Some of you had little to say other than to point out that we’re overweight (thanks for this; we were under the mistaken impression that all of the mirrors in our home were concave). For some reason, these people had nothing better to do.

On a brighter note, scores of people contacted us to express that the story inspired them with some feel-good vibrations. Others were pleased for us that we’ve managed to attain both personal and professional success as a husband-and-wife team. Thank you; we worked very hard at getting where we are.

sandy@pigpencil.com

Globetrotting: When a road trip seems interminable

My husband listens to talk radio, my brother-in-law books on tape.

How to otherwise engage them on our next drive to New York? Sandy Wood and Kara Kovalchik may have the answer: their Frequently Asked Questions for the “curious-minded.'’
“The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Fun FAQs'’ includes more than a thousand questions on subjects ranging from food and celebrities to myths and team sports.

It’s available on Amazon for $11.01.

While I can’t imagine besting my travelmates on American history or movie questions, it might be fun trying.

THE POCKET IDIOT’S GUIDE TO MORE NOT SO USELESS FACTS

Pros: Entertaining read for us overly-curious trivia buffs
Cons: Some entries stop a bit short
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to More Not So Useless Facts was compiled by Dane Sherwood, Sandy Wood, and Kara Kovalchik. It isn’t a reference book in which to look up trivia—instead it’s more of a free-association of weird and wacky facts that you’re likely to find entertaining and/or useful.

For instance, the ‘potatoes’ entry details the truth behind sweet potatoes, the year that Mr. Potato Head gave up his pipe (and why), and how NBA star Anthony “Spud” Webb got his nickname.

• In 1944, the H.W. Lay Company became one of the first snack food makers to advertise on television, with a cartoon character called Oscar, the Happy Potato. It was never explained how Oscar was happy to be sliced wafer-thin and deep-fried in a vat of boiling oil.

As you can see, the authors realize that since this isn’t a reference book, a dry recitation of facts isn’t in order. There’s plenty of tone, snark, and humor to add life to the brief sections.

There are so many fascinating tidbits of information in here that I think I drove my husband a bit batty last night reading parts of the book aloud to him (sorry, dear!). They range from modern points of law and pop-culture to very distant history.

Occasionally I found myself chafing a bit at the lack of information, when it seemed that the authors didn’t quite finish a thought. For example,

• Many national flags are similar in design, but two pairs of them are indistinguishable to all but the trained eye.

While the entry goes on to explain how those two pairs of flags are the same, it doesn’t mention how the trained eye can distinguish them, which is like setting up the joke and failing to deliver on the punch line. Luckily, however, such instances are few and far between.

So if you’d like to know which extremely well-known advertising jingles Barry Manilow wrote (and are now stuck in my head for the day), why cats always head for the folks who aren’t cat people, or the absolutely hysterical real name of Spuds MacKenzie (Bud Lite’s mascot, who was actually quite female), grab a copy of More Not So Useless Facts. You’ll find out that product placement in TV shows has been around since at least 1955 (and which show it appeared in), how end-zone dances got started and progressed, and why a pony once took a ride in a White House elevator.

And if you’re the kind of person (like me) who just loves these esoteric bits of information, how could you not want to learn something like that?!

HOLIDAY HELPER

Need some help with your holiday shopping? Check out our daily gift ideas — you might find just the thing for someone on your list.

Here’s an idea for the friend who claims he’ll try out for “Jeopardy” soon. The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Not-So-Useless Facts, by Dane Sherwood, Sandy Wood and Kara Kovalchik, is bursting with more than 1,000 interesting, shocking and yes, even mundane tidbits. Yep, it’s filled with factoids gathered by a team of expert fact finders and pop culture experts. Want a teaser? The sailfish is the fastest fish in the sea, clocking in at 68 mph underwater, two miles per hour faster than the cheetah, the fastest land animal.

Cost: $14.95.

USE YOUR HEAD: A TRIVIA GUIDE IS A GOOD GIFT

Giving a present to the Cliff Clavin on your list, the know-it-all letter carrier from Cheers? Want to settle arguments (or start them)? Your troubles are over.

The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Not-So-Useless Facts ($14.95) is full of the real deal: What’s the largest sculptured monument in the U.S.? (No, it’s not Mount Rushmore.) What’s the fastest fish in the sea? And which Beatles song inspired the name of the first hominid skeleton found in Ethiopia? It’s all here.

BOOKS AND IDEAS: Snapple and pop quizzes

The Snapple Aptitude Test: Real Facts for Real Life
by Sandy Wood and Kara Kovalchik; Broadway Books; paperback, 224 pages; $12.95

The Snapple company put this quiz book together as a spin-off from the Real Facts printed under their bottle caps. Their approach here, like their advertising image, is lighthearted, starting with their scoring categories.

Real Genius tops the list with 1,000 points, followed by Fact Fanatic, Seriously Cerebral, and Brainy, Around the 600 to 699-point level, the names get really creative: Snapple Savant, Egghead, Sharpie, Radio-FACT-ive. In the 200 to 299-point category, we’re still considered Not Too Shabby, but dropping to the 100 to 199, we’ve become Factose Intolerant. If we score only 10 to 99 points out of the maximum 1,000, we’re kindly referred to as a Newbie. But if we get between zero and nine answers? Cro-Magnon.

The book contains 10 categories, from nature, music and movies to sports and technology, so there’s bound to be a subject area in which an individual can excel.

Do you know how many sets of twins lived in the Full House household (trick question!) or how golfer Jack Nicklaus got the nickname The Golden Bear? Can you guess which letter is removed from “vodka” to make the Russian word for water? If not, you can look up the answers at the end of each section, satisfying your curiosity and, as the title implies, adding to your knowledge of “real facts for real life.”

