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This list is taken from our up and coming book The Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists (which you can pre-order now in time for the big rush in November). Other never-before seen lists by me and some of our contributors also feature in the new book. Here we look at ten of the strangest tourist guidebooks you can imagine. Next time you are stuck for a holiday idea, consider getting one of these for an experience you will never forget. Most of these books can be found on Amazon.com but one or two are out of print.
Believe it or not, a travel book exists for those who wish to pay the millions it costs to travel to outer space. This is it. This book will teach you the ins and outs of travel to outer space. What to expect, how to prepare, and much more. A definite must-have for all those billionaires who can afford to toss twenty million dollars at a strange vacation.
As the name implies, this book is a collection of tales about misadventures relating to toilets, poop and river rafting. Written by a river rafting guide, this is actually a pretty hilarious book and while it is definitely up there in the bizarre stakes, it is an enjoyable read.
If you are planning to travel to California for a holiday or you are already there and sick of the site of celebrity homes, why not check out some celebrity final resting places? This book takes you on a who’s who tour of celebrities via the graveyard.
Have you ever wanted to bike to the Arctic circle? No? Me neither. Nevertheless, someone did and he wrote this book all about his experiences. It is definitely an odd travel guide but not sufficiently odd to make me recommend it to my friends.
So you want to travel on the cheap. Here is a book just for you. This guidebook outlines 120 itineraries of all kinds of cargo vessels that you can book passage on. It gives you the fares and descriptions of the different vessels, their facilities, and the likelihood of being murdered by Somalian Pirates. Sorry about the image quality – that is the best Amazon could come up with!
On a wager the author of this book travelled Ireland for a month with a refrigerator at his side. Perhaps more bizarre than the subject matter is the fact that this book is an international bestseller! There must be something to it.
Ah McDonalds – who else would write a travel book with the intention of luring unsuspecting readers into all of these dreadful hamburger joints of America? This book was written in the 1970s by McDonalds staff, outlining small trips you can make as a family – each involving a stop off at… you guessed it: McDonalds.
Need a tummy tuck? Fancy a face lift? Desperate to change genders? Well this is the book for you. Instead of paying out thousands at your local surgeons, this book shows you where you can travel through Asia, and the rest of the world, for plastic surgery on the cheap. If you do use this book – make sure you don’t end up with an unexpected vagina!
192 pages describing over 100 free tours of factories in Ohio. Oh, boy! Yes, please! Joking aside, this is such a dreadfully dull topic that it absolutely does need to be placed on a list of weird travel books. Obviously, everyone else thinks so, too, because it ranks as the 4.4 millionth most popular book on Amazon.
Here is the ultimate guide to the dead animals that litter the highways and streets of North America. If you love checking out the carcasses flattened to a pancake in the middle of the road, this guide is an essential for the glove compartment. If you are not all that interested you could always buy it for a loved one.
 Top 10 Bizarre Spiders |  Top 10 Unbelievable Miniatures |  Top 10 Bizarre Eating Habits |
 Top 10 Bizarre Medical Anomalies |  Another 10 Celebrity Corpses |  10 Bizarre Theories And The Facts Surrounding Them |
1 bluesman87
July 30th, 2010 at 8:35 am
i liked this list – bizarre = best .
That cargo ship traveling one looks cool, its my business so I'm really interested in that . Also no.1 i think i saw years ago when i was small as a gag in an old mad magazine . Some one must've thought it was a good idea .
2 trinityenigma
July 30th, 2010 at 8:42 am
I'm just amazed that number one has a revised edition. How much more can you add to a book about flattened animals?
3 Carlosfandango
July 30th, 2010 at 1:49 am
Love it
4 Kimani
July 30th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Nice List.
Why isn't there a guide for people traveling to the Internet for the first time? If i had one it could have taken me a shorter time to figure out Adolf Hitler didn't actually care about iPhone 4 reception.
5 astraya
July 30th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Space? Schmace! This month's edition of the Australian science magazine Cosmos has a review of a book called "Mars: a survival guide". The advertisement says "Based on the latest Mars research, this is a must-have guide for all aspiring interplanetary travelers".
6 cqsteve
July 30th, 2010 at 9:07 am
Great list and some great Christmas stocking fillers for those brothers in law I can't stand! Thanks Jamie.
7 FLORIDA
July 30th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Ok
8 @AralHaykir
July 30th, 2010 at 9:24 am
the cargo ship thing can be interesting, you know travelling around with a big backpack and a adventorous soul.. well, maybe not..
great list!!
9 kingpin
July 30th, 2010 at 2:30 am
I would definitely wanna read #5 n #9. as for the rest…well they can be turned into toilet paper for all i care.
gud list.
