Why 60 seconds in a minute? Who invented zero? What exactly is pi? Why do mathematicians hunt prime numbers? And how can you get a number bigger than infinity? To find out, take a tour through 200 important, fascinating and unusual numbers - the easy and entertaining way to grasp mathematics. Numbers in Minutes demystifies the maths surrounding the key numbers including: zero, 1-40, negatives, percentages, prime numbers, fractions, decimals, pi, exponentials, imaginary numbers, squares and cubes, roots and powers, Fibonacci numbers, the golden ratio, millions and trillions, a googol, 'perfect,' 'kissing,' 'vampire' and 'weird' numbers, infinity, infinity+1 and other sizes of infinity... Every number is explained in a few short paragraphs with a helpful picture, making the maths simple to understand and remember.

"A baby is an angel whose wings decrease as his legs increase." -- Anonymous. Babies are life's little miracles. Everything about them -- from conception to birth and beyond -- is fascinating. Book of Babies includes intriguing scientific facts, strange stories, famous stars and their little ones, and cultural traditions from across the globe.

This supremely challenging cryptic collection contains 50 jumbo-sized, large grid puzzles, conceived to really challenge your word skills. Selected by The Times' Crossword Editor, Richard Rogan, this original collection will challenge even the most experienced crossword buff. The ultimate and only jumbo cryptic crosswords available, these puzzles will allow you to give the grey matter a real workout. With unique grids of 23 x 23 squares (in comparison to the standard 15 x 15 grid), they require serious word power and cryptic puzzling skill. Put your linguistic prowess to the test with these quality puzzles from the Times’ crossword writers.

Readers of all ages will be astonished and stumped by these interactive mysteries. In brief paragraphs and black-and-white illustrations, award-winning author Sandy Silverthorne and John Warner present 100 puzzles, each with a logical "aha" answer...that may require thinking outside the box. Clues and answers are included in separate sections. Rex is surprised when the phone rings. He answers it and writes down a message. He doesn't know the person who called or the person being called. He will never meet them. What is going on?.

Discover 366 fun and surprising stories about Wales - each linked to a specific day of the year. Did you know that the recipe of Tennessee's famous Jack Daniel's whiskey is rumoured to have originated in Llanelli, or that the world's first radio play was set in a Welsh coal mine? Why was a showing of the Jurassic Park film in Carmarthen so special, and how is Rupert Bear connected to Snowdonia? Delve in to discover the stories that most history books leave out.

Washington is full of fascinating and colorful people, places and events. This is an entertaining and lighthearted collection of facts from every corner of the state.

RY CLV RNGH? Can you find the connection between Gandalf, Sherlock Holmes, David Brent and Ford Perfect? Only Connect is the ultimate test of knowledge and lateral thinking. Since 2008 the fiendishly difficult quiz show has been challenging contestants to find connections between apparently unrelated clues. The Only Connect Quiz Book collects over 200 of the most entertaining and perplexing challenges from the team behind the BBC's hugely popular quiz show - including many new (never broadcast) questions. Covering each of the show's four rounds - Connections, Sequences, the Connecting Wall and Missing Vowels - and with introductions from presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell, here is your chance to put your own sleuthing and quizzical knowledge to the Only Connect test.

'The perfect gift for quizzers' VAL McDERMID 'Outside of a dog, The Book Lover's Quiz Book is every bookworm's best friend -- inside of a dog . . . well, if you know the rest, you're going to love this book' PETER HANINGTON, author of A Dying Breed, peterhanington.co.uk 'Brilliantly inventive and entertaining questions from the bookworm's bookworm' MARK MASON, author of Walk the Lines, Question Time and many more 'A book quiz quiz book what more could lovers of books, quizzes and quizzes about books desire? And marvellous it is too, Wiggleworth proving himself quite the literary Magnus Magnussen of our social media age' TRAVIS ELBOROUGH traviselborough.co.uk 'This is the ultimate literary quiz book and Gary Wigglesworth is the quizmaster to end all quizmasters' DAVID QUANTICK davidquantick.com This is a literary quiz book with a difference. Rather than basic sets of questions, The Book Lover's Quiz Book mirrors the format of Gary's live quizzes, at the Betsey Trotwood in London and elsewhere. So, there are lots of multiple-choice questions, some amusing answers, clever red herrings, little-known facts about authors and some of the much-loved Say What You See picture round. Also, there are fixed and variable rounds - fixed ones include 'Blankety Books' (one word missing from the title - always with a theme), 'Literary Links and lists' (what connects/next in the list etc.) and '2 of a Kind' (name the character and the author that share the same initials). The changeable rounds keep the quizzes fresh and include 'What the Dickens?' (real or made-up Dickens names), 'RomeNo or JuliYess' (real or made-up Shakespearian insults) and 'Book Bingo!' (identify the correct number). There are also more standard rounds such as 'First Lines', 'Working Titles' and 'Banned Books'. The aim of all Gary's quizzes, and this book, is that people should have fun and be able to guess (if they don't know) as much as possible.

