great find in the oddest place
597448
Working for a bookstore I come across a lot of unusual books that aren't always advertised. When trying to straighten up the General Collectables, I came across Bazaar Bizarre. The hot pink cover caught my eye. Then flipping through it, I knew I had to have it. Since I have bought it I have done so many new and exciting things. My favorite would have to be either the cross stich or the vinyl cuffs.

---To those that published this book-- YOU ROCK!!!
471902
STRANGE BUT TRUE VIRGINIA is a fun and quite informative book to look at if you're interested in what there is to see in Virginia. The title and cover are rather misleading, since most of the book is typical tourist sites, and does not focus on highly unusual things like those shown on the cover. This is mostly places like Mount Vernon, the Maritime Museum, Luray Caverns, Virginia Museum of Transportation, and so on.

The sections of the book are Strange Statues, Natural and Manmade Wonders, Strange Theme Attractions, Strange Museums, The Haunting of Virginia, Eat Drink and Be Merry, Miscellaneous Miscellany, Funny Happenings Here, Strange But True Culture, and Historical Events Around Virginia. A few of these sections do focus on bizarre things, like a huge pencil on a store in Wytheville and a giant gorilla statue at Virginia Beach (shown on the cover), but most of this is helpful tourist information. Many of the entries include an appropriate black-and-white photo.

It would help if the book had an index, since if you need to know what's around an area you're going to visit in Virginia, you just have to flip through the entire book to find out, and web sites would help too. I'm not very familiar with Virginia, so I'm not the best one to ask about the accuracy of the book, but I did notice a few omissions. As, it's true that Ephraim McDowell, "the father of abdominal surgery," grew up in Virginia, but it helps to know that he spent most of his life and practice in Kentucky. And it would help to know the size of things like the aforementioned gorilla statue, and the big apple statue in Winchester. But, at 192 pages and small dimensions, STRANGE BUT TRUE VIRGINIA (2006) is a fun and quick read to give you some idea what's in that state to see.

By the way, Lynne L. Hall has written a series of these "strange but true" books about other southern states, and they're all for sale on Amazon. And a book that should entirely consist of bizarre stuff in Virginia, if that's what you're looking for, is&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Weird-Virginia-Your-Travel-Guide-to-Virginia-s-Local-Legends-and-Best-Kept-Secrets/dp/1402739427/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Weird Virginia: Your Travel Guide to Virginia's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets</a>. I should note that I have read (and much enjoyed) the Tennessee and Florida books in that series, but NOT the Virginia one, so I can't say for sure what's in it.
2742878
Saw this in a shop window in a unique shop in a coastal town and went back later to buy it.  Although it had been sold and was out of stock, I discovered the name of the piece and found it online.  Unique item that shows a whimsical side and generates discussion at light-hearted cocktail parties.
4472432
My wife lost a gold anniversary necklace and I bought this as a long shot, hoping that I could find it around our property.  No happy ending I'm afraid but I found six fairly recent coins on my first day out.  As I searched, I found a lot of Aluminum, two axe heads, shell casings and more coins.  The trick is adjusting the settings for the type of metal you want to find.  Since I was looking for gold, I kept the sensitivity at about 90%, the discrimination at 50%, and the toggle switch on `tone'- after experimenting with other settings. Use headphones.  If you experiment with it as the manual says, you can find things six inches or more down.  I'm looking forward to the change of seasons so that I can get back to using it again.  It is really fascinating to have the detector go off, then to dig and actually find something.
4634657
I really liked the quality and design of this book. The photos are great and the explanations too, nice for reference and for people who are curious or like to collect weird stuff!
1011817
This was a great collection of puzzles, though I was surprised to find two clues within these puzzles that were geographically incorrect.  That doesn't happen very often!
638782
Very fun book! This is the fifth one in the series that I've purchased for my six year old grandson. Perhaps someday I'll give them to him (but not until I've found every single dang hidden item myself).  I can't tell you how many hours of entertainment these books have provided (is using a magnifying glass when stumped considered cheating?).

