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March 27, 2009 8:27 AM   Subscribe

The winner of this years Diagram Prize for the oddest book title is "The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-Milligram Containers of Fromage Frais." Runners up were "Curbside Colon Consultation," and my favorite Baboon Metaphysics.
posted by Xurando (15 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
5.0 out of 5 stars
make rooooom for this mooooving work, March 27, 2009
By pTs (ny, usa) - See all my reviews

What do you get when you couple fromage frais with 60 milligram containers? A page-turner, that's what. If you are planning on buying, selling, drinking, or thinking about dairy products, and you are obsessed with minute details, then pick up this handy and informative guide.
Only $795.00? What am I waiting for?
posted by not_on_display at 8:38 AM on March 27, 2009




I'm guessing the Icon Group (publisher of the Fromage Frais shipping container book) is some incarnation of the super-prolific Phillip M. Parker.
posted by marxchivist at 8:48 AM on March 27, 2009


damn you tapeguy :)
posted by marxchivist at 8:48 AM on March 27, 2009


These World Outlook books are written about a variety of weird niche items. A quick browse of my college library catalog comes up with World Outlooks for high alloy steel castings, cheese substitutes and imitations, parts and attachments for bakery furnaces and ovens, analog color televisions, home permanents and relaxers for hair, activated pulverized carbons, activated sewage sludge, processed tankage & other natural fertilizer materials of organic origin, aerospace type hydraulic fluid power valves, assembled and ready to assemble tubular non-upholstered aluminum household benches, chairs and chaise longues, broadwoven fabrics made from manmande combinations of spun and filament yarns, folding paperboard boxes for cosmetics and medicinal products, gummed products, helical, spur and herringbone fine-pitch loose gears with diametrical pitch of 20 or more, horizontal earth boring machines and accessories, instant custard desert mixes, interior and exterior flush solid composition-core hardwood-faced doors and doors with glazed sections, lard in containers of 3 pounds or less made in slaughtering plants, and so on.

To be fair, I don't think technical reports like these should be included in literary awards, because they're not really "books."
posted by Dr. Send at 8:57 AM on March 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


Heh.
posted by Dr. Send at 8:59 AM on March 27, 2009



To be fair, I don't think technical reports like these should be included in literary awards, because they're not really "books."
posted by Dr. Send at 11:57 AM on March 27


No kidding. These are basically market research reports. And if you are in the 60mg container business, you'll gladly pay $800 for it. I've seen market research reports that cost $20,000.
posted by Pastabagel at 9:04 AM on March 27, 2009


but what if I want to know how the Fromage Frais view the world? I was expecting mordant philosophizing in a cloud of cigarette smoke, I hope i can get my $800 back.
posted by geos at 9:08 AM on March 27, 2009


And if you are in the 60mg container business, you'll gladly pay $800 for it

I don't know who would be in the 60 mg container business - that's pretty darn small!
posted by bitteroldman at 10:00 AM on March 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


Wasn't there a FPP years back about someone who had an automated system to write "books" like this? You just put in the subject and it spit out a book. Anyway, yes, this isn't a book. And anyone who reads it probably has a subscription service with the publisher and isn't paying a one-off $800 fee. Gartner reports run at least that much, but we never paid for them individually where I've worked - we had a subscription to certain categories and got all the reports therewithin. And if I was making 60mL containers of fromage frais, man, this would be my favourite book EVAR.
posted by GuyZero at 10:05 AM on March 27, 2009


Wasn't there a FPP years back about someone who had an automated system to write "books" like this?

Phillip M. Parker is a massive, massive asshole. Why Amazon allows him to peddle his rip-off books is beyond me - particularly the medical books, which are sold for a great price to desperate sick people.

The last time he came up I dropped a note to him and the head of his department pointing out that what he's doing is deeply unethical. No answer of course, but I think it's time for another message to them. Won't you join me?
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 12:02 PM on March 27, 2009


(er, the first line in my response was supposed to be quoted. sorry!)
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 12:02 PM on March 27, 2009


Philip Parker! Yeah, that was the guy. What's swesome about the cheese book in the OP is that if you read the Amazon description, it explicitly states its numbers aren't based in measured fact but on a calculated "latent demand". It's basically all made up.
posted by GuyZero at 12:19 PM on March 27, 2009


Or, I could have read what tapeguy posted. sheesh.
posted by GuyZero at 12:20 PM on March 27, 2009


It's good, but it's no How to Avoid Huge Ships.
posted by Mister_A at 6:48 PM on March 27, 2009


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