*The perfect gift for the incurably curious* 'The best trivia book of the season.' THE SPECTATOR 'Mind-blowing.' DAILY MAIL 'Genuinely interesting.' POPULAR SCIENCE Which lottery numbers should I pick? Is it true that we are made entirely of stardust? Can dogs tell the time? Why do songs get stuck in my head? If Rome wasn't built in a day, how long did it take? Do plants make noises? Where is last Wednesday? These are just a few of the questions put to the QI Elves by the listeners of BBC Radio 2's The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show. This book is a collection of their cracking, unexpected and frequently hilarious answers. Chock full with extra facts and illustrations from the Elves, 222 QI Answers to Your Quite Ingenious Questions will spark wonder and joy. Includes a foreword from Zoe Ball. *** For more from the team behind QI's hit TV show check out the QI FACTS series of books, @qikipedia and listen to their weekly podcast at nosuchthingasafish.com or visit qi.com

A festive treat filled with quiz questions, trivia, witty facts and longer stand-up style pieces from the stars of the hit BBC quiz show Pointless. A Pointless History of the World is a journey through time pulling out some of the most 'pointless', comedic and interesting events - from the obvious to the obscure - and combines brilliant quiz content from the show with Richard and Xander's own brilliantly funny and incredibly intelligent quick-witted stand-up style writing. Interactive, hilarious and jam-packed full of quiz questions that will have every Pointless fan vying to be crowned the Pointless champion in their own household this Christmas.

The perfect gift for all those big and little kids in your life who ask 'why...?'. With an introduction from Zoe Ball.

The QI Elves are the brains behind the enduringly popular BBC TV panel show QI.

Every Wednesday the Elves appear on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show where they answer the ponderings and wonderings of BBC Radio 2's most inquisitive listeners.

Dive into this splendid collection of listeners' unusual questions and some unexpected answers that are sure to make your head spin on topics ranging from goosebumps to grapefruit, pizza to pirates and everything in-between. Generously sprinkled with extra facts and questions from the Elves, Funny You Should Ask . . . is essential reading for the incurably curious.

How much water would you need to put out the Sun?
If spiders can walk on the ceiling, why can't they get out of the bath?
Why do dads make such bad jokes?
Why does red mean 'stop' and green mean 'go'?
Can I dig a tunnel to the other side of the Earth?
How do plant seeds know which way is up?
Can you fill up a black hole?
Who popularised the recorder, and where can I get hold of them?

For more from the team behind QI, visit qi.com. You can also follow QI's fact-filled Twitter account @qikipedia and listen to their weekly podcast at nosuchthingasafish.com

For more mind-boggling nuggets of wisdom check out the QI FACTS SERIES

Great Wines and Great Writers are a Wonderful Blend"Guides to the wide world of wine are many but this is the first book on the market to pair books with wine by an author who is a preeminent expert on both." -Thriftbooks.com #1 Best Seller in Wine & Spirits Buying Guides A fact-filled, jargon free guide to wine, bursting with entertaining anecdotes, literary quotes and compelling humor that teaches you everything you always wanted to learn about wine but were too scared to ask. The pleasures of great wine and great writers. Under the careful guidance of his father, Patrick Alexander began drinking wine with his meals at the age of five. At the same age, encouraged by his mother, he began a lifelong love-affair with books. The twin pleasures of wine and writing remained his passion up to this day. He has raised his own children in many of the world's great wine growing regions, from Bordeaux and Piedmont in Europe to the Santa Cruz mountains of California while researching and writing his definitive guide to the novels of Marcel Proust. History of wine and some of the best wines. For several years, Patrick has been teaching a sold-out wine appreciation class at the nation's No.1 independent bookstore, Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida. The Booklovers' Guide to Wine is based on this very successful class and blends Patrick's passion for the culture and history of wine and his love of literature for the world's great writers. A literary twist on traditional food and wine pairings, this book explores how great wines and great writers can be combined to enhance the enjoyment of both. The book describes the history of wine from the time of Noah to the birth of two-buck Chuck. If you are a fan of wine books such as Cork Dork, Wine Folly, Wine Simple, or The Wine Bible, and appreciate great literature, you will love The Booklovers' Guide to Wine.

Did you know? The world's worst novelist, Amanda McKittrick Ros, was born near Ballynahinch. The entire Kilkeel fishing fleet was sunk by a German U-boat on 30 May 1918 without the loss of a single life. Sir Hans Sloane, whose collection formed the foundation of the British Museum, was born in Killyleagh. The Little Book of County Down is a compendium of fascinating, obscure, strange and entertaining facts about this ancient county of Northern Ireland. Here you will find out about Co. Down's history, its literary heritage, its churches and castles, its festivals and fairs, and its famous (and occasionally infamous) men and women. A reliable and quirky guide, this little reference book can be dipped into time and again to reveal something new about the people, the heritage and the secrets of this fascinating county.