In 2009, a Dutch artist created *The Infinite Book Machine*, a vending-machine-style printer that can instantly produce on-demand paperbacks from an online catalog. Users simply pick a title and it prints, binds, and spits it out in minutes.

In 1929, author Robert H. Davis sealed his unpublished manuscript inside a metal container and threw it into the Atlantic. It was found decades later, intact, and eventually published under the title ...But Something Happened.

The oldest known books in the world were made of clay. Actually earthen tablets on which written symbols were imprinted and baked, these "books" were used for recording land deeds and business transactions by the Babylonians five thousand years before movable type was invented in the West.

Some collectors pay thousands for books signed by authors-even more if the signature was personalized or includes a sketch. J.K. Rowling's autograph has fetched over $5,000 on rare editions of *Harry Potter*.

*Fahrenheit 451*, a book about book burning, has itself been banned in various places since its release in 1953. Ironically, many of the bans were due to profanity or content objections-highlighting exactly what the novel warned against.

The most stolen book from public libraries is the *Guinness Book of World Records*. Its popularity and novelty often tempt casual readers to walk off with it instead of checking it out.

There are entire towns dedicated to books. The most famous is Hay-on-Wye in Wales, which has dozens of bookstores packed into a tiny village. It attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually for its literary festivals.

A rare practice known as **anthropodermic bibliopegy** involved binding books in human skin. A few confirmed examples exist, mostly from the 17th-19th centuries, often medical texts using the skin of unclaimed bodies.

Some 19th-century book covers were dyed using arsenic-laced pigments. These "poison books" are rare but real-and some are now quarantined in library archives due to their toxicity.

Old books give off a distinct scent due to chemical breakdown of cellulose and lignin, producing compounds like vanillin and benzaldehyde. This nostalgic aroma is often described as "a combination of almond, vanilla, and old wood."

In 1829, Louis Braille published the first book printed in the raised-dot system he invented. Today, entire libraries exist in Braille, and audiobooks have become a major avenue for accessible reading worldwide.

In many prisons, access to books is considered a lifeline. Some inmates have drastically reduced their sentences through reading programs-like in Brazil, where reading and writing essays on approved books can shave days off a sentence.

NASA astronauts have taken books aboard space missions for decades. Among them: *The Bible* (on microfilm), *The Hobbit*, and *The Martian Chronicles*. These selections are both for comfort and to pass time during long orbits.

The ancient Library of Alexandria is one of the most famous losses of knowledge in history. Thought to have held up to 400,000 scrolls, its destruction remains a symbol of lost human wisdom-and historians still debate exactly when and how it burned.

Johannes Gutenberg was not the first man to produce a book printed with movable type. Printed books were made in China five hundred years before their appearance in Europe. These books were set in movable type made with metal or porcelain characters, were printed on paper (which also was invented in China centuries before it reached the West), and were bound in a manner much like contemporary volumes, complete with title page and cover. The National Library of Russia in Saint Petersburg holds approximately 15 million books, making it one of the largest libraries in Russia. However, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., surpasses this with over 39 million cataloged books and other print materials, solidifying its status as the largest library in the world.

Throughout history, some books were believed to be cursed-like the *Codex Gigas*, also called "The Devil's Bible," rumored to bring misfortune to its readers. Others, like grimoires and occult tomes, were locked away to avoid their supposed powers.

In 2009, Amazon remotely deleted copies of *1984* and *Animal Farm* from Kindle devices due to copyright issues-ironically mirroring the censorship themes in Orwell's work. Customers were refunded, but the move caused public outcry.

There's an annual event called the *International Edible Book Festival* held every April 1st. Participants create books you can eat-literally. Entries include cakes shaped like novels, cookies with quotes, and even lasagna styled like library shelves.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, aristocrats often used "dummy books" to disguise secret compartments in their libraries. Some were even hollowed out to hide valuables-or contraband.

Some ancient books remain unreadable because they were written in languages no one can yet decipher. The most famous is the *Voynich Manuscript*, filled with unknown symbols, mysterious plants, and indecipherable diagrams.

From phantom footsteps to floating books, haunted libraries are a real thing in folklore. The Willard Library in Indiana is said to be visited by the "Grey Lady" ghost-and even has a live ghost cam installed.

During wartime, some books were used for **espionage**, with messages hidden between the lines using invisible ink or by encoding information into seemingly ordinary paragraphs. Entire espionage manuals have been disguised this way.

The longest novel ever written is *In Search of Lost Time* by Marcel Proust. Depending on the edition, it contains over 1.2 million words across seven volumes. If read at a steady pace, it would take the average reader several months to finish.

The most expensive book ever sold is *Codex Leicester* by Leonardo da Vinci. It was purchased by Bill Gates in 1994 for $30.8 million. The 72-page manuscript contains scientific diagrams and theories written in da Vinci's mirrored handwriting.

The most translated book in the world is *The Bible*, available in over 3,500 languages. The most translated non-religious book is *The Little Prince* by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, translated into more than 500 languages.

The oldest known printed book is the *Diamond Sutra*, dated to 868 AD during China's Tang dynasty. It was discovered in a cave in Dunhuang and is considered the earliest complete printed book with a specific publication date.

In Colombia, a garbage collector named Jose Alberto Gutierrez became famous for building a library using discarded books he found while working his night route. His grassroots collection now serves thousands in his community.

In recent years, AI has been used to generate poetry and fiction. In 2016, a Japanese AI co-authored a short story that passed the first round of a national literary competition-without judges knowing it was written by a machine.

All over the world, hidden or disguised bookstores operate behind secret doors, unmarked buildings, or inside converted phone booths. One example is *Bart's Books* in California, which has open-air bookshelves accessible from the sidewalk 24/7.

Author Jonathan Basile created an online version of *The Library of Babel*-a virtual library containing every possible combination of letters, punctuation, and spaces. It mimics the fictional concept by Borges, offering infinite pages, most of which are gibberish-but some form real words and eerie phrases.

The smallest printed book in the world is *Teeny Ted from Turnip Town*, measuring just 0.07 mm by 0.10 mm. It was etched onto a microchip using a focused ion beam and requires a scanning electron microscope to read it.

In the Maldives, there is a small "floating library" that travels between islands by boat, bringing children's books to remote communities. Some editions are waterproof to survive tropical storms and rough handling.

When Franz Kafka died in 1924, he left instructions for his unpublished manuscripts to be destroyed. Fortunately, his friend Max Brod ignored this and published classics like *The Trial* and *The Castle* posthumously-changing literary history forever.

Located in Myanmar, the world's largest book consists of 729 marble slabs, each housed in its own pagoda. Together, they make up the *Tipitaka*, the sacred Buddhist scripture carved in the mid-1800s.