Book Description
Do spiders sleep? Why are barns red? Why is there a crescent moon on outhouse doors? Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes?
As the Xerox Corporation's official webmaster, Bill McLain often fielded as many as 1,000 questions a day on just about everything under the sun -- and beyond. The wildest, funniest, and even most astute are collected here (along with their answers) in McLain's second volume that's as fascinating and enlightening as his first, Do Fish Drink Water? A "veritable Internet legend known for having all the answers" (San Francisco Chronicle), McLain explains what keeps squirrels from toppling off telephone wires; why the skin on your fingers and toes shrivels up in the water; how seedless watermelons are created; and more. Whether it's animal, vegetable, mineral, or something completely different, the answer is bound to be as interesting as the question itself, and certain to satisfy the trivia hound in everyone.
Customer Reviews:
What Makes Flamingos Pink?: A Colorful Collection of Q & A's .......2007-01-16
Neat book -- lots of good Q and A's about a lot of subjects, just pick a page.
What Makes Flamingo's Pink?.......2006-10-06
This is a wonderful, fun, & informative book. I have sent it to a couple of friends, that have truely enjoyed it. They keep it in thier bathroom for easy & fun reading material.I hate to read, but this book makes reading fun. You can't put it down, & you get educated @ the same time. Highly recommended for all ages!!! Enjoy!!!
Lots of fun facts.......2006-02-12
I really enjoyed this book. It has fun facts, interesting stories, and hints on where to find information on the Internet.
I do have to disagree with McLain on one of his facts. In response to a question about teleportation, McLain discusses psychokinesis. McLain indicates that scientists are taking psychokinesis very seriously, and mentions favorably some research that found people could control the roll of an electronic dice with their minds. I'm sorry, but this is simply not the case. All such studies have been found not be repeatable when appropriate controls were made. James Randi has offered a million dollars to anyone who can show psychokinetic powers under controlled conditions. No one has succeeded yet. For more information on the Million Dollar Challenge, go to www.randi.org.
Who, What, When, Where, Why?.......2003-06-28
The book "What Makes Flamingos Pink?" tells about facts and figures and events. It tells some of the most strange events, and also some you may not have even heard of. I learned many things from reading this book. I have also noticed things that make me wonder "What makes it do that?" or "Why does that thing do that?" Nearly all my questions were answered in this book.
The reason why I gave this book four stars is because it had interesting information, but the author (Bill McLain) sometimes gets off of the topic in the chapter. I have also read the book, "Do Fish Drink Water?" This is a book similar to "What Makes Flamingtos Pink," but I think that the book "Do Fish Drink Water" is actually a better book.
Bravo Bill! ... but ..........2001-05-07
Once again, the "answer whiz" has done it and done so in superlative form! As with his previous book, "Do Fish Drink Water?," most of what sets Bill's (and collaborators') work apart from others who have done compilations of trivial tidbits is that his personality permeates every word that is read on the page.
Anyone who has encountered Bill found out almost instantaneously, either when he responded to email sent to the Xerox Webmaster, spoke with him by phone or, as those of us fortunate enough to work with him on a regular basis, at the core of his being was a genuine caring for everyone. You could not talk with Bill without thinking that you were, if not his favorite person on the planet, at least the person he considered the most interesting.
To this equation, one adds the over-arching curiosity which resulted in such a vast wealth of knowledge in so many diverse fields of esoteric matter combined with the ability to convey information in the most easy-to-read manner and you have the answer to the question of what makes his books such pleasurable reading.
Yes, there are the minor imperfections such as the acceptance, again, in this book of the CNN-Headline News "abusage" meaning of the word "factoid" in utter disregard for its original coinage in 1973 by Norman Mailer. When I suggested to Bill that this second book ought to set the record straight with a "factoid on factoids" he pointed out, correctly, nobody but a small handful of philologers would be interested.
The only real downer is the tragic news that on 19 January 2001, just days before this book was due out, Bill died from complications following cancer surgery.
His wit, humor and, most of all, the kindness of this fine gentleman will be missed.