10 jeffthemaori
July 30th, 2010 at 9:34 am
Flattened fauna XD, you know, some people would consider that book a "restaurant guide".
"Some folk'll never eat a skunk. But then again, some folk'll… Like Cletus The slack-jawed yokel.."
And how do you top "round Ireland with a fridge"? You go round Ireland with a fridge……….full of beer!!!!
11 epanterias
July 30th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Wot?! No "Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy"?
12 Julius
July 30th, 2010 at 3:06 am
Unfortunately according to this site, it isn't cheap at all between 80-140$ per day….but I still want to to try it
http://thetravelersnotebook.com/how-to/how-to-tra...
13 Arsnl
July 30th, 2010 at 3:16 am
“make sure you don’t end up with an unexpected vagina!” you should have added “that is not attached to your body” cuz if its not, an unexpected vagina sounds pretty cool.
14 bluesman87
July 30th, 2010 at 10:34 am
they're Irish it was already full of beer.
15 bluesman87
July 30th, 2010 at 10:49 am
i dunno about a vagina , but a loose set of boobs could come in handy , like as a neck rest on your car seat (or church!)or use as a gentle massager to wash your face with , man the possibilities are endless…..
16 Handrejka
July 30th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Round Ireland with a Fridge is well worth a read. It's very, very funny. If you enjoy then check out Tony Hawk's other works too.
I like the sound of number 8 too.
17 Handrejka
July 30th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Round Ireland with a Fridge is very funny and well worth a read. Tonys other book are great too.
18 oliveralbq
July 30th, 2010 at 4:46 am
jamie — im surprised you left out all the the possible "combo-deals". not only do the combos give people more ways in which to enrich their lives, but you can give the "weird-ass travel guide" business a little boost.
1-6-5 — you can start in any atlantic seaport, get to the uk on a cargo ship, acquire a fridge, and hunt for roadkill (when they come out with the euro version of course)
4-3 …. if you use book 4 enough, youre gonna need #3 eventually
8 could be of use if you have bad experiences with 9, 7, 4, or 3.
its like those combo meals in mexican restaurants.
19 like_a_flower
July 30th, 2010 at 11:47 am
When I saw the book cover for Up Shit Creek all I could think about was: "Well, at least he's got a paddle…"
20 vanowensbody
July 30th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Nice list. Who knew travel could be so much fun?
21 John Paul II
July 30th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
This really is nitpicking, but there is currently no way for space tourists to get anywhere near what would be considered "outer space"., they stay in low earth orbit and never leave the thermosphere.
Apart from that, good list!
22 tripsyman
July 30th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
To confirm "around Ireland with a fridge" is an excellent read… well recommended
23 Arsnl
July 30th, 2010 at 5:13 am
Or a pregnant woman’s belly as a back support. Id really need one of those.
Boobies could be used when sleeping during a class. Instead of putting your hear on the table you could put on a pair of big’ens. Or put them onthe steering wheel to have both hands always on it. You are right. Endless possibilities
24 JJJ
July 30th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Really liked this good luck on the new book sales!!
25 oliveralbq-mobile
July 30th, 2010 at 5:37 am
i would like to set the opening o/u line at over/under 13 uranus jokes from semen today. the teaser value is to be set at plus or minus 3.5. a tie goes to the house. place your bets — and tip your cocktail waitresses.
26 bluesman87
July 30th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
hear they are changing the name of Uranus ? Yeah they sick of all the lame jokes people are always making , they decided to call it "Urectum"
27 oouchan
July 30th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
And here I thought The Hitchhikers's Guide to the Galaxy would have made the list!
The Flattened fauna looks hilarious. I wonder if it comes with recipes? j/k
Interesting and fun list. Nice work.
28 Arsnl
July 30th, 2010 at 5:54 am
Im sure someone will come up with ectum jokes.
29 bucketheadrocks
July 30th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Oh yes… The two letter comment. I didn't think it was possible. My colleagues said it was nothing more than a myth but I witnessed history today! Not only was it two letters but one word! Genius!!
30 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Anyone who is a fan of old movies knows of the intrigue of taking a tramp steamer. I’d do it in a heart beat, of course knowing which ones NOT to get on would be a great start.
#1 reminds me of a book my sister gave me at Christmas a few ago – “Who Did That”, or how to identify what species of bird shit on your car, a photo collection of bird droppings on wind shields. I wonder where that book went?
31 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Hell – I forgot all about the Cletus song – good call !
32 Scratch
July 30th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
I wouldn't mind biking to the Arctic Circle, but it looks like he took the long route.
