The term useless is, of course, provocative, particularly when applied to knowledge—but here five researchers have worked hard to separate historical wheat from chaff and in general done a creditable job of dispensing with the former. Some of the anecdotal entries aren’t exactly trivial, such as a reference to how over 60% of the military casualties in the American Civil War were due to disease. But even when dropping names that would be, or should be, familiar to most readers, the authors usually go for lesser-known achievements such as Abraham Lincoln’s 1992 induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, or how fans’ demand for locks of his hair prompted composer Franz Liszt to get a dog and send “fur clippings” instead. There’s some myth-busting, too; no, Charlie Chaplin did not enter a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest…and lose. A few illustrations, such as a view of Robert Peary literally shoving Matthew Henson aside (“Outta my way!”) at the North Pole, don’t come off as all that funny, but in general the wisecrack-laced cartoon art does add further comical notes. People depicted are racially diverse throughout.
