Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with esoteric

What are the great life changing books no one has ever heard of?

champthom — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:02:51 -0800

What are some underrated but mind altering books? It's hard to explain what I'm looking for but the best I can describe is "the best books they don't want you to know about."

I'm curious in finding books that are relatively obscure yet so profound and mind altering. I'd like to try and find some books that come close to the Necronomicon or some book L Ron Hubbard supposedly wrote which are suppose to drive the readers to the point of insanity because they have such an impact.

I say obscure because I'm pretty familiar with the list of books that change people's life - The Bible, The Book of Mormon, Atlas Shrugged are a few that come to mind. I'm more looking for a list of books that have the same effect but you never see on any sort of list like that. While not the best example, for me personally, Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning had a profound impact and I only found out about the book from a co-worker. Another case I found while looking in books about life changing books is this book which apparently had a tremendous influence on some guy's life.

So, what are the most personally influential books, the books that change lives, that are relatively unknown?

Magic, incarcerated

MrVisible — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:34:17 -0800

Help me find real-world magic items. I'm looking for real-life items that have strange histories, weird reputations, or just plain creep people out. One example is the pair of pistols made of meteoric iron that made the news recently. Any object which can be viewed as having a magical nature will do, the weirder the better.

Historical curiosities, medical oddities, anything that incites a sense of weirded-out wonder will be considered. Extra special bonus points if the objects existed in North America in 1914.

I realize that this is a very broad question, but I wanted to tap into the vast reservoir of odd and arcane knowledge that MeFites seem to have.

(This is for a role-playing campaign. Do not be alarmed. The premise is that these items are charged with a magical energy, which can be harvested. Quests ensue.)

Rich people buying better health?

cgc373 — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 08:53:26 -0800

Zillions of billionaire characters in fiction try to buy their way out of dying by funding crazy research efforts or moving into orbit or whatever—think of John Hurt in Contact or Lionel Luthor in Smallville. Are there any examples of such figures in reality, in history? Howard Hughes types with nothing to lose?

Ancient Chinese Mystery

Fezboy! — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 14:22:34 -0800

CalgonFilter: Ancient Chinese secret or ticket to "away" . . . or both? Fully realizing the esoteric nature of this question, I am puzzled nonetheless. Recall, if you will, two advertising campaigns featuring a product called 'Calgon'. One, a line of bath/beauty products, used the tagline, "Calgon, take me away." The other, a fabric softener, was the weapon of choice for a sneaky laundery using the tagline, "Ancient Chinese secret." A cursory examination does not indicate any relationship between the two but my mind won't let go of the possibility that the secret to cleaner, whiter clothes and luxurious bathing are contained within the chemical make-up of a single product.

To further muddy the water (heh), there is also a company that sells activated carbon under the name Calgon. And if that wasn't enough, there is also a refrigeration supply company called 'Nu-Calgon' although, truthfully, this may be a red herring.

So, getting around to formulating a question—are these companies/products related via some murky multi-national corporation? What is the deal with the proper noun "Calgon" that makes marketing departments salivate at the thought of branding their products thusly? At the very least, why hasn't this been litigated to death in this day and age of zealously guarding IP interests? Wikipedia lays out some of the factual background but, ultimately, is as unsatisfying as a sip of water in the middle of the Mojave.

While the questions are not earth shattering in importance, your answers may help me concentrate on more productive matters, thus improving the nation's GNP ever so slightly in these trying economic times.