Please see the first part of this two-part interview with A.J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All, before reading this part.

In short, Jacobs read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in an attempt to become more knowledgeable. Along the way he wrote thoughts on what he was “learning.”

Orgasm: They can be experienced from infancy. What? Did I orgasm when I was an infant? Did I smoke a tiny cigarette afterward?

Oyster: Oysters can change sex according to the temperature of the water. I always knew there was something emasculating about warm baths. 

Poe, Edgar Allen: He married his cousin when she was Thirteen. Sort of the Jerry Lee Lewis of his day but with more interest in Gothic imagery. 

Reproduction: The bandicoot male has a two-tipped penis, and the female a double-slotted vagina, so they can have a little orgy without sending out invitations.

Riot: You only need three rambunctious people to legally qualify as a riot. That’s all. So Julie, our kid, and I could hold our very own riot.

Scott: What was your reaction to The New York Times review of your book by Joe Queenan, that was quite critical? When I just read it my reaction was that the reviewer was taking you way too seriously. But let me ask you for the record.

A.J.: Yes, I was surprised. I found it odd that the reviewer believed that I actually thought I was going to become the smartest person in the world, whereas I thought my book’s absurdly hyperbolic subtitle might have been a tip-off. So I think your assessment is exactly right. Also, in the interest of Britannnica-esque accuracy, I should mention that The New York Times also ran a positive review by Janet Maslin. 

(Jacobs also wrote a response to Queenan's review, titled, "I Am Not A Jackass," that was printed in the Times.) 

Did you really believe reading these books would make you smarter or did you know -- as I think you acknowledge — that it’s just filling your mind with lots of useless unrelated trivia and knowledge. 

Well, I knew I wasn’t going to become Albert Einstein. Or even Alfred Einstein (Albert’s cousin and a noted music historian in his own right).

I don’t think knowledge and intelligence are the same thing. But after my journey, I’ve decided they are, in fact, distantly related. The metaphor that resonates with me is that knowledge is the fuel, and intelligence is the engine. The more knowledge you have, the easier it is to make connections and come up with creative solutions. At least that’s what I tell myself.