- Title: USA: 'ENCYCLOPEDIA MAN' AIMS TO BE WORLD'S MOST INFORMED HUMAN BEING.
- Date: 7th March 2003
- Summary: (L!1) NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 27, 2003) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL) 1. A.J JACOBS PICKING UP THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA 2. CLOSE UP OF JACOBS READING THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACOBS SAYING: "I started reading the encyclopaedia because I got the idea from my father who when I was young, in high school, started reading the encyclopaedia. But he only got up to AP, like appendix or apricots, somewhere in there. So I decided I had to restore the family honour and finish the encyclopaedia." 4. JACOBS IN HIS LIVING ROOM READING THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA IN HIS LIVING ROOM 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACOBS SAYING: "I got a copy of the original encyclopaedia from 1768, the first edition that came out. It has got some interesting facts including that california is an island, so maybe they were predicting that the big earthquake would make it an island so maybe they were ahead of the time." 6. WIFE JULIE JACOBS IN THE KITCHEN 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACOBS ENTERING THE KITCHEN : "What are you making?" 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JULIE SAYING: " I am making a lemon poppy seed cake for the brunch this weekend." 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACOBS SAYING: "Do you think that the brunch people may enjoy the bird's nest soup made from the saliva of humming birds?' 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JULIE SAYING: "Let me think about that. No! " 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JULIE SAYING: " One of my favourite stories is one day, I walked in and I had this rash on my leg and I was complaining about it to him and he said,' well at least you don't have knock knees like the Amish do." 12. JACOBS WALKING TO LOCAL GROCERY STORE 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACOBS SAYING: "I need some of this." (cinnamon flavoured chewing gum). Did you know that cinnamon used to be more valuable than gold?" 14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GROCER SAYING: "How long ago?" 15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACOBS SAYING: " Oh back in the ancient times" 16. ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA ON THE TABLE 17. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACOBS SAYING: "I love to learn about the history of things that you don't think would have history. Like canned laughter. It goes all the way back to the Romans and Greeks who would hire people to laugh at their plays. But it reached its height in the 19th century in France where they hired people, but they made an innovation. They also hired people to cry at tragedies, which I think is a great idea, that the networks should adopt for a particularly sad episode of ER, they could have people weeping in the background." 18. JACOBS TAKING THE MANHATTAN SUBWAY WITH HIS ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA 19. JACOBS IN THE SUBWAY TRAIN READING THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 20. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACOBS SAYING: "I am going to be writing a book called 'The know it all.' One man's humble quest to become the smartest man in the world, so I'll tell people about all the things I have learnt, but also what it is like to carry this around on the New York subway. Which is interesting because you'd think that people would look at me strangely, but you have to do a lot odder things on the New York subway." 21. JACOBS READING A PAGE OF THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA 22. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACOBS SAYING: "I haven't discovered the meaning of life yet, but I am not up to M so it may be in there I am hoping." 23. JACOBS PICKS UP THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA AND LEAVES THE ROOM. Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 22nd March 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City:
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVAVG5VXC3GJ1SKLTY0KVL40HRB
- Story Text: No one can know it all, but one man is coming very
close! New Yorker A.J. Jacobs is in the midst of reading the
entire encyclopaedia in his quest to become the world's
smartest person.
Did you know that cinnamon was at one time more
expensive to purchase than gold? A. J. Jacobs knows it.
That's just one of the many little nuggets of information Jacobs has
learnt in his quest to become the world's most well informed
human being. He plans to read all 24 volumes of the
Encyclopaedia Britannia.
Jacobs, who has a day job at Esquire Magazine, as senior
editor, still manages to read over one hundred pages a day,
and has reached as far as the letter K. So how did he decide
to take up reading the Encyclopaedia? Says Jacobs, "I started
reading the encyclopaedia because I got the idea from my
father who when I was young, in high school, started reading
the encyclopaedia. But he only got up to 'Ap', like appendix
or apricots, somewhere in there. So I decided I had to restore
the family honour and finish the encyclopaedia."
Aside from a brand new edition of the Encyclopaedia
Britannica, Jacobs has also managed to procure a rare first
edition.
Jacobs says, "I got a copy of the original encyclopaedia from
1768, the first edition that came out. It has got some interesting
facts including that California is an island, so maybe they were
predicting that the big earthquake would make it an island so maybe
they were ahead of the time."
Jacobs does manage to impress locals like his West Side
grocer, but it isn't as easy to impress his wife Julie . Says
Julie, "One of my favourite stories is one day, I walked in
and I had this rash on my leg and I was complaining about it
to him and he said,' well at least you don't have knock knees
like the Amish do. I mean, how does that help me?!"
The other facet of Encyclopaedia reading that interests
Jacobs is learning about the past.
"I love to learn about the history of things that you don't think
would have history," says Jacobs.
"Like canned laughter. It goes all the way back
to the Romans and Greeks who would hire people to laugh at
their plays. But it reached its height in the 19th century in
France where they hired people, but they made an innovation.
They also hired people to cry at tragedies, which I think is a
great idea, that the networks should adopt for a particularly
sad episode of ER, they could have people weeping in the
background."
Jacobs may be a walking encyclopaedia of knowledge, but
will he discover the answer to the ultimate question, within
the pages of the Britannica.
He says he is hopeful. "I haven't discovered the meaning of life
yet, but I am not up to M so it may be in there I am
hoping," says Jacobs.
When he is done with the marathon reading session, he
intends to tell all in a book, 'The know it all. One man's
humble quest to become the smartest man in the world.'
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