The Gross

A look at the new Hollywood by the longtime editor-in-chief of Variety. The ultimate insider follows the winners and losers of Hollywood's 1998 Summer Season. Welcome to Hollywood, where gambling is a way of life -- and the wagers run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. But in the summer of 1998 all bets are off. The man who knows every mover, shaker, and faker explains why no one can explain the surprising season. Peter Bart goes behind the scenes like no one can to track the summer movies from development through release. He will reveal why "Godzilla" could never live up to its hype; how intense rivals Robert Redford and Warren Beatty saw their worst nightmares come true when they went head-to-head at the box office; how Jim Carrey's "Truman Show" stole the show; and how Steven Spielberg regained his title of king of the summer in a season where sleepers upset would-be blockbusters. While asteroid movies were colliding with each other, a billionaire newcomer was making superhuman attempts to resuscitate a moribund Universal Studios. With interviews from studio executives, producers, directors, agents, and stars, Peter Bart unveils the winners and losers in the new Hollywood, where creativity and commerce hang in a precarious balance.

Contains reprints of the comic art of Milt Gross and a detailed biography of the artist with rare cartoons, advertisements, still photographs, and more. Features a fold-in introduction by "Mad" magazine's Al Jaffee.

The world is full of stinky smells, such as sweaty feet, dirty diapers, rotting food, and wet dogs. Some smells are so bad, they can make a person gag or run in the opposite direction. In this book, readers will examine what causes bad smells, why some objects smell more than others, and how smells travel. They will also explore how the nose and brain detect and recognize different smells. With high-interest content and special features that include a Myths and Facts and 10 Great Questions to Ask a Specialist sidebars, this engrossing book will attract even hesitant readers.

Explains what the gross domestic product and gross national product are, discussing their role in the global economy, economic indicators, and the limitations of the GDP.

The author of The Big Book of Superheroes presents a hilarious look at science, nature, and the human body in a book full of good laughs and bad smells. From boogers, B.O., and belches to sneezes, diseases, and demon cheeses, The Big Book of Gross Stuff is chock-full of practical knowledge about things you shouldn’t discuss at the dinner table. Kids can take a Gross Quiz to find out how their sensibilities stack up against the rest of society, and learn about the World's Most Disgusting Jobs (whale-feces research, anyone?). With the turn of every page, The Big Book of Gross Stuff will challenge your gag reflexes as it introduces topics, terminology and trivia about toilets, scabies, decaying bodies, and much more. For instance, did you know: · In 1971, a band named Hot Poop released a record titled Does Their Own Stuff! They were never heard from again. · When using fake vomit, the key to faking people out is to sprinkle water on the stuff to make it look more realistic. · Belly button lint is composed of dust, dried sweat, fat, dead skin, and bits of cotton.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award One of Five Books Best Literary Science Writing titles in 2023 A New York Times Editors' Choice A Science Friday Best Science Book to Read This Summer A myth-busting voyage into the female body. A camera obscura reflects the world back but dimmer and inverted. Similarly, science has long viewed woman through a warped lens, one focused narrowly on her capacity for reproduction. As a result, there exists a vast knowledge gap when it comes to what we know about half of the bodies on the planet. That is finally changing. Today, a new generation of researchers is turning its gaze to the organs traditionally bound up in baby-making—the uterus, ovaries, and vagina—and illuminating them as part of a dynamic, resilient, and ever-changing whole. Welcome to Vagina Obscura, an odyssey into a woman’s body from a fresh perspective, ushering in a whole new cast of characters. In Boston, a pair of biologists are growing artificial ovaries to counter the cascading health effects of menopause. In Melbourne, a urologist remaps the clitoris to fill in crucial gaps in female sexual anatomy. Given unparalleled access to labs and the latest research, journalist Rachel E. Gross takes readers on a scientific journey to the center of a wonderous world where the uterus regrows itself, ovaries pump out fresh eggs, and the clitoris pulses beneath the surface like a shimmering pyramid of nerves. This paradigm shift is made possible by the growing understanding that sex and gender are not binary; we all share the same universal body plan and origin in the womb. That’s why insights into the vaginal microbiome, ovarian stem cells, and the biology of menstruation don’t mean only a better understanding of female bodies, but a better understanding of male, non-binary, transgender, and intersex bodies—in other words, all bodies. By turns funny, lyrical, incisive, and shocking, Vagina Obscura is a powerful testament to how the landscape of human knowledge can be rewritten to better serve everyone.

A collection of some of the most distasteful material published in MAD Magazine.

Want to learn more about the nasty side of nature? Food that will make you loose your lunch? Foul facts, icky information, and sidebars that are guaranteed to make your stomach churn.