''Big Secrets'' is a
series of books written by
William Poundstone, and also the title of the first book in the series.
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
In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...
and the first book's subtitle).
Some of the mysteries Poundstone explores are
urban legends
Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not.
These legends can be e ...
(such as what happened to
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
after his death), while others are day-to-day matters which many people may not think to contemplate, such as what
barcode
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...
s mean, the
Coca-Cola formula, secret
air
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
frequencies
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...
, or what makes up
KFC's 11 herbs and spices recipe.
Other mysteries explored in the series include
Mount Weather, the
number stations,
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 used ...
on records, the secrets of
Scientology, the true identities of
The Residents, the initiation rites of the
Freemasons and of
college fraternities, anti-
counterfeiting
A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...
devices on money and documents, and the magic of
David Copperfield
''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...
.
The three ''Big Secrets'' books are:
*''Big Secrets'' (1983; )
*''Bigger Secrets'' (1989; )
*''Biggest Secrets'' (1994; )
''Big Secrets'' and ''Biggest Secrets'' were later re-released in a joint volume called ''The Big Book of Big Secrets''.
{{nonfiction-book-stub
Book series introduced in 1983
1983 non-fiction books
American non-fiction books
The Residents