Author : Lara Pauline Karpenko
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 38,99 MB
Release : 2017
Category : History
ISBN : 047213017X
A fascinating look at scientific inquiry during the Victorian period and the shifting boundary between mainstream and unorthodox sciences of the time
Author : Editors of Portable Press
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 402 pages
File Size : 11,14 MB
Release : 2017-06-01
Category : Reference
ISBN : 1684120101
This entertaining compendium of bite-sized articles reveals the stranger-than-sci-fi world of strange science. From the oddest theories to the most astounding discoveries to the biggest blunders, Strange Science has all the facts your professors didn't teach you in science class. It's packed with earth-shattering eurekas, outlandish inventions, silly “scientific” studies, and the stories behind the weirdos who made it all happen. Put on your lab coat and get ready to discover . . . One dentist's quest to clone John Lennon How to hypnotize a chicken Real-life time travelers (or so they claim) The seven-year-long study that found earthquakes are not caused by catfish waving their tails . . . and other breakthrough findings Plus you’ll discover unbelievable inventions; the freakiest franken-foods scientists have created; some of Hollywood’s worst on-screen science blunders; and more! This amazing volume from the Bathroom Readers’ Institute contains the strangest short science articles from dozens of Bathroom Readers, along with fifty all-new pages.
Author : Clifford A. Pickover
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 356 pages
File Size : 46,61 MB
Release : 1999-05-19
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0688168949
Never has the term mad scientist been more fascinatingly explored than in internationally recognized popular science author Clifford Pickover's richly researched wild ride through the bizarre lives of eccentric geniuses. A few highlights: "The Pigeon Man from Manhattan" Legendary inventor Nikola Tesla had abnormally long thumbs, a peculiar love of pigeons, and a horror of women's pearls. "The Worm Man from Devonshire" Forefather of modern electric-circuit design Oliver Heaviside furnished his home with granite blocks and sometimes consumed only milk for days (as did Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison). "The Rabbit-Eater from Lichfield" Renowned scholar Samuel Johnson had so many tics and quirks that some mistook him for an idiot. In fact, his behavior matches modern definitions of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette's syndrome. Pickover also addresses many provocative topics: the link between genius and madness, the role the brain plays in alien abduction and religious experiences, UFOs, cryonics -- even the whereabouts of Einstein's brain!
Author : S. D. Tucker
Publisher : Amberley Publishing Limited
Page : 532 pages
File Size : 19,63 MB
Release : 2016-04-15
Category : History
ISBN : 1445648385
Was Jesus a giant electron? How much does a mouse’s soul weigh? Can women mate with monkeys? As mad as these questions may seem, they have been asked by science in years gone by. Forgotten Science unearths some of the most extraordinary attempts to understand the world around us.
Author : Publications International Ltd
Publisher : Book of
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 17,7 MB
Release : 2019-12
Category : Reference
ISBN : 9781640308336
Packed with hundreds of articles on the most interesting things that ever happened in science. Plus a few things that didn't. Filled with both pragmatic, commonsense explanations and outrageous revelations, Strange but True Science is packed with articles on all things scientific. Each chapter takes an intriguing subject - medical science, pets and animals, consumer gadgets, astronomy, food, mad scientists, the human body - and ferrets out the strange stories and lesser known truths.
Author : Bob Berman
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
Page : 287 pages
File Size : 48,12 MB
Release : 2015-11-10
Category : Science
ISBN : 1627799435
"Touches on a dizzying array of subjects, including UV rays, inert gases, fossils, meteorites, microwaves, rainbows . . . Like many a good teacher, Berman uses humor to entertain his audience and liven things up." —Los Angeles Times Bob Berman is motivated by a straightforward philosophy: everyone can understand science—and it's fun, too. In Strange Universe, he pokes into the bizarre and astonishingly true scientific facts that determine the world around us. Geared to the nonscientist, Berman's original essays are filled with the trademark wit and cleverness that has earned him acclaim over many years for his columns in Astronomy and Discover magazines. He emphasizes curiosities of the natural world to which everyone can relate, and dishes on the little-known secrets about space and some of science's biggest blunders (including a very embarrassing moment from Buzz Aldrin's trip to the moon). Fascinating to anyone interested in the wonders of our world and the cosmos beyond, Strange Universe will make you smile and think.
