From airline food, bagpipes and Barney to soggy cereal, telemarketers and warts, here is the first A-to-Z, illustrated compendium of everyday annoyances-complete with truly informative scientific explanations and wry commentary. When it comes to aggravation, it's the little things that count. Car alarms, fingernails on a blackboard, having a song stuck in your head, cookie mush at the bottom of your coffee cup, mosquitoes, mimes, chain letters-and those silly curtains between First Class and Coach, what are those about? THE POCKET ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGGRAVATION is a unique tour through the things that drive us crazy, full of fascinating details about their inner workings, causes, remedies and histories. Deadpan cross-sections, diagrams and technical drawings bring such things to life as VCRs that flash 12:00-12:00-12:00 and the sound waves created by nails on a chalkboard or crinkly candy wrappers.