Synopses & Reviews
Welcome to some of the most weird and wonderful experiments ever conducted in the name of science—“Perfect summertime reading—preferably with a friend nearby who can be constantly interrupted with unsettling facts.” —The Daily Mail (UK ) Benjamin Franklin was a pioneering scientist, leader of the Enlightenment and a founding father. But perhaps less well known is that he was also the first person to use mouth-to-mouth to revive an electric shock victim. Odder still, it was actually mouth-to-beak on a hen that he himself had shocked. Filled with similiar stories, Electrified Sheep is packed with eccentric characters, irrational obsessions and extreme experiments. Watch as scientists attempt to nuke the moon, wince at the doctor who performs a self-appendectomy and catch the faint whiff of singed wool from an electrified sheep. Wildly entertaining, it is the perfect follow-up to the international bestseller Elephants on Acid.
Review
Praise for
Electrified Sheep "A strangely compelling look at some of the bizarre, outlandish and peculiar experiments that have been attempted in the name of science."--Penny Le Couteur, coauthor of
Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History "
Electrified Sheep quite brilliantly explains some of the more bizarre experiments performed in the name of scientific discovery with lashings of intellectual humour and a surprising amount of quality storytelling."--
Chemistry World (UK)
“Perfect summertime reading--preferably with a friend nearby who can be constantly interrupted with unsettling facts.” --
The Daily Mail (UK )
"Laugh out loud funny.”
--Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
The Pig Who Survived an Atomic Bomb
The Psychologist Who Hid Beneath Beds
The Founding Father Who Delivered Mouth-to-Mouth . . . to a Chicken
Welcome to some of the most weird and wonderful experiments ever conducted in the name of science. Alex Boese's Electrified Sheep is packed with eccentric characters, irrational obsessions, and extreme experiments. Watch as scientists attempt to nuke the moon, wince at the doctor who performs a self-appendectomy, and catch the faint whiff of singed wool from an electrified sheep.
About the Author
Alex Boese holds an M.A. in the history of science from the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of Elephants on Acid and Hippo Eats Dwarf and the creator of MuseumofHoaxes.com. He lives near San Diego, California.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. ELECTRIC BODIES
Electrifying Birds
The Man Who Married His Voltaic Pile
Electrocuting an Elephant
From Electro-Botany to Electric Schoolchildren
Lightning, Churches, and Electrified Sheep
2. NUCLEAR REACTIONS
Psychoneurotic Atomic Goats
How to Survive an Atomic Bomb
Nuke the Moon!
The Incredible Atomic Spaceship
3. DECEPTIVE WAYS
Men Fight for Science's Sake
The Psychologist Who Hid Beneath Beds
The Metallic Metals Act
A Roomful of Stooges
Thud!
The Seductive Dr Fox
4. MONKEYING ARROUND
The Man Who Talked to Monkeys
Chimpanzee Butlers and Monkey Maids
The Man Who Made Apes Fight
The Mystery of the Missing Monkey Orgasm
The Chimp Who Grew Up Human
5. DO-IT-YOURSELFERS
Hard to Swallow
This Will Be Extremely Painful
Adventures in Self-Surgery
Killing Yourself for Science