questions asked makes one wonder how they are able to do so. Here are just a few examples. When asked about the most unlikely mating between dogs, Ms. Berliner and her staff came up with a mating between a male Dachshund and a female Great Dane. The resulting litter contained 13 "Great Dachshunds" who were distinguished by their short legs and large heads. For "Lucy" fans: "I Love Lucy" ran for 6 seasons from 1951 to 1957. A bit of baseball trivia: The first fine in baseball was levied on June 19, 1846 in the amount of 6 cents for swearing at an umpire. More trivia: Of all the known animal species, only pigs and human beings get sunburned. For convenience, the book is broken up into 27 categories which even include one of trick questions such as: "Where in the Bible does it say that cleanliness is next to godliness?" The short answer is "Nowhere." There are lots of questions and answers on serious subjects such as history, culture, language, fine arts, etc. THE BOOK OF ANSWERS is ideal for flipping open to any page at random and finding some interesting bit of trivia. What fun!
fun book December 5, 2002
amy (south florida)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
As a reference librarian, it's always fun to have confirmation that other libraries get strange questions. This is a fun compendium of popular and not-so-popular questions.That said, I am more than slightly disturbed that they do not cite their sources. I'm not saying that I doubt the answers that are given, it's just unusual that they're not not saying where the answers came from.... But it's still a fun book.
Love those librarians March 25, 2001
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Reference librarians are the colest, and this book proves it. It's fun to pick a random page and learn something new-- perfect for the passenger to read out loud on a road trip.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
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