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    I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know
    I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know
    I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know
    Ebook224 pages1 hour

    I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know

    By Steve Martin

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    About this ebook

    An Apple a Day Keeps the Low Marks Away!

    Have you ever been excited to find out you knew something the other kids in your class didn't? Then just think about how you would feel if you knew hundreds of fascinating tidbits-on everything from art, literature, and history to geography, science, and math-from just one quick-and-easy read crammed with fun and cool stuff you shouldn't have to wait to find out about. With I Wish I Knew That you will speed through science, whiz through history, and take a dip into the classic Greek and Roman myths in no time at all. Inside, learn all about...
    • Classic Reads: A guide to classic children's literature such as Call of The Wild, Anne of Green Gables, The Wind in The Willows, Little Women and Shakespeare.
    • How Land is Shaped and Changed: Erosion, Glaciers, Volcanoes and the world's tallest mountain, largest sea, and longest river.
    • Math Stuff: Jump Into Geometry by learning that the three points of a triangle, whose angles always add up to 180º make measuring more precise.
    • Science at a Glance: The Periodic table which was invented by Dmitri Mendeleyev and beginners' Biology
    • History Stuff: Early explorers, important wars, all the Presidents and British Kings and Queens as well as the names of the countries and their capital cities.
    • Bonus sections include Poet's Corner, Brief History of Music, The World Of Art and Geological Time, In Brief

    With I Wish I Knew That you'll boost your general knowledge and jump to the head of the class!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTrusted Media Brands
    Release dateMay 12, 2011
    ISBN9781606522981
    I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know
    Author

    Steve Martin

    Steve Martin is one of today's most talented performers. He has had huge success as a film actor, with such credits as Cheaper by the Dozen, Father of the Bride, Roxanne, Parenthood, L.A. Story, and many others. He has won Emmys for his television writing and two Grammys for his comedy albums. In addition to his bestselling novel The Pleasure of My Company and a collection of comic pieces, Pure Drivel, he has also written a play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile. He lives in Los Angeles.

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    • 4/5
      If you're looking for a basic knowledge refresher or a book to use in prepping for an academic bowl or similar "general knowledge" test, this is the book for you.

    Book preview

    I Wish I Knew That - Steve Martin

    003

    INTRODUCTION: GETTING AHEAD OF THE CLASS

    Have you ever shocked your classmates by knowing something they didn’t? Cool, isn’t it?

    In this book, you will discover lots of exciting things your teachers haven’t mentioned—and revisit some of the things they have.

    Find out the names of all the countries in the world and their capital cities. Discover how a black hole works and if a cold war really is cold. Read about an enormous island of floating plastic in the Pacific Ocean.

    There are lots of bite-size chunks of information, from history and geography to math and science.There are even several sections on literature and language to make sure you get things right when you write.

    Rather than a whole pile of books, you can get a taste of all these different subjects with just this one. In no time at all, you’ll be able to impress your friends and family with a hundred interesting tidbits. Better still, you’ll stay on top of the curve and way ahead of your classmates!

    LITERATURE STUFF

    004005

    SHAKESPEARE, IN SHORT

    William Shakespeare, or the Bard (meaning poet), wrote some of the world’s best-known plays and poems. He wrote funny plays known as comedies, along with sad plays, called tragedies, and several known as problem plays, which are very entertaining but neither comedies nor tragedies. Here are some brief introductions to his most famous plays to help you bluff your way through until you can see them at the theater yourself.

    Hamlet

    Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a troubled young man. His father, the king, has been murdered, and his mother has married his father’s brother, Claudius, after only a few weeks.

    One night the ghost of the king appears to Hamlet and reveals that Claudius murdered him. He asks Hamlet to seek revenge, but Hamlet wants to find more proof of the murder first.To do this, he pretends to be driven crazy by grief and puts on a play for Claudius that tells the story of a murder similar to that of the king’s. It makes it very clear that the king has been murdered by his brother.When Claudius reacts nervously to the play, Hamlet is convinced he is guilty.

