There is no substitute for random knowledge, aka “Random Access Memory” as Daft Punk would say. When I first picked up Listverse.com’s Epic Book of Mind-Boggling Top 10 Lists and checked out the “Top 10 Nefarious Conspiracies Proven True” on page 84, I had no idea it would help me look really smart and informed roughly 10 hours later.

When a conversation about the book Animal Farm ensued with my boss the following morning, I doubtlessly impressed everyone in the room (me & him) with a casual anecdote about how the book was funded by the CIA in 1954 as part of an effort to influence national media towards hatred and fear Soviet Communism.

But this isn’t just a book about conspiracies; this is a book about everything.

Broken down into 700+ pages over 16 chapters ranging in titles by category, from “Pop Culture”, to “Music”, to “Crime”, this book covers all bases. You could read the entire thing cover to cover like a fastidious Master’s student, or you could open the book to a completely random page while sharing a Fresca with friends, and be entertained for hours.

Random factoid I learned: a sea cucumber will eject its sticky intestines and other organs out of its anus at an attacker. 

The book is epic because the lists are epic. “10 Ways You Could Eat Feces Today” was my personal favorite. If you’re married, the list is probably more like 50.

You seriously need this book in your life, so go to Amazon.com via this link and purchase it. Then, while you wait for it to arrive, familiarize yourself with the website that started it all, Listverse.com.