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223rd out of 1,713 books
—
1,527 voters
Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments
by
Alex Boese
When Tusko the Elephant woke in his pen at the Lincoln Park Zoo on the morning of August 3, 1962, little did he know that he was about to become the test subject in an experiment to determine what happens to an elephant given a massive dose of LSD. In Elephants on Acid, Alex Boese reveals to readers the results of not only this scientific trial but of scores of other outra...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
November 5th 2007
by Mariner Books
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An absolutely fantastic book that gives great insight into the odd ends of humanity's pursuit of knowledge as well as some excellent scientific trivia. I highly recommend this book to any who have even a slight interest in general science, especially sociology and psychology. Heck, I really want everyone to give this book at least a try.
Although there are many well known studies in this book, that might not be new or surprising to the scientifically aware, the author does an excellent job giving...more
Although there are many well known studies in this book, that might not be new or surprising to the scientifically aware, the author does an excellent job giving...more
An interesting book, I heard about ELEPHANTS ON ACID from the Kevin Smith podcast (SMODCAST). This is a great, quick/bathroom read that will that astound and captivate even the least scientific-minded individual.
In fact, I will go so far as to say that book is less about the experiments AND more about the experimenters. Scientists are a strange group of people (drinking vomit to prove fellow fever isn't contagious? Yikes).
The book is a nice blend of the horrifying and the humorous. Having take...more
In fact, I will go so far as to say that book is less about the experiments AND more about the experimenters. Scientists are a strange group of people (drinking vomit to prove fellow fever isn't contagious? Yikes).
The book is a nice blend of the horrifying and the humorous. Having take...more
Boese presents a hodgepodge collection of experiments that range from comical, strange, disgusting, and just plain sad. This is not a book for those with weak stomachs as animals and sometimes humans endure painful procedures and tests in the name of science. Mainly my preference was for the studies that focused on human behavior or those in which the scientist used himself as a guinea pig. For instance, one researcher attempted to contract yellow fever by experimenting with the fluids of the in
...more
Marchevsky 1
Isabel Marchevsky
Mrs. Romaniuk
Book report #6
7 December, 2010
Elephants On Acid:
What In The Name Of Science?!?!
Most people draw the line at zombie kittens, two headed dogs, and enrolling black bags in school, but not these people! In this 5 star informational short story book by Alex Boese, scientists throughout history have conducted outstandingly bizarre experiments for the sake of curiosity and competition, and, most remarkably, received government grants for their work. Whether me...more
Isabel Marchevsky
Mrs. Romaniuk
Book report #6
7 December, 2010
Elephants On Acid:
What In The Name Of Science?!?!
Most people draw the line at zombie kittens, two headed dogs, and enrolling black bags in school, but not these people! In this 5 star informational short story book by Alex Boese, scientists throughout history have conducted outstandingly bizarre experiments for the sake of curiosity and competition, and, most remarkably, received government grants for their work. Whether me...more
Apr 12, 2013
Mandie Kok
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people interested in science for entertainment
I have to give this 3 stars, but it's my own fault. Had I read it back in 2007, when it was published, the bizarre experiments might still have been unknown to me. However, since this is something that interests me, I have come across most of the experiments mentioned in this book already.
A compromise then. If you've already read such books as Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers or a...more
A compromise then. If you've already read such books as Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers or a...more
I went about this what was officially the wrong way round, reading the sequel to Elephants on Acid (if you are wondering, Electrified Sheep) first – but for me it worked well because I preferred the original.
Both books have the same basic premise – a collection of tales of the weirdest and most bizarre experiments that real scientists have undertaken – but Elephants has the advantage of both coming first, and hence probably getting the cream of the crop, and also lacks the format issue I had wit...more
Both books have the same basic premise – a collection of tales of the weirdest and most bizarre experiments that real scientists have undertaken – but Elephants has the advantage of both coming first, and hence probably getting the cream of the crop, and also lacks the format issue I had wit...more
Boese presents a catalogue of truely bizarre experiments, giving a short essay on each and collecting them into themed chapters. The book is intended to be humourous and it is, in places, but the technique used for the jokes hardly varies throughout and if read in just a few sessions, becomes repetative and palls. Some of that humour is also, in my view, in poor taste; jokes about dogs that have been repeatedly shocked with electricity don't make me laugh.
This leads directly to the other problem...more
This leads directly to the other problem...more
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The author's sense of humor is extremely grating, and the experiments all seem to fall under either "somewhat eccentric but useful way of answering a valid question" or "stupid and cruel." Neither is enhanced by Boese's jeering or the weak one-liners with which he ends each anecdote.
Look, scientists can be huge weirdos. Charles Darwin once conducted an experiment to determine whether worms will get distracted from whatever it is worms do if you play the bassoon in their vicinity. THAT is the kin...more
Look, scientists can be huge weirdos. Charles Darwin once conducted an experiment to determine whether worms will get distracted from whatever it is worms do if you play the bassoon in their vicinity. THAT is the kin...more
Somewhat dry factual of many of the experiments done by man, to man or to animal. Some are unbelievable like the guy who drank vomitus to see if he would catch the disease. Anyhoo, mostly interesting, sometimes not. Did make me wonder about the intelligence or stupidity of the human race....even more....
