by Ken Jennings
First published 2008
Ken Jennings transforms historical dates into trivia battlegrounds. The legendary Jeopardy champion builds 365 daily challenges around significant events. February 21 becomes a launching pad for questions about Super Bowl rings and Saturn's celestial bands, inspired by Teddy Roosevelt coining "hat in the ring" in 1912. The same date triggers gothic music quizzes featuring black-clad figures from Darth Vader to Johnny Cash. Jennings organizes his questions into three difficulty tiers: Easy, Hard, and Yeah Good Luck. His topics span from ancient paleontology to modern mixology, covering sports achievements and Bach compositions, medieval religious leaders and television soap operas. Each entry combines historical facts with cleverly constructed quizzes that challenge readers across diverse knowledge domains. This systematic approach turns calendar browsing into intellectual sport.
Genres: reference, non-fiction, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: intellectual-sport
Period: 1912, 2021
544 pages · Hardcover · Villard Books