By THERESA M. HEGEL

By THERESA M. HEGEL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac 2003; Jacob E. Safra, chairman of the board; Ilan Yeshua, chief executive officer (Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., $10.95)
The Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac 2003 could very well be the niftiest thing since sliced bread.
American Otto Frederick Rohwedder thought up the bread-slicing machine not so long ago; in 1928, to be exact. So perhaps Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.'s accomplishment is not incredibly impressive, but I wouldn't say the almanac, in its first edition, was their attempt to reinvent the wheel (which, by the way, rolled into existence around 3500 B.C.).
Of course, I'm gleaning these facts from the almanac itself, which is stuffed with interesting information. Did you know, for example, that sharks never get sick? That Cameroon is home to the world's largest variety of frog, which can grow to have a body length of at least a foot? That archery is the national sport in Bhutan?
Keep this book at your side (With more than 1,000 pages, it wouldn't fit in your pocket, though a large purse might do) and you'll never again suffer the indignity of losing at Trivial Pursuit.
Sections
But seriously, the Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac 2003 is a useful reference book. It begins with a recapitulation of the previous year, including full-length articles on events such as the 9/11 tragedy, the Enron scandal, the XIX Olympic Winter Games and the U.S. election-reform debate.
Some other major sections in the almanac are comparative timelines; arts, entertainment and leisure; personalities; economics and business; nature, science, medicine and technology; awards; and sports.
The almanac includes lists of what it considers the 150 greatest films and the 200 greatest novels. It has color pictures of every country's flag as well as a section outlining vital statistics and facts for each nation and U.S. state. It has biographies of prominent personalities, listings of common mathematical formulas and even a section of color photos of noteworthy events and people.
The back cover of the almanac boasts that it is "complete -- comprehensive -- authoritative" and a "complete source of information for everyday life." An ambitious claim, but the Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac 2003 has the weight -- literally and figuratively -- to pull it off.
hegel@vindy.com