Oddities

Oddities PDF Author: Rupert Thomas Gould
Publisher: London : P. Allan
ISBN:
Category : Curiosities and wonders
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description

Oddities

Oddities PDF Author: Rupert Thomas Gould
Publisher: London : P. Allan
ISBN:
Category : Curiosities and wonders
Languages : en
Pages : 360

Get Book Here

Book Description


Highly Irregular

Highly Irregular PDF Author: Arika Okrent
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197539424
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Maybe you've been speaking English all your life, or maybe you learned it later on. But whether you use it just well enough to get your daily business done, or you're an expert with a red pen who never omits a comma or misplaces a modifier, you must have noticed that there are some things about this language that are just weird. Perhaps you're reading a book and stop to puzzle over absurd spelling rules (Why are there so many ways to say '-gh'?), or you hear someone talking and get stuck on an expression (Why do we say "How dare you" but not "How try you"?), or your kid quizzes you on homework (Why is it "eleven and twelve" instead of "oneteen and twoteen"?). Suddenly you ask yourself, "Wait, why do we do it this way?" You think about it, try to explain it, and keep running into walls. It doesn't conform to logic. It doesn't work the way you'd expect it to. There doesn't seem to be any rule at all. There might not be a logical explanation, but there will be an explanation, and this book is here to help. In Highly Irregular, Arika Okrent answers these questions and many more. Along the way she tells the story of the many influences--from invading French armies to stubborn Flemish printers--that made our language the way it is today. Both an entertaining send-up of linguistic oddities and a deeply researched history of English, Highly Irregular is essential reading for anyone who has paused to wonder about our marvelous mess of a language.

Long Island Oddities

Long Island Oddities PDF Author: John Leita
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1614239347
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
John and Laura Leita delve in to the oddities that make Long Island unique and it may be more odd than you thought possible! Long Island's history is well known, but often overlooked are the island's unique and bizarre stories and treasures--the most interesting locations and darkest legends. From hidden haunts and legends like the Indian Princess of Lake Ronkonkoma to well-known events like the Amityville Horror House murders, this collection chronicles the tales of restless spirits, unrequited loves and otherworldly visits that riddle the island. There is much to be seen along the roadside, too, including the beloved Big Duck, the Riverhead Indian and even the grave site of Nixon's dog, Checkers. Through history, pictures and the personal experiences of a ten-year endeavor, authors John and Laura Leita brings to life Long Island's abandoned structures, including psychiatric hospitals and other ruins waiting to be rediscovered. Join the Leitas as they go in search of the delightfully quirky side of Long Island.

Oddities

Oddities PDF Author: John Bigwood
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062959700
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Challenge your acuity and stimulate your mind with this entertaining puzzle book filled with charming illustrations, fun facts, and trivia along the way. Life is odd. People are odd. Things are odd. There is oddity in the strangest places, not least in this collection of extreme odd-one-out teasers that will bamboozle the brain and test even the eagle-eyed. Whether you’re looking for odd ones out or matching pairs of oddities—from strikingly similar cactuses to lluscious-llocked look-alike llamas, Oddities challenges you to discover the minute differences lurking on every page. Simply pick a puzzle and follow the instructions on the left-hand page. There are odd ones out to spot, hipster accessories to match, and random trivia that delights and educates. Each puzzle in Oddities includes fun facts and interesting information, and if you get stuck, all of the answers can be found at the back. The illustrations for each puzzle are also fun to color.

Freak Show

Freak Show PDF Author: Robert Bogdan
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022622743X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
This cultural history of the travelling freak show in America chronicles the rise and fall of the industry as attitudes about disability evolved. From 1840 until 1940, hundreds of freak shows crisscrossed the United States, from the smallest towns to the largest cities, exhibiting their casts of dwarfs, giants, Siamese twins, bearded ladies, savages, snake charmers, fire eaters, and other oddities. By today’s standards such displays would be considered cruel and exploitative—the pornography of disability. Yet for one hundred years the freak show was widely accepted as one of America’s most popular forms of entertainment. Robert Bogdan’s fascinating social history brings to life the world of the freak show and explores the culture that nurtured and, later, abandoned it. In uncovering this neglected chapter of show business, he describes in detail the flimflam artistry behind the shows, the promoters and the audiences, and the gradual evolution of public opinion from awe to embarrassment. Freaks were not born, Bogdan reveals; they were manufactured by the amusement world, usually with the active participation of the freaks themselves. Many of the "human curiosities" found fame and fortune, until the ascent of professional medicine transformed them from marvels into pathological specimens.

The Book of Strange and Curious Legal Oddities

The Book of Strange and Curious Legal Oddities PDF Author: Nathan Belofsky
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101188960
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
You're probably breaking the law right now-and don't even know it. Did you know... ? Naples, Italy, enforces laws for what constitutes real pizza, and "pizza police" visit restaurants to crack down on unlawful pies? ? In West Virginia it is a crime to display or possess a red or black flag? ? It is illegal to sell stuffed articles depicting female breasts within a thousand feet of any county highway in California? ? Spherical fishbowls have been banned in Rome since 2004? There are hundreds of bizarre laws that we could be breaking at any moment. What exactly are we doing that we shouldn't be doing, and what happens if we get caught? In this engaging and insightful collection, Nathan Belofsky takes us on a journey of eclectic, unexpected, and bizarre laws from around the world. Written by a practicing lawyer with an eye for his profession's most unusual quirks, The Book of Strange and Curious Legal Oddities offers a delightful look at the legal system's peculiarities through the ages. From laws that crack down on how we eat, look, and have sex, to real legal battles involving litigious chimpanzees, you'll start wondering whether you're really the law-abiding citizen you claim to be.

The Book of Random Oddities

The Book of Random Oddities PDF Author: Publications International Ltd
Publisher: Book of
ISBN: 9781450875554
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The 704-page hardcover book contains 250 random articles, plus statistics, facts, trivia, and lists that range from absurd to useless to hilarious. The Book of Random Oddities provides hours upon hours of fascinating reading. It is for anyone with a curious mind.

Kansas Oddities

Kansas Oddities PDF Author: Roger L Ringer
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1439664420
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
Touch down at Dead Cow International Airport and sample the state's bumper crop of bizarre history. The most commonplace sights contain unlikely stories, from the bulldozer's Morrowsville origins to the sunflower's journey from outlawed weed to state symbol. Some of this heritage lies submerged or buried, like the world's only saltwater spring, which now sits at the bottom of a man-made lake. Rumored caches of the Fleagle Gang's loot still draw treasure hunters in spades. From mariachi legends to rodeo roundups, Roger Ringer gathers in a vast and varied harvest of Kansas lore.

Very Special People

Very Special People PDF Author: Frederick Drimmer
Publisher: Citadel Press
ISBN: 9780806512532
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
Siamese twins, midgets, giants, bearded ladies, and hermaphrodites are among the people profiled with compassion and insight

Human Oddities

Human Oddities PDF Author: Martin Monestier
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780806510217
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description