At night, giraffe sq hum to one ano uietly ther.
Welcome back to FACTopia! It’s time to set off on another adventure through hundreds of mind-blowing, wow-worthy, and crazily cool facts. For example
Did you know that astronauts have played golf on the Moon?
Let’s blast off with astronauts! They can actually grow taller while they’re in space.
Reach higher with facts about this supertall snowperson, who had trees for arms.
And trees aren’t just for decoration—in forests they actually talk to one another through a network of fungi, called the Wood Wide Web.
Speaking of fungi, did you know there’s a fungus that glows in the dark?
You might have spotted that there is something special about being here in FACTopia. Every fact is linked to the next, and in the most surprising and even hilarious ways. You will follow a trail that takes you from toilets to ice cream to chili peppers to ancient Egypt to tug-of-war to the Moon to… well, you’ll see. Discover what each turn of the page will bring! But there isn’t just one trail through this book. Your path branches every now and then, and you can flip backward or leap forward to go to a totally different (but still connected) part of FACTopia. i ng Let your curiosity take you wherever it leads. n n i g Of course, a good place to start could be right here, at the be
For example, take this detour to find out about really jumpy things 6
Go to page 170
Welcome back to FACTopia! It’s time to set off on another adventure through hundreds of mind-blowing, wow-worthy, and crazily cool facts. For example
Did you know that astronauts have played golf on the Moon?
Let’s blast off with astronauts! They can actually grow taller while they’re in space.
Reach higher with facts about this supertall snowperson, who had trees for arms.
And trees aren’t just for decoration—in forests they actually talk to one another through a network of fungi, called the Wood Wide Web.
Speaking of fungi, did you know there’s a fungus that glows in the dark?
You might have spotted that there is something special about being here in FACTopia. Every fact is linked to the next, and in the most surprising and even hilarious ways. You will follow a trail that takes you from toilets to ice cream to chili peppers to ancient Egypt to tug-of-war to the Moon to… well, you’ll see. Discover what each turn of the page will bring! But there isn’t just one trail through this book. Your path branches every now and then, and you can flip backward or leap forward to go to a totally different (but still connected) part of FACTopia. i ng Let your curiosity take you wherever it leads. n n i g Of course, a good place to start could be right here, at the be
For example, take this detour to find out about really jumpy things 6
Go to page 170
ca
e as th s e erv ts
stationmaster
The scientific name for a cat’s whiskers is vibrissae
Cats can’t taste sweet things
It’s a dog’s life
Jap an ,a
ca
li
co
At one train statio n in
One musician composed songs specifically for cats. The music includes squeaks, birdlike chirping, and even purring
Make music!
Go to page 118
Big cats—such as lions, tigers, and jaguars—can’t purr
34 • CATS
CATS • 35
ca
e as th s e erv ts
stationmaster
The scientific name for a cat’s whiskers is vibrissae
Cats can’t taste sweet things
It’s a dog’s life
Jap an ,a
ca
li
co
At one train statio n in
One musician composed songs specifically for cats. The music includes squeaks, birdlike chirping, and even purring
Make music!
Go to page 118
Big cats—such as lions, tigers, and jaguars—can’t purr
34 • CATS
CATS • 35
is
iou
tween dogs and the ir ow ner s
Fee l
Yaw nin g
ag nt o c
e ven b e — s
Some restaurants have special menus for dogs— one in California features hot dogs, hamburger patties, and even a “good dog” steak
ing
hu
ng ry ?
Dalmatian puppies are born completely white—their spots develop only as they grow up
Dogs
drea
36 • DOGS
m
A dog’s paws are the only parts of its body that sweat
DOGS • 37
is
iou
tween dogs and the ir ow ner s
Fee l
Yaw nin g
ag nt o c
e ven b e — s
Some restaurants have special menus for dogs— one in California features hot dogs, hamburger patties, and even a “good dog” steak
ing
hu
ng ry ?
Dalmatian puppies are born completely white—their spots develop only as they grow up
Dogs
drea
36 • DOGS
m
A dog’s paws are the only parts of its body that sweat
DOGS • 37
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At a restaurant in Taiwan, your food is served in dishes shaped like toilet bowls
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WORLD’S WACKIEST RESTAURANTS • 39
air the in 0m )
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65 en de d1 usp
les as a marine rese arc doub h ce nt
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At a restaurant in Taiwan, your food is served in dishes shaped like toilet bowls
Th e
re’ s
ar est au
ran tw
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yo u
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Div e ter resta wa u er
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WORLD’S WACKIEST RESTAURANTS • 39
Some beaches have pink sand because the grains are actually shells of microscopic marine animals.
Saturn’s rings are made of ice and rock—some chunks are only as big as a grain of sand, others are the size of a mountain.
The two shells of a giant clam can weigh about 550 pounds (250kg)—that’s more than two adult giant pandas.
At birth, baby giant pandas weigh about the same as a stick of butter. 40 • FACT FRENZY
Scientists think Mars used to have a set of rings around it.
People in ancient Ireland buried butter in swampy wetlands called bogs, which helped preserve the food.
Adult ankylosaurs had club-like tails, the impact of which was more than 350 times stronger than the hit from a professional baseball player’s bat.
