As science affictionados we know what these books are about, but if we didn’t then we might find the titles a bit funny. Science book titles to titter or scratch head over:

Microscopic Objects: How to Mount Them (1948)

“The Symptoms, Nature, Cause, and Cure of a Gonorrhea” by William Cockburn (1713)

“Anatomy of the Brain” by William W. Looney (1932)

Guide to the Deposit of Micro-Organisms Under the Budapest Treaty (2003)

Where’s Arthur’s Gerbil? (1997)

Carnivorous Butterflies (1926)

Rats for Those Who Care (1995)

Fish Who Answer the Telephone (1937)

Flattened Fauna: A Field Guide to Common Animals of Roads, Streets, and Highways (1987)

Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice (1978)

Birds of the Mid-Atlantic, and Where to Find Them (2002)

“Illustrated Catalogue of the Rocthschild Collection of Fleas in the British Museum” in 7 vols. (1953-87)

Heavy Metal Tolerance in Plants (1990)

The Biochemists Songbook (1982)

Twenty Beautiful Years of Bottom Physics (1998)

What’s Wanted. A List of 895 Needed Inventions (1933)

Ultracool Dwarfs (2001)

How to Draw a Straight Line (1877)

Wigglers, Undulators and Their Applications (2002)

Seven Years of ‘Manifold’: 1968-1980

England’s True Wealth (1849) – this is a book about Foecal Matter

Fresh Air and How to Use It (1912)

Skin Diseases for Beginners (1957)

The Encyclopedia of Medical Ignorance (1984)

The Romance of Leprosy (1949)

Why Bring That Up? A Guide To and From Seasickness (1936)

The Abuse of Elderly People: A Handbook for Professionals (1992)

Two Health Problems – Constipation and Our Civilization (1943)

The Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen in Rhyme (1947)

Shipping Semen? How to have a Successful Experience (1998)

Collect Fungi on Stamps (1997)

Build Your Own Hindenburg (1983)

Wet Scrubbers (1986)

——

Some non-science book titles to finish off

“The Skipper’s Secret” by Robert Smellie (1898)

How to Cook Husbands (and) The Gentle Art Of Cooking Wives (1899, 1900)

Games You Can Play with Your Pussy (1985)

Shag the Pony (1952)

Drummer Dick’s Discharge (1902)

Cock Tugs (1963)

——-

Source for the above “Fish Who Answer the Telephone, and Other Bizarre Books” (2006)

Nice find.

Good stuff.

AussieDJ said:

Nice find.

Good stuff.

It is partly why we all come here. ;)

“Rats for Those Who Care (1995)”

LOL.

i have the ebook of how to draw a straight line. project gutenberg i believe was the cource. all about levers and linkages.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25155

ChrispenEvan said:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25155

Downloaded.

I might even read it one day.

Good to see that Project Gutenberg is still going, in these days of Google books etc.

The Rev Dodgson said:

ChrispenEvan said:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25155

Downloaded.

I might even read it one day.

Good to see that Project Gutenberg is still going, in these days of Google books etc.

What is good is that I can still actually read and download such links. :)

I am unimpressed by some of those.

dv said:

I am unimpressed by some of those.

I’m not convinced that the original “Where’s Arthur’s Gerbil?” was actually a scientific paper, but I won’t say anything.

I shall review each of them in turn:

Microscopic Objects: How to Mount Them (1948)

This one is okay. 8.

“The Symptoms, Nature, Cause, and Cure of a Gonorrhea” by William Cockburn (1713)

This title is not funny at all. Any humour lies in the combination of title and author. 0.

“Anatomy of the Brain” by William W. Looney (1932)

Ditto. 0.

Guide to the Deposit of Micro-Organisms Under the Budapest Treaty (2003)

This one is funny and intriguing. 7.

Where’s Arthur’s Gerbil? (1997)

This is a children’s story, not a scientific paper. There is also no humour. 0.

Carnivorous Butterflies (1926)

There is no humour here. This is a perfectly sensible title for a work on carnivorous butterflies, of which there are many species. I can’t think why this has been included. -1

Rats for Those Who Care (1995)

Good. 8.

Fish Who Answer the Telephone (1937)

This is a deliberately lighthearted title, not accidentally humorous, but I’ll give it a 3.

Flattened Fauna: A Field Guide to Common Animals of Roads, Streets, and Highways (1987)

As above. 3.

Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice (1978)

There is nothing funny in here except that it mentions nude mice. Any of hundreds of works on nude mice would be similarly titillating to some people. 0.

