Biological Anomalies Humans: A Catalog Of Biological Anomalies

by William R. Corliss

BIOLOGICAL ANOMALIES – HUMANS II is one of 22 volumes in the Catalog of Anomalies published by The Sourcebook Project. The catalog provides an objective, unsensationalized compilation of anomalous phenomena, difficult to explain observations, and curiosities of nature in the fields of astronomy, biology, archeology, geophysics, and geology. This is the second of three volumes devoted to human biological anomalies, and focuses on the “internal” machinery of the its major organs, its support structure (the skeleton), and its vital subsystems – the central nervous system and the immune system. Some of the topics covered include Enigma of the Fetal Graft * Phantom Limbs * Blood Chimeras * Anomalous Human Combustion * Bone Shedders * “Perfection” of the Eye * Dearth of Memory Traces * Sudden Increase of Hominid Brain Size * Health and the Weather * Periodicity of Epidemics * Extreme Longevity * AIDS Anomalies * Cancer Anomalies * Human-Limb Regeneration * Nostril Cycling * Voluntary Suspended Animation * and Male Menstruation. BIOLOGICAL ANOMALIES – HUMANS II contains 40 illustrations and intriguing accounts collected from the archives of references including English Mechanic, New Scientist, Nature, Science, Science News Letter, Cycles, Pursuit, and Scientific American to name a few. Over 490 citations are referenced and indexed three ways, by First Author, Source, and Subject. The indexes are cross-referenced to each entry in the book to aid the reader in locating original source materials and conducting independent research.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Reference

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

William Roger Corliss was an American physicist and writer who was known for his interest in collecting data regarding anomalous phenomena.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

ANOTHER ONE OF CORLISS'S "SOURCEBOOKS" OF CURIOUS THINGS

William R. Corliss (1926-2011) was an American physicist and writer who was known for his interest in collecting data regarding anomalous phenomena in astronomy, geophysics, geology, archaeology, biology, etc., which he published in books such as Handbook of Unusual Natural Phenomena, Ancient Man: A Handbook of Puzzling Artifacts, Biological Anomalies, Mammals I: A Catalog of Biological Anomalies, Science Frontiers: Some Anomalies and Curiosities of Nature, etc.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1992 book, "It is at least as important to realize what is anomalous as it is to recognize the well-explained facts of nature... here is the twelfth volume... It is largely the product of one person's library research... for every anomaly that can be legitimately demolished, a trip to the library will replace it with ten more from impeccable sources. In sum, Nature is VERY anomalous or, equivalently, Nature is not yet well-understood. Much remains to be done."

For example, concerning the "Apparent nonexistence of Pygmies in the fossil record," he writes, "W. Ley muses about the seeming absence of fossil skeletons... He could not point to a single fossil Pygmy. Ley's book was published in 1966, so this gap in the fossil record may now be filled; but we have seen nothing further. Without fossils we cannot determine when Pygmies originated and just how they are related to modern humans of normal stature." (Pg. 33)

Concern the CSICOP challenges of Gauquelin's "Mars Effect," he wrote that "the CSICOP-associated replications of the Gaquelins' findings were accompanied by considerable internal and external discord. In retrospect, this discord weakened the impact of the CSICOP-associated results. Even the key players in the CSICOP drama (Abell, Kurtz, Zelen) acknowledged mistakes and shortcomings in a 1983 'reappraisal'..." (Pg. 203-204)

All of Corliss's "Sourcebook" are stimulating and thought-provoking---the more so, since most of them are taken directly from "respectable" mainstream scientific journals.