Stupid History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions Through the Ages

Leland Gregory

Jun 2009 · Stupid History Book 2 · Andrews McMeel Publishing

About this ebook

A treasury of historical hilarity from the New York Times-bestselling coauthor of America’s Dumbest Criminals!

Why exactly is Paul Revere revered when it was Samuel Prescott who made the famous ride? Was the lightbulb really Thomas Edison’s bright idea? Bestselling author and former Saturday Night Live writer Leland Gregory employs his masterful wit to expose historical myths, faux “facts,” strange events, and tales of human stupidity throughout history. You’ll learn that:

* Magellan didn’t actually make it around the world

* As a member of Parliament, Isaac Newton spoke only once, and it wasn’t exactly a statement of political brilliance for the ages

* On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the U.S., thus starting the Spanish-American War—and then the U.S. declared war the very next day, but not wanting to be outdone, had the date on the declaration changed from April 25 to April 21

With these and many more stories, Leland Gregory once again highlights the funny side of history.

Ratings and reviews

If you've got time on your hands with nothing else to do, give it a shot. Otherwise, I'd pick something else. It was kinda fun learning some new trivia, but most of it I've already seen presented elsewhere, in more depth. Also, the formatting of the eBook version was a little annoying. Some of the "chapters"? had really large font, with a quote that wasn't as large but still pretty big. This caused my nook to put the "chapter title" and quote on one page and then the text on the following page, unless I made the font really, really small, as in almost impossible to read. There were quite a few typos and spelling errors as well, along with at least one somewhat misleading statement (re: Ivory Snow/Marilyn Chambers). There were no citations of sources, so some of the pieces that sounded like mere urban legend may, in fact, be just that. I'm glad I didn't pay for this as it was a free selection.

About the author

DIVDIVThe jokes, wacky anecdotes, and inane quotes in Leland Gregory’s Stupid-themed anthologies showcase the best of human nature at its worst. Through his Twitter handle of @ChronicStupid, Leland shares headlines, quips, and unbelievable feats of folly culled from print, online, and broadcast media around the globe. He has authored more than a dozen humor titles, including What's the Number for 911? and the New York Times best-sellers Stupid American History and America's Dumbest Criminals. A tireless promoter, he has made hundreds of radio and television appearances, including multiple appearances on NBC's Today show. /div/div