Ancient Obscenities: Or Things You Shouldn't Know about the History of Mankind!

It turns out there is quite a bit of ancient art and pottery that is not openly displayed in the museums devoted to such stuff. This book, sadly, only "describes" the most interesting artworks contained in the secret archaeological cupboards of shame, such as the infamous "cabinet 51*" of the British Museum. Happily, the citations in the book will provide a guide on how the curious reader may apply to see these "hidden" treasures. Lack of actual pictures of the objects described ensures that this is a book one can only enjoy by reading. British cartoonist Billy Tidy has produced a series of illustrative cartoons which are perfectly innocuous unless one reads the text. The noble Romans, Greeks and savages were not adverse to the type of rank humor that makes Borat seem tame by comparison. Humanity has long had an inventive approach and this book proves that there is no sexual variation that is new. Jokes of a fundamental sort concerning the expansion of gases have a long history. The first documented instance of a politician denying he had sex with "that woman" was in 1400 BC. The authors cover a long sweep of time going all the way back to cave art. This book is wide-ranging (they were doing WHAT with a llama?) and is guaranteed to expand the vocabulary (especially as a fertile source of insults). Although the authors brush over it lightly, Victorian discoverers of such artifacts were not above destroying them if they found them too shocking. I have been at pains while writing this review to use no words that could offend while conveying accurately the author's subject matter and sense of humor. *Since this book was published in 1999, the British Museum has been gradually emptying cabinet 51, putting its collection of phallic curiosities back among the exhibits where each belongs by time and place of origin. Overall, that seems more decent and less exciting than locking them all up together.