History Literature / MoreInformationThanYouRequire

* MondegreenGag: Music/TomWaits sings in werewolf language, so you can pretend he's singing about whatever you like

-->-- '''The Argentine National Poultry and Rabbit Inspector's Little Book of Shitty Aphorisms'''[[note]] WERE YOU EVEN AWARE OF IT? This is an actual quote from "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" by Jorge Luis Borges. It might help to read this book with Google handy.[[/note]]

* TheAllegedCar: The cursed Volkswagen Jetta.
* AncientConspiracy: The Secret World Government, the Freemasons.
* BeamMeUpScotty ("They Never Said It!") [[invoked]]
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy - Maybe he was, but Sally Hemmings, Nick Nolte, and Larry the neighbor from ''Series/ThreesCompany'' were mole-men, among many others. WERE YOU AWARE OF IT?
* BeneathTheEarth - The Mole-Men
* BigEater - UsefulNotes/WilliamHowardTaft, complete with JabbaTableManners
* BrownNote / TheVirus - Do not look at an axolotl for too long, or you will become one. This is also a ShoutOut to a fairly obscure short story by Julio Cortázar (which you can read [[https://www.bolles.org/uploaded/2016-17_Summer_Reading/Upper_School/Sophomore_Summer_Reading/Axolotl_Cortazar.pdf here]]).
* CallBack - One of the Mole-Men, "Sssssss the Hisser", is said to have traveled to the surface and [[Literature/TheAreasOfMyExpertise become a hobo]].
* CoolAirship - After the resounding success of ''Literature/TheAreasOfMyExpertise'', John Hodgman rides around in a zeppelin called the ''Hubris'', which he bought from Emo Phillips
** The ''Hubris'' is also one of the first signs we're [[ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld entering into a strange new world]].
* CrossoverPunchline - Many of the footnotes redirect the reader to ''Literature/TheAreasOfMyExpertise".
* CrystalDragonJesus - The Century Toad
* DeadpanSnarker
* DomesticatedDinosaurs - Subverted by the [[{{slurpasaur}} pseudosaurs]] of the Mole-Men.
* EngagingConversation - His response to a female reader's very detailed question about ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' is "Will you marry me?" [[JustForFun/OneOfUs Tellingly, he gives a spot-on explanation of skooma in a clarification footnote.]]
* EscalatingWar - the increasingly bizarre weather reports coming out of Richmond and Milwaukee.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin

* FootnoteFever
* FunWithAcronyms - "[[strike: [[CrossesTheLineTwice Juries Often Hate Negroes]]]] [[RecursiveAcronym John]] Or Hodgman Name".
* GambitRoulette - "How I Did It." Involved are clones with no genitals.
* GoodScarsEvilScars - The Secrets Of Your Past (And How You Got That Horrible Scar)
* HistoricalInjoke
* {{Homage}}, including:
** ''Film/BladeRunner'' - If you find replicants hiding in the floorboards, while you can try some commercial products, the only real solution is to hire a professional blade runner.

** ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' - The two eponymous cities of ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities'' are Cirith Ungol and Orthanc.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' - Lists "Odo (the 'Shapeshifter')" as a forgotten [[Creator/MarxBrothers Marx Brother]]
** ''Franchise/StarWars'' - A picture of Chewbacca is labelled as Aaron Burr
** ''Film/{{Tron}}'' - Do not install a Master Control Program on your computer
** ''WesternAnimation/WatershipDown'' - "Bright Eyes" was the best-selling single from Art Garfunkel's ''Songs About Dead or Dying Rabbits'' album
** ''Series/FraggleRock'' - The Fraggles are all listed as Mole-Men
** ''Film/ThePrincessBride'' - Hodgman claims to have poisoned Wallace Shawn using iocaine powder.
** "Literature/TheLottery" - See the nested Page-A-Day calender entry for June 27.
** ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}''- A baby born with the eyes of a tiger will grow up to be a famous boxer. Or the antichrist.

** ''Film/RainMan''- Casinos generally provide patrons with an autistic man to help you count cards.

* HorseOfADifferentColor - The hideous steeds of the mole-men. There is also a reference to the hideous steeds of the presidents.
* HypocriticalHumour - The section on William Howard Taft repeatedly asks us to stop making fat jokes about him, while making some extremely cruel ones of its own.
* IronicNurseryTune
* ItsBeenDone - The long-awaited sequel to ''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye'' turns out to have the same plot as ''Literature/HarryPotter''
* KillItWithFire - If your house in infested with rats, tides, or Scottie dogs. With [[ArtificialHuman Replicants]], you're just going to have to call in a Film/BladeRunner.
* LongList - 700 Mole-man names, and an entire chapter entitled "Some Lists I Confess to Compiling". Also subverted in that Hodgman refuses to list all 230 mole-man words for darkness, listing only 12.