33 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
google "breast implants for sale" – they're out there – you realize real ones would start to stink after a few days
34 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
By my best ectumate it won't take long..
35 bluesman87
July 30th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
sorry my bad it should be "Urrectum"……….awww man
36 weidermeijer
July 30th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
#1 Flattened Fauna – I bicycle a lot. All I know is that road kill, especially skunks, can make your eyes water and you gag, especially down-wind.
#2 Other People's Business – I live in Ohio and the only place I wanted to tour was our local Anheuser-Busch brewery… nope, they stopped tours at most of their breweries.
#3 Medical Tourist – I really don't understand why, but my gf would love to do that.
#6 Cargo Ship – I, on the other hand, would like to do this… once.
37 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I rectumate it won't take long..
38 Lifeschool
July 30th, 2010 at 6:49 am
Crazy list and really good comments so far.
To the guy that said we can’t get into space – that’s right, unless we fly spy planes for a living or train to become an astronaut (which 100′s have already done) – but by the same token, we can’t go back to Ancient Rome as reading the Tourist Guide To The Roman Empire either. That’s just silly.
I did a search for similar books and I found this:
No Shitting in the Toilet: The Travel Guide for When You’ve Really Lost It.
“A travel guide with a difference, this title introduces a world where you are more likely to find a cockroach on your pillow than a complimentary mint, where you take your life in your own hands every time you get on a bus, where everything goes wrong, and you still end up loving every minute of it. Instead of practical hints, it gives you impractical ones (how to avoid jet lag – avoid jets) and rather than tell you the best places to stay, it tells you the worst. Instead of celebrating transcendental travel experiences, it revels in the most demeaning ones (on checking the hygiene in restaurants: there are two things you don’t really want to see in life. The first is your parents having sex. The second is the state of the kitchen in restaurants catering for backpackers). But in that sense “No Shitting In The Toilet” is more in touch with the way things really are.”
39 Captain America
July 30th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
How about the "Guide to Getting into USA Illegally and Make Another Country's Citizens Foot Your Bill While Voicing Your Opinion as a Non-Citizen and Still Get Your Way".
Chapter 1: "How to Totally Screw Up Arizona"
The book is written in many languages.
40 trinityenigma
July 30th, 2010 at 7:37 am
Ok then I take it you're a native american and don't descend from a long line of dodgy immigrants then?
You know I heard somewhere than when us Europeans decided we wanted to go live over there we kind of messed up some peoples lives in a way that could be viewed as worse than having to pay some extra taxes. But then maybe my history lessons were wrong, and higher taxes are much worse…
41 General Tits Von Chodehoffen
July 30th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Funny shit
42 samanthaf63
July 30th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Reminds me of Alan Partridge's suggestion for a new TV series: "Circumnavigating the Globe in a Bull-Nose Mini-Morris on the Left."
43 Arsnl
July 30th, 2010 at 8:03 am
He wanted to avoid canada
44 undaunted warrior 1
July 30th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Fun lighthearted list for a Friday – enjoyed the read
45 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Native American? What’s that?
As an American I shall state with 100% accuracy that Homo sapiens are NOT native to the Americas – period.
Human remains that show formation of nomadic clans appear around ten thousand years ago – a relative click of the second hand in the overall scheme of things.
Oh, and by the way, there are much older remains in the Americas – but they are not of the same bloodline or skeletal structure as the American tribes. – looks like these eariy people were wiped out by the "land bridge" immigrants?
All people of the Americas are here by immigration.
46 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
RIGHT ON CAP'N
47 Maggot
July 30th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
?
48 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Yeah but no punctuation – what a putz.
49 Scratch
July 30th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
haha, That would have been a feat if he had done that.
He managed to avoid the French-speaking part, at least.
50 brothertom
July 30th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Round Ireland with a Fridge is actually an excellant read. The humor is great, and Tony Hawks (the english humorist not the american skate boarder) does a great job bringing the characters he mets to life. Try out his second travel book too. Playing the Moldovans at Tennis.
51 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
It follows that with the coming of "civilization" things were created to help protect its citizens from ingrates that insist on doing whatever they please – these things are known as "laws”. By its very definition – violation of law is called a “crime” and it’s perpetrator is called a “criminal”.
A criminal is someone who does whatever they please. Laws are made to penalize these wrong thinking mental degenerates. There are financial, mandatory penitential, and even stronger penalties for these wrong doers.
The credibility of any legal system is based on the uniform and just application of law across the citizenry.
CA is merely pointing out through literary license that It now appears that there is one far greater crime being committed. That would be destruction of the credibility of a legal system by inconsistent and situational application of law across the citizenry.
