The History Hit Miscellany – facts and figures from the years gone by | Books | Entertainment

Have you ever wondered which composer wrote his first symphony when he was just 8-years-old or how Roman legions were arranged?

If you never thought about what Scratching Fanny was doing on Cock Lane or who the pigs were based on in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, then this is a book for you or the trivia lover in your life.

The History Hit Miscellany is just under 300 pages of fun, facts and figures.

You can learn about some famous shipwrecks, the names for a Roman soldier’s uniform.

Where is Britain’s oldest door?

The book has a brief list of famous scientists, great philosophers and celebrated medics.

And if you are wondering about the strange picture at the top of this page – in 1932 the government of Western Australia declared war on emus.

The big birds were ruining the crops so the government sent out soldiers armed with machine guns to kill as many birds as possible.

Find out why peace was declared after just a week.

A great book to dip in and out of. It loses a star because it doesn’t have an index and its price – almost £17 for a trivia book.