* OverlyLongName - No less than 152 words including the footnote; more if you count the hyphenated words as two separate words and/or expand "RZA" and "AKA" into the words they stand for.
* MeaninglessMeaningfulWords - The Shitty Aphorisms.
* MondegreenGag - Music/TomWaits sings in werewolf language, so you can pretend he's singing about whatever you like
* OminousOwl - Not to worry, you can cook them. But first you need to dominate them with your stare and remove their clockwork innards.
* ProductPlacement - Parodied when Hodgman described his purchase of an [=iPod=] cable at great length. And in the section on buying a computer, he insists on avoiding the term "PC".
* RaisedByWolves - Music/JonathanCoulton, most prominently, but others include Rudy Giuliani and Creator/WernerHerzog.
* RunningGag - Literally[[note]]Not literally.[[/note]] everywhere, including subjects such as Masturbation (still), eels, turkeys, Benjamin Franklin, shitty aphorisms, Yale University's controversial Feline Studies, unusual precipitation, Emo Phillips, [[HairTropes ponytails]], Percocet (a powerful narcotic), and falconry.
* SecretLegacy - Esperantans vs. the Bush dynasty
* SelfDeprecation - "I am married. Wait, it gets better."
* ShoutOut (The Acknowledgements at the end. Included are [[Music/TheyMightBeGiants John Flansburgh and John Linnell]], [[Series/TheDailyShow Jon Stewart]], Creator/JustinLong (a Mac), [[Series/DoctorWho Colin Baker]], Sarah Vowell, Ira Glass, Ricky Gervais, and others.
* ShownTheirWork (Ironically enough)
* {{Slurpasaur}} - Parodied. The mole-men ride on giant iguanas that they think are DomesticatedDinosaurs.
* StrawmanPolitical - An argument with someone who insists that mole-men were created by the Century Toad, while it's been scientifically proven that they evolved from mole-apes. In an interesting twist, however, this person is portrayed as quite a polite debater, if very very incorrect. In the audiobook, this role is taken by Creator/PaulRudd.
* [[StupidSexyFlanders Stupid Sexy]] Creator/KurtRussell, whose [[EyepatchOfPower eye has grown back]] after he [[Film/EscapeFromNewYork escaped from New York.]]
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial - Hodgman most definitely does ''not'' have circus elephant's [[BrainInAJar brain pickled in a jar]]
* {{Tagline}}- New [[WeaselMascot ferret]], same old con.
* TakeThat - Music/JonathanCoulton remains a target, and has now upgraded to ''killing'' cats. Creator/NickNolte is now listed as one of the mole-men, and Creator/BenjaminFranklin remains a figure of derision.
* ThreateningShark- The brain sharks
* TheUnfettered - "Declarationists" are molemen and molewomen who declare themselves free from all moleman laws and live on their own, doing whatever is necessary to survive. Their willingness to buck authority and do what they felt proper inspired the Declaration of Independence.
* UnstuckInTime - Hodgman reveals that one presidential candidate would become unstuck in time during the (at the time) upcoming 2008 election cycle.
** The paperback reveals that this was John Mccain, who transported back to {{Prehistoria}}.
* ItsAWonderfulPlot - Prince Albert, disliked by England for being too German, is seriously contemplating suicide, but then a second-class druid who has yet to earn his golden sickle shows Albert the true meaning of the pagan Yuletide festival. Albert successfully gets RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap and becomes a FunnyForeigner.

* RunningGag - Literally[[note]]Not literally.[[/note]] everywhere, including subjects such as [[ADateWithRosiePalms Masturbation]] (still), eels, turkeys, Benjamin Franklin, shitty aphorisms, Yale University's controversial Feline Studies, unusual precipitation, Emo Phillips, [[HairTropes ponytails]], Percocet (a powerful narcotic), and falconry.

* {{Mondegreen}} - Music/TomWaits sings in werewolf language, so you can pretend he's singing about whatever you like

* UnstuckInTime - Hodgman reveals that one presidential candidate would become (unstuck in time during the (at the time) upcoming 2008 election cycle.

* [[ItsAWonderfulPlot Wonderful Life]] - Prince Albert, disliked by England for being too German, is seriously contemplating suicide, but then a second-class druid who has yet to earn his golden sickle shows Albert the true meaning of the pagan Yuletide festival. Albert successfully gets RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap and becomes a FunnyForeigner.

* BrownNote / TheVirus - Do not look at an axolotl for too long, or you will become one.

* TakeThat - Music/JonathanCoulton remains a target, and has now upgraded to ''killing'' cats. NickNolte is now listed as one of the mole-men, and Creator/BenjaminFranklin remains a figure of derision.

* WonderfulLife - Prince Albert, disliked by England for being too German, is seriously contemplating suicide, but then a second-class druid who has yet to earn his golden sickle shows Albert the true meaning of the pagan Yuletide festival. Albert successfully gets RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap and becomes a FunnyForeigner.

