The folks at Archie McPhee, one of the world’s favorite purveyors of novelty products, were kind enough to send me a copy of their book “Who Would Buy This?” The Archie McPhee Story—182 pages of the most bizarre crap that anyone ever had the nerve to sell. Not surprisingly, we have discussed many of these products right here on Nerd Approved, but the book presents them in luscious detail—including big color photos and commentary about product origins and stories about both their successes and miserable failures.
And no, not all of the commentary begins with “after I hit the pipe for an hour, I got an idea.” There is actually some interesting stories in here, like the time the Department of Defense paid them a visit for selling a pallet of dummy torpedoes with top secret guidance system technology from the University of Washington Physics Department. Still, I know you are wondering why you would ever buy a book filled with yodeling lederhosen, pee guys and bacon floss. Good question—but only Archie McPhee would have the balls to sell a book about stuff that you would never buy. You have got to love that. Plus it makes for the most interesting coffee table book ever.
Product Page ($20)
