There are almost 200 entries in the addictive "Everything (or almost everything) About Paris, "a witty and sophisticated treasure trove of facts, histories, lists, records, quotations, and miscellaneous oddities that go well beyond trivia to include significant culturalenlightenment and a below-the-surface glimpse of what it means to be Parisian.Among the thousands of facts that most certainly haven t been assembled in oneplace anywhere else:
The number of brothels, massage parlors and places of pleasure listed in a1922 guidebook;
Famous poisonings that occurred in Paris;
Addresses of the ten vineyards within the city limits;
Ten vintage aperitifs to order in bistros;
Imaginary Parisian streets that appear in novels;
Fines charged for municipal infractions (from feeding pigeons 35E] to appearingnude in a public place 35,000 E and imprisonment]);
The history of the bikini, the cobblestones, the rooftops, and the trashcans of Paris;
Exploits staged at the Eiffel Tower from 1891 through 2010;
Innovative (unadopted) ideas proposed through the years to improve the qualityof life in Paris: shut down museums and put the paintings in bars, turn churchesinto housing for the poor, and more.
and that s just for starters."