Others, better persons than I, read novels with good stories and strong characters. They grow old with Philip Roth, cry and laugh with Ann Patchett. I, however, remain attracted to books such as The Book of General Ignorance, Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong.

I'd rather dig into The Dangerous Book for Dogs by Rex and Sparky than join a book group discussion on The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls.

I am attracted to the fun and the trivial. This is a failing. I'd rather know Who Invented Rubber Boots than find out how Jeanette Walls dealt with her dysfunctional but loving family.

By the way, it was not the Duke of Wellington who invented rubber boots, nor was it Charles Goodyear. Amazonian Indians "have been making instant gumboots since time immemorial by standing knee-deep in liquid latex until it dries."

I love stuff like that and tend to believe it. I read it in a BOOK. It must be true.

Still, my charmingly childlike sense of wonder gets me into trouble, like last week, when I took seriously news reports about The Happy Endings Foundation (THEF) and The East of England Cheering Committee. Even the BBC reported they planned to collect and burn children's books with sad endings.

Paul Takushi, my ever vigilant friend at the UC Davis bookstore, asked "Are you trying to double-hoax us?" and provided a link to the InkyGirl blog. InkyGirl admits both she (and I) were taken in by nothing more than a book marketing ploy.

I certainly was fooled, punked, pranked and otherwise deluded. After all, the Happy Endings Foundation has a web site and has been reported upon in newspapers, English though they may be.

InkyGirl writes, "I admit I was taken in after seeing it on a library news site, hearing about radio reports here and overseas, and reading about it in several online news sites."

One of InkyGirl's correspondents wrote, "I can tell you not to worry. It's pretty suspicious that all the Web hits for a seven-year-old organization seem to be from events occurring in October or slightly earlier =and= the only books specifically mentioned are Lemony Snicket's.

"So I ... found that the Web site was registered in July and belongs to www.artscience.net. I found that ArtScience is a clever advertising firm that has 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' as one of its clients.

Her correspondent concludes: "You've been Handler'd," meaning hoaxed by Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler.

InkyGirl said: "There was still a bad taste in my mouth. I'm willing to laugh at a joke as much as the next person, but this was different. This was about literary censorship as well as children's lit, both subjects I care a great deal about, as do many others in the writing and publishing industry."

Still, as someone else pointed out, the satire is part of a tradition that can be traced back to Jonathan Swift, and it's in line with the general foolishness inherent in the Lemony Snicket books in the first place.

It's apparent that everything we think we know is at least somewhat wrong. That's why we need work like The Book of General Ignorance.

What's the strongest wood? What shouldn't you drink if you're dehydrated? How many penises does a European earwig have? And why do I care? But I do, I do.

Aired Sunday October 14, 2007 at 10:55 am and Wednesday October 17, 2007 at 1:00 pm

Orders/Information:

InkyGirl: http://www.inkygirl.com or more specifically: www.inkygirl.com/happy-ending-foundation-lemony-snicket-hoax-in-poor-taste/

The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. Harmony Books hardcover $19.95. ISBN 9780307394910.

The Dangerous Book for Dogs by Rex & Sparky (Joe Garden, Janet Ginsburg, Chris Pauls, Anita Serwacki, Scott Sherman). Villard hardcover $15.95. ISBN 9780345503701.

The answers posed by questions I quoted from The Book of General Ignorance are:

1. The strongest wood is balsa. "It's the strongest wood in the world when measured in three categories of stiffness, bendability, and compressibility -- stronger than oak or pine.

2. What shouldn't you drink if you're dehydrated? Seawater. "It's an emetic, so, if you drink it, you'll throw up. Virtually any fluid will help to hydrate you."

3. How many penises? "Two (one for special occasions). The European or black-earwig carries a spare one in case the first one snaps off, which happens quite frequently."

The Book of General Ignorance answers all these questions in much more detail than I indicated above, if you care. It is fun, however.

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