Jones, Charlotte Foltz

A surprising number of everyday objects had their beginnings in a mistake or a misunderstanding. Such discoveries are inspiring and often funny.

Real-life mysteries are often solved in surprising ways. Detectives and scientists know that bugs, dirt, bite marks, and even pets are all potential clues. Here are numerous true accounts that illustrate the fascinating and diverse world of crime-solving.

Recounts the quest for gold that took place in the late 1890s in the Klondike region of the Yukon Territory of northwestern Canada.

Discusses the history and meaning of all kinds of food-related words and phrases and describes customs and beliefs about various foods.

Presents a group biography of eleven men who explored the American West in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including ship's officers, fur traders, and Army officers.

Describes the many different methods used to solve crimes including skeletal and facial reconstruction, botanical or geological information, voiceprints, and hypnosis.

Describes the many different methods used to solve crimes including skeletal and facial reconstruction, botanical or geological information, voiceprints, and hypnosis.

Describes how a wide variety of things such as nursery rhymes, the national anthem, anesthesia, cellophane, raisins, and dynamite came into being.

Profiles fifty accidental inventions, such as the ice cream soda, nitrous oxide, fingerprinting, and dynamite, explaining how they came to be.

Presents the stories behind forty things that were invented or named by accident, including aspirin, X-rays, Frisbees, Silly Putty, and Velcro.