Bizarre World

Bizarre World
Author: E. Reid Ross
Publisher: Adams Media
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2019-08-13
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1507210787

Atlas Obscura meets 1001 Facts to Scare the Sh*t Out of You in this serious survey of the most bizarre, creepy, and sometimes hilarious customs from cultures around the world. Every culture handles life differently. From the “blackening of the bride” in Scotland and the custom of not looking babies in the eyes in Kenya, to enlisting geese as part of the police squad in China and the tradition of children eating bread with chocolate sprinkles for breakfast in Amsterdam, there are so many unique behaviors all across the world. In Bizarre World, journey across the globe to understand how various cultures approach everything from grief, beauty standards, food, parenting, death, stress management, happiness, and more. Many customs may seem perfectly sane, while others, not so much. Some are just downright strange, funny, or weird. There’s so much to discover about the people around us and the beliefs they hold. Let Bizarre World be your armchair guide to a different way of life with quick facts and “did you knows?” that will leave you saying, “huh, that’s strange.”

The Bizarre and Incredible World of Plants

The Bizarre and Incredible World of Plants
Author: Wolfgang Stuppy
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: Plants
ISBN: 9781770851252

THE BIZARRE AND INCREDIBLE WORLD OF PLANTS, which sold 6,000 copies in hardcover and is now available in paperback This title brings together the best of these three books in one fascinating union of art and science, POLLEN: THE HIDDEN SEXUALITY OF FLOWERS; SEEDS: TIME CAPSULES OF LIFE; AND FRUIT: EDIBLE, INEDIBLE, INCREDIBLE. Each earned high praise that varied from "breathtaking" and "ravishing" to "enlightening" and "truly revelatory." Visual artist Rob Kesseler uses special light and scanning electron microscopy to create astonishing images of a variety of pollen, seeds and fruits. His razor-sharp cross-sections reveal intricate interiors, pods, pouches, keys, and other examples of botanical architecture and seed dispersal. Seed morphologist Wolfgang Stuppy and palynologist Madeline Harley deftly explain the botanical purposes for which the pollen, seeds and fruit are designed, how they fulfill their mission, and their role in preserving the biodiversity of our planet. Literary references and early botanical illustrations pepper the text. THE BIZARRE AND INCREDIBLE WORLD OF PLANTS is groundbreaking in its intimate examination of plant reproduction. It is an essential source and reference for artists, designers and photographers and will fascinate gardeners and readers interested in the natural world. AUTHOR: Wolfgang Stuppy is a seed morphologist for the Millennium Seed Bank at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Rob Kesseler is a visual arts professor and artist who works with microscopic plant material at London's Royal Botanic Gardens. Madeline Harley, PhD, FLS, is head of the palynology unit at the Royal Botanic Gardens. ILLUSTRATIONS: Colour photographs

Unbelievable!

Unbelievable!
Author: Jenny Crompton
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books
Total Pages: 149
Release: 2013-09-01
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 178243089X

Unbelievable! is a fascinating collection of weird and bizarre stories of coincidence.

The WEIRDest People in the World

The WEIRDest People in the World
Author: Joseph Henrich
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2020-09-08
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0374710457

A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 A Bloomberg Best Non-Fiction Book of 2020 A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2020 A Human Behavior & Evolution Society Must-Read Popular Evolution Book of 2020 A bold, epic account of how the co-evolution of psychology and culture created the peculiar Western mind that has profoundly shaped the modern world. Perhaps you are WEIRD: raised in a society that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. If so, you’re rather psychologically peculiar. Unlike much of the world today, and most people who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical. They focus on themselves—their attributes, accomplishments, and aspirations—over their relationships and social roles. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically distinct? What role did these psychological differences play in the industrial revolution and the global expansion of Europe during the last few centuries? In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. It was these changes that gave rise to the WEIRD psychology that would coevolve with impersonal markets, occupational specialization, and free competition—laying the foundation for the modern world. Provocative and engaging in both its broad scope and its surprising details, The WEIRDest People in the World explores how culture, institutions, and psychology shape one another, and explains what this means for both our most personal sense of who we are as individuals and also the large-scale social, political, and economic forces that drive human history. Includes black-and-white illustrations.

