The Strangest Things in the World: A Book About Extraordinary Manifestations of…


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(4.2 stars; 8 reviews)

"THE STRANGEST THINGS IN THE WORLD - A Book About Extraordinary Manifestations of Nature" This title sums up the wonderful line up in this book. Short pieces about the strange and often bewildering things that occur in our world, from the insect that is born pregnant, to the fearsome poison arrow frog and about 170 others. If you like odd facts and weird plants and animals, this collection will delight you. So pick something interesting and enjoy reading it. The author is one of the world’s best-known and most respected science writers. This book is a personal and unique distillation of the wisdom he has developed in a lifetime of dealing with man’s effort to resolve the paradoxes of nature.- from the Introduction (Summary by phil c and the introduction) (11 hr 50 min)

Chapters

The Invisible Underground Jungle 6:03 Read by Marie Christian
The Self-Perpetuating Sponge 3:54 Read by Marie Christian
Living “Stars” in Caves 6:52 Read by Marie Christian
Parenthood Among Penguins 3:25 Read by Marie Christian
The Strategy of Warrior Ants 10:01 Read by Marie Christian
Uganda’s Miniature Dinosaur. 1:44 Read by Kerry Adams
The Strange Ways of Spiders 4:23 Read by maxmagnus99
Worms With a Thousand Eyes 11:05 Read by Darrell Nobles
Queer Fish, But Definitely 6:13 Read by Oris99
Love Life Among the Spiders 1:45 Read by Tia Wright
The Lace Weavers 8:54 Read by elibishop
The Ways of Crabs 6:28 Read by Tia Wright
Ticks With Noses in Their Legs 1:26 Read by Kerry Adams
The Fourth Realm of Life 5:30 Read by Tia Wright
Rubber-Band Worms that Stretch and Stretch 7:57 Read by Tom Merritt
Frog Versatility 6:46 Read by Tom Merritt
The Horned Viper Spears Other Animals 1:48 Read by lagrange123
The World of Insects 4:58 Read by Winnifred Assmann
Gigantic Serpents of the Sky 8:35 Read by Larry Wilson
The Limbless Lizard 1:17 Read by RajVO
The Maddening Tarantula 1:50 Read by bkelle
A Flower That Grows Through Solid Ice 1:54 Read by Krista Zaleski
The Versatile Ant Farmers 5:54 Read by ToniM
Ostracoderms: Ancestors of True Fish 5:47 Read by Larry Wilson
The Ever Faithful Hornbills 6:58 Read by Jananiram
Ants With Tailor Skills 2:03 Read by bkelle
Fiend Symphonies of the Jungle 8:11 Read by Tia Wright
Tyrants of the Polychaete Race 6:58 Read by Larry Wilson
Eating Habits of Spiders 1:16 Read by bkelle
The Suicide Instinct of Iguanas 1:52 Read by Tia Wright
Forests That Eat Meat 4:07 Read by Oris99
Cave-Dwelling Birds 3:31 Read by Winnifred Assmann
Where Snails Become Flowers 2:19 Read by Mike Manolakes
Termites That Eat Lead 4:05 Read by Mike Manolakes
The Plant That Eats Animals 4:56 Read by Tom Merritt
The Ocean’s Sound Barrier 5:41 Read by Krista Zaleski
Snakes That Act and Look Like Worms 2:38 Read by Tia Wright
A Porcupine of the Sea 4:12 Read by Krista Zaleski
Worms That Are Unkillable 3:22 Read by inararabbani
The Remarkable Brachiopods 8:00 Read by Oris99
Feathers on Birds Adapt to the Seasons 1:29 Read by Larry Wilson
Why the Dodo Became Extinct 1:41 Read by Krista Zaleski
The Shark of the Soil 2:13 Read by Tia Wright
The Sleeping Habits of Mammals 1:28 Read by Tia Wright
The Eerie Eyes of Animals at Night 3:55 Read by Larry Wilson
World of the Blind 6:13 Read by Tia Wright
The Remarkable Clam Worms 7:08 Read by gnels17
Winged Reptile 1:33 Read by Larry Wilson
Vicious Fire Ants 1:42 Read by Larry Wilson
The Architectural Genius of Birds 7:39 Read by lagrange123
The Ferocious Leech Worms 8:24 Read by lagrange123
The Complex Spider’s Web 1:02 Read by Larry Wilson
Monsters of the Deep: The Great Squids 9:27 Read by Andrea Kotzer