Book Description
"In 1957, Don Featherstone sculptured the first three-dimensional pink plastic flamingo, thereby making affordable bad taste accessible to the American public"--from Pink Flamingos. This is the tale of a wonderful bird, named by his creator phoenicopteris ruber plasticus; a new avian species, now known to all as "Pink Plastic Flamingo." The more than one hundred pictures and the text in this volume are the result of Featherstone's request that adoring owners of the pink birds send original photographs that demonstrate their affection for phoenicopteris on its 40th birthday in 1997. An overwhelming response included such masterpieces as: "Biker Birds," "What a Pear," "The Wedding Party," "Anyone for Bridge," "Purple Passion," "Beachcombers," and the sweetly romantic "Flamingo Honeymoon." If you're a believer, or even an skeptic, take a look, see for yourself. This book is one of a kind, the documentation of American genius, homage to an icon, or, perhaps, a rare opportunity to observe a culturally tolerated symbol of taste gone awry. It's great fun!
Customer Reviews:
Visions of pink plastic spendor.......2000-07-09
If you are a one of the many lovers of phoeniclpteris ruber plasticus, (pink plastic flamingos), this book will delight you. It is the story of the progression of the p.r.p. from its birth in Leominster, MA, to its spread throughout the United States. The book is the collection of photos summited to the company on the 40th anniversary of the flamingos' entrance into Amercian culture. Writer Tom Herzing gives a delightful tongue-in-cheek dialog of the dear birds; the photos chosen are better than your average bird photos. THE ORIGINAL PINK FLAMINGOS;Spelndor in the Grass, makes a wonderful addition to the usual coffee table clutter of 'real art'.
Book Description
Following the success of our previous retro, nostalgic Mini Kits™, this lighthearted kit sends up the classic tacky lawn ornament, scaled down to desktop size. A pair of mini flamingos with their own patch of lawn comes with a book celebrating America's beloved bauble of bad taste as a symbol of kitschy fun in the sun.
Customer Reviews:
Pink Flamingos Gift Set.......2007-01-09
Everyone was laughing when this gift was opened. It now sits proudly on the owners kitchen window. A neat little gift that brings a hint of nice weather all year round!
Book Description
Whacked with a lawn flamingo? A reporter wants to know--who killed with kitsch...
The rehabilitation of North Dakota Place is a feel-good story--the kind St. Louis City Gazette columnist Francesca Vierling likes to write. Grand houses restored to former glory. Pride in a neighborhood--and, like all good stories, this one has a hero, the woman who made it all happen, the city's guardian of good taste. Some call her a rehabbing saint, others a fanatic.
The first death on North Dakota Place was certainly shocking but not entirely unwelcome--after all, the victim was a cranky old man who had been painting his house purple. The second death, of a drug dealer, brings tacit approval--and growing suspicion. But all bets are off when another victim is found, a socialite unceremoniously whacked with a pink lawn flamingo. Now the neighbors want Francesca to investigate. But her boyfriend wants her to commit to marriage, not crime. Soon the gutsy reporter is experiencing a deepening personal crisis--and something more heinous than vinyl siding: the dark secrets of heart, home, and blighted dreams.
Customer Reviews:
Insight in the world of Rehabbing.......2007-08-01
We watch Flip this House and other home make over shows. It was amusing to read about the trials and tribulations of home owners with a murder mystery thrown in. I have a few suggestions to make to the author,though, on future books. The herorine is constantly shooting down any ideas that the bosses come up with. I would like to see her come up with something that would work that doesn't involve spending more money. She may discover it's adifferent world when you are the one who is getting shot down. Good book. Very complicated characters.
Bad Taste In Murder.......2004-11-19
Francesca Vierling, 37 year old columnist for the St. Louis City Gazette thinks the rehabilitation of the North Dakota Place area of town would be a good story. Especially since it's only a block from her house.
Francesca meets many of the occupants of the neighborhood, Margie, Dina, Patricia and Kathy and her husband Dale. They're all working at rehabing their homes and their neighborhood and would be happy about it, except for the Caroline.
