The World's Worst: A Guide to the Most Disgusting, Hideous, Inept, and Dangerous People, Places, and Things on Earth

by Mark Frauenfelder

Bookstore shelves are lined with tomes dedicated to the finest things that life has to offer. This is all well and good, but the real entertainment is to be found not in the cream of the crop, but at the bottom of the barrel. The World's Worst is a celebration/indictment of nearly 50 infamous and little-known exemplars of the awful. In thoroughly researched, scathingly funny essays, author Mark Frauenfelder avoids the obvious and digs deep to tell the fascinating tales of the worst people, places, and things on Earth for the reader's amusement and edification. Half of the entries are also mischieviously illustrated by the author. Addictively readable, and sure to appeal to fans of the popular Worst-Case Scenario and Darwin Awards series, The World's Worst is hilariously unafraid to wallow in the mire. Selected Horrible
Most Unappealing Fetish
Most Disgusting Coffee Drink
Most Horrific Self-Help Technique
Least Adorable Pet
Saddest Fate for an Island Nation
Worst Molasses Related Disaster

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Trivia

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2005

About the author

Editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine. Founder of Boingboing.net.

My books: The Happy Mutant Handbook (1995, Riverhead), a guide to offbeat pop culture. Mad Professor (2003, Chronicle), science experiments for kids. Worlds Worst (2005, Chronicle), a guide to the worst stuff on Earth, The Computer (2005, Carlton books), an illustrated history of computers. Rule the Web (2007, St. Martins), a guide to online tricks and tips. Next book, The World in Your Hands, to be published in 2010 by Penguin,"

Reviews

[Khonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read. Each topic was only 2 to 3 pages long. Perfect for me since I don't seem to have a long attention span these days.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an entertaining and at times disturbing read. For many, the most frightening is the potential of being bitten by a brown recluse spider. While this particular spider is timid, if disturbed, it will bite, and the consequences can be severe. In the most extreme cases, severe tissue necrosis can result. Furthermore, the symptoms can continue to recur much later, after it appears the worst is over.
The categories cover everything from the most inept dictator of all time to the most noxious weed in the world, the worst car ever made to the worst self-inflicted health measure. The last one is literally where a person drills a hole in their head as a medical treatment.
In reading this book the reader will experience a wide variety of emotions, from being amused to disgusted to disbelief. However, as the baseball great Casey Stengel is quoted as saying, “You can look it up.”

[Cole Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great source of trivia, and would be wildly entertaining for a middleschooler.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted something light to read after the last few longer books, so I picked this up & read it in a few quick sessions. Each "World's Worst" topic is presented in 1-2 pages, with a 1 page title and usually another page for an illustration... not a lot of meat in this little book. I was already somewhat familiar with at least half of the topics covered (such as corpse flowers, Jocelyn Wildenstein & casu marzu), but hoped to learn a few new things along the way.

IMHO, Frauenfelder's source cites were few & far between (no bibliography or credits at the back) and he repeats the UL-ish story of a candiru fish swimming up a stream of urine to burrow into a young boy's penis, so that casts a bit of doubt in my mind as to the thoroughness of his research. On the other hand, he provides an explanation for Ms. Wildenstein's plastic surgery - she wants to resemble a jungle cat. (Okay...)
Frauenfelder also writes that the "father" of cheesy mail order products: Sea Monkeys & X-Ray Specs was (despite his Jewish heritage) a white supremacist, which is not mentioned in the Wikipedia article. I ought to check & see if Nauru was one of the Pacific islands Tony Horowitz visited in Blue Latitudes.. the name of the island & its situation sounds familiar.

It's a mildly entertaining book - a decent bathroom read, perhaps, or a springboard for further reading in a middle school/early high school science or history classroom

[Boxhuman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I already knew some of the stories and examples, I found Frauenfelder's comments to be sharp and entertaining (e.g. "After all, Stonehenge is only about 3,500 years old and experts can't figure out whether it's a big sundial or a monument to the vagina").

All stories are very short articles that intrigued me, but only made me more curious, which I suppose isn't an entirely bad thing.

My favourite stories were about Hiroo Onoda, the Great Boston Flood, the demise of Nauru, the lamest former dictator, and the one about Harold Von Braunhut.

I might get this book if there was a good deal on it. It kept me pretty entertained.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some truly horrible things in this book - ranging from horrific foods to frighteningly evil people, all told in fairly quick vignettes. Some you don't want to read while near food. The style is dry, with some humor and some description that goes a little bit further than really necessary to make the point. It's not deep but it's a quick read.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is just one of those repulsed but I cannot look away kind of books. I mean who isn't fascinated by the worst celebrity suicides, and a bunch of other slightly disgustingly similar categories. Perhaps you all have better taste than I but I found it an engaging little book for about an hour.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing too original or exciting in this collection. I've heard over half of them before, from kopi luwak to the conman who sold the Eiffel Tower. Didn't think durian really warranted an entry either.

[Leena · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick little read with tolerable snark levels. I was already familiar with a lot of these stories but the author's style is smooth and entertaining. The exception: some of the stories featured animal cruelty and were hard to get through.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

light trivia from the Boing Boing/MAKE guy.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in two days. Then, my acupuncturist started reading it during my appointment and got hooked on it. Shocking and interesting. Eye-opening and a guilty pleasure, to say the least.

[Kirsti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satisfyingly appalling.

Author is cofounder of BoingBoing.

[Iris Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most random, entertaining books I've read! So addicting.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A silly little bathroom book. Fun, but most of it consists of things I've heard about elsewhere. Frauenfelder doesn't really bring anything new to these 2-3 page descriptions of nasty stuff.

[Killstorm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

As it says, some of the stuff is pretty gross. As in too disgusting to read. But it is a quick, easy read and it has some interesting stuff.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think a precocious middle schooler or high schooler who appreciates the weird or morbid might like this book. To me, it was a big too cute and "yeah I knew that."

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you just enjoy learning about gross things then this is a good book for you. A quick read, something to take your mind of the world for a few minutes at a time. Recommended

[Petalbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read good for commutes to and from work.

[Jeff Kaplan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining read for anyone who is a bit of a weird fact junkie as I am.