Three, two, one.

Ready or not, here you come!

So which side was your best Hide & Seek position? Were you the kid who knew all the places to go and never be found, or were you usually “it,” the one who could spot anyone, anywhere, to win the game? Was hiding the greatest part or, as in the new book “Cabinet of Curiosities” by Aaron Mahnke with Harry Marks, was seeking half the fun?

Whenever he’s in London, Aaron Mahnke has a favorite place he likes to visit. It’s so appealing to him that just imagining it makes him happy. It’s the Enlightenment Room at the British Museum in London, and it’s filled with vast shelves of collected oddities.

Much like the person who amassed that room full of curiosities, Mahnke ferreted out strange tales for this book.

There’s the story of America’s “first fourteenth state,” and it wasn’t Vermont. It was named after an American hero you’ll recognize, but it didn’t last long: North Carolina clawed the land back and that was that. You’ll also read about America’s oldest slave, his life, his observations, and his jaw-dropping accomplishment.

Read about how our flag came to be, the student who fought for it, and what he received for his fight. See why King Louis XVI should’ve just stayed home at least once a month, and why so many classical music composers avoided the number nine. Learn about weird creatures and lightning strikes, see how a potato chip can found a new use, how Braille was developed, why a simple advertisement caught the attention of wartime government officials, how some radio programs can be super-creepy, and why Civil War soldiers wanted a certain kind of bacteria to grow in their wounds.

These, and a tale about ice, could “be the most chilling part… of the entire story.”

You might think, when you first snag “Cabinet of Curiosities,” that you’re in for a fun, jam-packed collection of hidden history. And you’d be half right.

This book is, indeed, full of enormous enjoyment, laughs, groaner puns, and things that’ll make you say “WOW!” The stories are addicting. You’ll want to share them with friends and co-workers, knowing that they’ll get a kick out of these tales, too.

Problem is, many of them are apocryphal and incorrect, or at least iffy. They feel as if they came from one of those websites created from embellished stories, or from filler articles in a tabloid or a sensational magazine. Some of the tales here seem, in fact, to be greatly rehashed and may even be familiar – especially if you’re the fact-checking type.

And that may set a reader up to make a decision. Do you want to read lighter-sided tall tales that are very entertaining but that may be unreliable, if not downright error-prone… or do you want solid history with your enjoyment?

What you prefer should drive your need for this book. “Cabinet of Curiosities” is indeed curious fun, but not if consistent, solid facts are what you seek.

“Cabinet of Curiosities: A historical Tour of the Unbelievable, the Unsettling, and the Bizarre” by Aaron Mahnke, with Harry Marks
c.2024, St. Martin’s Press
$30.00
322 pages