Which is what the government of the USA is doing on several levels – in this case ILLEGAL (law violating) immigration.
Organisims infested with UNTREATED parasites always die.
52 AE
July 30th, 2010 at 10:18 am
I descend from a line of immigrants starting with my great grandfather who came from Italy and fought in WWI. He was shot, hit with shrapnel, and gassed, just to become an American citizen and start a family and have a better life. Neither he nor any other immigrants of the time had the luxury of pressing “2″ for Italian, they had to struggle through the depression and make it on their own. So don’t tell me about “dodgy immigrants”. Some of us earned the right to live here.
53 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Good one Maggot!
54 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Disent quoi???
55 Scratch
July 30th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Arsnl est un francophone et je suis canadien.
56 segues
July 30th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
These are totally the sort of books my kids (as they were growing up) would call the ones, Mom's weird bookshelf!
I'd read any and/or all of them, both for the information and for the obvious chuckles.
I have a whole set of similarly odd, and seemingly useless, books which always give me a lift:
Mental Hygiene – Classroom Films 1945 – 1970 sex, drugs, dating, driver safety
Testing – Behind the Scenes at Consumer Reports 1936 – 1986
Meet Mr. Product – The Art of the Advertising Character
All Over the Map – An Extraordinary Atlas of the U.S. Featuring 33 Weird and Wonderful Maps with Towns That Actually Exist! ( for example, Sweet Lips, TN; Smackover, AR; Dingg Dong, TX)
Boring Postcards
just to name a few.
Jamie, thank you for some new idea's to add to the "weird" shelf.
57 nthensome
July 30th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Terrible list.
Amateur.
58 segues
July 30th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
forgot to take your meds this morning, did you?
59 segues
July 30th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
"All people of the Americas are here by immigration."
True, TEX, but the Native American's, as they are called today, pre-date everyone else by so many thousands of years that, in fact, the point of of the land bridge is moot.
Captain America is obviously just a jerk. He's not worth the mental energy to engage. However, if he wants to to get the opinion of someone whose family has been in this country for longer than his…provably…(I can trace my roots to before the Revolutionary War and ,in addition, my paternal grandmother was half Native American herself), then perhaps I might qualify.
You did get your info straight, as far as I can determine, about the earlier peoples on the continent, too, TEX. Good research!
BTW, I live in CA., another border state, and which, as you point out in another post, is behaving very differently from AZ. Thank God.
60 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
Désolé – Je ne comprends pas le français – pardonnez la charade.
Je l'ai pris dans la huitième année – n'a pas vraiment le ramasser.
Je suppose que je suis comme Bart Simpson – il était trop dur pour j'ai laissé tomber.
Quoi qu'il en soit – L'espagnol est la saveur, ici dans la chaleur.
61 bassbait
July 30th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Bonus: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
62 Scratch
July 30th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Mais votre francies est meilleur que mon francais.
Spanish is a beautiful language too, of course.
63 jfrater
July 30th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Sed Latina magna!
64 jfrater
July 30th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
As always you are most welcome
65 Moonbeam
July 30th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Why are people so obsessed with this topic in the US these days? Illegal immigration has decreased significantly over the last few years. The number of illegal immigrants in the US has dropped by 1 million between '08 and '09 (according to Homeland Security). Border patrol has seen a drop off in attempts by 60 percent (according to US Border Patrol reports).The number of Mexican migrants has declined by 40 percent( according to the Pew Hispanic Center).
So why is this an issue? Whenever the economy takes a down turn people turn against each other. Who looks like a likely and easy target? Illegal immigrants. People who are out of work think that all the jobs are going to those who are breaking immigration laws. OK go to any farmer who employs migrants (legal or illegal) and spend a week doing the same jobs they do for the same pay. Then talk to me.
66 TEX
July 30th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
67 Josh
July 30th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
How about the "guide for employers for finding someone who will do the jobs in America that Americans won't do" or the "guide for carrying on about illegals who smuggle drugs while ignoring the fact that it's Americans who are snorting/smoking/injecting those drugs".
And how do we know you are American?You look a bit "foreign". I demand to see your birth certificate/papers!!
68 SanityInspector
July 30th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
Can't google it because Net Nanny is on, but somewhere in North Carolina there's a place called Shit In Breeches Creek. So named, because early settlers saw an Indian washing up there after a bout of incontinence.
69 Anya
July 30th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Round Ireland with a Fridge is one of my top 20 favorite books! Who couldn't do with a great holiday doing something off the beaten path?
