# Bizarre and weird factual book - title anyone?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145 "2006-07-26T19:59:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![billywizz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billywizz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billywizz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145/1 "2006-07-26T19:59:07Z")
Hi, all. I’m after identfying a book I once owned, and really hope you can help. The book was paperback, maybe 8 x 5 in size, and detailed strange and bizarre facts from times gone by. Two of the stories I remember in particular, are one about the research done by a French doctor - when the guillotine was still used - into whether or not decapitated heads still retain sences. The other story was the true account of a nine-year prositute at the start of the 20th century which inspired a film starring Brooke Sheilds in the title role. The cover was mainly white in colour, I think, with maybe some beige, and was very ‘Victorian freak show’ in style, but I can’t remember the cover illustration. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145/2 "2006-07-26T20:29:07Z")
Has [this](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_262.html) ended up in one of Unca Cecil’s tomes of wisdom yet? ---
**Author:** ![billywizz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billywizz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billywizz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145/3 "2006-07-26T20:37:10Z")
Thanks, Tapioca, It was Cecil’s answer to the beheading issue that prompted me to post here. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145/4 "2006-07-26T21:01:34Z")
I’ll post here too. Is this the book you’re looking for? [An Underground Education.](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385483767/sr=8-1/qid=1153947176/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4321811-4371341?ie=UTF8) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145/5 "2006-07-26T21:58:19Z")
> [@billywizz](#): > > Hi, all. I’m after identfying a book I once owned, and really hope you can help. > > The book was paperback, maybe 8 x 5 in size, and detailed strange and bizarre facts from times gone by. Two of the stories I remember in particular, are one about the research done by a French doctor - when the guillotine was still used - into whether or not decapitated heads still retain sences. The other story was the true account of a nine-year prositute at the start of the 20th century which inspired a film starring Brooke Sheilds in the title role. > > The cover was mainly white in colour, I think, with maybe some beige, and was very ‘Victorian freak show’ in style, but I can’t remember the cover illustration. The first part (regarding victims of the guillotine) is covered in detail in “Stiff” by Mary Roach. But I don’t think this is the book your after as I don’t remember anything in it about nine-year prositutes. > **[Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Roach, Mary](https://www.amazon.com/Stiff-Curious-Lives-Human-Cadavers/dp/0393324826)** > > Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Roach, Mary ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145/6 "2006-07-26T22:55:46Z")
I answered the second question about the inspiration for the Brooke Shields movie in the other copy of this thread in General Questions. ---
**Author:** ![billywizz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billywizz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billywizz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145/7 "2006-07-26T23:18:16Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > I’ll post here too. Is this the book you’re looking for? > > [An Underground Education.](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385483767/sr=8-1/qid=1153947176/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4321811-4371341?ie=UTF8) I hope you’ve seen my original reply to your info in the ‘general’ forum, lazlo. Thank you very much! I thought I’d never find it again! ---
**Author:** ![billywizz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billywizz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billywizz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145/8 "2006-07-26T23:19:38Z")
Thanks, wedall, I’ve replied to it there. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145/9 "2006-07-27T08:00:03Z")
You’re quite welcome. 🙂 As I read your description, I knew that was the book. I went and grabbed it from the bookshelf and finished reading your post. The “victorian” comment clinched it. Glad to be of help. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![billywizz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billywizz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billywizz)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-and-weird-factual-book-title-anyone/366145/10 "2006-07-27T21:44:12Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > You’re quite welcome. 🙂 As I read your description, I knew that was the book. I went and grabbed it from the bookshelf and finished reading your post. The “victorian” comment clinched it. > > Glad to be of help. 😃 Even better, Lazlo - I tried [amazon.co.uk](http://amazon.co.uk) to see if they had it (your link was for .com who I don’t use, what with being English an all) and they had a copy for 9p - should be back in my hands at long last, within a day or two 😃