Bizarre World

Bizarre World
Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Little Brown GBR
Total Pages: 136
Release: 1995
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780751510614

This is a collection of tall tales, absurd stories, and crazy true-life anecdotes. Bill Bryson is also the author of The Lost Continent, Made in America, and Neither Here Nor There.

Bizarre Tales from World War II

Bizarre Tales from World War II
Author: William Breuer
Publisher: Castle Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008-05-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780785819929

Ernest Hemingway stalks U-Boats. A Belgian woman halts the Panzers. Adolf Hitler plays Santa Claus. If you think these are tall tales, guess again. More than 140 of the most bizarre, curious, and downright strange incidents from World War II are documented here based on personal interviews, archives and declassified documents.

The World's Most Bizarre Murders

The World's Most Bizarre Murders
Author: James Marrison
Publisher: Kings Road Publishing
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2010-06-07
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1843586983

This is no ordinary true crime book. If you think you've got the stomach for the most blood-curdling, sickening and downright strangest murders you will ever come across, then look no further than these pages. You have been warned...Take, for example, Enriqueta Marti who kidnapped children from the streets of Barcelona, then boiled away their flesh and crushed their bones for ingredients for her coveted 'magic potions'. Or take Randy Kraft, known as The Scorecard Killer, a computer genius by day and a a deranged psychopath by night. Finally arrested with a corpse slumped in the passenger seat of his car, it emerged that Kraft had spent over a decade cutting up and disposing of his numerous victims along the California highways. In this stomach-churning collection, all the stories have one thing in common - a unique bizarre twist. True crime writer James Marrison draws upon the material that has featured in the hugely successful column The Murder File in cult magazine Bizarre in order to disclose the kind of sickening deeds that are perpetrated more often than you might think, but which sometimes go largely unreported by the media. Welcome to The World's Most bizarre Murders - the most shocking true crime book you will ever read.

Parasite Rex

Parasite Rex
Author: Carl Zimmer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2001-11-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 074320011X

IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites control the minds of their hosts, sending them to their destruction. IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites are masters of chemical warfare and camouflage, able to cloak themselves with their hosts' own molecules. IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites steer the course of evolution, where the majority of species are parasites. WELCOME TO EARTH. For centuries, parasites have lived in nightmares, horror stories, and in the darkest shadows of science. Yet these creatures are among the world's most successful and sophisticated organisms. In Parasite Rex, Carl Zimmer deftly balances the scientific and the disgusting as he takes readers on a fantastic voyage. Traveling from the steamy jungles of Costa Rica to the fetid parasite haven of southern Sudan, Zimmer graphically brings to life how parasites can change DNA, rewire the brain, make men more distrustful and women more outgoing, and turn hosts into the living dead. This thorough, gracefully written book brings parasites out into the open and uncovers what they can teach us about the most fundamental survival tactics in the universe.

The Bizarre World of Reality Television

The Bizarre World of Reality Television
Author: Stuart Lenig
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2017-10-12
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN:

How do reality television programs shape our view of the world and what we perceive as real and normal? This book explores the bizarre and highly controversial world of reality television, including its early history, wide variety of subject matter, and social implications. In recent decades, reality television shows ranging from Keeping up with the Kardashians to Duck Dynasty have become increasingly popular. Why are these "unscripted" programs irresistible to millions of viewers? And what does the nearly universal success of reality shows say about American culture? This book covers more than 100 major and influential reality programs past and present, discussing the origins and past of reality programming, the contemporary social and economic conditions that led to the rise of reality shows, and the ways in which the most successful shows achieve popularity with both male and female demographics or appeal to specific, targeted niche audiences. The text addresses reality TV within five, easy-to-identify content categories: competition shows, relationship/love-interest shows, real people or alternative lifestyle and culture shows, transformation shows, and international programming. By examining modern reality television, a topic of great interest for a wide variety of readers, this book also discusses cultural and social norms in the United States, including materialism, unrealistic beauty ideals, gender roles and stereotypes in society, dynamics of personal relationships, teenage lifestyles and issues, and the branding of people for financial gain and wider viewership.