Caroline is the all time champ rehaber, she not only did her own house, but buys other houses and has them rehabed and sold. She even takes care of the city's property, planting new grass and flowers and taking care of the fountain. She also tries to take care of everyone else's property. Telling people what they need to do what they need to plant and when they have to do it, failure may result in city inspectors showing up and fines being levied if you don't comply immediately.
Otto Brumbaw isn't going to be pushed around by Caroline. She insists he repaint his house and he gets a promise from her that she will stop screaming at him and leave him alone if he paints. She agrees and Otto starts painting. Caroline, doesn't count on the purple with turquoise trim that he decides on.
Caroline fumes when Otto reminds her of their agreement, but his eyesore of a house doesn't stay that way long, as poor Otto manages to electrocute himself on the Christmas Tree lights he still has hanging on his house. Caroline quickly buys the house and has it repainted to more suitable colors.
Francesca is suspicious when Detective Mark Mayhew declares it to be murder. Someone had deliberately killed Otto.
Then a local drug dealer is burned to death in his house, after arguing with Caroline and destroying some of her newly planted trees, Francesca starts to wonder if Caroline will do anything to keep her neighborhood looking good. She even had Otto's yappy dog sent to the pound because it was a disgrace to the neighborhood.
A gorgeous jogger, who has all the women swooning and who is legally running across city property is threatened by Caroline if he doesn't stop. He informs her that he will run where he wants since he isn't doing anything wrong. His running days are over when he winds up dead in an alley.
Francesca is certain Caroline is killing everyone who disturbs the neighborhood. That brilliant deduction goes out the window when Caroline herself ends up dead with her head bashed in and stabbed with a plastic pink flamingo.
Now things are very confusing, who would have killed all those other people and Caroline. Francesca is determined to figure this out before everyone on the block winds up dead.
Highlights:
Good mystery. Keeps you guessing until the end.
Very funny. The description of Kathy and Dale's sanding accident had me laughing out loud. As did Francesca's digging up a garden in search of a body.
Francesca has become a more likable character, but needs therapy badly. Her childhood trauma's have really warped her outlook on life and she'd be a much happier person if she'd get some help to get over it.
Lyle Donnegan, Francesca's boyfriend, a college professor is a nice guy. He wants to marry her, he's agreed to let her keep her apartment if she wants to. (This is her grandparent's apartment and she hasn't changed anything in it since they died over a decade ago). He thinks she is a talented writer and should take that talent somewhere where it is appreciated and not at her paper, where management hates her and constantly wants to get rid of her, despite the fact that she's the most popular writer in the paper.
Lowlights:
Francesca's destruction of her relationship. It's so sad and so unnecessary.
The paper. Once again Charlie and the rest of the staff are almost insufferable. I hate these people and I don't even find them funny. I think it's because, like so many people, I work with people like them, but unlike Francesca, we don't have a talent that we can take somewhere else, skills, but not talent. Francesca is such a good writer, she could probably free lance columns to other papers.
This is the third book, where Francesca does not solve the crime. She is either talking or interviewing the killer, without knowing it and the killer starts to suspect that she has guessed their identity. They then try to kill her.
But until they try to kill her, Francesca doesn't have a clue as to who the killer is. These scenes in the books are actually very funny as Francesca has had to resort to everything from hot water to filing cabinet drawers in her attempts to avoid being murdered.
Despite all the problems, with Francesca and the storylines, these books are very well written and keep you interest. I just wish they didn't make me so mad.
Interesting characters.......2000-07-24
Columnist reporter Francesca Vierling makes her third appearance in THE PINK FLAMINGO MURDERS. Most readers can sympathize with Francesca, who is chronically unable to control her temper and tongue. Consequently, she finds herself in hot water both at work and in her personal life.
Always looking for a good story, Francesca starts covering her own neighborhood when less than desirable characters start dying after arguing with wealthy real estate owner Caroline. As the body count starts climbing, and all are murder victims, Francesca is positive Caroline is the killer and tries to find enough proof for the police. When Caroline herself is killed, Francesca is stumped--but then, so are the police.
