Welcome! You have landed in Funny FACTopia!, a world of hilarious, weird and amazing facts. Every fact is connected in surprising and comical ways. Follow a trail that hops from facts about astronauts to facts about zebras, and from facts about candy floss to facts about kings and queens.
And there isn’t just one trail through these facts. Sometimes your path branches, and you can choose to jump to a completely different (but still connected) part of Funny FACTopia!
Where will your curiosity take you?
Supporting resources
Check out Máire and Andrew’s videos where they share children’s books they enjoyed, where they love to read, and their top tips for enjoying reading and more!
Author video
Check out Christopher’s video where he share children’s books he enjoyed, where he loves to read, and his top tips for enjoying reading and more!
About the editors
Christopher Lloyd
Chistopher Lloyd graduated from Cambridge University with a double-first class degree in history before starting his career as a journalist for The Sunday Times. In 2008, he wrote his debut book – the best-selling world history title What on Earth Happened?, which has now sold more than 500,000 copies and been translated into 15 languages.
In 2010, he founded the children’s non-fiction publishing house What on Earth!, to help young people learn about the real world in a more interconnected way.
Since then, in addition to running What on Earth!, he has written many children’s non-fiction books including Absolutely Everything!, Humanimal and We Are All Animals. He is also the editor of the Britannica All New Children’s Encyclopedia, which has sold more than one million copies and been translated into 29 languages. In 2022 Christopher also co-founded What on Earth! Magazine, now the fastest growing children’s non-fiction magazine in the UK.
Christopher divides his time between writing, speaking at schools and literary festivals (sometimes wearing his coat-of-many-pockets), giving lectures all over the world and running What on Earth! He lives in Tonbridge, Kent, with his wife and two adorable terriers.
Kate Olesin
Kate Olesin is an author, editor and professional fun fact finder who has assembled (what she feels) is the largest collection of amazing, out-of-this-world, and delightfully wacky facts ever. Besides sharing these titbits at parties, she’s put them into books, including FACTopia! and Return to FACTopia! from What on Earth! A former editor for National Geographic Kids Books, now Kate runs a book production business called WonderLab Group, where she works on titles about everything from magical detective unicorns to brain-teasing puzzle books to science-infused cookbooks. Kate lives in Portland, Oregon, USA.
About the illustrator
Andy Smith
Andy Smith studied illustration at the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art, London. His work combines illustration and typography to create images that have humour, energy and optimism executed with a handmade, tactile feel. Andy has illustrated the entire FACTopia! series for What on Earth!, and his work has been exhibited in the UK, USA, France and Australia. When not producing commercial work for clients, he can be found in the studio screen printing books and posters. Andy lives and works by the sea in Hastings, East Sussex.
Alternative formats
The £1/€1.50 books are also available in braille, large print & audio via Guide Dogs, Vision Ireland, RNIB and Calibre Audio and Listening Books. If you require one of these formats, please find out about diversity and inclusion.