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR BODY?

If you’ve ever unscrewed a Snapple bottle, you may have noticed a “real fact” printed inside the cap.

Now there’s a whole book, “The Snapple Aptitude Test,” (Broadway Books, $9.95) comprised of those facts. Here are some that have to do with health and the human body.

1. Which of the following containers would come closest to holding the amount of blood in a typical adult human’s body?

a. one-quart pitcher
b. two-liter bottle
c. one-gallon jug
d. two-gallon jug

2. Tasting something with the very tip of your tongue will tell you if it is:

a. bitter
b. sweet
c. salty
d. sour

3. Herpes can cause which of the following ailments?

a. chicken pox
b. shingles
c. cold sores
d. all of the above

4. Which of the following parts of the head does not contain any taste buds?

a. uvula
b. tongue
c. roof of the mouth
d. throat

5. In 1911, Casimir Funk identified (and coined the name of) which of the following?

a. steroids
b. vitamins
c. amino acids
d. carbohydrates

Answers: 1. C; 2. B; 3. D; 4. A; 5. B.

T.M.I.: Pop culture

If your brain is on summer cruise control, here’s something to wake it up: The Snapple Aptitude Test’s 1,000 questions.

The paperback, which features the best of the Real Facts printed under Snapple caps, is divided into 10 chapters.

There are sections on science, history, literature, movies, TV, music, sports, technology and miscellaneous.

When you get stumped, the answers are easy to find at the end of each chapter. Answer all the questions correctly and Snapple deems you a “Real Genius.” If you answer fewer than nine correctly, you are rightly labeled “Cro-Magnon.” But you only have to get 200 answers correct to earn “Not Too Shabby'’ honors.

Or, try the interactive game.

Sample questions

1. What 11-letter word describes the pigment that gives most forms of plant life a green hue? Hint: This word won a National Spelling Bee.

2. Which of the following do late comedian Rodney Dangerfield and late sports announcer Howard Cosell have in common?

A. same last name.
B. same birthplace.
C. same birthdate.
D. none of the above.

3. True or false? Every female relative of Samantha who appeared on TV’s Bewitched had a name ending with the letter A.

Answers: 1. Chlorophyll. 2. A: Cohen. 3. True.

The Snapple Aptitude Test (Broadway Books, paperback, $9.95) by Sandy Wood and Kara Kovalchik

A.M. Stir: POP QUIZ

Snapple’s back!

Well, not really.

The bottled beverage, which hit its sales peak in the mid-’90s, is trying to break back into the drink market in a slightly unconventional way - by releasing a book. The drink, best-known for it’s “Fun Facts” underneath every cap, has created its own version of the SAT that doesn’t require a No. 2 pencil.

The SAT, or The Snapple Aptitude Test (Stonesong Press, $9.95) by Sandy Wood and Kara Kovalchik, has 10 quizzes and 1,000 questions to check your basic intelligence based on facts found on Snapple products.

Let’s see how you do.

1. Which of the following was not a founding member of the European Union?

a. United Kingdom
b. Portugal
c. Spain
d. all of the above

2. Only two male actors in the 1990s won a pair of acting Oscars. One was Tom Hanks; name the other.

3. True or false: Despite its name, salmonella may be found in most types of meat, but not in seafood.

4. Which romance writer uses the pseudonym J.D. Robb when writing mysteries?

a. Nora Roberts
b. Danielle Steel
c. LaVyrle Spencer
d. Fern Michaels

5. The hit TV series Frasier and the successful film My Dog Skip coerced many to run out and purchase what breed of dog?

Answers to the Snapple Pop Quiz: 1-d, 2-Kevin Spacey, 3-False, 4-a, 5-Jack Russell terrier

HOT OFF THE PRESS:
Provocative reads mean you don’t always have to lighten up in the summer

Does the phrase “summer reading” hold special meaning for you? Is it a chance for more time to read the kind of books — or the authors — you always enjoy reading?

Or is it a chance to experiment, to go where you’ve never lounge chair-traveled before?

Some folks at the major publishing houses think “summer reading” must translate to “light,” as in books that promote relaxing on vacation, such as “chick-lit” or romance or comedy or stories with a guaranteed happy ending.

Maybe. Here are some titles that might help you chill. Wherever you are.
(edit)

“The Snapple Aptitude Test” by Sandy Wood and Kara Kovalchik (Broadway Books, $9.95) Here’s a terrific book to pass the time in airports or on long car trips. Herein are 1,000 trivia questions in subjects varying from politics, history and geography to pop culture and health. OK, here’s one question: What member of the 1958 Harlem Globetrotters was the first to have his number (13) retired? Answer is Wilt Chamberlain. I didn’t know the right answer; I checked the “answers” section in the chapter.

STUFF; TO DO, TO BUY, TO TALK ABOUT

A pop-top quiz

It’s like an SAT test, but one that also tests your knowledge of TV sitcoms. That’s the premise behind “The Snapple Aptitude Test.” Say that fast 10 times.

In 2001, the beverage company put something they called “real facts” under the top of each cap of their drinks. That trivia so far has appeared on more than 1 billion bottle caps. Authors Sandy Wood and Kara Kovalchik have gathered some of the best of the lot for “Snapple Aptitude” (Broadway Books, $9.95).

The book features 1,000 trivia questions like this:

– What celestial object is on Alaska’s state flag?
a) Saturn
b) the Big Dipper
c) Halley’s Comet
d) the moon

– Which of the following was not an item of clothing that was referenced in an episode of “Seinfeld”?
a) puffy sleeves
b) manssiere
c) vacuum pants
d) urban sombrero

The book’s layout makes it a tough read. Oh, and the answers are b and c.