''"For your Consideration, The Firms of Dutton & Riverhead Books of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, Publishers of Ken Follett, Darin Strauss, David Rees, and [[Music/WuTangClan the RZA]], Present in the English Language: A Further Compendium of Complete World Knowledge in "Literature/TheAreasOfMyExpertise" Assembled and Illumined by Me, John Hodgman, A Famous [[Series/TheDailyShow Minor Television Personality]]*, Offering'' '''[[TitleDrop More Information Than You Require]]''' ''On subjects as Diverse As: The Past (As There Is Always More of It), The Future (As There is Still Some Left), All of the Presidents of the United States, The Secrets of Hollywood, Gambling, The Sport of the Asthmatic Man (Including Hermit-Crab Racing), Strange Encounters with Aliens, How to Buy a Computer, How to Cook an Owl, And Most Other Subjects, Plus: Answers To Your Questions Posed via Electronic Mail, And: 700 Mole-Man Names, Including Their Occupations''.\\

* EngagingConversation - His response to a female reader's very detailed question about ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' is "Will you marry me?" [[OneOfUs Tellingly, he gives a spot-on explanation of skooma in a clarification footnote.]]

[=*=]''[-Formerly a Former Professional Literary Agent and Professional Writer, AKA "[[TheyMightBeGiants The Deranged Millionaire]]"-]''\\

''"For your Consideration, The Firms of Dutton & Riverhead Books of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, Publishers of Ken Follett, Darin Strauss, David Rees, and [[Music/WuTangClan the RZA]], Present in the English Language: A Further Compendium of Complete World Knowledge in "TheAreasOfMyExpertise" Assembled and Illumined by Me, John Hodgman, A Famous [[Series/TheDailyShow Minor Television Personality]]*, Offering'' '''[[TitleDrop More Information Than You Require]]''' ''On subjects as Diverse As: The Past (As There Is Always More of It), The Future (As There is Still Some Left), All of the Presidents of the United States, The Secrets of Hollywood, Gambling, The Sport of the Asthmatic Man (Including Hermit-Crab Racing), Strange Encounters with Aliens, How to Buy a Computer, How to Cook an Owl, And Most Other Subjects, Plus: Answers To Your Questions Posed via Electronic Mail, And: 700 Mole-Man Names, Including Their Occupations''.\\

* CallBack - One of the Mole-Men, "Sssssss the Hisser", is said to have traveled to the surface and [[TheAreasOfMyExpertise become a hobo]].
* CoolAirship - After the resounding success of ''TheAreasOfMyExpertise'', John Hodgman rides around in a zeppelin called the ''Hubris'', which he bought from Emo Phillips

* CrossoverPunchline - Many of the footnotes redirect the reader to ''TheAreasOfMyExpertise".

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy - Maybe he was, but Sally Hemmings, Nick Nolte, and Larry the neighbor from ''ThreesCompany'' were mole-men, among many others. WERE YOU AWARE OF IT?

** ''WatershipDown'' - "Bright Eyes" was the best-selling single from Art Garfunkel's ''Songs About Dead or Dying Rabbits'' album

* ShoutOut (The Acknowledgements at the end. Included are [[Music/TheyMightBeGiants John Flansburgh and John Linnell]], [[Series/TheDailyShow Jon Stewart]], Justin Long (a Mac), [[Series/DoctorWho Colin Baker]], Sarah Vowell, Ira Glass, Ricky Gervais, and others.

->''"Every man should be capable of all ideas, and I believe that in the future, he will be."''\\
--'''The Argentine National Poultry and Rabbit Inspector's Little Book of Shitty Aphorisms'''[[note]] WERE YOU EVEN AWARE OF IT? This is an actual quote from "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" by Jorge Luis Borges. It might help to read this book with Google handy.[[/note]]

** ''Film/{{Rocky}}''- A baby born with the eyes of a tiger will grow up to be a famous boxer. Or the antichrist.

* TakeThat - JonathanCoulton remains a target, and has now upgraded to ''killing'' cats. NickNolte is now listed as one of the mole-men, and Creator/BenjaminFranklin remains a figure of derision.

* RaisedByWolves - JonathanCoulton, most prominently, but others include Rudy Giuliani and Creator/WernerHerzog.

* FermiParadox - Hodgman proposes a solution to the paradox: perhaps the aliens live very far away. Possibly even ''on other planets''. Also, it's suggested that Fermi himself might have been an alien.

** See below under FermiParadox for another instance.

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' - Lists "Odo (the 'Shapeshifter')" as a forgotten Marx Brother

** ''WatershipDown'' - "Bright Eyes" was the best-selling single from Art Garfunkle's ''Songs About Dead or Dying Rabbits'' album

*** "Eye of the Tiger" was actually Edgar Allen Poe's literary theme song before being appropriated by Sylvester Stallone.

* RaisedByWolves - JonathanCoulton, most prominently, but others include Rudy Giuliani and Werner Herzog.