Charles Panati

For lovers of facts, students of popular culture, history buffs, and science enthusiasts, the fascinating stories behind 500 everyday items, expressions, and customs--from Kleenex to steak sauce, Barbie Dolls to honeymoons.

Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things

A compendium of facts about sex reveals the origins of words, practices, and taboos, and discusses topics ranging from history's first love poem to the earliest known sex-change operation

The Rites and Rituals of Straights, Gays, Bi's, Drags, Trans, Virgins, and Others

Sexy Origins and Intimate Things

Traces the origins of the gems of popular wisdom that are part of American culture, delving into sources as diverse as Aesop, the Bible, Ben Franklin, and Broadway

The Origins of Conventional Wisdom and Commonsense Advice

Words to Live by

A compendium of fascinating facts about the origins of almost everything under the sun.

Origins of Everything Under (and Including) the Sun

The Browser's Book of Beginnings

In this enlightening and entertaining work, Charles Panati explores the origins of hundreds of religious rituals, customs, and practices in many faiths, the reasons for religious holidays and sacred symbols, and the meanings of vestments, sacraments, devotions, and prayers. Its many revelations include: * Why the Star of David became the Jewish counterpart of the Christian cross * What mortal remains of the Buddha are venerated today * How the diamond engagement ring became a standard * That the first pope was a happily married man * How Hindu thinkers arrived at their concept of reincarnation * Why Jews don't eat pork, why some Muslims don't eat certain vegetables, and how some Christians came to observe meatless Fridays Sacred Origins of Profound Things is an indispensable resource for all those interested in the history of religion and the history of ideas--and an inspiring guide to those seeking to understand their faith.

The Stories Behind the Rites and Rituals of the World's Religions

Sacred Origins of Profound Things

Relates the curious stories behind the extinction of peoples, beliefs, fashions, customs, and inventions

Panati's Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything and Everybody

For lovers of facts, students of popular culture, history buffs, and science enthusiasts, the foremost specialist on everything tells how and why hundreds of the everyday items, expressions, and customs we take for granted came into existence. Learn the fascinating discovery stories behind over 500 phenomena, including: How chewing gum and Silly Putty began as substitutes for rubber. How the potato chip emerged from an act of pique on the part of an Indian named Crum. How a socialite invented the dishwasher because servants too frequently broke her expensive china. Why April Fool's Day started out as New Year's Eve, a joke in itself. How the song 'Happy Birthday to You' began as a kindergarten jingle titled 'Good Morning to All.' How the zipper was one man's attempt to make obsolete not buttons... but shoelaces. How the newlywed husband came to the aid of his accident-prone bride with the invention of the Band-Aid. How the hot dog began as an outlawed Roman sausage and received its name at a New York baseball game. How a pot-and-pan salesman who baited customers with soapy steel wool pads launched the S.O.S empire. How Drs. Fallopius and Condom made strides in inventing and popularizing a male means of birth control. How the original Goldilocks was a disgruntled, gray-haired crone, tortured by the three bears. How Ketchup became from the Romans, Tabasco sauce from an exiled New Orleans banker, Mayonnaise from a French duke, and A.I. Steak Sauce from a royal chef named Brand.

Charles Panati

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