# Looking for a spoof book on King Tut **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-spoof-book-on-king-tut/406188 "2007-05-31T14:26:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KidKaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/779978/32.png) [@KidKaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidKaos)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-spoof-book-on-king-tut/406188/1 "2007-05-31T14:26:37Z")
Years ago when I was a kid I remember a book that was a sort of spoof on the excavation and interpretation of King Tuts tomb. The book as I remember it centered around the fictitious excavating of a hotel by archeologists some time in our future. They then proceeded to explain all the everyday items from today by their future understanding. Of course getting everything humorously wrong. The only “facts” I can pull from memory are that the hotel was called something like “The King Toot and come in Hotel.” Or something similar. A great deal of searching on ebay, amazon and google have turned up nothing but I suspect this is just because I don’t remember the real name of the book. If anyone knows what it is please let me know. Thank you in advance. And sorry to be so vague but it was a long time ago. Also if this is the wrong forum for this post would a moderator please direct me to the correct one. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-spoof-book-on-king-tut/406188/2 "2007-05-31T14:37:23Z")
[Motel of the Mysteries](http://www.amazon.com/Motel-Mysteries-David-Macaulay/dp/0395284252/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-4973246-2359231?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180622170&sr=8-2) by David Macauley, of “How Things Work” fame. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-spoof-book-on-king-tut/406188/3 "2007-05-31T14:38:47Z")
This sounds like David McCauley’s **Motel of the Mysteries**. McCauley is an architect and artist whose books on building and “unbuilding” of structures are wonderful exercise, and whose warped sense of humor is truly wonderful (I had a poster of his upside-doen “Arc de Defeat” up for years). > **[Amazon.com: Motel of the Mysteries: 9780395284254: Macaulay, David: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Motel-Mysteries-David-Macaulay/dp/0395284252)** > > Amazon.com: Motel of the Mysteries: 9780395284254: Macaulay, David: Books ---
**Author:** ![KidKaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/779978/32.png) [@KidKaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidKaos)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-spoof-book-on-king-tut/406188/4 "2007-05-31T14:50:17Z")
As always the SDMB comes through. You guys rock. Thank you that was exactly the book Im looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-spoof-book-on-king-tut/406188/5 "2007-05-31T17:14:21Z")
I have had this in my purchase queue for ages. I keep thinking I’ll buy it, but there are always dozens more that I think I’ll enjoy more. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-spoof-book-on-king-tut/406188/6 "2007-05-31T17:23:03Z")
I remember that book. I read that particular one as an adult, and it cracked me up. I still have the David Macaulay books _Castle_ and _Pyramid_ somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-spoof-book-on-king-tut/406188/7 "2007-06-01T00:04:18Z")
I’m actually a baker IRL(surprise!). Several years ago I used David Macauley’s book Cathedral as one of my main resources when I constructed a gingerbread cathedral for a holiday display. His illustrations are marvelous, showing the gradual erection of a major building. I would have had a much harder time without his book. The cathedral model must have weighed fifty pounds by the time I was done with it.