Moxie LaBouche - Your Brain on Facts: Things You Didnt Know, Things You Thought You Knew, and Things You Never Knew You Never Knew (Trivia, Quizzes, Fun Facts)

Praise for Your Brain on Facts

A fun collection of facts that will leave you full of information you never knew you needed to know!

Sophie Stirling, author of We Did That?

Like most seekers of knowledge, I am always searching out unusual and unique books on a wide range of topics. If you are the same, look no further than Your Brain on Facts . If you love the eponymous podcast, then you know that Moxie is a relentless and excellent purveyor of hidden history and long-lost facts. Read enough of this book and youll be the most popular person at any cockta il party!

Alicia Alvrez, author of The Big Book of Wome ns Trivia

I like to read this book for ten to fifteen minutes every night before bed or when I first wake up in the morning. It has bite-sized nuggets of information I have never seen anywhere else. I love how author Moxie LaBouche has uncovered so many random events in history and facts on everything obscure. She is an excellent researcher and this book delivers big on delight!

Becca Anderson, author of Badass Af firmations

Your Brain on Facts cannot describe this book (and the podcast on which its based) more accurately! Once you open the book, the facts hit you at full speed. Moxie doesnt hold back her trivia-filled brain. She is a natural sponge for knowledge, and I am so happy she gets to squeeze all that knowledgewell, maybe only a portion of how much she actually knowsinto a full book! Im looking forward to reading this over and over again and leaving it out for my kids because these are the types of books that will keep them curious for years to come. This is truly a book that belongs in any trivia lover s house.

Emily Proko, podcaster and author of The St ory Behind

If you are looking to entertain your brain with some unusual facts, you will love Your Brain on Facts . Moxies humorous delivery of the facts keeps you turning the page. I love learning something new every time I read the book!

Joyce Glass, The W rite Coach

Ive been a fan of Moxies Twitter feed for a while nowbut its even nicer to have all of these delightful facts and stories packaged in book form! Thumb through the pages, pause anywhere, and Im certain youll find something that not only tickles your brain, but makes you s mile too.

Mangesh Hattikudur, cofounder of Me ntal Floss

LaBouches witty writing, along with the smorgasbord of facts, makes this book a must-read for family trips, classrooms, and should claim the coveted spot on the bathroom reading shelf. LaBouche bring fun back to learning. I highly recommend this book for every coffee table, waiting room, and break room. You will walk away laughing and learning.

Cherrilynn Bisbano, author of Shine, D ont Whine

Moxie LaBouche takes readers on an adventure through several well-researched categories of facts and trivia. Theres plenty to learn here, perfect for beginners or the most devoted of trivia fans who enjoy their facts with a dash of humor. Enjoy choice information from the owner of Your Brain on Facts podcast, like Vsauce in no vel form.

Elise Hennessy, author of the Blood Leg acy series

Things You Didnt Know,
Things You Thought You Knew,
and Things You Never Knew You Never Knew

Coral Gables

Copyright 2020 by Moxie LaBouche

Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.

Cover Design, Layout & Design: Morgane Leoni
Cover Illustration: Meranna/shutterstock.com

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Your Brain on Facts: Things You Didnt Know, Things You Thought You Knew, and Things You Never Knew You Never Knew

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2020933907
ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-253-4, (ebook) 978-1-64250-254-1
BISAC category code GAM012000, GAMES & ACTIVITIES / Trivia

Printed in the United States of America

To my mother,
for supporting all of my endeavors,
even the really st upid ones.

Contents

Humans are weird. I am raising two small humans, and they remind me of this fact on a daily basis. But aside from the obvious idiosyncrasies we all have, humans are also weird because we are the only species that questions the world around us.

Cats dont stop to wonder why they land on all fours. They just do it an d move on.

But humans couldnt just accept that as fact. We questioned it for hundreds of years, probably to the detriment of many cats who were unwilling participants in these trials. It wasnt until we had new technology that we were finally able to watch a cat using whats now known as his Righting Reflex to maneuver his body so he can land on all four paws.

And we, weird humans that we are, probably celebrated this new knowledge while the first cat ever to be recorded on video went along his day probably thinking to himself, Humans a re weird!

But thats what makes us human. Some doctors even think our ability to wonder why? about the world around us separates us from every othe r species.

And thats amazing! (And a boost to our egos, who are we kidding?)

Until you remember that ignorance exists. And that there are people in the world who are blissfully liv ing in it.

Another funny thing about humans is even though questioning the world around us is something we naturally are inclined to do, its often frowned upon and many of us are trained at a young age not to question what we re taught.

Luckily, Moxie LaBouche probably never listened to that and even if she heard it, she probably questioned it r ight away.

We also have a tendency to avoid our weirdness, and follow the crowd, maybe mirroring the actions, language, or even thoughts of others around us. Anything so we can blend in until we can figure out how our own personal brand of weirdness fits into the world.

We also tend to surround ourselves with those who share many of our same thoughts, ideas, and values, which might give us the false impression that the rest of the world is jus t like us.

It might not even be on a large scaleit may just be that your favorite social media app adjusted its algorithm to your liking so much that youve inadvertently surrounded yourself with an echo chamber of those who post things similar to things youve already liked and posted yourself.

Anyone who has studied history can back me up on that. Some pretty terrible things have happened in the world when humans decided that weird was no longer good and it was decidedly better to be like those with the most power or money or who come from a particular region or speak a ce rtain way.