this one's for dad

on my trip to the library last week i picked up a book called "the know-it-all" by a.j. jacobs. the subtitle made me laugh: "one man's humble quest to become the smartest person in the world." to achieve this daunting task, jacobs decided to read through the entire encyclopedia britannica, all 33,000 pages of it.

whew. i get tired just thinking about it.

i have been thoroughly enjoying the book - it kept me interested the entire train ride to joliet the morning and back to chicago this evening. it's funny and full of the interesting trivia i love to impress my friends with (did you know that dogs have three eyelids?!). but the one part i wanted to point out is from the "G" chapter.

jacobs highlights the general grant national memorial in new york, saying this: "I am desperate for someone to ask me the dusty classic 'Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?' Because now I can say, 'Ulysses S. is buried in Grant's Tomb, but so is his wife, Julia Dent Grant. Also, it cost a remarkable $600,000 for 1897, and reaches a height of a hundred a fifty feet."

so there you go, dad. the answer to your favorite question.

well, except maybe "who wants ice cream?"