The book of answers : the New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service's most unusual and entertaining questions

Author(s)

• Berliner, Barbara
• Corey, Melinda
• Ochoa, George
• New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service

Bibliographic Information

The book of answers : the New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service's most unusual and entertaining questions

Barbara Berliner with Melinda Corey and George Ochoa

（A fireside book）

Simon & Schuster, 1992

• : pbk

Description and Table of Contents

Description

How many of these questions can you answer without calling the New York Public Library's Telephone Reference Service? Who really designed the American flag? How hot is the sun's surface? How does quicksand work? When was the Ark of the Covenant last seen? Who sat at the Algonquin Round Table? Where does the name "The Grateful Dead" come from? Why is Christmas abbreviated as Xmas? Can any creatures besides humans get a sunburn? How many muscles does it take to smile? To frown? Why are rabbits' feet considered good luck? You could, of course, do all the painstaking research yourself. Or you could pick up the phone and call the resourceful, erudite, quick-witted librarians of the New York Public Library's Telephone Reference Service, Tel Ref, for whom questions like these are all in a day's work. For the past twenty years, Tel Ref has met the information needs of a public as diverse as the subjects in the Library's catalog, and now they've compiled their most interesting, unusual, and most-often-asked queries into The Book of Answers -- a delight for browsers, a treasure trove of fascinating information, and the perfect companion to The New York Public Library Desk Reference.

Table of Contents

Contents Introduction 1. American History 2. American Statistics 3. The Animal World 4. Crime and Criminals 5. The English Language 6. Fine Arts 7. The First 8. Geography 9. Holidays 10. The Human Body 11. Inventions 12. Library Omnibus 13. Literature 14. Myth and Folklore 15. New York City History 16. Popular Culture 17. The Question and Answer Hall of Fame 18. Religion 19. Royalty and World Leaders 20. Science 21. Sports 22. Trademarks 23. U.S. Presidents 24. Who Was Who 25. World Cultures 26. World History 27. Twelve Trick Questions and Popular Delusions Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

• NCID: BA22772736
• ISBN:
  • 0671761927
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: New York
• Pages/Volumes: viii, 311 p.
• Size: 21 cm
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Telephone reference services (Libraries)
  • LCSH : Questions and answers
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA10688199