# Unintentionally absurd encyclopaedic works **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923 "2011-10-27T00:20:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/21 "2011-10-28T18:01:03Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > So it completely leaves out brie and mozzarella? It certainly seems uncontaminated by cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/22 "2011-10-28T18:55:05Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > So it completely leaves out brie and mozzarella? They’re in the hard copy version. Apparently they do make Brie in Wisconsin: > [@Wisconsin Cheesecyclopedia](#): > > Wisconsin has become an important source of Brie and Camembert for American Consumers. Many French cheese producers have chosen to make these cheeses in Wisconsin, because they have found the composition of the milk here to resemble closely that of the French regions that produce these cheeses. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/23 "2011-10-28T19:04:23Z")
> [@Big\_Norse](#): > > They’re in the hard copy version. Apparently they do make Brie in Wisconsin: I think it was a joke about “hard” and “soft” cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/24 "2011-10-28T19:09:54Z")
I’ve only seen the ebook (on the Project Gutenberg website), but I always enjoy the _1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue_. It features two different terms for holding someone upside-down and shaking them until their money falls out of their pockets. ---
**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:** [October 28, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/25 "2011-10-28T19:34:51Z")
Are [field guides](http://www.amazon.com/Stray-Shopping-Carts-Eastern-America/dp/0810955202) encyclopedic? > [@reviewer](#): > > This book is easily one of the top four reference guides for shopping carts available on the market today. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/26 "2011-10-28T19:51:24Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > What about [_Optical Chick Sexing_](http://books.google.com/books/about/Optical_chick_sexing.html?id=Ou01AQAAIAAJ)? Disapointed! ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/27 "2011-10-31T14:57:23Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > It certainly seems uncontaminated by cheese. Ah but its the cleanest Cheese book in the area guv. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/28 "2011-10-31T19:27:51Z")
[slight hijack] I remember a class that included a bunch of literary stuff from the zenith of the Arab era (Umayyad period maybe). IIRC there were many examples of wildly hubristic attempts to compose Encyclopedias Of All Human Knowledge (with contents that were often about as accurate as Columbus’s geography). I can imagine some of that also went on in Europe in the Renaissance or whenever but don’t have a specific example to cite. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/29 "2011-10-31T19:44:36Z")
> [@statij](#): > > I found [Modern Mailroom Management](http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Mailroom-Management-Herbert-Akers/dp/0070007608/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2) in a hospital waiting room and I’m embarrassed to say I had to keep it. I think I was doing future waiting room patrons a favor though really. It now goes with me any time the whole family gets together and we pass around “Akers” and have a good laugh/nap. I note, from your link, that _five_ used copies are available from Amazon Marketplace, with prices ranging from $69.15 to $0.16 (in ‘good’ condition). Sounds like a bargain to me. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/30 "2011-11-01T02:51:08Z")
There was a copy of [this book](http://books.google.com/books/about/All_About_Coffee.html?id=Y5tXt7aoLNoC) in my high school library. I once attempted to leaf through it. Had the phrase “ponderous tome” not already existed in the English language, I’d have coined it after giving Ukers that glance. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/31 "2011-11-01T03:02:00Z")
I can’t beat _Jim Fixx’s Second Book of Running: The All-New Companion Volume to The Complete Book of Running_. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/32 "2011-11-01T04:16:58Z")
I do not know if this counts as encyclopedic, but the mention of high school libraries reminds me that, for some unfathomable reason, my _high_ school library had a set of _[Spon’s Workshop Receipts](http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Workshop_receipts.html?id=gIsAAAAAMAAJ)_. Apparently it runs to at least 4 volumes. I think they had them all. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/33 "2011-11-01T07:52:47Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > _Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask_ by David Reuben. It didn’t answer half my questions, all kinds of stuff were never mentioned, and a good chunk of it is homophobic nonsense. Apparently, the book covers only the things you were afraid to ask. The things you actually asked aren’t covered. ---
**Author:** ![statij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@statij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statij)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/34 "2011-11-01T22:30:08Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I note, from your link, that _five_ used copies are available from Amazon Marketplace, with prices ranging from $69.15 to $0.16 (in ‘good’ condition). Sounds like a bargain to me. Mine has some pretty extensive water damage/warping. I’m afraid it’s probably closer to $0.16. But I’m not selling. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/35 "2011-11-01T22:46:52Z")
I don’t know if this one counts as absurd. I have it and think it’s interesting. [An Exaltation of Larks](http://www.amazon.com/Exaltation-Larks-Ultimate-James-Lipton/dp/0140170960/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320187492&sr=8-1) by James Lipton: anthology of collective nouns. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/36 "2011-11-02T03:17:05Z")
the hite report on female sexuality? not that it’s absurd, just useless for most guys. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/37 "2011-11-02T03:23:06Z")
the peter principle and all of its codicils. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/38 "2011-11-02T05:14:39Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > I’m a fan of RAND Corp’s [A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates](http://amzn.com/0833030477). It is exactly what it sets out to be. I wasn’t prepared for its shocking cannibalism twist when seven ate nine. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/39 "2011-11-02T05:56:25Z")
> [@Big\_Norse](#): > > If you want a good title you have to go with the [Cheesecyclopedia](http://www.eatwisconsincheese.com/cheese/cheesecyclopedia.aspx) (I have a hard copy). You should’ve kept it in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923/40 "2011-11-02T05:59:21Z")
[Barbed Wire: An Ecology of Modernity](http://www.amazon.com/Barbed-Wire-Modernity-Reviel-Netz/dp/0819567191) Even the reviews sound pretentious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unintentionally-absurd-encyclopaedic-works/600923.md?page=3)