What's a "Mummy Congress"?

When people think of mummies, they might think of Egypt. Of course Egypt does have many, but they aren't necessarily the best preserved.

Interestingly, the Mummy Congress is a group of people really interested in the study of mummies. Some might think of the location as being rather desolate and inappropriate - it's held in northern Chile.

The author of The Mummy Congress (393.3 PRI), Heather Pringle, is a journalist who was able to attend this rather obscure event. She was able to meet some of the most passionate followers in the studies of mummies. This lead her around the world, talking to various scientists.

Although there aren't as many photographs of mummies as in other books, there are some taken throughout the world. Mummification has been used throughout human history (and even into the 20th century).

Anyone who has an interest in this subject should pick up this book. It provides a wonderful overview of the world of mummification, whether it was done by nature or by humans.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Bathroom humor

Sometimes I am just amazed at what authors will write about. I happened to come across Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper (394 HAR) by accident. It has everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask, about the history of the restroom.

Just like an encyclopedia, the entries are alphabetized. But don't worry, the material is not as dry. Each entry is fairly short. Remember my blog entry on 3-10 called "The Terrible Hours" where I talked about deplorable bathroom facilities on a submarine? Well, this book answers the questions about how the bathroom is handled in many difficult environments from submarines to space ships to trains.

Because it's written by a British man named Adam Hart, the history of the restroom is centered mostly on Great Britain, however several other countries (including the U.S.) are included.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Planning a trip with a loved one? Read this before you go!

How many times have you heard this? Her idea of camping is a place with bathroom facilities with hot water - like a Howard Johnson. His idea, roughing it in a tent where bears can actually find you.

If you and your spouse can't agree on how or where to travel, read Traveling While Married by Mary-Lou Weisman (910.408 WEI) before you decide. This is a light-hearted send up on how to travel. The whimsical drawings by New Yorker artist Edward Koren also adds charm to this book.

After all, the goal of the trip is to come back still married - hopefully to each other!

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The terrible hours

Question: Why would anyone want to even agree to having this type of job?

After World War I, the Navy began working on developing submarines to counteract the German U-Boats. The living conditions were wretched. Would you want to live in a metal can that has no shower, no laundry, no refrigeration, no air conditioning, no fresh water, and NO BATHROOM?

• Peter Maas, author of The Terrible Hours (910.9163 MAA), writes about these dreadful conditions and more. Men lived close together, with no way of bathing, smelling of body odor. When the sub surfaced, the men draped themselves over the main deck railing to go to the bathroom. Not my idea of a good time.

In 1939 the Army was testing a new submarine called the Squalus. It might have been new and improved for that time, but it still lacked comfort (as listed above). The engineers who designed the Squalus that they had developed a fail-safe way of preventing the sub from sinking. A sinking sub was almost a sure death for all the crew, a metal coffin slowing sinking to the ocean floor. This one was different; it was divided into compartments that could be sealed off from one another with watertight doors.

The trial dive was to the continental shelf with an average depth of 250 feet, however there were some depressions that were more than 600 feet deep. Everything was fine until they were down about sixty feet. That's when water started pouring into the engine rooms. When it rested on the bottom of the ocean, it was total darkness - even the emergency lights stopped working.

Charles "Swede" Momsen was a U.S. Navy officer knew about the extreme dangers submarine crew members had been in, all those lives that could not be saved. He thought there had to be a way to save stranded crew members. Because Momsen had developed new technology for rescue, he was called in to try to save the crew from the watery grave.

The Terrible Hours is a disturbing, yet fascinating, book to read.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Being a grandmother sounds like so much fun!

Grandchildren are so much fun, I should have had them first by Lois Wyse (818.5402 WYS) is full of short, witty stories about being a grandmother. Here are a few of the authors observations:

They're not yet grandparents, but they are two stops past Kids 'R' Us, so the license plate on their hot little two-seat sports car reads, "KDSRGON."

If you want to take ten years off your body, just put a black leotard or black tights. Black hides black-and-blue (as in veins, spidery and otherwise) and tights hide loose (as in thighs and other parts of the body too disgusting to mention).

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

pompeii

This past year, I know of two people who went to Pompeii to see the ruins. Both were extremely impressed with what they saw. For those who can't get there to see the sights first-hand, check out Pompeii: The Vanished City (937.7 POM).

If you're not familiar with the history of Pompeii, it's an old Roman city located by Mt. Vesuvius, a volcano. In AD 79 Mt. Vesuvius exploded so violently and swiftly that it buried the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii with the people still in it.

Workers in the winter of 1767-68 came upon dozens of skeletons, but it wasn't until the middle of the 1800s that researchers got serious with excavating the 10 to 20 feet of debris covering Pompeii. What they found was absolutely chilling: adult figures clutching babies, animals chained up animals prevented from escaping death, and just baked bread still in the ovens.

The beauty of their architecture can still be seen, with their large murals in paint and mosaic on the floors and walls.

Even if you don't wish to read the text, Pompeii is still worth checking out just for the gruesome photographs.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008