LoL..toilet reading at its finest.
I found this to be quiet an interesting book if i'am honest.Very strange and bizarre tales of doctors preforming questionable experiments by todays standards.
It basicly consists of collections of weird and wacky test on animals and humans such as some guy staying wake for as long as humanly possible and having his friends note the side affects.
Giving LSD to elephants?Can cut off heads be transfered to another body?Humans having sex with monkeys to produce a hybr...more
I found this to be quiet an interesting book if i'am honest.Very strange and bizarre tales of doctors preforming questionable experiments by todays standards.
It basicly consists of collections of weird and wacky test on animals and humans such as some guy staying wake for as long as humanly possible and having his friends note the side affects.
Giving LSD to elephants?Can cut off heads be transfered to another body?Humans having sex with monkeys to produce a hybr...more
Another chance pick up from Fopp: this one more of a miss than a hit, but if I'm paying peanuts then I'll get the odd duffer, and I can live with that.
I'm not sure what my real beef with the book is though, to be honest. It's laid out in a sensible fashion: experiments grouped together by "genre" and they're all written up pretty succinctly.
Perhaps it's the lame attempt at humour from the author that grated, or the slightly laborious writing style.
However, being impartial, there are some interes...more
I'm not sure what my real beef with the book is though, to be honest. It's laid out in a sensible fashion: experiments grouped together by "genre" and they're all written up pretty succinctly.
Perhaps it's the lame attempt at humour from the author that grated, or the slightly laborious writing style.
However, being impartial, there are some interes...more
This was an interesting book, but it covered so many different experiments it didn't have time to go into too much detail on them. A lot of them I found really interesting, like the mock prison experiment that went completely out of control, or the experiment where a husband and wife try to raise a chimp like one of their children, but I wanted to immediately read more about them. The author was nice enough to list a source at the end of each description, but it didn't help very much if the nea...more
This book is touted as a bathroom book and I think I may have enjoyed it more if I'd read it as such rather than reading it straight through. It consists of brief write ups of bizarre experiments conducted in 10 different categories. I don't know if it speaks to my tastes/interests or what, but I was familiar with many of the experiments that were addressed and I think that disappointed me - I wanted new stuff! Although I only gave it two stars - it was ok - I really would recommend it as fun li...more
As a collection of classic bizarre experiments, this book holds up well. I had read about most of the included studies before, and it would have been nice to get a little more obscure research, but I'm sure most of this is new to the general audience. There were a few new ones for me, including a study making fools of professional wine-tasters and another that showed being visited by a clown almost doubles likelihood of pregnancy for in vitro fertilization (which has interesting implications for...more
The range of experiments discussed in this book meant that even though I have heard about most, there were still some new to me. I also appreciated the lists of references at the end for further reading.
However, this is definitely a toilet book - very short chapters and repetitive narrative techniques make reading it in one go clunky and frustrating. I really would've liked a little more information on each section - but I do have a (strong) science background so it may by at the right levels fo...more
However, this is definitely a toilet book - very short chapters and repetitive narrative techniques make reading it in one go clunky and frustrating. I really would've liked a little more information on each section - but I do have a (strong) science background so it may by at the right levels fo...more
Warning to animal rights fundamentalists... you will probably not enjoy this, but for anyone else with a sense of humour, half a brain and a scientific bent this is a good, if relatively disposable, read. The writer betrays his background as a blogger in his style, particularly his sign-offs, but he offers a wry round-up of experiments in the fields of biology, anthropology and psychology... Only a few of them are completely bizarre, and there is plenty of food for thought throughout, but it is...more
A quick read that is a fun romp through the zanier side of science. Although it's not nearly as lighthearted as it pretends to be... many of the example experiments showcase real mad-scientist-types of history (yeah... for various reasons scientists don't come out smelling like roses in this book). There are the Frankensteins that hang around the gallows to collect bodies to electrocute and those that attempt to keep dog heads alive after being severed from the body. I found the psychological ex...more
I found this book fascinating - occasionally discomfiting or even downright horrifying - but always interesting.
I wasn't sure of the contents when I picked it up, but was happy to find that it is full of specific accounts - complete with references - of experiments or studies. That each began with a short blurb written as a dramatisation or memory of the events in question was an excellent touch.
The layout, of grouped experiments in a chapter with a single theme, was easy to focus on and more en...more
I wasn't sure of the contents when I picked it up, but was happy to find that it is full of specific accounts - complete with references - of experiments or studies. That each began with a short blurb written as a dramatisation or memory of the events in question was an excellent touch.
The layout, of grouped experiments in a chapter with a single theme, was easy to focus on and more en...more
Oct 23, 2011
Jessica La La La La La!
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Jessica by:
Someone on the internet. Go figure.
"The danger of curiosity is that only in hindsight do people know whether it's led them to brilliance or madness, or somewhere in between. Once you fall under its spell, you're along for the ride, wherever it may take you." (xiii)
_____________________________
Nihil est intellectu quod non prius en sensu.