Author : Bethany Saltman
Publisher : Ballantine Books
Page : 400 pages
File Size : 42,58 MB
Release : 2020-04-21
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0399181458
A full-scale investigation of the controversial and often misunderstood science of attachment theory, inspired by the author’s own experience as a parent and daughter. “A profound and beautiful work . . . searingly honest, brazenly fresh, and startlingly rich.”—Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon When professional researcher and writer Bethany Saltman gave birth to her daughter, Azalea, she loved her deeply but felt as if something was missing. Looking back at her lonely childhood, dangerous teenage years, and love-addicted early adulthood, Saltman thought maybe she was broken. Then she discovered the science of attachment, the field of psychology that explores the question of why—from an evolutionary point of view—love exists between parents and children. Saltman went on a ten-year journey visiting labs, archives, and training sessions, while learning the meaning of “delight” from Mary Ainsworth, one of psychology’s most important but unsung researchers, who died in 1999. Saltman went deep into the history and findings from Ainsworth’s famous laboratory procedure, the Strange Situation, which, like an X-ray, is still used today by scientists around the world to catch a glimpse of the internal workings of attachment. In this simple twenty-minute procedure, a baby and a caregiver enter an ordinary room with two chairs and some toys. During a series of comings and goings, a trained observer studies the minutiae of the pair’s back-and-forth with each other. Through the science of attachment, what Saltman discovered was a radical departure from everything she thought she knew—about love and about her own family, her story, and herself. She was far from broken—she saw that love is too powerful to ever break. Strange Situation is a scientific, lyrical, life-affirming exploration of love. Not only will readers be taken on an emotional ride through one mother’s reckoning with her own past and her family’s future, but they will also be given the tools with which to better understand their own life histories and their relationships today. Praise for Strange Situation “A fascinating deep dive into attachment theory . . . Carefully researched and with copious endnotes, this is an excellent resource for anyone interested in child development.”—Publishers Weekly “Honest and complex . . . A thoughtful engagement with a topic that affects all parents.”—Kirkus Reviews
Author : Editors of Portable Press
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 449 pages
File Size : 16,47 MB
Release : 2016-06-01
Category : Reference
ISBN : 1626866155
Bizarre historical tidbits about quirky queens, hippopotamus soup, shrunken heads, and much more! This exciting title from the folks at the Bathroom Readers’ Institute contains the strangest short history articles from over thirty Bathroom Readers, along with fifty all-new pages. From the twentieth century to the Old West, from the Age of Enlightenment to the Dark Ages, from ancient cultures all the way back to the dawn of time, Strange History is overflowing with mysterious artifacts, macabre legends, kooky inventions, reality-challenged rulers, boneheaded blunders, and mind-blowing facts. Whether it’s B.C. or A.D., you’ll be wondering WTF! Read about . . . The curse of Macbeth Stupid history: Hollywood style The secret LSD experiments of the 1960s In search of the lost “Cloud People” of Peru The Swedish queen who declared war on fleas Unearthing the past with the Outhouse Detectives The Apollo astronaut who swears he saw a UFO How to brew a batch of 5,000-year-old beer The brutal bloodbaths at Rome’s Coliseum Ghostly soup from ancient China The bathroom of the 1970s And much, much more!
Author : Mark Pilkington
Publisher : Red Wheel Weiser
Page : 242 pages
File Size : 44,5 MB
Release : 2007-10-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 1934708399
Mark Pilkington charts some of the more curious byways, scenic detours, and inspired failures of scientists, inventors, and, yes, crackpots, over the past few hundred years. From the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis to zero-point energy, via the Hieronymous Machine and Phlogiston, Far Out tells the stories that are all too often ignored, lost, or simply forgotten by conventional science books. Some of them are perhaps best left languishing in the margins of history, but others may yet change our future. Entries cover physics, chemistry, biology, archaeology, parapsychology, psychology, and other areas yet to be inducted into mainstream science, including radionics, keranography, erotoxin, and remote viewing. Written in a succinct and engaging style, each piece provides a useful, self-contained introduction to its topic, and provides enough information to allow readers to discover more if they so desire. Far Out is the latest in the unique CD-sized book format from Disinformation, following the best-selling 50 Things You’re Not Supposed To Know series by Russ Kick. Once again, the book is printed in two colors, with the entries arranged into sections, many with appropriate illustrations, diagrams, or photographs.
Author : Kent H. Redford
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 296 pages
File Size : 48,84 MB
Release : 2021-06-22
Category : Nature
ISBN : 0300230974
A groundbreaking examination of the implications of synthetic biology for biodiversity conservation Nature almost everywhere survives on human terms. The distinction between what is natural and what is human-made, which has informed conservation for centuries, has become blurred. When scientists can reshape genes more or less at will, what does it mean to conserve nature? The tools of synthetic biology are changing the way we answer that question. Gene editing technology is already transforming the agriculture and biotechnology industries. What happens if synthetic biology is also used in conservation to control invasive species, fight wildlife disease, or even bring extinct species back from the dead? Conservation scientist Kent Redford and geographer Bill Adams turn to synthetic biology, ecological restoration, political ecology, and de-extinction studies and propose a thoroughly innovative vision for protecting nature.