Birds of the Mid-Atlantic, and Where to Find Them (2002)

Okay. 2.

“Illustrated Catalogue of the Rocthschild Collection of Fleas in the British Museum” in 7 vols. (1953-87)

2.

Heavy Metal Tolerance in Plants (1990)

Perfectly straightforward. If you think this is funny then you would think any number of scientific works about heavy metal topics would be funny. 2.

The Biochemists Songbook (1982)

1.

Twenty Beautiful Years of Bottom Physics (1998)

3.

What’s Wanted. A List of 895 Needed Inventions (1933)

No humour at all. 0.

Ultracool Dwarfs (2001)

4.

How to Draw a Straight Line (1877)

0.

Wigglers, Undulators and Their Applications (2002)

1.

Seven Years of ‘Manifold’: 1968-1980

Why would this be here? 0.

England’s True Wealth (1849) – this is a book about Foecal Matter

Title isn’t funny. 0.

Fresh Air and How to Use It (1912)

Oh I dunno. 1.

Skin Diseases for Beginners (1957)

0.

The Encyclopedia of Medical Ignorance (1984)

1.

The Romance of Leprosy (1949)

2.

Why Bring That Up? A Guide To and From Seasickness (1936)

6.

The Abuse of Elderly People: A Handbook for Professionals (1992)

Nice. 8.

Two Health Problems – Constipation and Our Civilization (1943)

Cute. 8.

The Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen in Rhyme (1947)

1.

Shipping Semen? How to have a Successful Experience (1998)

2.

Collect Fungi on Stamps (1997)

0.

Build Your Own Hindenburg (1983)

2.

Wet Scrubbers (1986)

2.

——

DV has a strange sense of humour.

> Rats for Those Who Care (1995)
> Good. 8.

I don’t see why this is funny, but it is.

> Fish Who Answer the Telephone (1937)
> This is a deliberately lighthearted title, not accidentally humorous, but I’ll give it a 3.

The title is actually literal. It’s a scientific study of which fish species can hear sounds generated by a telephone receiver, as a way of testing the hearing abilities of fish.

…
> Seven Years of ‘Manifold’: 1968-1980
> Why would this be here? 0.

‘Manifold’ is a mathematicians magazine, and 1980-1968 is … not seven.

It is funny because of the expression “give a rat’s”.

mollwollfumble said:

DV has a strange sense of humour.

He’s also a hard marker.

dv said:

I am unimpressed by some of those.

So?

roughbarked said:

dv said:

I am unimpressed by some of those.

So?

So you all better pull your socks up

dv said:

roughbarked said:

dv said:

I am unimpressed by some of those.

So?

So you all better pull your socks up

it us winter, after all. ;)

Oh come on DV, surely you can imagine a Petunia with a Slayer T-shirt?

As for a List of 895 Needed Inventions. Gold, pure gold!

Science needs imagination AND humour. Without the both of these, you end up with the reason so many kids come out of school saying “Science is boring”.

I got a giggle here and there and a snigger in other places.

Thanks Moll.

Teleost said:

Oh come on DV, surely you can imagine a Petunia with a Slayer T-shirt?

As for a List of 895 Needed Inventions. Gold, pure gold!

Science needs imagination AND humour. Without the both of these, you end up with the reason so many kids come out of school saying “Science is boring”.

I got a giggle here and there and a snigger in other places.

Thanks Moll.

Science needs more humour and imagination than is shown by the titles I’ve given low marks to

mollwollfumble said:

Ultracool Dwarfs (2001)

dv said:

Science needs more humour and imagination than is shown by the titles I’ve given low marks to

BTW, the title “Fish That Answer the Telephone” may be a translation from an original title in Russian.

You do realist that the humour in almost all these titles is unintentional?

I know of very few science publications where the initial intention is education through humour. Perhaps only two of the above qualify as both scientific and deliberately humorous:
“The Biochemists Songbook”
and
“The Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen in Rhyme”

You do realist that the humour in almost all these titles is unintentional?
—-

If you read me comments, you will see I have rated highly those with unintentional humour.

But, anyway, the opinions I’ve offered are mine. If others are reading these and RingOFL then I’ve very happy for them. There’s not enough joy.

/*

You do realist that the humour in almost all these titles is unintentional?
—-

If you read me comments, you will see I have rated highly those with unintentional humour.

*/

Amusing. I give that 7, for the unintentionally unsubtle reference to dv making the above instrumentalist statement.