Donate to LibriVox Thank a reader

LibriVox recordings are Public Domain in the USA. If you are not in the USA, please verify the copyright status of these works in your own country before downloading, otherwise you may be violating copyright laws.

Download cover art Download CD case insert

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

Thomas R. Henry (1893 - 1968)

"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)

Genre(s): Science

Language: English

Section	Chapter	Reader	Time
Play 01	The Invisible Underground Jungle	Marie Christian	00:06:03
Play 02	The Self-Perpetuating Sponge	Marie Christian	00:03:54
Play 03	Living “Stars” in Caves	Marie Christian	00:06:52
Play 04	Parenthood Among Penguins	Marie Christian	00:03:25
Play 05	The Strategy of Warrior Ants	Marie Christian	00:10:01
Play 06	Uganda’s Miniature Dinosaur.	Kerry Adams	00:01:44
Play 07	The Strange Ways of Spiders	maxmagnus99	00:04:23
Play 08	Worms With a Thousand Eyes	Darrell Nobles	00:11:05
Play 09	Queer Fish, But Definitely	Oris99	00:06:13
Play 10	Love Life Among the Spiders	Tia Wright	00:01:45
Play 11	The Lace Weavers	elibishop	00:08:54
Play 12	The Ways of Crabs	Tia Wright	00:06:28
Play 13	Ticks With Noses in Their Legs	Kerry Adams	00:01:26
Play 14	The Fourth Realm of Life	Tia Wright	00:05:30
Play 15	Rubber-Band Worms that Stretch and Stretch	Tom Merritt	00:07:57
Play 16	Frog Versatility	Tom Merritt	00:06:46
Play 17	The Horned Viper Spears Other Animals	lagrange123	00:01:48
Play 18	The World of Insects	Winnifred Assmann	00:04:58
Play 19	Gigantic Serpents of the Sky	Larry Wilson	00:08:35
Play 20	The Limbless Lizard	RajVO	00:01:17
Play 21	The Maddening Tarantula	bkelle	00:01:50
Play 22	A Flower That Grows Through Solid Ice	Krista Zaleski	00:01:54
Play 23	The Versatile Ant Farmers	ToniM	00:05:54
Play 24	Ostracoderms: Ancestors of True Fish	Larry Wilson	00:05:47
Play 25	The Ever Faithful Hornbills	Jananiram	00:06:58
Play 26	Ants With Tailor Skills	bkelle	00:02:03
Play 27	Fiend Symphonies of the Jungle	Tia Wright	00:08:11
Play 28	Tyrants of the Polychaete Race	Larry Wilson	00:06:58
Play 29	Eating Habits of Spiders	bkelle	00:01:16
Play 30	The Suicide Instinct of Iguanas	Tia Wright	00:01:52
Play 31	Forests That Eat Meat	Oris99	00:04:07
Play 32	Cave-Dwelling Birds	Winnifred Assmann	00:03:31
Play 33	Where Snails Become Flowers	Mike Manolakes	00:02:19
Play 34	Termites That Eat Lead	Mike Manolakes	00:04:05
Play 35	The Plant That Eats Animals	Tom Merritt	00:04:56
Play 36	The Ocean’s Sound Barrier	Krista Zaleski	00:05:41
Play 37	Snakes That Act and Look Like Worms	Tia Wright	00:02:38
Play 38	A Porcupine of the Sea	Krista Zaleski	00:04:12
Play 39	Worms That Are Unkillable	inararabbani	00:03:22
Play 40	The Remarkable Brachiopods	Oris99	00:08:00
Play 41	Feathers on Birds Adapt to the Seasons	Larry Wilson	00:01:29
Play 42	Why the Dodo Became Extinct	Krista Zaleski	00:01:41
