Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments (Harvest Original) [Paperback]

Alex Boese (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0156031353 | ISBN-13: 978-0156031356 | Publication Date: November 5, 2007 | Edition: 1

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 outrageous, amusing, and provocative experiments found in the files of modern science.

Why can’t people tickle themselves? Would the average dog summon help in an emergency? Will babies instinctually pick a well-balanced diet? Is it possible to restore life to the dead? Read Elephants on Acid and find out!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Author Boese (Hippo Eats Dwarf, The Museum of Hoaxes) returns with another look at scientific oddities, this time focusing on unlikely but actual experiments. Included are notorious examples such as the Stanford Prison Experiment and Stanley Milgram's infamous shock treatment obedience experiment, but it's the lesser-known studies that will generate the most interest. Disembodied heads, animal resurrection ("Zombie Kitten," "Franken-Monkey") and the direct stimulation of a subject's emotions (via electric brain prod) are some of the more grim activities Boese describes (though, thankfully, he steers clear of examples from Nazi Germany). Lighter subjects include attempts to prove the myth that the bar patrons become more attractive at closing time and the effects of staying awake for 11 days straight. These and other tales will obviously appeal to armchair scientists, but the short, witty, ceaselessly amusing entries should delight anyone with a healthy sense of morbid curiosity.
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Review

PRAISE FOR HIPPO EATS DWARF

"Do you faithfully follow the commands of every e-mail chain letter? Do you worry about losing your kidneys in a freak robbery/mutilation? Concerned about the tapeworm diet? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, please check out . . . Hippo Eats Dwarf . . . Learn it. Live it. Don’t ever forward another e-mail chain letter again."—Sacramento Bee

PRAISE FOR MUSEUM OF HOAXES

"As entertaining as it is well researched."—Entertainment Today

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; 1 edition (November 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156031353
• ISBN-13: 978-0156031356
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Science & Math > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Experiments & Projects
  • #24 in Books > Education & Reference > Fun Facts > Curiosities & Wonders

More About the Author

Born in Glenside, Pennsylvania. Grew up in London and Washington DC. Graduated from Amherst College, and gained a Master's Degree in the History of Science from the University of California, San Diego.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If people on acid see pink elephants, what do elephants that take acid see?, January 21, 2008

By 

Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments (Harvest Original) (Paperback)

Historian Alex Boese was enamored with bizarre experiments in college. During his graduate studies, Boese spent his free time tracking down the more obscure mad scientist experiments that were mentioned in his texts. He amassed a library of notes on bizarre experiments, went on to found the Museum of Hoaxes and publish two books on hoaxes, and now returns with a title about all those bizarre experiments which once intrigued and delighted him. Boese includes only research which was undertaken with genuine scientific curiosity and methodology--that which was published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Elephants on Acid contains overview and author commentary on experiments from the 1800's through the 2000's, in ten different categories - surgery, senses, memory, sleep, animal behavior, mating behavior, babies, bathroom research, human nature, and death. For each experiment, the author sets up the broader social and scientific context, describes the experimental design and results, and includes any follow-on work. Bibliographic details for each scientific publication are included. (But good luck tracking down European journals circa 1803!)

The opening chapter on Dr. Frankenstein-like research is a bit unsettling (Can a head live without its body? Can asphyxiated dogs be brought back to life?). Not surprisingly, few of the Frankenstein experiments took place in modern times. The remaining chapters are enchanting glimpses at scientific fact and fiction over the ages. Boese demonstrates that waitresses who touch customers statistically receive higher tips ("Touching Strangers"), repeats the real Pepsi Challenge ("Coke vs. Pepsi"), exposes the myth of the `Mozart effect' on IQ ("Mozart Effect"), and provides scientific proof of the synchronous menstrual cycles of cohabitating women ("Scent of a Woman"). Studies of human behavior discuss the power of suggestion in creating false childhood memories ("Lost in the Mall"), the effect of a crowd of roaches on an athlete roach navigating a course ("Racing Roaches"), and the role of fear in sexual arousal in humans ("Arousal on a Creaky Bridge").

Two of the most famous studies of good vs. evil are presented in this text. In the infamous 1970's Stanford Prison Experiment, college students playing the role of guards became drunk on their power and humiliated and dehumanized their mock prisoners. In another experiment, researcher Stanley Milgram proved that otherwise "good" individuals could be coerced into delivering painful or deadly electric shocks to other volunteers under pressure from a scientific researcher.

Ranging from the trivial to the socially far-reaching, Boese's compendium has something for everyone.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic tales of science gone awry, October 17, 2007

By 

Steven Carroll (Sammamish, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments (Harvest Original) (Paperback)

This book is fantastic. You can get a good sense of whether or not you will enjoy this book by taking a look at the top 20 most bizarre experiments page on the museum of hoaxes website.[...]

The book is a strangely compelling compendium of the unusual things that scientists have dedicated their life to exploring. The author really brings the strange cast of characters to life and helps you understand not only the facts of these strange cases, but also the context of what the scientists were hoping to accomplish by determining if they could create human/ape hybrids, or keep a dog head alive by attaching it to a living dog's circulatory system.

A word of warning: some of the experiments are not for the faint of heart.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read, great collection and not pseudo science, but with some terrible humor, April 25, 2011

By 

Christian R. Unger (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments (Harvest Original) (Paperback)

This book is a little unusual, because most book that deal with the bizarre in science are either about pseudo science or about factoids. This book is about interesting findings from interesting experiments.

Despite the title, the book doesn't actually deal in a great deal of bizarre experiments once you think about it. How else would you test some of the things they were looking for, with the least number of variables that can derail you. Sure there are other solutions, but these are quite good and logical choices, but they retain their bizarreness because, most of us wouldn't know how they found some of these things out.

The structure of the book divides science into pursuits of ten areas, life, death, senses etc. The areas overlap but the structure is done for effect and it works. That said though, here is the first major flaw of the book, it starts out quite disgusting and macabre. Though once you've gotten through that it doesn't degrade from the general thing, though cruelty to animals and humans occasionally does pop up, however it isn't the dominant theme.

The second flaw, is with the author: the early macabre experiments are a requisite for this type of book, but the jokes ... some of them are just terribly bad, and trivialize the subject matter and reduces his standing as being qualified to write about the area of science. For example: terminally ill and thus dying patients are given LSD (LSD/Acid isn't actual that common a subject in the book, but nevermind) and overall they feel more positive about their life and dying; they become more interactive and less depressed. Also, calming (harp) music is played and it has positive effects. Great experiment, great result, great avenue to do more research even without LSD. How does Boese conclude the story? He says the harp music has to go as the Grateful Dead might be more appropriate.

That said though, if you can look past this (maybe skip the last paragraph of every story?), the book is mostly a treat and very well written. Some of the experiments are macabre and thus not suitable for very young readers, but early teens and onwards should understand most of the subtleties and more important experiments about human behavior, or at least lead to interesting discussions.