Dam! Beware the terror of "Rodent Mutation"

Bron Fane's Rodent Mutation was published in 1961. It warned of the dangers of giant mutated beavers walking on two legs. ("Civilization staggered before the onslaught of these radioactive giants!")

Thankfully, Fane's warning was heeded, and mankind avoided its terrible fate. It would have involved a lot of wood chewing, dam building, and tail slapping. (Image via James Vaughan.)

Bonus: If you want to see an inappropriate —but fun!— title for a baby-rearing book, click "Read more." (No kids allowed!)

An Edible Cookbook?

This book is made with fresh pasta. So after you read it, you can bake and eat some literary lasagna.

I'd like all my books to be retrofitted this way, please. (Oh wait, not The Big Book of Gross Stuff!)

I just fell in love with Russian reality TV.

Either way.

Via.

Bookstore Reading

everything is illuminated, a photo by Gabbyyyg on Flickr.

"Pure Evil" is hereditary...and bad for teddy bears!

This science project is the work of Allison Lonsdale.

You can click on the photo above (by Jerry Abuan) for a close-up; a preview of Dr. Lonsdale's protocols is to the right.

If you're not familiar with the process of extracting pure evil from an exploded toaster, this clip from the wonderful movie Time Bandits provides a quick overview.

Thanks to BoingBoing for the hot tip!

Johnny Tolengo IS El Majestuoso!

Just thought you'd want to know. (Via.)

Joel Robison has skills.

Here's a Seattle P.I. piece on the gentleman, here's his Flickr page, and this is his quite interesting blog.

"WITH LIFE-LIKE HAIR!!"

When GI Joe talks, his life-like hair doesn't move. Via.

Here's how to get better gas mileage.

By Ben Terrett.

The New York Public Library made a thriller

"Othello" retitled

By Liz Bologna.

I just finished David Snodin's Iago, so this is good timing.

Observe all signs.

Via.

Know how I know this isn't any old bookshop?

I see shells.
(Parkinsons of Southport: "BOOKS & SHELLS and MUCH MORE")

That's logic for ya.

Dr. Fritz Klein had an interesting bookplate...

A scale balanced on a book, while a tiny figure totters past with a cane? This is endlessly fascinating... (Via My Imaginary Brooklyn.)

Yeah, but where's the witch?

The coolest parents ever gave their daughter this wardrobe with a secret door in the back. Going through it, the adventurer enters Narnia!

So anyway, they've got the lion and the wardrobe covered. I guess C.S. Lewis would agree that two out of three ain't bad!

Daunt Books for Travellers

London! Here's another shot from by Everita:

I am inspired.

"The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are made into giant 11ft tall flowerpots to inspire budding gardeners at the start of QVC's Diamond Jubilee gardening season." (Via.)

Why read on paper?

This modern ad in a retro style makes a case for it.

Via.

"Oh, my hand."

It wasn't that long ago that all books were hand-copied. That's a lot of work! So please enjoy this collection of complaints that monks scribbled in the pages of the books they were writing, courtesy of Brain Pickings.

Taking the air with Junior...

This gas-resistant baby stroller was invented in 1938. It's perfect for taking baby out for a walk even IF there's toxic gas in the air. (From Nationaal Archief.)

One Man's Library

Believe it or don’t, but this is the personal library of Robert A. Macksey, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. According to Book Riot, “he is the owner of one of the largest personal libraries in the state of Maryland, with over 70,000 ($4 million worth) books and manuscripts along with art work . . . and he is known to hold graduate level courses in his famous library.”

Wait, you can take CLASSES in there?!

When it comes to sweaters...

...I prefer mine crocheted. (Via x-ray delta one.)

"Libreria Acqua Alta" = The High Water Bookstore

The Italian city of Venice is home to Libreria Acqua Alta.

Why that name? Well...

Via.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Miss Book World!

She's visiting us from 1970.

Cereal Killer

Via.

Children led astray by the Bronx Traveling Library

1940s, yo. (Via Robert Barone.)

Hedge Hog

Via.

When Libraries Escape

By Alicia Martin.

Globes in Amsterdam

By milliped.

Whoa.

The girl in front is Doreen Haviland. She’s riding the flume at Coney Island back in 1976. Via the New York Times’ Lens blog.

Why are Portland Timbers fans the best in any sport?

Here's one good reason.

That'd be one precocious reader.

Via.

The Librarian

By sudergal.

"What do you mean, girls can't fly kites?"

Peanuts creator Charles Schulz lived in Sebastopol, which is where I grew up. And I love this stationery that Schulz used for his correspondence.

Bonus: I have a friend who lived next door to the cartoonist . . . and another one whose dad built Schulz's home. (Below, Schulz takes a break in his Sebastopol home's backyard.)

Life, 1967. Stationery from Melville House. 

"I am Iron Man."

Via.

Want to make money?

I'm earning a fortune just by posting this. Okay, admittedly, this is barely a short paragraph, so I'll just make it a biiiiiiiiiit longer. There. Cha-ching! (Via.)

I don't know what it means, but it ain't good.

As seen in Canada. (By Rnout.)

Got to love those Penguin classics.

Via.

Darth Vader plays the Star Wars theme on his bagpipes, while riding his unicycle.

Read it, girl.

By Garrett Gill.

Strangely unimpressive.

"LIBARY"? Come on.

Breaking bookmark news!

Few things get my heart beating faster than hearing of a breakthrough in bookmark technology. Nice work, Albatros!

"Cute" review?

This month's issue of the School Library Journal has a kind review of Cute! A Guide to All Things Adorable:

King examines "cute" in American culture—from baby animals to shiny objects and all manner of adorable things in between. [This is] a well-researched look at what people find so appealing and why . . . Filled with fun facts and interesting tidbits, this is a title that tweens and teens are sure to flip through again and again. It's just the kind of book girls will flock to in their libraries and media centers.

The Honesty Bookshop

Yep, it's real. (By never meant to see.)

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is cool. The End.

You know what's great about Portland? Me.

Here in Portland, we have a mayor's race underway. One of the candidates is Charlie Hales, a gentleman who has an essay in today's Oregonian. (His article is in response to a previous opinion piece by Dave Lister.) Hales' essay starts this way:

Like many readers, I was disappointed, if not surprised, by Dave Lister's latest broadside attacking smart growth, transit, East Coast transplants, urban renewal, bicycles, myself and most other things that are great about Portland.

Did you see that? By using the word "myself" at the end of the list of things that are great about Portland, Mr. Hales has explicitly stated that HE is one of the things that is great about Portland!

I love it. I also think this is a fine campaign slogan:

Charlie Hales: One of the great things about Portland.

Addendum: I'm voting for Hales. Seriously. Not because of this, though.

Addendum II: It's official.

Now THAT'S a headline.

As you can see, a stolen bench was found in a shed. Case CLOSED.

(Story here, photo here, via.)