The Vanishing Whippoorwill 3:58 Read by Larry Wilson
Ants Can Smell Almost Anything 3:05 Read by Winnifred Assmann
Fish That Fish For Fish 5:26 Read by ABVoice
Worms That Are Flowers 11:13 Read by Krista Zaleski
The Heavy Toll of Bird Migrations 2:19 Read by ToniM
Deadly Snakes That Take Life Easy 2:56 Read by Andrea Kotzer
Weird Plant-Animals 7:47 Read by Winston Smith
Weird Ways of Birds 4:25 Read by Kevin Waters
The Fantastic Sea Horse 5:03 Read by Krista Zaleski
The Great Seal Migrations 4:38 Read by Mike Manolakes
Monsters With Buzz Saws 8:52 Read by Mike Manolakes
Two-Headed Snakes Aren’t Rare 1:07 Read by Ben Tucker
Fantastic Sea Creatures 3:15 Read by Winston Smith
The Varieties of Raven Language 3:06 Read by ChristosPax
Worms With Hypodermic Needles 3:26 Read by Winston Smith
The Fatal Black Widow Spider 1:39 Read by Kevin Waters
Plants That are Animated 2:11 Read by Tia Wright
The Tomato—Cinderella of Vegetables 2:21 Read by Tia Wright
The Holiest Place on Earth 8:58 Read by Kevin Waters
The Vanishing Golden Carpet 4:42 Read by Andrea Kotzer
Evolution of the Bird 2:37 Read by Tom Merritt
Speed Ace of the Air 3:06 Read by Kerry Adams
The Remarkable Instincts of the Silk Worm 6:58 Read by Tom Merritt
The Strange World of the Sea 7:53 Read by Lynn Marie
The Cannibal Birds of the Pacific 4:48 Read by Tia Wright
Eagles as Indian Pets 1:50 Read by Kerry Adams
The Giant Insects of the Carolines 2:47 Read by Andrea Kotzer
The Valley Where Dusk is Death 4:03 Read by Kevin Waters
Enigma of Evolution: the Snake 3:58 Read by Tom Merritt
The Fastest Growth on Earth 5:39 Read by Tom Merritt
Birds That Duel 2:36 Read by mleigh
Brakes on Plant Life 3:26 Read by Mike Manolakes
Snails Are the Flowers of the Sea 3:45 Read by Krista Zaleski
The Brutal South Pole Birds 2:33 Read by Krista Zaleski
Silk-Bearded Clams 3:36 Read by JimLawter
Pearls Grow in Brooks 2:38 Read by Tia Wright
Grasshopper-Infested Glaciers 1:45 Read by Kerry Adams
Monster Clams of Polynesia 1:10 Read by Tia Wright
Corals Combine Plants and Animal Life 4:23 Read by Winston Smith
The First Engineers—Termites 5:22 Read by Winston Smith
Oyster Oddities 1:41 Read by Tom Merritt
The World’s Biggest Sneeze 1:42 Read by mleigh
The Luminescent Ctenophores 4:47 Read by ChristosPax
The Forest That Time Forgot 3:35 Read by Ben Tucker
The Versatility of the Elephant’s Trunk 2:43 Read by Tia Wright
Fiendish Vampires of the Night 3:20 Read by Ben Tucker
Remarkable Orchids 2:07 Read by Kevin Waters
Nature’s Insecticide: The Millipede 4:04 Read by Winston Smith
Bats Have Built-in Radar 4:13 Read by Kevin Waters
Crabs That Climb Trees 4:03 Read by Kevin Waters
The Ferocious Centipede 5:23 Read by lbleath
The Plant That Makes Men Dumb 1:30 Read by Kevin Waters
The Scourge of the Earth: Locusts 5:37 Read by Kevin Waters
Trees Can Grow Smaller 1:52 Read by Tia Wright
Underworld Cities 4:42 Read by juliaviolin
Plants That Create Mirages 3:25 Read by mleigh
The Octopus Worm: Evolution’s Mystery 3:33 Read by Caleb Stagayama
The Monster Bear of Kamchatka 4:18 Read by Caleb Stagayama
Strange Denizens of the Deep 3:13 Read by Krista Zaleski
Communism Among the Bees 3:59 Read by emilyz
Candles on Bushes 1:34 Read by Winnifred Assmann
The Desert Rat Manufactures Water 1:33 Read by Kerry Adams
The Caste System of the Termite 3:48 Read by czandra
The Shark That Stands Upright 2:01 Read by redfalcon1009
The Dead Man’s Vine 1:19 Read by Ben Tucker
The Insect With Fourteen Lives 5:47 Read by Laurie Banza
Shyness Characteristic of Giant Rats 1:13 Read by Kerry Adams
Nocturnal Potto 1:35 Read by Kerry Adams
Where Trees are Square 1:36 Read by mleigh
The Lamp That is a Beetle 1:04 Read by SherlHolmesMD
Rainstorms of Worms 1:54 Read by SherlHolmesMD
