# Strange things found in second hand books (and other items) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 7, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852 "2015-10-07T19:43:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/81 "2015-10-10T00:02:37Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > And no, it’s not irrelevant to the story. I’d argue it’s wholly relevant. > > If I were to post, “I acquired this second-hand book by an author I know, and inside was a thing that was totally surprising—if you knew this author, but you don’t—that was stuffed there by someone who didn’t like his work!” > > That’s totally mundane and boring, if not pointlessly coy and annoying. Details are relevant to the tale here. If you can’t divulge the names/details, why bring it up? Thank you. My point exactly. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t say I had this this experience with a famous person but YOU haven’t heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/82 "2015-10-10T00:32:18Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Well, he is correct in using it as a synonym for “tease”, but it’s quite archaic, and easily confused with a non-existent but plausible back-formed verb from Twitter. It’s best to avoid coy archaisms in everyday communication; they’re best saved for the SCA newsletter, where they… aren’t unexpected. I had no trouble following AB and his story. I wonder about some of the rest of you. How is twit an archaism? It’s part of my current vocabulary and I bet it is part of a lot of peoples’ vocabularies. Also, the use of “not-unfamous” might be a bit “twee” (fyi, means “excessively quaint”) but it’s still English. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/83 "2015-10-10T00:32:56Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Now _that’s_ fucking awesome. It is! I missed that the first time through the thread. Great story. On par with AB’s story, I once found one of my own books, which I had signed over to a friend, at Half Price Books. Ulp. Thanks, pal. I assume he REALLY needed the cash… ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/84 "2015-10-10T01:45:26Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I had no trouble following AB and his story. I wonder about some of the rest of you. How is twit an archaism? It’s part of my current vocabulary and I bet it is part of a lot of peoples’ vocabularies. As a noun, sure; as a verb, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/85 "2015-10-10T02:03:34Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > [“Twit”](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=twit&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Ctwit%3B%2Cc0) was in fairly common and rising use before Twitter rather cluelessly displaced the word family. Sorry it never showed up in your Dr. Seuss books. Can you define “dick” for the class? Oh wait… ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/86 "2015-10-10T02:45:38Z")
I think the “twit/tweet” hijack has run its course. Start a new thread if it’s that compelling. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/87 "2015-10-10T03:34:32Z")
This guy bought a barbecue smoker and found another guy’s leg in it. And then refused to return it to him. > **[Sundance’s Weirdest Movie Explained: ‘Finders Keepers’ and the War Over a...](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/sundances-weirdest-movie-explained-finders-766284/)** > > Who is the rightful owner of a man’s mummified limb? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/88 "2015-10-10T04:57:13Z")
Meh, I got nuthin’ really interesting. Found some hardcore porn in a library book in high school, probably stashed by the owner when he saw the librarian coming. (I mean, it was intensely interesting to _me_ at the time - it was the first time I really understood the what-bit-goes-where mechanics of intercourse - but it doesn’t make for a good story 30 years on.) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/89 "2015-10-10T05:09:12Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Also, the use of “not-unfamous” might be a bit “twee” (fyi, means “excessively quaint”) but it’s still English. I don’t think anyone is questioning that it’s english. It’s just a very strange way to tell an anecdote. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/90 "2015-10-10T10:53:43Z")
Back when EBay was fun, I was the high bidder on a beautiful leather bound bible, autographed by the author. But then EBay closed the auction after some ass reported it. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/91 "2015-10-10T15:48:57Z")
I found a smushed bug. Page 53, second paragraph ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/92 "2015-10-10T15:52:08Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Back when EBay was fun, I was the high bidder on a beautiful leather bound bible, autographed by the author. But then EBay closed the auction after some ass reported it. ☹ Same here, except I was out-bid at the last second for its sequel, The Holy Bible 2: Tokyo Drift. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/93 "2015-10-10T16:03:56Z")
I bought what I thought (based on its title) was a textbook on humanitarian endeavors. Turns out it was full of recipes. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/94 "2015-10-10T16:18:38Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > I bought what I thought (based on its title) was a textbook on humanitarian endeavors. Turns out it was full of recipes. I got that joke. [Very clever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)). ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/95 "2015-10-10T16:18:51Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > I bought what I thought (based on its title) was a textbook on humanitarian endeavors. Turns out it was full of recipes. Ah, Soylent Green. Not to be confused with Green Peace. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/96 "2015-10-10T16:23:17Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > This guy bought a barbecue smoker and found another guy’s leg in it. And then refused to return it to him. > > [Sundance's Weirdest Movie Explained: 'Finders Keepers' and the War Over a Severed Leg](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sundances-weirdest-movie-explained-finders-766284) The original owner sued but the court ruled he didn’t have a leg to stand on ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/97 "2015-10-10T19:15:22Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Ah, Soylent Green. > > Not to be confused with Green Peace. I’m thinking To Serve Man ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/98 "2015-10-10T20:22:22Z")
My then-fiancee was walking with mobility instructor in downtown LA, fretting aloud about whether getting married was going to be a good decision. As they passed a stationery store/printer, her companion glanced in the window at one of the displays and found a cocktail napkin with our first names on it (and, of course, a wedding date considerably in advance of ours). It’s one of the prized possessions in our wedding keepsake album. Also, litcrit is such an obscure field, it’s difficult to conceive that a volume of it could be anything _other_ than un-famous. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/99 "2015-10-10T20:38:01Z")
I found some old silver certificates in a used book. I think it was $33 worth. They are not worth much more than face value as I recall. I should probably pull them out and check again as this was over 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852/100 "2015-10-11T02:18:16Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > I found a smushed bug. > > Page 53, second paragraph Was it in a specialised work? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-found-in-second-hand-books-and-other-items/733852.md?page=6)