Play 43	The Shark of the Soil	Tia Wright	00:02:13
Play 44	The Sleeping Habits of Mammals	Tia Wright	00:01:28
Play 45	The Eerie Eyes of Animals at Night	Larry Wilson	00:03:55
Play 46	World of the Blind	Tia Wright	00:06:13
Play 47	The Remarkable Clam Worms	gnels17	00:07:08
Play 48	Winged Reptile	Larry Wilson	00:01:33
Play 49	Vicious Fire Ants	Larry Wilson	00:01:42
Play 50	The Architectural Genius of Birds	lagrange123	00:07:39
Play 51	The Ferocious Leech Worms	lagrange123	00:08:24
Play 52	The Complex Spider’s Web	Larry Wilson	00:01:02
Play 53	Monsters of the Deep: The Great Squids	Andrea Kotzer	00:09:27
Play 54	The Vanishing Whippoorwill	Larry Wilson	00:03:58
Play 55	Ants Can Smell Almost Anything	Winnifred Assmann	00:03:05
Play 56	Fish That Fish For Fish	ABVoice	00:05:26
Play 57	Worms That Are Flowers	Krista Zaleski	00:11:13
Play 58	The Heavy Toll of Bird Migrations	ToniM	00:02:19
Play 59	Deadly Snakes That Take Life Easy	Andrea Kotzer	00:02:56
Play 60	Weird Plant-Animals	Winston Smith	00:07:47
Play 61	Weird Ways of Birds	Kevin Waters	00:04:25
Play 62	The Fantastic Sea Horse	Krista Zaleski	00:05:03
Play 63	The Great Seal Migrations	Mike Manolakes	00:04:38
Play 64	Monsters With Buzz Saws	Mike Manolakes	00:08:52
Play 65	Two-Headed Snakes Aren’t Rare	Ben Tucker	00:01:07
Play 66	Fantastic Sea Creatures	Winston Smith	00:03:15
Play 67	The Varieties of Raven Language	ChristosPax	00:03:06
Play 68	Worms With Hypodermic Needles	Winston Smith	00:03:26
Play 69	The Fatal Black Widow Spider	Kevin Waters	00:01:39
Play 70	Plants That are Animated	Tia Wright	00:02:11
Play 71	The Tomato—Cinderella of Vegetables	Tia Wright	00:02:21
Play 72	The Holiest Place on Earth	Kevin Waters	00:08:58
Play 73	The Vanishing Golden Carpet	Andrea Kotzer	00:04:42
Play 74	Evolution of the Bird	Tom Merritt	00:02:37
Play 75	Speed Ace of the Air	Kerry Adams	00:03:06
Play 76	The Remarkable Instincts of the Silk Worm	Tom Merritt	00:06:58
Play 77	The Strange World of the Sea	Lynn Marie	00:07:53
Play 78	The Cannibal Birds of the Pacific	Tia Wright	00:04:48
Play 79	Eagles as Indian Pets	Kerry Adams	00:01:50
Play 80	The Giant Insects of the Carolines	Andrea Kotzer	00:02:47
Play 81	The Valley Where Dusk is Death	Kevin Waters	00:04:03
Play 82	Enigma of Evolution: the Snake	Tom Merritt	00:03:58
Play 83	The Fastest Growth on Earth	Tom Merritt	00:05:39
Play 84	Birds That Duel	mleigh	00:02:36
Play 85	Brakes on Plant Life	Mike Manolakes	00:03:26
Play 86	Snails Are the Flowers of the Sea	Krista Zaleski	00:03:45
Play 87	The Brutal South Pole Birds	Krista Zaleski	00:02:33
Play 88	Silk-Bearded Clams	JimLawter	00:03:36
Play 89	Pearls Grow in Brooks	Tia Wright	00:02:38
Play 90	Grasshopper-Infested Glaciers	Kerry Adams	00:01:45
Play 91	Monster Clams of Polynesia	Tia Wright	00:01:10
Play 92	Corals Combine Plants and Animal Life	Winston Smith	00:04:23
