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Big Secrets
''Big Secrets'' is a series of books written by William Poundstone, and also the title of the series' first book. History In each book, Poundstone seeks to explore a number of mysteries, and reveal "the uncensored truth about all sorts of stuff you are never supposed to know" (the series' tagline and the first book's subtitle). Some of the mysteries Poundstone explores are urban legends (such as what happened to Walt Disney after his death), while others are day-to-day matters which many people may not think to contemplate, such as what barcodes mean, the Coca-Cola formula, secret air frequencies, or what makes up KFC's 11 herbs and spices recipe. Other mysteries explored in the series include Mount Weather, the number stations, backmasking on records, the secrets of Scientology, the true identities of The Residents, the initiation rites of the Freemasons and of college fraternities, anti- counterfeiting devices on money and documents, and the magic of David Copperfield ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Series Of Books
A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publisher. Publishers' reprint series Reprint series of public domain fiction (and sometimes nonfiction) books appeared as early as the 18th century, with the series ''The Poets of Great Britain Complete from Chaucer to Churchill'' (founded by British publisher John Bell in 1777). In 1841 the German Tauchnitz publishing firm launched the ''Collection of British and American Authors'', a reprint series of inexpensive paperbound editions of both public domain and copyrighted fiction and nonfiction works. This book series was unique for paying living authors of the works published even though copyright protection did not exist between nations in the 19th century. Later British reprint series were to include the ''Routledge's Railway Library ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Backmasking
Backmasking is a recording technique in which a message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. It is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional. Artists have since used backmasking for artistic, comedic and satiric effect, on both analogue and digital recordings. It has also been used to censor words or phrases for "clean" releases of explicit songs. In 1969, rumors of a backmasked message in the Beatles song " Revolution 9" sparked the Paul is dead urban legend. Since at least the early 1980s, Christian groups in the United States alleged that backmasking was being used by prominent rock musicians for Satanic purposes, leading to record-burning protests and proposed anti-backmasking legislation by state and federal governments during the 1980s, as part of the Satanic panic movement of the time. Many popular musicians were accused of including backmasked messages in their music. However, app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1983 Non-fiction Books
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the true Internet). * January 24 – Twenty-five members of the Red Brigades are sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1978 murder of Italian politician Aldo Moro. * January 25 ** High-ranking Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia. ** IRAS is launched from Vandenberg AFB, to conduct the world's first all-sky infrared survey from space. February * February 2 – Giovanni Vigliotto goes on trial on charges of polygamy involving 105 women. * February 3 – Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Fraser is granted a double dissolution of both houses of parliament, for elections on March 5, 1983. As Fraser is being granted the dissolution, Bill Hayden resigns as leader of the Australian Labor Party, and in the su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Series Introduced In 1983
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arrangement is '' codex'' (plural, ''codices''). In the history of hand-held physical supports for extended written compositions or records, the codex replaces its predecessor, the scroll. A single sheet in a codex is a leaf and each side of a leaf is a page. As an intellectual object, a book is prototypically a composition of such great length that it takes a considerable investment of time to compose and still considered as an investment of time to read. In a restricted sense, a book is a self-sufficient section or part of a longer composition, a usage reflecting that, in antiquity, long works had to be written on several scrolls and each scroll had to be identified by the book it contained. Each part of Aristotle's ''Physics'' is calle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Copperfield (illusionist)
David Seth Kotkin (born September 16, 1956), known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magician, described by ''Forbes'' as the most commercially successful magician in history."Houdini in the Desert" Forbes.com. May 8, 2006 Copperfield's television specials have been nominated for 38 s, winning 21. Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, his career of over 40 years has earned him 11 ,Guinness World Records 2006, p. 197 a star on the |
Counterfeiting
To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value than the real thing. Counterfeit products are fakes or unauthorized replicas of the real product. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product. The word ''counterfeit'' frequently describes both the forgeries of currency and documents as well as the imitations of items such as clothing, handbags, shoes, pharmaceuticals, automobile parts, unapproved aircraft parts (which have caused many accidents), watches, electronics and electronic parts, software, works of art, toys, and movies. Counterfeit products tend to have fake company logos and brands, which results in patent or trademark infringement in the case of goods. They also have a reputation for being lower qual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
College Fraternities
A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western concept developed in the Christian context, notably with the religious orders in the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. The concept was eventually further extended with medieval confraternities and guilds. In the early modern era, these were followed by fraternal orders such as Freemasons and Odd Fellows, along with gentlemen's clubs, student fraternities, and fraternal service organizations. Members are occasionally referred to as a ''brother'' or – usually in a religious context – ''Frater'' or ''Friar''. Today, connotations of fraternities vary according to context including companionships and brotherhoods dedicated to the religious, intellectual, academic, physical, or social pursuits of its members. Additi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freemasons
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of two main recognition groups: * Regular Freemasonry insists that a volume of scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member profess belief in a Supreme Being, that no women be admitted, and that the discussion of religion and politics be banned. * Continental Freemasonry consists of the jurisdictions that have removed some, or all, of these restrictions. The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. These private Lodges are usually supervised at the regional level (usually coterminous with a state, province, or national border) by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient. There is no international, worldwide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry; each Grand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Residents
The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects, and ten DVDs. They have undertaken seven major world tours and film score, scored multiple films. Pioneers in exploring the potential of CD-ROM and similar technologies, the Residents have won several awards for their multimedia projects. They founded Ralph Records, a record label focusing on avant-garde music, in 1972. Throughout the group's existence, the individual members have ostensibly attempted to work anonymously, preferring to have attention focused on their art. Much speculation and rumor has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, they appear silent and costumed, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats and tails—a costume now recognized as their signature iconography. In 201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data indicate that there were about 25,000 followers in the United States (in 2008); around 1,800 followers in England (2021); 1,400 in Canada (2021); and about 1,600 in Australia (2016). Hubbard initially developed a set of ideas that he called Dianetics, which he represented as a form of therapy. This he promoted through various publications, as well as through the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation that he established in 1950. The foundation went bankrupt, and Hubbard lost the rights to his book ''Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, Dianetics'' in 1952. He then recharacterized the subject as a religion and renamed it Scientology, retaining the terminology, doctrines, and the practice of "Auditing (Scientol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Number Stations
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can be represented by symbols, called ''numerals''; for example, "5" is a numeral that represents the number five. As only a relatively small number of symbols can be memorized, basic numerals are commonly organized in a numeral system, which is an organized way to represent any number. The most common numeral system is the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, which allows for the representation of any number using a combination of ten fundamental numeric symbols, called digits. In addition to their use in counting and measuring, numerals are often used for labels (as with telephone numbers), for ordering (as with serial numbers), and for codes (as with ISBNs). In common usage, a ''numeral'' is not clearly distinguished from the ''number'' that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Poundstone
William Poundstone is an American author, columnist, and skeptic. He has written a number of books including the ''Big Secrets'' series and a biography of Carl Sagan. Early life and education Poundstone attended MIT and studied physics. Personal life An enthusiast of Harry Stephen Keeler, he maintains the Keeler homepage and contributed to the anthology ''A to Izzard: A Harry Stephen Keeler Companion'' (2002). He is a cousin of comedian Paula Poundstone Paula Poundstone (born December 29, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, author, actor, interviewer, and commentator. Beginning in the late 1980s, she performed a series of one-hour HBO comedy specials. She provided backstage commentary durin .... Bibliography * * * * * * * * * reprints ''Big Secrets'' and ''Biggest Secrets'' * * * * * * * * Released as ''How to Predict Everything'' in the UK [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
