Mental Floss: What's the Difference?

by Mental Floss

Book Overview

Enlighten Up Already Monet? Manet? Who can even tell the difference? Well, with the help of the newest mental_floss tome, you can Want to learn how to tell egg rolls from spring rolls, nuclear bombs from dirty nuclear bombs, or even how to tell an idiot from a moron (there's a real scientific difference)? Piece of cake Whether you're trying to impress your boss, your mother-in-law, attractive singles, or a pack of fourth graders (you know how they...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060882492
• ISBN13: 9780060882495
• Release Date: July 2006
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

As good as the magazine.

If you are a fan of Mental Floss (trivia with a sense of humor) you will love this book.

Sometimes Looking Smart Is Better Than Being Smart

The editors of Mental Floss Magazine have put together the type of quick-read book I thoroughly enjoy since it boosts your knowledge quotient with a minimum of effort. Launched in 2001, the bimonthly magazine has been targeting renaissance trivialists who look for the connections among seemingly different elements in the world to make sense of their existence. "What's the Difference?" focuses on the common dilemma of clarifying distinctions among a familiar series of seemingly similar word pairs. It will help you avoid the glazed look you may have emitted during your last high-faluting conversation. This slim volume organizes its subject matter by common school subject - English, Home Ec, Social Studies, Science and the miscellaneous category of Band, Art & P.E. Under English, for example, you will have an opportunity to understand the nuances among geeks, nerds and dorks, as well as the true demarcation line between idiots and morons (hint: imbeciles lie between the two factions). Forehead-slappers will be relieved to see that a definitive explanation of em-dashes and en-dashes is provided here. There are even higher intellectual pursuits included such as the difference between polytheism and pantheism. Even current events are covered, such as the distinction between Shias and Sunnis. Some of the couplets strike me as a bit more forced than others and consequently excisable, e.g., African versus Asian elephants or Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. But there are still gems among them like Monet versus Manet. It all appropriately ends with a more intentionally humorous chapter on terms and people you may suspect are different but are indeed alike, such as bipolar disorder and manic depression, or Chevy Chase and Helen Hunt (!) A fun read for the geeks among us...or did I mean nerds? Hmmm...