Anyway, this book and the others in the series consist of some very unique photography of some very imaginative organizations of all kinds of objects.  If you like being challenged, have somewhat of a knack for finding "needles in haystacks" and enjoy locating objects first and then watch your friends and family struggle to find the same ones, then this book is for you.
2409734
I love books like this! It's really interesting - and funny - to read some of the strange things that people actually believed to be true. I also enjoyed reading about the history of the comic strip, which is how all of these little tid-bits first came together in one place, and it was nice to see so much of the original art included in this book.
2188277
I agree that these animals are really weird. The pictures are colorful. The descriptions are just right for kids to enjoy reading. This was a fun, fast read that kids will go back to look at again and again.
789724
Virtually every type of oddity is described both pictorially and

in writing. Samples are as follows:

- full body contact with ice for prolonged periods

- the tallest living woman over 7 and 1/2 feet

- the heaviest weight lifted by tongue

- the longest neck over a foot and a quarter in length

- the largest desert "Sahara"

- the Nile river (largest)

The pictures alone are worth the price of this book. It is fascinating for cultural enthusiasts everywhere.
4360423
I was glad to be able to locate this online b/c it's an odd item that can't be found in stores
4234357
This is one of those vintage treasures that you have to trip over to find it as I am sure that it is no longer easily found or maybe even in print. But once you have come upon such a treasure then it stays a part of your reading soul.

In this particular book there are numerous short stories that revolve around animal characters. And although some stories have people involved the majority of the cast includes such animals as crocodiles, polar bears, bobcats, cats, heroic dogs and so much more. Each animal is given in a straightforward manner with whimsical pictures and simplistic writing.

Some of the stories that are given are just entertainment value and others may have been based on real life. And finally there are some stories that have kernels of actual nonfiction within them so your child may learn something as they interact with these lovable and memorable characters. So come meet the Moose Twins Leggy and Lanky, cute Alice the Crocodile, brave Willy Three-Feet and so much more in their own world.

Just as a heads-up to parents you may want to read some of the stories beforehand such as with Willy Three-Feet where he got in a position where he needed to chew off his own paw (probably the most gruesome in a sense) to escape a trap. There is no blood or gore nor pictures but in this time it is better to make up a decision for your child based on what you feel is right. In other cases where violence may have resulted in death the vanquished was able to escape from life unrealistically but who is going to squabble over such points in a children's book?
3114260
Found it on one coast but couldn't get at home. Found here and happy.
2500431
Britain. Wow, what a place. End to end it's colorful (hence the gray thing in the title, little reference to the weather, you know) it's weird, and it's not afraid to celebrate its peccadilloes. It's so interesting there it makes me wonder, as I always do, why the locals ever felt the need to leave and, oh, I dunno, bug the Irish so much. That said (hey, it was my sworn duty) this seriously is a neat book and I enjoyed it a lot. It's full of stories almost too odd to be real and places that call out to you to visit. From cursed chairs in innocuous pubs, to aliens and crop circles, to festivals that merrily commemorate the droolingly insane side to life---shin-kicking contests and Guy Fawke's Day---this island has it all and this book tells you about it. When and if I go next summer for the first time in nine years, I'm going to check out as many as I can of the freakish locales Benedict le Vay (any relation to Morgan le Fay, I wonder?) writes about. Read this book and come away with more respect than ever for the eccentric-loving people who gave us Eastenders, "classic" literature, and one darn cool flag (quite honestly worn over there as underwear) the Union Jack.
2691700
Found it here, loved the book!  Highly recommend it to anyone else looking for a strange, yet very interesting story.
3338378
Awesome find! great article inside!!  Thanks
3550201
I have always had a fascination for old buildings and houses since early childhood.  Urban Exploration on Utube is such a safe easy answer to this interest.  But rare is the house or building that is left relatively intact ususally only in contested death and other legal issues where the house is deemed to be left untouched until the courts settle.  So if left intact there would usually be a very interesting story behind it.
  Here is a wonderful explanation of such an example.  A beautiful bank left suddenly as is one day when it is closed down.  This descriptive, atomospheric story alternates between the early 70's and the late 90's retro times that most of us can remember and savor bits of as we delve into this tale.  Smaller mystries twinkle like Xmas lights upon the big mystery which is not solved till the very end.  Prepare to be totally absorbed in this story which I deeply thank Pulley for all her sacifrices to beautifully write.