Synopses & Reviews
If youand#8217;re about to get on a plane, what should you doand#151;and avoid doingand#151;to assure a safe flight? What does it mean if you see an ambulance zoom by? And is a black cat always unlucky? Though we may say we donand#8217;t believe in superstitions, they have an unmistakable power...and to be on the safe side, most of us secretly knock wood, donand#8217;t walk under ladders, and avoid opening that umbrella indoors. Broken up into categories such as animals, astrology, dreams, and flowers, this fascinating dictionary will alert you to thousands of beliefs, omens, and proverbs that you may never have known. Hereand#8217;s just a few:
and#149; A dog hiding under a table means a storm is brewing.
and#149; To see an image of your future spouse, eat a whole salted herring in three mouthfuls, go to bed without a drink, and say nothing.
and#149; Scatter ashes over the roof of a house to protect it against lightning.
and#149; Bringing an axe into the home presages death.
and#149; When the aurora borealisand#151;the colored lights that flash in the northern skyand#151;appear, spirits are cavorting in heaven and a war is imminent.
and#149; Eating peanuts before an auto race brings bad luck.
Among the many other subjects: clothing, days of the year, food, gemstones, herbs, hobbies,illness and medicine, marriage numbers, plants and trees, professions, and the weather.
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Synopsis
Think you're smart? Prove it! Twenty-five brain-stumping IQ quizzes, featuring wordplay, diagrams, numerical challenges, and more, will really put solvers to the test. Over 1000 questions really reveal whether or not you can think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, figure out the progression of a sequence, simplify fractions, create new words out of old, and decode anagrams. But above all, they’re designed to entertain, so quiz-takers can decide if they want to check out their own abilities, play against friends, or follow their fancy by just dipping into the book at random. For those who really want to assess their performance, a time limit of 90 minutes is allowed for each test.