| Introduction: Some serious trivia |
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1 | (5) |
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I The Cosmos, and Everything in it |
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6 | (4) |
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The Big Bang and evolution: Probably not a creation myth |
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10 | (3) |
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13 | (2) |
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Some perspective on space |
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15 | (2) |
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Overcoming the speed limit of the universe |
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17 | (4) |
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21 | (2) |
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23 | (2) |
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Near neighbours: Every star and substellar object within 10 light years of Earth |
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25 | (2) |
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27 | (2) |
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Even nearer neighbours: The planets |
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29 | (3) |
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Not every big round rock orbiting the Sun is a planet: The not-quite-seven dwarfs |
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32 | (2) |
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A brief tour of the dwarf planets |
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34 | (3) |
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A selection of space-faring animals |
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37 | (3) |
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II The Human Planet, and the Lines we Draw on it |
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A history of the world, told through its largest cities |
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40 | (2) |
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How many countries are there in the world? |
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42 | (4) |
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The largest countries by area ... |
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46 | (2) |
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48 | (2) |
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The largest countries by population ... |
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50 | (1) |
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51 | (1) |
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The oldest and youngest countries in the world |
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52 | (3) |
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The largest islands on the planet |
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55 | (3) |
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The world's most populous landmasses: Or, why `just a small island' is a self-serving lie |
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58 | (1) |
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Some curious and interesting US county names |
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59 | (3) |
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Some frankly not very curious and interesting US county names |
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62 | (4) |
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III Questions of Measurement |
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Some notes on large numbers, part 1: Everything changes |
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66 | (5) |
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A good way of measuring the world |
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71 | (4) |
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Another, worse way of measuring the world |
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75 | (3) |
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A quick note on how we measure space |
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78 | (2) |
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A brief interlude on prefixes |
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80 | (2) |
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Some notes on large numbers, part 2: The great beyond |
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82 | (2) |
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What year is it, again? A selection of calendars |
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84 | (8) |
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IV Histories and Politics |
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Some particularly memorable dates |
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92 | (2) |
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Some notes on independence day around the world |
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94 | (6) |
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A complete list of countries never colonised by European powers |
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100 | (1) |
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The nastiest atrocities in human history |
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101 | (4) |
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105 | (5) |
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Some not especially stupid wars which are nonetheless cursed with stupid names |
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110 | (5) |
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The Fourth Horseman cometh: The worst pandemics in human history |
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115 | (4) |
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The deadliest events of all |
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119 | (1) |
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Some important things invented by women |
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120 | (2) |
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Some important things invented by the Chinese |
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122 | (3) |
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Some things probably not invented by the Chinese, but for which they often get the credit |
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125 | (1) |
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Some African civilisations |
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126 | (4) |
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The Seven Wonders of the World, and why you (mostly) can't see them any more |
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130 | (4) |
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Reach for the skies: A history of the world, told through its tallest buildings |
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134 | (6) |
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A brief history of gay marriage |
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140 | (4) |
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144 | (4) |
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The world's longest rivers |
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148 | (3) |
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Counting crows and other animals: Some global species populations |
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151 | (3) |
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A note on conservation status |
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154 | (1) |
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155 | (5) |
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160 | (5) |
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The earth moves: How can you measure the size of an earthquake? |
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165 | (2) |
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Which were the biggest earthquakes on record? |
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167 | (2) |
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The deadliest earthquakes in history |
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169 | (4) |
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When the wind blows: Some notes on the Beaufort scale |
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173 | (5) |
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VI Matters of Communication |
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The problem with languages |
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178 | (2) |
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Which languages have the most native speakers? |
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180 | (1) |
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Which are the most popular second languages? |
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181 | (2) |
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Which languages have the world's most speakers overall? |
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183 | (1) |
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Some mutually intelligible languages |
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184 | (2) |
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Unfamiliar countries: Some names you may not recognise |
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186 | (2) |
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Some genuine tourism slogans |
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188 | (3) |
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191 | (3) |
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194 | (6) |
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VII Leisure: on Culture, Food and Sport |
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Some extremely famous people you've probably never heard of |
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200 | (3) |
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The world's biggest film franchises |
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203 | (3) |
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The biggest movies of all time |
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206 | (2) |
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Okay, but what about inflation? |
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208 | (2) |
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A possible list of holders of the title `highest-grossing film of all time' |
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210 | (1) |
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Some films that probably sold more tickets than any Avengers movie |
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211 | (2) |
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213 | (4) |
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The biggest-selling music artists of all time, probably |
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217 | (3) |
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Some unusually long-running TV programmes |
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220 | (4) |
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A compendium of pen names |
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224 | (3) |
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Some authors banned by the Nazis |
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227 | (1) |
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Some delicious delicacies |
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228 | (2) |
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Some hybrid fruit and veg |
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230 | (2) |
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Some noteworthy ice-cream flavours |
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232 | (4) |
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Some sports that were invented by mixing one game with another, very different game |
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236 | (1) |
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Some observations on the FIFA World Cup |
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237 | (5) |
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A brief history of the modern world, told through some extremely popular toys |
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242 | (4) |
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VIII Oddities: the Things that don't Fit Elsewhere |
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A recent history of the world, told via the OED `Word of the Year' |
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246 | (1) |
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Flagpole diplomacy: On a largely unnoticed arms race |
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247 | (3) |
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Some different colours of noise |
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250 | (3) |
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So you think you're paranoid? 11 odd superstitions from around the world |
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253 | (2) |
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Santa and friends: Who brings Christmas presents around the world? |
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255 | (3) |
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The Swedish town where every Christmas brings goat arson |
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258 | (3) |
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A few offcuts: Some fragments of other lists |
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261 | (5) |
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A selection of things that may kill us all |
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266 | (4) |
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Some things that will happen because of man-made climate change |
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270 | (4) |
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Some ideas of an afterlife |
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274 | (6) |
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280 | (5) |
| A note on sources |
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285 | (6) |
| Acknowledgements |
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291 | |
Lisainfo e-raamatute kohta