The Icy Arctic Wonderland 2:48 Read by czandra
Fish That Live on Land 2:26 Read by Winnifred Assmann
The Special Language of Bees 7:54 Read by Tom Merritt
Poisonous Platters of the Sea 1:34 Read by Larry Wilson
Our Un-American Food 4:10 Read by Larry Wilson
Worms That Commit Mass Suicide 2:40 Read by mleigh
Fish That Survive Freezing 3:04 Read by Steve Mayer
Plants That Kill 2:41 Read by Steve Mayer
Caterpillars That Pretend to be Snakes 1:57 Read by Steve Mayer
All Plants Are Luminous 2:34 Read by Steve Mayer
Worms That Live in the Snow 2:54 Read by Steve Mayer
The Strange Ways of Snails 7:57 Read by Steve Mayer
Vision-Producing Plants 2:35 Read by Steve Mayer
The Abominable Snow Man 5:27 Read by mleigh
Fish That Sing in the Moonlight 3:07 Read by Andrea Kotzer
Brazil’s Vicious Glow Worm 1:37 Read by Kerry Adams
Grasshoppers Like Chameleons 2:59 Read by Margaret Lange
Beetles That Helped an Army 1:25 Read by czandra
Worms in Medical History 1:51 Read by Larry Wilson
Toads That Make Poison Gas 1:24 Read by Larry Wilson
Plants That Thrive on Ice-Bloom 3:22 Read by Larry Wilson
Poison Arrow Frogs 2:46 Read by Tia Wright
The Seal That Can “Lose” Its Head 2:01 Read by JimLawter
The Delectable Horned Viper 1:45 Read by Kerry Adams
Flying Snakes, Frogs and Toads 2:22 Read by Laurie Banza
Eagles Build Log Cabin Nests 1:31 Read by czandra
The Predatory Mantid 4:26 Read by Tia Wright
Fireflies as Electricians 4:18 Read by Krista Zaleski
The Mollusk Vampire of Hell 4:20 Read by Ben Tucker
Climbing and Flying Frogs 5:32 Read by CadenB
Mad Dog Cycles 2:56 Read by CadenB
The Amazing Survival of the Opossum 4:35 Read by CadenB
Mammal Prototypes of the “Mermaid” 6:26 Read by CadenB
Limbless Lizards and Glass Snakes 3:26 Read by CadenB
The Only Bug in the Sea 2:24 Read by CadenB
A Crocodile With Life After Death 9:44 Read by ABC123yuv
The Salamander That Lives Like a Worm 4:06 Read by Sarah Rothwell
Three-eyed Lizards of New Zealand 6:34 Read by VOSolutions
Prodigious Fertility of Insects 1:05 Read by SherlHolmesMD
The Lizard That Runs Out of Its Own Skin 1:38 Read by Sarah Rothwell
High Living in the Himalayas 2:52 Read by mleigh
Barking Spider Monkeys 3:13 Read by Sarah Rothwell
The Insect That is Born Pregnant 2:18 Read by SheriLynnWarren
Bull-dog Animals 1:01 Read by Lee Vogler
Foresight of Kangaroo Rats 1:14 Read by czandra
The Primitive Proturans 1:16 Read by Sarah Rothwell
Air-Conditioned Homes of Beavers 2:44 Read by mleigh
The Demon of Puerto Rico 2:46 Read by KNashVox
Man-Made Plants 4:39 Read by KNashVox
The Great Seal Migration 2:28 Read by KNashVox
The Magic Bark of the Cinchona Tree 2:19 Read by KNashVox
Colombia’s Ant Tree 1:33 Read by KNashVox
The Strange Behavior of Plants 4:47 Read by Brianna Chiles
Venezuela’s Nocturnal Orchid 1:44 Read by Brianna Chiles
The Plant That Strikes Men Dumb 1:40 Read by Brianna Chiles
Combat of Moth and Shrew 2:20 Read by Brianna Chiles
The Ferocious Snake Weasel 2:21 Read by Lee Vogler
The Rabbit That Swims 2:59 Read by mleigh
Gorilla Warriors of the Belgian Congo. 3:10 Read by Dyefferson Azevedo
The Biggest “Rat” in the World 1:23 Read by Brianna Chiles
The Suicide Marches of Lemmings 3:02 Read by bkelle
The Ferocity of the Tiger 3:15 Read by docdlmartin
The Fearsome Porcupine 1:31 Read by docdlmartin
The Plant That Stimulates Visions 4:22 Read by docdlmartin
The Puzzling Platypus 4:25 Read by Krista Zaleski

Reviews

loved it


(5 stars)

Wonderful info, excellently written, beautifully read.

Interesting facts, but ...


(3 stars)

Interesting factts, but poorly written. seemed like it was written by a HS freshman who got a C on it. Awkward sentences, subjects that left you hanging at the end, etc. Readers were either very good or very poor.