Electrified Sheep

Blogger and writer Boese (museumofhoaxes.com; Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments) delivers another wacky tour of some of science's more bizarre stories. After noting that his name rhymes with nose, the author uses his sense of humor to make this collection of true stories a page-turner. Some accounts have the capacity to amaze or shock, such as University of Arkansas entomologist and naturalist William Baerg (1885–1980) who studied the bite of the black widow spider—on himself. Or Evan O'Neill Kane (1861–1932), the chief surgeon of Kane Summit Hospital, who decided at the beginning of an operation to remove his appendix that he'd rather do it himself (and succeeded). Most of those tales are not for the squeamish. Of particular interest is the chapter "Deceptive Ways," which deals with how people perceive and remember events, particularly criminal events. Should readers crave more information, Boese provides an extensive list of selected references by chapter.