Review: Elephants on acid and other bizarre experiments By Alex Boese
Alex Boese’s collection of bizarre anecdotes really does win the award for shocking readers when explaining the experiments that have happened in the past in the area of Psychology and Science. Some of which are extremely funny, weird and completely wrong but all would not be something you would expect to happen in this day and age. As we wander through Boese’s book of obscurities, we learn the real story behind Frankenstein, the precise weight of a human’s soul, whether cockroaches would survive if a nuclear bomb went off and a story about a two headed dog. All of course seem completely absurd but Boese’s humorous tone throughout the book makes each and every topic seem hilarious and completely ridiculous.
The purpose of the book is to both inform and entertain and the book can be said to be fictional. It has also been argued that Boese has been known to over exaggerate when telling his stories due to his in-depth interest in weird science. But whether each and every detail that is included in the book is true or not, the book definitely does not fail to entertain.
I would not suggest a particular type of person that would find the book enjoyable because I truly believe that the book would entertain everyone. You do not have to be interested in Science, Psychology or know anything about the two to understand the weird but wonderful stories embedded in the book. Additionally, the book is a reasonable size and it wouldn’t be a chore to read it.
Boese uses anecdotes which is genuine research to make the book more interesting and understandable by underlining the key points and turning it humorous by adding to the shock value. All in all, Boese’s take on past weird experiments gives readers an insight in to the frontiers of strange science.
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