Whad’Ya Know?

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A brand new bathroom reader collection, from the beloved trivia voice of public radio.

SO…DID YOU KNOW THAT:

53% of American workers feel they work "with a bunch of monkeys." (What the monkeys think, we don't know.)
During shaky economic times, lipstick sales go up.
The longest conflict in American history was fought over a pig.
Washington state has the best-dressed State Troopers.

AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU NOW KNOW THAT?!

If you'd love to quiz yourself about what you know, and then fill your brain with thousands of fascinating and highly useful facts like these, look no further. (And as an added bonus, you'll get jokes and stories too!) Every weekend, radio listeners across the nation delight in the facts and fun of the hit show Whad'Ya Know? with Michael Feldman. Now, for the first time, Michael collects the greatest trivia, quizzes, stories, and fun facts just for you.

Every weekend, thousands of public radio listeners across the nation delight in the facts and fun of the hit PRI show Whad'Ya Know? with Michael Feldman. Now, for the first time Michael collects the greatest trivia, quizzes, stories, and fun facts from the show in Whad'Ya Know?.

With features perfectly sized for spending a little time on the throne, Whad'Ya Know? contains sections that fans of the show will be sure to recognize, such as:

Things You Should Have Learned in School (Had You Been Paying Attention)
The Daily Briefing
Thanks for the Memos
The Best of the Best
And much more

If your answer to "Whad'Ya Know?" is "not much," get ready to become the smartest person on the block… or at least the one that knows the most stuff.

About the Author

Michael Feldman

Michael Feldman is the creator and host of Public Radio International's popular quiz show Whad'Ya Know?, which originates from his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. He is also the author of Glad You Asked, Wisconsin Curiosities, Thanks for the Memos, and Something I Said?: Innuendo and Out the Other.

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Table of Contents
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A Word from the Head

Whad'Ya Know About People?
Statistics Don't Lie…or Do They?
Confessions of a Workavoidic
Zipping Points
Aging Discounted
You Should Live So Long!
Thanks for the Memos: One Meatball
Whad'Ya Know about People? Quiz—Round 1
69 Reasons to Have Sex
Jokes, by Profession
Thanks for the Memos: Violent Stool Shifters Arise!
Whad'Ya Know about People? Quiz—Round 2
The More, the Marriager
The IT Guy
Coming of Age in Iowa
Thanks for the Memos: Keep on Truckin'
Whad'Ya Know about People? Quiz—Round 3
My Six Shoes
Sub Prime
The Ten Absolutely Best Jobs
The Ten Absolutely Worst Jobs
Thanks for the Memos: The Whistler
Whad'Ya Know about People? Quiz—Round 4
Taking the Plunge
Human Resourcing
The Cabinet of Dr. Scholl
Dear Diarya
Hello, Fodder
Thanks for the Memos:
Incontinence Can't Be Helped
Whad'Ya Know about People? Quiz—Round 5

Whad'Ya Know About Places?
Pyongyang, Here I Am!
Or Otherwise Disabling
Oh. Canada
On the Road to Shambala
Is That the Oval Office, or Are You Happy to See Me?
Thanks for the Memos: Ye Olde Parking Centre
Whad'Ya Know about Places? Quiz—Round 1
Home Away from Home
Whad'Ya, an Idiom?
Marco! Polo!
The Michael States of America
Whad'Ya Know about Places? Quiz—Round 2
The Michael States of America, Part 2
Thanks for the Memos: The Memorized Ones
Whad'Ya Know about Places? Quiz—Round 3
The Nazca Lines
One Micronation, Under Tiny God
Panache, Hey
The Sticky Wicket of National Character
Gendarme, ou est ma femme?
Thanks for the Memos: Next Year in Minot
Whad'Ya Know about Places?
Quiz—Round 4
Gwynaeth
Can You Beat the Monkey?
Vary It Up!
Born in the UAE
Thanks for the Memos:
Furthering International Misunderstanding
Whad'Ya Know about Places? Quiz—Round 5
Thanks for the Memos: And the Bar Thing, Too!
Things You Should Have Learned in School
Things You Should Have Learned in School Quiz—Round 1
Thanks for the Memos: Terrorist Bake Sale
Reuben, Reuben
Alexander the Greatest
Hygieia Was Here
The Chinese Hell from Hell
Things You Should Have Learned in School Quiz—Round 2
The War of Griffin's Pig
Pigs Gone Wild!
Oh, Gauguin!
Size Matters
The Best of the -est!
Thanks for the Memos: Cleavage among Staff
Things You Should Have Learned in School Quiz—Round 3
When Doctors Were Gods
Come On Baby, Load My Gun
TFOF: Texting for Old Farts, by Nora Feldman
What's in a Name?
The Declaration of Dependence
Thanks for the Memos: The Call of Duty
Things You Should Have Learned in School Quiz—Round 4
Pangaea
It's About Greenwich Time
The Dogs of War
My Life in Fiction
The Michaelcosm
What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs?
Who First Made Money?
Animal Questions and Questionable Animals
A Date with History
Thanks for the Memos: And That Was Just the Faculty
Things You Should Have Learned in School Quiz—Round 5

Whad'Ya Know About Science?
The Second Time Around
Shades of Grey Matter
Science You Can Eat!
Was it Mr. Wizard?
Popular Science Fiction?
Mothers of Invention: Martini Shaker
Whad'Ya Know about Science?
Quiz—Round 1
Better Living through Science!
The God Particle
The Big Bang Era
Mothers of Invention: Spouse Communicator
Whad'Ya Know about Science?
Quiz—Round 2
Eureka!
In the Beginning
B.F. Skinner's Fleet
Not Much, Uranus?
A Mu Arae Home Companion
Mothers of Invention: Mannequin with Hairpiece
Whad'Ya Know about Science?
Quiz—Round 3
Elementary, My Dear Mendeleyev
Darkest Energy
Haddie
Big Flops
Red Rover, Red Rover
Mothers of Invention: Unkickable Bucket
Whad'Ya Know about Science? Quiz—Round 4
Gregor, Pass the Peas!
As the Type is Cast
Light a Match!
Up the Lazy Genome
Killer Asteroid Hurls Towards Earth!
Eras and Errata
Mothers of Invention: Honest Abe's Boat Buoy
Whad'Ya Know about Science?
Quiz—Round 5