Play 93	The First Engineers—Termites	Winston Smith	00:05:22
Play 94	Oyster Oddities	Tom Merritt	00:01:41
Play 95	The World’s Biggest Sneeze	mleigh	00:01:42
Play 96	The Luminescent Ctenophores	ChristosPax	00:04:47
Play 97	The Forest That Time Forgot	Ben Tucker	00:03:35
Play 98	The Versatility of the Elephant’s Trunk	Tia Wright	00:02:43
Play 99	Fiendish Vampires of the Night	Ben Tucker	00:03:20
Play 100	Remarkable Orchids	Kevin Waters	00:02:07
Play 101	Nature’s Insecticide: The Millipede	Winston Smith	00:04:04
Play 102	Bats Have Built-in Radar	Kevin Waters	00:04:13
Play 103	Crabs That Climb Trees	Kevin Waters	00:04:03
Play 104	The Ferocious Centipede	lbleath	00:05:23
Play 105	The Plant That Makes Men Dumb	Kevin Waters	00:01:30
Play 106	The Scourge of the Earth: Locusts	Kevin Waters	00:05:37
Play 107	Trees Can Grow Smaller	Tia Wright	00:01:52
Play 108	Underworld Cities	juliaviolin	00:04:42
Play 109	Plants That Create Mirages	mleigh	00:03:25
Play 110	The Octopus Worm: Evolution’s Mystery	Caleb Stagayama	00:03:33
Play 111	The Monster Bear of Kamchatka	Caleb Stagayama	00:04:18
Play 112	Strange Denizens of the Deep	Krista Zaleski	00:03:13
Play 113	Communism Among the Bees	emilyz	00:03:59
Play 114	Candles on Bushes	Winnifred Assmann	00:01:34
Play 115	The Desert Rat Manufactures Water	Kerry Adams	00:01:33
Play 116	The Caste System of the Termite	czandra	00:03:48
Play 117	The Shark That Stands Upright	redfalcon1009	00:02:01
Play 118	The Dead Man’s Vine	Ben Tucker	00:01:19
Play 119	The Insect With Fourteen Lives	Laurie Banza	00:05:47
Play 120	Shyness Characteristic of Giant Rats	Kerry Adams	00:01:13
Play 121	Nocturnal Potto	Kerry Adams	00:01:35
Play 122	Where Trees are Square	mleigh	00:01:36
Play 123	The Lamp That is a Beetle	SherlHolmesMD	00:01:04
Play 124	Rainstorms of Worms	SherlHolmesMD	00:01:54
Play 125	The Icy Arctic Wonderland	czandra	00:02:48
Play 126	Fish That Live on Land	Winnifred Assmann	00:02:26
Play 127	The Special Language of Bees	Tom Merritt	00:07:54
Play 128	Poisonous Platters of the Sea	Larry Wilson	00:01:34
Play 129	Our Un-American Food	Larry Wilson	00:04:10
Play 130	Worms That Commit Mass Suicide	mleigh	00:02:40
Play 131	Fish That Survive Freezing	Steve Mayer	00:03:04
Play 132	Plants That Kill	Steve Mayer	00:02:41
Play 133	Caterpillars That Pretend to be Snakes	Steve Mayer	00:01:57
Play 134	All Plants Are Luminous	Steve Mayer	00:02:34
Play 135	Worms That Live in the Snow	Steve Mayer	00:02:54
Play 136	The Strange Ways of Snails	Steve Mayer	00:07:57
Play 137	Vision-Producing Plants	Steve Mayer	00:02:35
Play 138	The Abominable Snow Man	mleigh	00:05:27
Play 139	Fish That Sing in the Moonlight	Andrea Kotzer	00:03:07
Play 140	Brazil’s Vicious Glow Worm	Kerry Adams	00:01:37
Play 141	Grasshoppers Like Chameleons	Margaret Lange	00:02:59
Play 142	Beetles That Helped an Army	czandra	00:01:25
Play 143	Worms in Medical History	Larry Wilson	00:01:51