Viets provides the reader with an intimate look at St. Louis, especially the proud old houses suffering from neglect and in need of "rehabbing". She also provides the reader with an up-close and personal view of a reporter's daily life, but I hope this isn't how a typical newspaper is run. Francesca's boyfriend Lyle can't understand why Francesca doesn't quit, as she and the other reporters are treated extremely poorly and aren't allowed to write any real news stories. I don't think Francesca herself knows why she stays and takes the daily punishment dished out by managing editor Charlie.
I was able to figure out the killer's identity early on. In spite of that, the book held my interest all the way to the end, mostly due to the interesting characters.
The Pink Flamingo Murders.......2000-05-31
No one has her finger on the pulse of St. Louis more than Elaine Viets. Her descriptions of St. Louis and its charm and its people--and its quirks--are dead-on. Just when you think there are no new ways to commit murder, Viets shows us there is always a new idea. She throws just enough hints at whom the murderer is to cast suspicion on everyone and lets the reader make his or her own guesses. The Francesca Vierling series is top notch, and this is the best yet. After 200 pages I hated this book...because I knew I was approaching the end. I'm counting the days until the next book is released.
Too light.......2000-03-08
I really hated this book! Everthing was lighter than air- the characters, the writing, the plot. It was a total waste of my time.
Average customer rating:
- "I'd like to report a lewd and disorderly party."
- One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure!
- A must for the trashoisie
- Wow! All The Trashy Depravity My Sick Little Heart Desires!
- I LOVE WATERS
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Trash Trio: Three Screenplays : Pink Flamingos, Desperate Living, Flamingos Forever
John Waters
Manufacturer: Thunder's Mouth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters
ASIN: 1560251271 |
Customer Reviews:
"I'd like to report a lewd and disorderly party.".......2003-12-28
I'm a John Waters fan. I love his films, and to me, one of the very best things about a Waters film is the dialogue. Those funny lines come fast and furiously. Sometimes I'm so busy laughing at one line, that I miss the next one. The book "Trash Trio" is the answer for me. Here in print--at last--are the immortal scripts of "Pink Flamingos", "Desperate Living" and "Flamingos Forever." The latter script is especially valuable, for as fans know all too well, "Flamingos Forever" was never made (sob). But now there is no reason to mourn--for here I can drool over every nasty word to my heart's content. In fact, I've highlighted my favourite lines and plan to memorize them for special occasions.
Included in the book are--not one--but TWO--yes, let's count them people--TWO introductions by the master himself--John Waters. One introduction was written in 1996, and the other was written in 1998. Waters mulls over the cast for a remake of "Pink Flamingos", and he also explains why he never made "Flamingos Forever."
Each of the scripts contains a cast list, and scene directions--along with treasured photographs of the many memorable moments from each film. As much as this pains me to admit it, John Waters is not for everyone--but for Waters fans, this book brings hours of enjoyment and many filthy memories.
Now I have no excuse to forget these immortal words:
"Filth is my politics, filth is my life!"
"Tell her this isn't some communist day-care centre."
"After Divine is humiliated and destroyed, Maryland will be ours!"
"She'll be a heroine--even to non-filthy people." Displacedhuman
One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure!.......2003-01-20
What a treat it is to read three screenplays written by the great director, John Waters. "Pink Flamingos" proved that a cult classic could be created on an extremely limited budget. The actors were uniquely talented and the characters they portrayed unforgettable. Now that the demented dialog they spoke is on the printed page, one can savor every word. I particularly enjoyed the pledges of undying love spoken by Raymond and Connie Marble.
CONNIE: "Oh, I love you Raymond! I love you more than anything in the whole world. I love you even more than my own filthiness, more than my hair color. Oh God, I love you more than the sound of bones breaking, the sound of the death rattle..."
RAYMOND: "And I, Connie, also love you more than anything I could imagine - more than my hair color, more than the sound of babies crying, dogs dying, even more than the thought of original sin itself. I am yours, Connie, eternally united to you through an invisible cord of finely woven filth that even God Himself could never, ever break."