Whad'Ya Know About Odds and Ends?
Self-Help for the Self-Helpless
My Love Affair With the Beatles
It's Twue! It's Twue!
Hail, Khazaria!
Thanks for the Memos: Peg o' My Fart
Whad'Ya Know about Odds and Ends?
Quiz—Round 1
Best Movie Moments
Extras—Read All about 'Em!
Thanks for the Memos: Not If I See You First
Whad'Ya Know about Odds and Ends?
Quiz—Round 2
Back Pain? Kill Her
Phobophobia Itself
Crop Circle Outlook: June
Flat Earth v. Hollow Earth
The Wisdom of Solomon, or Say Anything
Thanks for the Memos: But Where
Are the Pop Tarts?
Whad'Ya Know about Odds and Ends?
Quiz—Round 3
The Ten Serving Suggestions
Have There Always Been Taxes?
Deduct This
This I Believe
The D-List
And the Jelly-Faced Women All Sneeze
Thanks for the Memos: Initiate It Eveytime
Whad'Ya Know about Odds and Ends?
Quiz—Round 4
The Collector
That Old Return-Home Pain
Type Smitten
Feldman's Best Friend
Famous and Not-So Last Words
A Day in the Life
Thanks for the Memos: Wow
Whad'Ya Know about Odds and Ends?
Quiz—Round 5
Thanks for the Memos: Let's Not Do the Deed Damage to Others
Bonus Thanks for the Memos: Rules for Pet Breeding

Mikipedia Entry
Acknowledgments

Excerpt
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Excerpt from Whad'Ya Know?

Whad'Ya Know About People?

Statistics Don't Lie… or Do They?
I know, we're people, not statist

...

Excerpt from Whad'Ya Know?

Whad'Ya Know About People?

Statistics Don't Lie… or Do They?
I know, we're people, not statistics—but can't we be both? Isn't it somehow reassuring to know that your every habit, behavior, and taste is smack dab in the middle of the mean of everybody else's in your demographic? We are, after all, information that walks, every man Jack and Lady Jane an Encyclopædia (Your Name Here)-ica. Comes a stiff breeze, the pages flip open to reveal:

53 percent of American workers feel they work "with a bunch of monkeys." What the monkeys think, we don't know.
77 million American workers say they are burned out. There are 100 million American workers.
Psychologists are much more satisfied with their jobs than roofers.
Over half of all office workers intentionally dress like their bosses.
Only 1 woman out of 100 wears 4-inch heels or better every day, but God bless her.
3 out of 4 cell phone users store texts they prefer others never see; about 1 in 3 have pictures that are even worse.
54 percent of Mexican workers are emotionally invested in their jobs; 29 percent of Americans and only 3 percent of Japanese workers are.
While 91 percent of adults pick their noses, only 1 in 12 eat it.
1 American in 3 says lack of intimacy is the reason for lack of intimacy.
85 percent of all men would not enjoy a nice manicure.
83 percent have steered with their knees.
Statistically, everyone but women are getting fatter.
2 out of 3 are with the man of their dreams.
Out of 117 small cities, La Crosse, WI, is 110th in stress.
Casual Fridays cause individual office workers to burn an additional 25 calories.
More Americans experience creative thinking in their cars than their beds.
In a crowd of 100 Americans, 7 can play the clarinet and 11 the organ.
The average American man's head is a 7¼.
1 in 3 women is traumatized buying a swimming suit.
65 percent of Americans make an effort to eat vegetables in the cabbage family.

Confessions of a Workavoidic
I'm a workavoidic, the flip side of the workaholic coin. Homer Simpson is my patron saint. Work has always been a priority for me, just a low one. In order to work at all, I have to trick myself into thinking it's a game, which goes back to my first job at Auto Parts and Service, Inc., where I spent the best part of a working day hiding from the muffler moguls in the tailpipe bin. Needless to say, by the end of the day I was exhausted.

Workavoidics are the paranoids of physical effort. We think people are out to get us—to work. And what's worse, for them. Workavoidics are idealistic: the notion of working for "superiors" flies in the face of our democratic ideals. It's not that we're too good to work, it's that we're not good enough. Years ago a guidance counselor (who, I realize now, was a closet workavoidic) diagnosed me as a perfectionist unable to deal with the shoddy work I produced. Torn with inner conflict, I feel compelled to take the afternoon
off and go home to snake the toilet. Beehives of activity give me hives. When I see a guy leaning on a shovel, I want to go over, prop him up with a two-by-four, and shake his hand. George W. Bush had the right idea: five hours a day in the saddle, tops—any more and you end up being tied to it. I've thought about forming a support group for workavoidics, but it hardly seems worth the effort. Instead I've put together some tips for fence-sitters who really would like to be sloughing off but haven't gotten around to it.

I call these The Four Shortcuts:

Delegate authority. All of it, if possible.
Avoid pressing concerns unless your pants are involved.
Use your time efficiently. Take a working lunch and eat as much paperwork as possible. Keep in mind the paperless workplace is a stepping-stone to the workless workplace.
If you must work, remember that work equals force times distance: take a little work and make it go a long way.

Remember, no one ever got rich through hard work. If you insist on working hard, you do so at your own economic peril.