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Thursday, May 16
The Indiana Daily Student

New book a great way to waste time

Would you rather eat a sandwich bag full of lawn clippings or one live earthworm?\nWould you rather be caught doing something embarrassing in still photos or on audiotape?\nWould you rather always speak in rhyme or not hear every third word spoken to you?\nThese are just some of the questions to ponder in "Zobmondo!!: The outrageous book of bizarre choices," created by Randy Horn.\n"Zobmondo!!" is an expression that you probably aren't too familiar with. But after reading the book of the same name, you're likely to shout this out when asked a question with two equally horrific choices.\n"Zobmondo!!", according to a definition in the beginning of the book, is "a slang expression derived from the negative exclamation 'zob,' to express horror, pain or frustration…The expression reflects the difficulty that one faces in choosing between the equally unappealing and often horrific options in each question."\nThe book contains 404 questions meant to spark conversation and, in this reader's opinion, meant to nauseate you as well. For example, one question asks whether you would rather have a small man living inside your mouth who bangs incessantly on your teeth with a pick, or if you would rather coexist with a bird who lives on your nose and yanks out your nose hairs at its own will. Neither option really appeals to me, but I guess this is where the expression "Zobmondo!" comes into play.\nEach page of the book is taken up with one question, along with trivia, useful information and the like.\nThe question, "Would you rather walk around from now on wearing shoes with little suction cups or metal cleats on the bottom," is accompanied with information about the footpads of geckos and the boots that the astronauts who landed on the moon wore. Much of the information is useless trivia that could only be found in an equally useless Jeopardy category, thus making it all the more fun.\n"Zobmondo!!" is a great coffee table book. It will definitely spark conversation among any of its readers, and possesses trivia that's…well…trivial for anyone. It's a great way to waste time and to learn a little something in the process, both about yourself and about your friends.

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