Scientists can identify individual anaconda snakes by the scale pattern underneath their tails—no two are the same.
Every baseball used in an American professional league game is rubbed with special mud collected from a secret spot in New Jersey.
There’s a crater on Mars that’s nicknamed “happy face” because it looks like it’s smiling.
Every year, Wales, U.K., holds the World Bog Snorkelling Championship, in which competitors swim through muddy water wearing snorkels, flippers, and sometimes wacky costumes.
You can take a mud bath inside the crater of a volcano in Colombia.
The flippers of humpback whales aren’t smooth— they’re bumpy. Scientists have been studying these bumps, called tubercles, to make more aerodynamic airplane wings.
It’s a whale of a fact
Twice a year at the Mayan pyramid of Kukulcán in Mexico, the Sun casts a shadow that looks like a giant slithering snake.
Methuselah is a 5,000-year-old bristlecone pine growing in California—the tree is older than the pyramids of ancient Egypt.
FACT FRENZY • 41
Some beaches have pink sand because the grains are actually shells of microscopic marine animals.
Saturn’s rings are made of ice and rock—some chunks are only as big as a grain of sand, others are the size of a mountain.
The two shells of a giant clam can weigh about 550 pounds (250kg)—that’s more than two adult giant pandas.
At birth, baby giant pandas weigh about the same as a stick of butter. 40 • FACT FRENZY
Scientists think Mars used to have a set of rings around it.
People in ancient Ireland buried butter in swampy wetlands called bogs, which helped preserve the food.
Adult ankylosaurs had club-like tails, the impact of which was more than 350 times stronger than the hit from a professional baseball player’s bat.
Scientists can identify individual anaconda snakes by the scale pattern underneath their tails—no two are the same.
Every baseball used in an American professional league game is rubbed with special mud collected from a secret spot in New Jersey.
There’s a crater on Mars that’s nicknamed “happy face” because it looks like it’s smiling.
Every year, Wales, U.K., holds the World Bog Snorkelling Championship, in which competitors swim through muddy water wearing snorkels, flippers, and sometimes wacky costumes.
You can take a mud bath inside the crater of a volcano in Colombia.
The flippers of humpback whales aren’t smooth— they’re bumpy. Scientists have been studying these bumps, called tubercles, to make more aerodynamic airplane wings.
It’s a whale of a fact
Twice a year at the Mayan pyramid of Kukulcán in Mexico, the Sun casts a shadow that looks like a giant slithering snake.
Methuselah is a 5,000-year-old bristlecone pine growing in California—the tree is older than the pyramids of ancient Egypt.
FACT FRENZY • 41
Scan here to enter FACTopia in our animated book trailer
• Author: Kate Hale | Illustrator: Andy Smith Ages: 8–12 years Price: U.S. $14.99 / CAN $19.99 Format: Hardcover | Extent: 208 pages Trim size: 6 x 8.1 in | Pub date: March 1, 2022 ISBN: 978-1-9137504-0-4 BISAC codes:
JNF000000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / General JNF003000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Animals / General JNF016000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Curiosities & Wonders JNF051000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Science & Nature / General
A world of 400 facts, all connected in surprising and hilarious ways!
Did you know that bacteria from between people’s toes has been used to make cheese? Or that the world’s most expensive cheese is made from donkey milk? Or that the milk from one species of cockroach is the most nutritious substance on Earth? Or that a cockroach can survive for weeks without its head? Welcome back to FACTopia, a world of perfectly amazing facts, all of which are verified by Encyclopaedia Britannica! Every fact in the book is connected to the next in an ingenious trail of information, where you will hop from topic to topic in unexpected and hilarious ways. And there’s not just one trail through these pages: Sometimes your path branches and you can choose to jump to a totally different (but still connected) part of the book. Let your curiosity lead you through this witty wonderland of facts! U.S. ORDERS – Ingram Publisher Services Contact your IPS Sales Representative Tel: (866) 400-5351 | ips@ingramcontent.com CANADA ORDERS – The Manda Group Tel: (855) 626-3222 | Fax: (888) 563-8327 | info@mandagroup.com PR AND MARKETING – Publisher Spotlight Tel: (615) 930-2110 | ellen@publisherspotlight.com WHAT ON EARTH BOOKS contactus@whatonearthbooks.com whatonearthbooks.com • britannica-books.com
• • •
Each of the 400 facts is linked, and you can choose your own path through the book. Connects diverse topics from history and geography to science and nature. Features more than 300 witty color illustrations and photographs. The second of 8 books in the dynamic FACTopia series.
Author Kate Hale is a writer, editor, and professional fun fact finder. A former editor for National Geographic Kids Books, she’s edited or written about everything from inspiring scientists to the cutest animals. When she’s not busy fact-hunting, Kate enjoys gardening and playing video games. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia. Illustrator Andy Smith is an award-winning illustrator. He studied illustration at the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art, London, UK. His work combines illustration and typography to create images that have humor and energy, with a handmade feel. He lives by the sea in Hastings, East Sussex, UK.
More in the series:
FACTopia! – Available Now Return to FACTopia! – Pub March 22 Gross FACTopia! – Coming Fall 22
ISBN 978-1-913750-40-4
9 781913 750404