Monday 27 February 2012

Odd Activities for Strange Children

What do you give that 'difficult to buy for' strange person in your life?
The book of 'Strange things to do and make' of course!
Published in 1976 by Puffin.

Although I'm not sure that giving this book to someone who is already feeling a little socially ostracised is going to make them feel any better or help them to become any more popular!

but it might just help them to cure their warts...


 'Fish prints' guaranteed to stink your house out...


Readers are even encouraged to dabble with the occult, by making their own Ouji Board...


The Pyramid power experiment is my favourite, the wording is brilliant:
'the second piece of meat can lie outside the pyramid on a piece of paper. Leave it all in place and don't let anything be touched for about a week' (yeah right!) The meat outside the pyramid will be hard and smelly then (yippee!) See if the piece on the platform is rotten too' (oh I do hope so!) ..'you could then use the shape as a special tomb for a small animal...' (who wouldn't want a super stinky indoor pet tomb on their bedside table??)


This book was an unexpected find in a second hand book shop, and I had fun reading it. Even if by todays standards it is a little extreme. I can't imagine many parents actively encouraging their bored offspring to 'stop moping about the house' on a rainy day and 'go play with the dark arts instead' or allow them to use rotting meat as a play thing!

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