70 Tom
July 30th, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Fully agree with the post a few posts above : Tony Hawks 'Round Ireland with a Fridge' is an excellent book, infact, taking a place in my top 10 reads i would say. Very well written and the story is quite astounding. Some of the people he meets along his way really are quite incredible
71 oliveralbq
July 30th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
plane.
plane plane headrests
"""stand-by passengers for southwest flight 335, service to louis b armstrong airport, new orleans, continuing to reagan international, washington d.c., we have an opening due to passenger cancellation."""
"i'm stand-by"
"""sir, we have seat #27a — it's a window seat near the back of the aircraft. would this be acceptable?"""
"sure, the back, not a problem…. oh, and its a win..d..o…w–
…er….
wait a min..what? did you say 27a? "
"no, thats fine, you can give 27a to that other gentleman, i'll wait for the next available flight. i prefer natural c's"
and of course you have the inevitable potential bonus
–the head rests may be used as a flotation device–
passenger *17d*— *i really hope were flying over water.*
passenger *19a* — *fuck that, dude — im in seat 19a*
72 ianz09
July 31st, 2010 at 2:51 am
Boy, this is appropriate. My friend and I just got lost driving in the country today
73 mike9878
July 31st, 2010 at 4:19 am
I love this website.
74 Sophie
July 31st, 2010 at 5:03 am
This list is hilarious, though I'm wondering how the authors came up with such bizarre ideas for books. o.O
75 oliveralbq-mobile
July 31st, 2010 at 6:47 am
ok…so i read this list yesterday and enjoyed it. i have to admit…i know fuck-all about the intracacies of space vacations. i read the comments. good. fine. going to space is a stupid waste of money (esp if you dont really go to “space”). fine. so in my paper, i see katy perry is sending russell brand to space for his 35th bday. fine. wasteful but fine. so i continued. 200,000$ for a ride up….triple the speed of sound, and 5 minutes of weightlessness and back. ??huh?thats fucking rediculous
76 Captain America
August 2nd, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Illegal immigration may have declined because the economy is bad. There aren't any jobs anymore. It has nothing to do with US policy or border enforcement.
You come here to Arizona and tell me that its not a big deal!! Security and illegal crossing (by criminals) at the border is worst then ever. I personally know some border patrol agents.
77 Jimmy J
August 2nd, 2010 at 2:27 pm
That's one of the stupidest arguments you can make. "Illegals are just doing jobs that Americans won't do". So that's your excuse for allowing Illegals to come over? Maybe you forgot about the first word in Illegal Immigrants. "ILLEGAL". Which leads to the other stupid argument that, “all Americans are immigrants anyway.” That may be true but most come here legally. If you want to come here fine, just come here the right and legal way.
I understand most illegals come here and work hard to make money for their families but its the bad ones that are making things worst for them. It's not that they only come here to work. They use are healthcare services, get arrested, which raises the rest of our taxes.
I also know that not all crime comes from illegals and many drugs are bought by Americans but it is too difficult to completely stop people from taking drugs and committing crimes. What you can do however is stop it at the borders. You move to any other country, including Mexico, illegally and see what happens. It’s a lot worst then just being deported.
78 trinityenigma
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:30 am
Ok so evidently you've decided that the precise time that any anti immigration laws were created is the time when immigrants became bad and anything before that just doesn't matter- I hope that makes you feel better about your ancestors. Neither of us are going to change our minds on this, so lets agree to disagree.
The main reason I chose to comment is because, at the risk of sounding like a cow, when you chose to give a definition of the most simplistic terms such as laws and insist on putting them in inverted commas you actually fail at making the person you are aguing at look stupid which I guess was your main intention. What it actually looks like is that you have had to look up the terms yourself in the dictionary and copied them into your post so that you can look back on the post and remind yourself what they mean.
Please can everyone who does that take note!
79 fendabenda
August 3rd, 2010 at 6:52 am
Or maybe Urbutt? For the squeamish.
80 fendabenda
August 3rd, 2010 at 2:04 pm
The skate boarder is Tony Hawk, without the letter s.
81 joebecca
August 3rd, 2010 at 3:15 pm
i've lived in Michigan all this time and didn't know about the free Ohio tours?? oh for shame for shame!!
82 tonepoet
August 4th, 2010 at 7:19 am
One should check out the JetLag travel guides. Hilarious even if they are highly fictitious.
83 Chris
August 5th, 2010 at 9:47 am
Did anyone notice something odd about biking to the arctic circle? The people on the cover are wearing shorts.
84 @Callelujah
August 8th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
Book 4 is a great read. He also played Tennis v the Moldovan football team, andgot a hit in Albania amongst others
85 drewberryg
August 10th, 2010 at 9:55 am
What strange person actually has the time and willingness to write such mental guides! Truly crazY