I love books on the strange, the bizarre, the unexpected and I dare say most of you do too.
I recently came across a good one at Project Gutenberg called 10,000 Wonderful Things by Edmund Fillingham King.
Being from 1894 it is an antique world of curiosity. It covers everything from punishment in provintial times to the music of the Hindoos. Sadly there is no bibliography, which would have doubled the size of the book so that is understandable. I expect if we tried to debunk, or bunk, each of the 10,000 entries I doubt we would ever finish.
Some should still be with us, like the Hawthornden sword with a narwhal handle.
Some I wonder if they are still there but go by a different name, like the Tower of Thundering Winds in China.
Some sound like a fable, like Henry II being stripped when dead and a child covering him with a short cloak. Almost sounds like an early inspiration for The Emperor’s New Clothes.
Some I wonder if there was any other record of, like the 40’ sea-serpent found in Bombay in 1819. Someone should have investigated and saved some bones somewhere.
I haven’t gotten easy google answers for all these things.
Have a favorite?
See something that is totally disproved?
Anything you think needs more investigation?