Play 144	Toads That Make Poison Gas	Larry Wilson	00:01:24
Play 145	Plants That Thrive on Ice-Bloom	Larry Wilson	00:03:22
Play 146	Poison Arrow Frogs	Tia Wright	00:02:46
Play 147	The Seal That Can “Lose” Its Head	JimLawter	00:02:01
Play 148	The Delectable Horned Viper	Kerry Adams	00:01:45
Play 149	Flying Snakes, Frogs and Toads	Laurie Banza	00:02:22
Play 150	Eagles Build Log Cabin Nests	czandra	00:01:31
Play 151	The Predatory Mantid	Tia Wright	00:04:26
Play 152	Fireflies as Electricians	Krista Zaleski	00:04:18
Play 153	The Mollusk Vampire of Hell	Ben Tucker	00:04:20
Play 154	Climbing and Flying Frogs	CadenB	00:05:32
Play 155	Mad Dog Cycles	CadenB	00:02:56
Play 156	The Amazing Survival of the Opossum	CadenB	00:04:35
Play 157	Mammal Prototypes of the “Mermaid”	CadenB	00:06:26
Play 158	Limbless Lizards and Glass Snakes	CadenB	00:03:26
Play 159	The Only Bug in the Sea	CadenB	00:02:24
Play 160	A Crocodile With Life After Death	ABC123yuv	00:09:44
Play 161	The Salamander That Lives Like a Worm	Sarah Rothwell	00:04:06
Play 162	Three-eyed Lizards of New Zealand	VOSolutions	00:06:34
Play 163	Prodigious Fertility of Insects	SherlHolmesMD	00:01:05
Play 164	The Lizard That Runs Out of Its Own Skin	Sarah Rothwell	00:01:38
Play 165	High Living in the Himalayas	mleigh	00:02:52
Play 166	Barking Spider Monkeys	Sarah Rothwell	00:03:13
Play 167	The Insect That is Born Pregnant	SheriLynnWarren	00:02:18
Play 168	Bull-dog Animals	Lee Vogler	00:01:01
Play 169	Foresight of Kangaroo Rats	czandra	00:01:14
Play 170	The Primitive Proturans	Sarah Rothwell	00:01:16
Play 171	Air-Conditioned Homes of Beavers	mleigh	00:02:44
Play 172	The Demon of Puerto Rico	KNashVox	00:02:46
Play 173	Man-Made Plants	KNashVox	00:04:39
Play 174	The Great Seal Migration	KNashVox	00:02:28
Play 175	The Magic Bark of the Cinchona Tree	KNashVox	00:02:19
Play 176	Colombia’s Ant Tree	KNashVox	00:01:33
Play 177	The Strange Behavior of Plants	Brianna Chiles	00:04:47
Play 178	Venezuela’s Nocturnal Orchid	Brianna Chiles	00:01:44
Play 179	The Plant That Strikes Men Dumb	Brianna Chiles	00:01:40
Play 180	Combat of Moth and Shrew	Brianna Chiles	00:02:20
Play 181	The Ferocious Snake Weasel	Lee Vogler	00:02:21
Play 182	The Rabbit That Swims	mleigh	00:02:59
Play 183	Gorilla Warriors of the Belgian Congo.	Dyefferson Azevedo	00:03:10
Play 184	The Biggest “Rat” in the World	Brianna Chiles	00:01:23
Play 185	The Suicide Marches of Lemmings	bkelle	00:03:02
Play 186	The Ferocity of the Tiger	docdlmartin	00:03:15
Play 187	The Fearsome Porcupine	docdlmartin	00:01:31
Play 188	The Plant That Stimulates Visions	docdlmartin	00:04:22
Play 189	The Puzzling Platypus	Krista Zaleski	00:04:25

LibriVox

Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain

Browse the catalog

Listen/Download (help?)

Production details

Links

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