"Desperate Living" is a modern day fairy tale in which an obese maid accidentally kills the husband of the neurotic socialite she works for. Rather than face a trial and possible prison time, they escape to a bizarre village in the forest known as Mortville. In the book, John Waters vividly describes the place and its residents. "Everything is made out of trash and garbage, including the houses. Hideous bums, perverts and psychopaths walk the street as...leather-clad Goons patrol the street harassing the pitiful citizens. In the distance we see a fairy-tale castle." Queen Carlotta is a ruthless monarch, living in opulent splendor while her squalid subjects starve. The power of the printed word was such that, immediately after reading that screenplay, I had to watch the movie again.
The real treasure in this trash trio is the screenplay for "Flamingos Forever," the never filmed sequel to "Pink Flamingos." The action takes place fifteen years after the end of the previous story. Babs Johnson, Crackers, Cotton and Edie the Egg Lady return to Baltimore as the Divine leaders of a filth cult. The late Connie Marble's sister, Vera, is married to Wilbur Venninger, a necrophiliac who owns a funeral home. The Venningers kidnap young children and force them to drink, smoke and shoot heroin. Vera claims to be the filthiest person alive, and sees Babs Johnson as the biggest threat to her title. Vera Venninger's rivalry with, seeming victory over and ultimate defeat to Babs comprises the rest of the story. What a shame that most of the actors in the original movie had passed away by the time this was written, and the sequel will never be filmed.
A must for the trashoisie.......1999-09-30
Waters's early work is hilarious, and the book is a surprisingly good read despite the egregious absence of Waters's best flick, "Female Trouble."
Wow! All The Trashy Depravity My Sick Little Heart Desires!.......1999-06-25
Reading these screenplays was more fun than watching the movies, as I could picture the filth in a more vivid way than is possible to portray on Waters' low budget. The happenings in these plays are so utterly outrageous the sheer force of their sleazyness is more overwhelming than "art". What perverse genius! I am reduced to babblesome blandness beside it. I love it more than my own haircolor, the sound of dogs dying & of babies crying--more than my own filthyness even. Gush gush gush gush gush gush gush...
I LOVE WATERS.......1999-01-22
John Waters is a great artist, and I mean artist, because he's created things no one else had, and probably never would!!!! this book also gives un an insite on the sequal to a cult hit PINK FLAMINGOS, and while not has good as FLAMINGOS, it's still funnier than most, and it's obvious he wrote some parts far MS.HILL, who was one of the stars of DESPRATE LIVING, also a script in this GREAT BOOK. I beg anybody who likes any type of film, no matter what it may be to get this book, because you'll never ever look at ANY movie the same!!!!
Average customer rating:
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Oh No! the Pink Flamingo Turned Green
Marylin Sheffield
Manufacturer: Macmillan Caribbean
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0333947320 |
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Dancing Pink Flamingos and Other Stories (An Avon Flare Book)
Maria Testa
Manufacturer: Flare
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0380729296 |
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Bug Bunny/Pink Flamingo Bk/Tp (Golden Story Book 'n' Tape)
Golden Books
Manufacturer: Golden Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0307141675
Release Date: 1991-09-01 |
Books:
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (Complete Pet Owner's Manuals)
- Choosing a Dog for Life (Well Mannered Dog)
- Clinical Veterinary Toxicology
- Dancing with Your Dark Horse: How Horse Sense Helps Us Find Balance, Strength and Wisdom
- Dinosaurs Big and Small (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1)
- Do Lemmings Commit Suicide?: Beautiful Hypotheses and Ugly Facts
- Dog Anatomy: A Pictorial Approach to Canine Structure
- Dog Friendly Gardens, Garden Friendly Dogs
- Dogs, Diet, & Disease: An Owner's Guide to Diabetes Mellitus, Pancreatitis, Cushing's Disease, & More
- Dwarf Rabbits (Complete Pet Owner's Manuals)
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