''The Dictionary of Disgusting Facts'' is a 1986 book by Alan Williams and

Maggie Noach Maggie Noach (18 August 1949 – 17 November 2006) was an English literary agent who established her own eponymous agency called The Maggie Noach Agency in 1982. The clients she represented included such as authors as Brian Aldiss, David Almond, ...

. This cult oddity is a collection of often disgusting anecdotes and definitions. The foreword is by

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film pr ...

' alter ego Sir Les Patterson. One entry defines a "sootikin" as a small mouse-shaped deposit formed in the vaginal cleft of poor women who did not wear undergarments - common until the 19th century. A sootikin built up over several weeks, even months, of not washing. It was composed of particles of soot, dirt, sweat, smegma and vaginal and menstrual discharge. When it reached a certain size and weight, it tended to work loose and drop from under the woman's skir

Another entry tells of a woman found drowned with an unusual substance in her lung

The authors claim that actor

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

was on one occasion desperate to urinate while on stage performing

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

. Burton turned his back on the audience and attempted to urinate discreetly through his chain-mail suit. The urine flowed down into the hot footlights and boiled, creating enough steam that the front rows of the theatre had to be evacuated. Another anecdote tells how Philip Murray, son of classical scholar and Oxford don

Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greece ...

, fell in love at first sight with a female chimpanzee. He got her drunk on Fundador brandy, took her to his suite at the plush Victoria Hotel where he bathed her with plenty of lavender soap. Nothing more was heard of them for 48 hours. Friends, concerned, forced their way into his suite and found Murray in a corner, seriously ill with a high temperature. He died several hours later from a strain of pneumonia known only to exist among apes. Despite having commissioned a review for ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years by v ...

'' by

David Profumo David John Profumo, FRSL (born 20 October 1955), is an English novelist. Profumo was born in London, the son of former British government minister John Profumo, and his wife, actress Valerie Hobson. The Profumo family is of Italian origin. Bio ...

editor

Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh (17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was an English journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...

was so disgusted by the material that he "felt the few remaining hairs stand on end." Kate Kellaway, then his deputy, rocked with laughter and hero-worshipped David Profumo for reviewing the book. Author and critic Neil Gaiman, who recommends the book, has said that this is the one book that people return to him punctiliousl

References

External links

''The Dictionary of Disgusting Facts'' excerpt

"Sootikin" urban legend debunked
* Sooterkin, Actual definition of "sooterkin." {{DEFAULTSORT:Dictionary of Disgusting Facts 1986 non-fiction books British non-fiction books Collaborative non-fiction books