The Unbelievable Truth is the hugely successful BBC Radio 4 panel show fronted by award-winning actor, comedian and writer David Mitchell in which panelists have to identify the preposterous truths from the lies.

Now the book of the series presents hundreds of hand-picked mind-boggling facts in a cabinet of curiosities, introduced by David Mitchell: "The unbelievable truths have sloughed off their surrounding plausible lies and stand alone: reliable, interesting, funny and odd - like a classic line-up of the show's panellists."

A zebra crossed with a horse is a 'zorse'
Apple pips contain cyanide
Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table
In 1920 the US Postal Service declared it would no longer allow children to be sent by post
Cleopatra wore a false beard
Travelling on the tube for 40 minutes is the equivalent of smoking two cigarettes

Also included is a series of comic essays by Dr Graeme Garden, the radio show's co-inventor, for the reader to experiment with their very own truth-detection skills. Covering a diverse range of subjects from Armadillos to Sir Walter Raleigh each essay contains five incredible truths, tantalisingly concealed amongst a host of barely credible lies.

First published: Thursday 24th October 2013