    Hamlet goes to confront his mother in her room, but he thinks he can hear Claudius hiding behind a curtain and tries to stab him. Unfortunately, rather than Claudius, he has murdered Polonius, the father of Ophelia, a girl Hamlet once loved. The news shatters Ophelia, and she drowns herself.

    These terrible events lead to more revenge, and this time Polonius’s son, Laertes (pronounced LA-yer-tees), decides to punish Hamlet. Claudius sets up a duel between Hamlet and Laertes, but he gives Laertes a poisoned sword to make sure that Hamlet dies. Laertes fatally stabs Hamlet, but during the fight the two men accidentally switch weapons, and Hamlet also wounds Laertes with the poisoned sword.

    A wounded Hamlet then manages to stab Claudius, but at that moment, his mother drinks from the poisoned wine that Hamlet had prepared for Claudius. Laertes, Hamlet, his mother, and Claudius all die—not really a happy ending.

    Romeo and Juliet

    This is the story of a young couple from two rival families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo and Juliet fall in love instantly when they meet at Juliet’s family party and are later secretly married by Friar Laurence. However, Tybalt, a cousin of Juliet’s, is angry that Romeo came to the party uninvited and challenges him to fight. When Romeo refuses, his friend Mercutio fights instead and is killed. Romeo murders Tybalt in revenge and is sent away as punishment, leaving Juliet behind.

    006

    This wouldn’t be so bad, except that Juliet’s family, who still have no idea that she is married, arrange a wedding between Juliet and her cousin, Count Paris. To avoid Juliet’s getting stuck with a second husband she doesn’t want, Friar Laurence comes up with a plan.

    007

    The plan involves Juliet drinking a potion to make her appear dead.The idea is that Romeo will come back and rescue her from her tomb. Sadly, for both Romeo and Juliet the plan goes disastrously wrong when a message, reassuring Romeo that Juliet is only sleeping in the tomb, gets lost. Poor Romeo returns home believing his wife is dead. Stricken with grief, he kills himself, and when Juliet wakes up, she kills herself, too.

    The Montagues and Capulets finally decide to stop being enemies, but it’s all too late for Romeo and Juliet.

    Now that’s what you call a tragedy.

    Macbeth

    People often call this the Scottish play rather than saying the name Macbeth out loud. This is because, traditionally, the play is said to be unlucky. Superstitious actors hope to avoid accidents by not mentioning the M word.

    When the play begins, Macbeth and his friend Banquo, both generals for King Duncan of Scotland, meet three witches—the weird sisters. They tell Macbeth that he will be made thane (a nobleman) of Cawdor and later become king. However, they also tell his friend Banquo that his sons will be kings, not Macbeth’s. When Macbeth becomes a thane, he and his scheming wife, Lady Macbeth, decide to kill King Duncan to hurry the witches’ predictions along. But even when Macbeth is king, he is not satisfied, because he knows that Banquo’s sons, rather than his own, will someday inherit the throne. So he has Banquo killed,. Banquo’s ghost then drives Lady Macbeth crazy, and she dies.

    008

    The weird sisters give Macbeth another prophecy—that he will be safe until Birnham Wood comes to Dunsinane (Macbeth’s castle).This seems so impossible that Macbeth believes his position as king is secure. A short time later, however, King Duncan’s son, Malcolm, brings his army, camouflaged with branches from Birnham Wood, and Macbeth is killed, fulfilling the witches’ prophecy.

    Othello

    This play shows how jealousy can make a mess of a great romance. Othello, a brave general, falls in love with and secretly marries Desdemona, the daughter of a senator. However, an enemy is soon plotting against him.

    009

    When Othello promotes a young soldier named Cassio to lieutenant over Iago, a more experienced soldier, Iago is furious. He gets revenge by convincing Othello that Desdemona is having a relationship with Cassio. Iago makes sure that Othello overhears Cassio discussing his love for a woman, and Othello assumes that it must be his wife, Desdemona. Othello’s anger gets worse when Desdemona’s handkerchief (planted by Iago) is found in Cassio’s room.

    Othello is so jealous that he ends up killing Desdemona, even though she has done nothing wrong.When Iago’s trickery is revealed, Othello

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