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10 Ways to Recycle a Corpse: and 100 More Dreadfully Distasteful Lists
Prepare to be even more revolted, flabbergasted, appalled, and completely entertained by this incredible follow-up collection of absolutely true trivia from the author of 5 People Who Died During Sex. Nothing is too insane, too inane, or too sacred for Karl Shaw’s eclectic lists of the world’s very worst. Ìý DID YOU KNOWâ€� …that according to recent estimates (2010) your body is worth between $10,000-$100,000 on today’s open market—from companies legitimately trading body parts from willing donors to recognized medical facilities? Ìý …that the great plague of Athens in 404, which lead to the defeat of the Athenians in the Peloponnesian War, was probably caused by contaminated cereals? Ìý …that Benjamin Franklin liked to sit stark naked in front of his open windows, calling the practice “taking an air bathâ€�? Ìý …that in the last days of his life, the actor Steve McQueen lived on a diet largely comprised of boiled alligator skin and apricot pits, washed down with urine? ÌýFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
8 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
About the author
Karl Shaw
30Ìýbooks26ÌýfollowersKarl Shaw writes humour and popular non-fiction titles including the New York Timss bestsellers Royal Babylon and 5 People Who Died During Sex. His most recent is the acclaimed historic true crime thriller The Killing of Lord George: A Tale of Murder and Deceit in Edwardian England.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 30, 2021
A fascinating and entertaining compendium of the macabre, morbid, grotesque, and repulsive. Love the suggestions for further reading.
September 9, 2020
This would have been better with citations. A bit of it felt a little rumor-mongery. I did genuinely laugh at a few parts and it was well-organized. My favorite part was a comment someone (Jonathan Hunt) made about Ronald Reagan: “In a disastrous fire in Ronald Reagan’s library, both books were destroyed. And the real tragedy is that he hadn’t finished coloring them.� That is simply a brilliant burn with an equally brilliant follow-up. I think this is a fun little read with some nice conversation starters, but it’s also become quite dated since publication and it’s very British-centric, which is fine but may not appeal to all. Also, very dictator heavy, so hopefully you want to know everything there is to know about Enver Hoxha...
December 19, 2016
Compilation of humorous lists, but there's only one section that deals with corpses or death. Given the title, I thought there'd be more.
May 29, 2020
I love useless information and this is filled with it!!
June 16, 2021
I always get a kick out of reading these lists
February 1, 2024
A real piece of dreck. Discovered many factual errors in the first 20% before discarding it as a waste of time. What crap.
January 27, 2012
I vividly remember snorting various beverages through my nose whilst reading Shaw's previous compendium of trivia, Five People Who Died During Sex, so perhaps my expectations were too high, but 10 Ways to Recycle a Corpse is hardly the doubling-down on the funny that the title might imply. There are, obviously, funny bits here, but Shaw seems to stick close to only a handful of historical figures which gives the work a rather limited feel and some of the facts get recycled from list to list. Perhaps there's an endless stream of Hitler jokes to be made (at least, so YouTube suggests!), but not here - at least, not successfully. Entertaining, but nothing to snort soda through your nose over.
March 6, 2014
I picked up this book as a prop for a photo simply because I liked the title and originally had no intention of buying it until I peaked inside. The list of famous wankers was the first thing I opened to and of course I was amused enough to buy. As a lover of odd facts, I'm glad I did. It was full oddities in history and historical figures mixed with a little morbid humor and it does indeed have a list of 10 ways to recycle a corpse. An amusing light read worth checking out if you're a fan of oddities or history.
November 10, 2011
Another great book of interesting lists! Not a lot of references, though, with a few facts I was a little iffy about, but since I would use this for mere entertainment, whatever. And it is highly entertaining.
January 18, 2013
It is the sequel to 5 People Who Died During Sex: And 100 Other Terribly Tastelss Lists. Not as good as the first, but still a lot of fun to read. I prefer the historical stuff to the more current stuff, but this book is found in the Humour section, so I shouldn't complain.
October 20, 2014
I love it, but I'm quirky that way. List after list of death, disease, grue and history. Highly recommended for those who love their non-fiction with a good dose of quirky, perhaps not so much for those of more tender sensibilities and more quivery stomachs.
November 22, 2014
The information in this book is definitely interesting and thought provoking. And the way it was written was done well. Though some of the information might need to be looked into more the rest seemed okay.
March 27, 2012
I haven't read Karl Shaw's previous book of lists yet but I found this compulsive reading, a real page turner. It had me smiling right to the end.
July 10, 2012
A great, interesting book. I love reading about random and unusual things and I really enjoyed reading this.
July 24, 2012
I love books with strange trivia and this one definitely has that. A great read if you are wanting tidbits instead of entire chapters.
November 27, 2012
I enjoyed this book to an extent. The lost form gets a wee bit old after a while. I definitely learned a few new things.
February 28, 2014
There were some things in here that I can't unknow and that's a problem. But for the most part, it was a quirky book filled with odd lists and I enjoyed it.
October 16, 2014
Lists of useless facts that are endlessly entertaining.
September 26, 2012
Fantastic lot of not so needed to know trivia!!
February 26, 2013
Some interesting lists; some not so interesting lists.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
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