"There is nothing in the mind that is not first in the senses."
Thomas Aquinas, 13th century
(29)
_____________________________________
".... think of the mind as a bowl of water. Imagine each memor...more
_____________________________
Nihil est intellectu quod non prius en sensu.
"There is nothing in the mind that is not first in the senses."
Thomas Aquinas, 13th century
(29)
_____________________________________
".... think of the mind as a bowl of water. Imagine each memor...more
I'm not going to lie, I was pretty disturbed by the first chapter of this book, namely the picture that he chose to include of a really uncomfortable looking severed dog's head that was being kept alive by a machine. I found it strange that he made no mention of how awful it must have been to keep the decapitated head of a dog alive, and yet he wondered about the emotional state of the worst server. That poor human! The book got a little bit less horrible further along, although I skipped the ch...more
easy read about some extremely interesting science experiments. i'd already heard of some of the experiments he mentioned, but i learned something new in every chapter. probably will be good information to pull out at parties. note: don't read the chapter about toilet-related experiments (especially the one about the doctor drinking the vomit of the yellow fever patient) while riding on a rickety old bus through the bumpy, unpaved mountains of costa rica, because it'll make you want to vomit you...more
I liked it. Unfortunately, because I'm weird and my interests are in the weird, I knew half of what was in there (especially the decapitations/two-headed dog since I wrote a paper on it and the social experiments because of Zimbardo's The Lucifer Effect and because my husband is a Psych/Soc major). But that left the other half for me to enjoy. One of the most fascinating stories to me, and will probably stick with me, is about the monkeys and the mother experiment. It's not just about food. :)
I love the way this book was written. It was designed to be an easy, fast read. Still, Alex Boese was able to summarize these experiments with a witty sense of humor and all the important details. The Experiments compiled by this author are rediculously fascinating. In fact, I can't stop sharing them with friends, who are just as entertained by the bizaar, real life antics of scientists throughout the years. I definitely recommend this book!
The author writes in his introduction that he hopes the book is a fun read for people who don't usually read books about science and that it peaks the reader's curiosity to find out more about the experiments he discuses. Both these things were true for me. The writing is fun and the experiments are bizarre and/or eye opening - many are cringe worthy. Each section is just long enough for you to think "okay - I'll just read ONE more..."
Maybe the best book I'll read this year. A very readable history of some of the most bizarre (sometimes disturbing) experiments humans have ever performed. It speaks volumes about our desire to understand ourselves and our quirky, often morbid fascinations. The writer gets a bit cheesy with some of his puns, but that's not why you're reading this. You're reading this because you want to know how the headless kitten experiment went.
An interesting read, and definitely opened your mind as to just what unusual experiments had been conducted before, ranging from grotesque to mind boggling. Probably the most shocking was the experiment with the two-headed dog and the most intriguing was the one where they introduced the concept of money to monkeys.
I liked how it's simply a collection of experiments; you can pick up this book and started reading at any random page.
It was a very interesting read, but personally it wasn't one I'd...more
I liked how it's simply a collection of experiments; you can pick up this book and started reading at any random page.
It was a very interesting read, but personally it wasn't one I'd...more
Pro's - Gave a very broad range of fascinating experiments, both old and new. Great for whetting the appetite for finding out more about the experiments and provided the resources to do so.
Con's - In order to allow for a large range of experiments, the writing on each was very concise and offered only a brief view and very little in the way of details. I would have liked a stronger focus on the breakdown of the experiments versus the wordy intros for each.
Overall a very entertaining read. It's...more
Con's - In order to allow for a large range of experiments, the writing on each was very concise and offered only a brief view and very little in the way of details. I would have liked a stronger focus on the breakdown of the experiments versus the wordy intros for each.
Overall a very entertaining read. It's...more
Interesting! I found some parts quite difficult to read (especially the first chapter, which contains some particularly horrific experiments), but overall very interesting. The three studies I found the most intriguing were Paul Rozin et al's study that provided evidence of the "laws of sympathetic magic", Philip Zimbardo's research into the concept of deindividualisation, and Dr Eric Kast's study of the benefits of administering LSD to terminally ill patients. Some of the other experiments I fo...more
Two-headed dogs! Zombie kittens! Human-chimpanzee cross breeds! Thank you, sir, may I have another? Mad scientists abound in this quick, quirky, enjoyable read. The author chronicles some of the more questionable undertakings in the name of science (LSD-tripping elephants, anyone?), and the result is a fun book that makes perfect bathroom fodder.
Not sure why I read this after being disappointed with Hippo Eats Dwarf!, except that it is on the shelf in the flat where I'm staying. While the information on scientific experiments can be interesting, Boese's insistence on ending each section (which is often only a few pages at most) with a one-liner is grating rather than funny. Don't force the funny.
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Alex Boese holds a master's degree in the history of science from UC San Diego. He is the creator of museumofhoaxes.com. He lives near San Diego.
source: http://us.macmillan.com/author/alexboese
More about Alex Boese...
source: http://us.macmillan.com/author/alexboese
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