Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things

by Charles Panati

2013 · Harper Collins

Astonishing stories behind 500 everyday items, expressions, and customs—from Kleenex to steak sauce, Barbie Dolls to honeymoons. For lovers of facts, students of popular culture, history buffs, and science enthusiasts, the foremost specialist on everything tells us how and why hundreds of the everyday items, expressions, and customs we take for granted came into existence. Learn the fascinating discovery stories behind over 500 phenomena, including: How chewing gum and Silly Putty began as substitutes for rubber How the potato chip emerged from an act of pique on the part of a Native American named Crum Why April Fool's Day started out as New Year's Eve, a joke in itself How the song "Happy Birthday to You" began as a kindergarten jingle titled "Good Morning to All" How the zipper was one man's attempt to make obsolete not buttons . . . but shoelaces How the newlywed husband came to the aid of his accident-prone bride with the invention of the Band-Aid How the hotdog began as an outlawed Roman sausage and received its name at a New York baseball game How Drs. Fallopius and Condom made strides in inventing and popularizing a male means of birth control How the original Goldilocks was a disgruntled, gray-haired crone, tortured by the three bears How Ketchup came from the Romans, Tabasco sauce from an exiled New Orleans banker, Mayonnaise from a French duke, and A.1. Steak Sauce from a royal chef named Brand And many, many more in this carefully organized, delicious compendium of little-known facts—guaranteed to amaze, absorb, amuse, and delight.

Clash of Kingdoms

by Charles Dyer, Mark Tobey

2017 · Thomas Nelson

From the bestselling authors of The Rise of Babylon and The ISIS Crisis, the essential guide for Christians about what Bible prophecy foretells concerning current events in the Middle East—especially the rise of ISIS and the resurgence of Russia—while providing a way to find peace and hope in the face of end times concerns. ISIS, Russia, and Iran are daily atop headlines and are among chief sources of intensifying unease among Americans about how current world conflicts will unfold. Using the Old Testament texts of prophets Ezekiel and Daniel as foundational passages, Bible experts Charles Dyer and Mark Tobey explain the connection between Bible prophecy and real-time events such as the growing alliance between Russia and Iran; the unsettling of the region as ISIS ravages countries and redraws boundaries; and the pull of Turkey and Saudi Arabia into the fray by Russian encroachment, Iranian meddling, and the United States’ inability to create and lead a coalition. Simultaneously, Dyer and Tobey provide practical encouragement and spiritual principles for finding comfort, strength, and perspective in an unsettling time while laying out a strategy for responding out of faith rather than fear in the face of end times concerns.

The Wal-Mart Effect

by Charles Fishman

2006 · Penguin

An award-winning journalist breaks through the wall of secrecy to reveal how the world's most powerful company really works and how it is transforming the American economy.