Allison L. recommends…

More Information Than You Require

My boyfriend’s mother, who probably qualifies for Mensa, has a theory about why so many intelligent people love¹ The Simpsons. In one particular scene², Stephen Hawking is breaking up the horror wrought by the Springfield Mensa chapter, and Homer declares, “Larry Flynt’s right! You guys suck!” How many people, she wondered, would know who both of those men were, in addition to why Homer would confuse them? The fact that only some people would completely get the joke³ leaves you feeling smart, and then in awe of Matt Groening & Company as you wonder how many jokes you aren’t getting. John Hodgman operates in much the same way⁴. As a Yale educated Former Literary Agent, he is clearly well informed. But his real genius is in twisting his knowledge into bizarre fake trivia with just enough basis in reality to be relevant and hilarious.
If you haven’t read John Hodgman’s first book, The Areas of My Expertise, best known for the 700 hobo names contained within, you should pick it up to see what kind of book you have to write to launch your career as a television star⁵. You should also pick it up because it is really, really funny, and because I have never seen a guest on the Daily Show asked to return as a regular cast member⁶. Seriously, that’s pretty awesome. And so is he.

With More Information Than You Require (or just More), Hodgman picks up where he left off with his fake trivia⁷. Crammed with helpful hints on how to win at hermit crab racing, which of our presidents had hook hands, how the electoral college works⁸, the habits and history of the molemen and many more trivia tidbits, this book goes even further towards presenting us with a complete world knowledge of events that never happened, or maybe sort of happened, or might happen at some point in the future if actuarial predictions are reliable. Adding on to the original format, though, More is also more personal than Hodgman’s first work, giving us a taste of what it is to be rocketed into minor-level fame nearly overnight⁹. It’s also the kind of book you need to read around friends with good senses of humor because it’s no fun to laugh alone, and strangers suspect you of sinister plots, or maybe just mental instability, when you laugh on the bus. I must have read at least half of this aloud to friends, striving for Hodgman’s dry, monotonous style. I don’t think I quite succeeded, but the words still produced laughter, which goes to show how completely hilarious those words really are.
Most people, when compiling a book of fake trivia, would face issues with how to make it cohesive, but Hodgman’s various ‘facts’ all connect together¹⁰ to form an amazing alternate reality—one in which I would much rather live, molemen or no¹¹.

Posted by alaubach