The Pedant's Revolt: Know What Know-It-Alls Know

Barham, a technical writer with four previous titles published in the UK, here debunks the tenacious pieces of folk wisdom that remain rooted in our collective consciousness: Ostriches, it turns out, do not bury their heads in the sand, and feeding milk to kittens is not good for them. One should not ""starve a fever."" ""Elementary, my dear Watson,"" is spoken in almost every film featuring Sherlock Holmes, yet doesn't appear in any of the Holmes works by Arthur Conan Doyle. (In truth, the line was used by a film reviewer writing for the New York Times in October 1929.) Barham's concise righting of wrongs are organized into ""Customs and Beliefs,"" ""Historical Figures,"" ""Sayings"" and 18 other headings. They will have a whimsically rectitudinous appeal for some, but others may feel that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing-or as Alexander Pope, the English poet and satirist, really said: ""a little learning is a dangerous thing.""