ODDLY INFORMATIVE: The Economist Explains

The deputy editor of The Economist has been described as 'The Father Christmas of knowledge' by Giles Coren. The more we ponder, the odder the world can seem. How do you move a horse from one country to another? What counts as a journey into space? Why does having daughters make couples more likely to divorce? Why did suicide become rarer during the pandemic? Why was the idea of daylight saving time mooted by Benjamin Franklin only taken up during the First World War? Why does one state in Mexico have an all-female traffic-police unit? Are there equine equivalents of economy, business and first class when transporting race horses on planes? Are there fairer ways to run penalty shoot-outs in football but no one wants them because they are too confusing? Here are oddly informative matters of fact to amaze and delight like why do countries move their capital cities, and how many oceans there are and who decides? With good and bad deeds explained, international relations, local politics around the world, environmental concerns and curiosities like what is La Niña, medical mysteries explained, bitcoin and assets old and new, science and technology decoded, unexpected results in sports, arts, media and language including how the meaning of the word 'woke' evolved. This book will make you wary of ever guessing the answer to anything. 256 page paperback, illus. and maps.