Description

A book that proves idiocy is as old as time

Think civilization has deteriorated and that people these days are dumber than ever? Dumb History proves that we didn’t invent stupidity in the 21st century. You’ll find facts from throughout the ages about everyone from Cleopatra and Napoleon to Elvis Presley and even NASA scientists.

 Consider this: 

   • In 820 C.E., Emperor Hsien Tsung’s herbalist presented him with an anti-aging elixir—it killed him
   • In 1849, Brooklyn inventor Walter Hunt invented and patented the safety pin and then sold all the rights to his invention for $400. By the time he died penniless, the United States was producing an estimated five billion safety pins annually
   • In 1967, voters in the town of Picoaza, Ecuador, elected a brand of foot powder as their new mayor

 It’s a wonder we’ve survived as long as we have.

About the Author

Joey Green, a former contributing editor to National Lampoon and a former advertising copywriter at J. Walter Thompson, is the author of more than sixty (yes, sixty) books, includingNot So Normal Norbertwith James Patterson,Last-Minute Travel Secrets, Last-Minute Survival Secrets, Contrary to Popular Belief, Clean It! Fix It! Eat It!,the best-sellingJoey Green's Magic Brandsseries,The Mad Scientist Handbook series, The Zen of Oz, andYou Know You've Reached Middle Age If...—to name just a few.Joey has appeared on dozens of national television shows, includingThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America,andThe View.He has been profiled in theNew York Times, Peoplemagazine, theLos Angeles Times, theWashington Post, andUSA Today, and he has been interviewed on hundreds of radio shows.A native of Miami, Florida, and a graduate of Cornell University—where he was the political cartoonist on theCornell Daily Sunand founded the campus humor magazine, theCornell Lunatic(still publishing to this very day)—Joey lives in Los Angeles.