Abnormal burial practices have long been a source of fascination and debate within the fields of mortuary archaeology and bioarchaeology. The Odd, the Unusual, and the Strange investigates an unparalleled geographic and temporal range of burials that differ from the usual customs of their broader societies, emphasizing the importance of a holistic, context-driven approach to these intriguing cases. From an Andean burial dating to 3500 BC to mummified bodies interred in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily, during the twentieth century, the studies in this volume cross the globe and span millennia. The unusual cases explored here include Native American cemeteries in Illinois, “vampire” burials in medieval Poland, and a mass grave of decapitated soldiers in ancient China. Moving away from the simplistic assumption that these burials represent people who were considered deviant in society, contributors demonstrate the importance of an integrated biocultural approach in determining why an individual was buried in an unusual way. Drawing on historical, sociocultural, archaeological, and biological data, this volume critically evaluates the binary of “typical” versus “atypical” burials. It expands our understanding of the continuum of variation within mortuary practices, helping researchers better interpret burial evidence to learn about the people and cultures of the past. A volume in the series Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global Perspectives, edited by Clark Spencer Larsen

The complete collection of odd and peculiar tales, with two bonus stories! A hitchhiker meets her match in Memphis, and a housewife's dirty little secret finds its way above water. Enjoy!

The Doors? Jim Morrison was right. People are strange. Very, very strange. All the proof you need is found in Another Weird Year, a wacky jaunt into the depths of the weirdest, oddest, and most completely outlandish news stories that?strangely enough?are 100% true. After all, who in their right mind could make up this stuff?? A Chilean prisoner accused of murder escaped from jail to meet a few friends for drinks at a local bar. Later that night, he returned to the prison and demanded to be let back into his cell where he fell asleep.? Peter Holden of Washington, D.C. eats an average of two McDonald's meals a day and has eaten at 11,000 of the chain's 13,500 North American locations. On one 54-day business trip, he managed to visit 124 of the golden-arched restaurants.? A Chicago man was accused of killing his roommate after the pair got into a heated argument. The fight?which included weapons such as an ashtray, a pair of pliers, and a fire extinguisher?was over who had the bigger portion of chicken.This collection of items from news sources around the world has it all: accounts of botched crimes . . . crazy animal stories . . . tales of incredible luck (both good and bad) . . . and stories that feature just plain ol? fashioned stupidity.Those who follow the nightly news won?t want to miss the bizarre news delivered in Another Weird Year. It's the perfect book to keep you laughing on a long trip or when you just need to put the insanity of your own life into perspective.

What does it mean to 'chew the fat'? Why do we put things in 'apple-pie order'? And what on earth is a 'hat trick'? Readers will learn all this and more in this fun and engaging new addition to the Complete Idiot's Guide® series, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weird Word Origins. This humorous book provides entertaining insight on the often metaphorical, always taken-for-granted phrases and expressions used every day. In it, language expert Paul McFedries takes readers through the sometimes surprising, always amusing world of weird words and expressions, and the fascinating stories that surround them. Presented in a fun, easy-to-read style, this book takes readers on a journey through the bizarre and eccentric origins that make up our everyday speech.

The New Cinematic Weird argues that weird fiction is rising also in audiovisual culture. Presenting several detailed analyses of weird cinematic works, the book shows how the new cinematic weird is best understood as atmospheric worldings — affective intensities that suffuse the experience of the cinematic weird. The weird exists as an experiential field, an inflation of the world. These worldings disclose a variety of experiences. The book engagingly shows how creepy, unsettling, ominous, uneasy, and eerie atmospheres provide a way into the weird experience. This book is important to anyone interested in the audiovisual weird, cinematic atmospheres, how audiovisual media produce worlds, and how weird fiction challenges our conception of the way the world is.