Rod L. Evans Ph.D.'s Books

Sorry, Wrong Answer

Trivia Questions That Even Know-It-Alls Get Wrong

By: Rod L. Evans Ph.D.

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Sorry, Wrong Answer

Trivia Questions That Even Know-It-Alls Get Wrong

By: Rod L. Evans Ph.D.

Where were Venetian blinds invented? What color is the black box on a commercial airplane? Where did India ink originate?* Most of us know more than we think we know. We also think we know more than we actually do-because some of what we think we know simply "ain't so." We all harbor misconceptions that are accepted not only because they are popular but also because they make sense. It makes sense to believe, for example, that German chocolate originated in Germany rather than the truth: that German chocolate is so named because it was created by Sam German. It seems logical to believe that Mercury is the hottest planet because of its proximity to the sun, or that buttermilk contains butter, that Danish pastry is from Denmark, and that the boat race America's Cup was named after the United States of America. In Sorry, Wrong Answer, Rod Evans takes readers on a tour of misleading trivia, debunking commonly held assumptions and sharing surprising "right" answers. *Answers: Japan; Orange; China

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Page Count

242

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

0399535861

ISBN 13

9780399535864

Tyrannosaurus Lex

The Marvelous Book of Palindromes, Anagrams, and Other Delightful and Outrageous Wordplay

By: Rod L. Evans Ph.D.

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Tyrannosaurus Lex

The Marvelous Book of Palindromes, Anagrams, and Other Delightful and Outrageous Wordplay

By: Rod L. Evans Ph.D.

Welcome to the Weird and Wonderful World of Words! Tyrannosaurus Lex is your guide to the intriguing world of logology—the pursuit of word puzzles or puzzling words—featuring: •A wealth of witty anagrams, palindromes, and puns •Clever paraprosdokians: sentences with surprising endings (“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.”—Groucho Marx) •Fascinating oronyms: a pair of phrases that differ in meaning and spelling, yet share a similar pronunciation (“The stuffy nose can lead to problems” versus “The stuff he knows can lead to problems.”) •Peculiar oxymora: words or phrases that are self-contradictory (Jumbo shrimp! Guest host! Gold silverware!) So sit back and get ready to learn about everything from antigrams and aptanagrams to kangaroo words and phantonyms. You’ll never look at language the same again!

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Page Count

167

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

1101588632

ISBN 13

9781101588635

Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

The Book of Mnemonic Devices

By: Rod L. Evans Ph.D.

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Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

The Book of Mnemonic Devices

By: Rod L. Evans Ph.D.

When is a "tulip"* not a flower? When it's one of hundreds of mnemonic devices in this comprehensive sourcebook. From remembering the notes on a scale (Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge) to correctly performing geometric equations (Soh-Cah-Toa) to using "HOMES" for conjuring up the Great Lakes (Huron Ontario Michigan Erie Superior), mnemonic devices have helped countless students, teachers, and trivia buffs recall key information in a snap-using anagrams, clever rhymes, and word games. In this comprehensive guide, readers will find a wide spectrum of ingeniously simple mnemonic devices for recalling facts about: - Science - Math - Geography - Religion - Literature - Music - Social Studies - Law - Aviation - Zodiac - Spelling - Mythology - World History - Sports - And more *Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement; Irrestible Grace, and Perserverance of the Saints (The Five Tenets of Calvinism)

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Page Count

242

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

0399533516

ISBN 13

9780399533518

The Artful Nuance

A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language

By: Rod L. Evans Ph.D.

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The Artful Nuance

A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language

By: Rod L. Evans Ph.D.

?The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter.? (Mark Twain) What?s the difference between: Nectar and ambrosia? Bough and branch? Astonished and surprised? Sensual and sensuous? Beside and besides? Many people use these words interchangeably but there are actually subtle and interesting differences in meaning and usage. Now from the author of Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge comes a fun and fascinating word reference book for word lovers, students, and trivia collectors alike. Readers will relish learning about these distinctions in this entertaining homage to a gift we use every day?words.

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Page Count

228

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

0399534822

ISBN 13

9780399534829

Thingamajigs and Whatchamacallits

Unfamiliar Terms for Familiar Things

By: Rod L. Evans Ph.D.

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Thingamajigs and Whatchamacallits

Unfamiliar Terms for Familiar Things

By: Rod L. Evans Ph.D.

Have you been guilty of catachresis* at work? Have you defenestrated* your dictionary in frustration? Do you have phloem bundles* stuck in your diastema*? Scratching your occiput* now? Rod L. Evans's Thingamajigs and Whatchamacallits will help take the mystery out of some of our most obscure words. Containing hundreds of words from agitron (the phenomenon of wiggly lines in comic strips indicating that something is shaking) to zarf (the holder for a paper cone coffee cup), this lively reference will enable you to easily locate your thingamajig or whatchamacallit, be it animal, vegetable, mineral, or punctuation mark. Leave no linguistic oddity unexamined-your brain will thank you. *catachresis: strained, paradoxical, or incorrect use of a word; *defenestrate: to throw out a window; *phloem bundles: stringy bits between the skin and the edible parts of a banana; *diastema: the gap between teeth in a jaw; *occiput: the back part of the head or skull

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Page Count

211

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

1101515929

ISBN 13

9781101515921

Matching Wits with the Million-dollar Mind

The Worldś Hardest Trivia Quizzes from Americaś First Quiz Show Millionaire

By: John Carpenter,Rod L. Evans

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Matching Wits with the Million-dollar Mind

The Worldś Hardest Trivia Quizzes from Americaś First Quiz Show Millionaire

By: John Carpenter,Rod L. Evans

The world's hardest trvia quizzes from America's first quiz show millionaire.

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Page Count

324

Publisher

Berkley Trade

Published Date

ISBN 10

042518319X

ISBN 13

9780425183199

Weird Words

By: Irwin M. Berent,Rod L. Evans

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Weird Words

By: Irwin M. Berent,Rod L. Evans

This incredible collection will provide hours of enjoyment while expanding the reader's vocabulary with unique and useful words. Included are strange linguistic phenomena, crazy names, wild puns, freaks of verbality and exotic etymologies--plus a special thesauro-index to help readers turn ordinary words into weird words.

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