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Author Olson, Colleen O'Connor, 1966- author.

Title Mammoth Cave curiosities : a guide to rockphobia, dating, saber-toothed cats, and other subterranean marvels / Colleen Olson
Published Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky, 2017

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Description 1 online resource
Contents The Mammoth Cave dating guide (not how to get a date with a Mammoth Cave guide) -- Rockphobia: rockfall, earthquakes, and caves -- Bones: what's left of exciting but dead animals in Mammoth Cave -- Secret lives of cave critters revealed! -- The gypsum twinkie connection: and other uses of cave minerals -- Prairie park companion: Mammoth Cave National Park's prairie restoration -- Prehistoric cavers -- Saltpeter: an explosive subject -- The cave cure: old and new ideas on the healing powers of caves -- Exploring the world's longest cave -- The cave wars -- Want a 2:00 a.m. cave tour? Come to great onyx! -- Cave Guide Coy Hanson: electric lights, the Mammoth Cave Railroad, and other stuff -- Lost John: the discovery of a mummy -- CCC Boy Fred k. Hanie Jr -- Ronald Reagan's visit to Mammoth Cave -- Rachel Wilson, a woman in the underground world of men -- Nuclear-fallout shelters in Mammoth Cave -- The literary mammoth -- Celebrities underground -- Colossal cave adventure: cave meets computer -- Cave jokes: the lowest form of humor
Summary Sir Elton John, blind fish, the original Twinkie, President Ronald Reagan's Secret Service detail, and mummies don't usually come up in the same conversation -- unless you're at Mammoth Cave National Park! Home to the earth's longest known cave system, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the oldest tourist attractions in North America. Although this remarkable place has been immortalized in works ranging from Herman Melville's Moby Dick to H.P. Lovecraft's "The Beast in the Cave," the realities of life at Mammoth Cave can be stranger than fiction. In this charming book, Colleen O'Connor Olson takes readers on a tour through a labyrinth of topics. She discusses scientific subjects such as the fossils of prehistoric animals and the secret lives of subterranean critters, and she provides essential information on dating in the cave (the age of rocks and artifacts, not courtship). Olson also explores Mammoth Cave's rich history, covering its use as the world's first tuberculosis sanatorium as well as its operation as a saltpeter mine during the War of 1812, and shares the inspirational story of the park's first female ranger. Throughout, Olson offers up humorous accounts of celebrity visits and astounding adventures and even includes a chapter dedicated to jokes told in the cave over the years. Whether you're visiting the national park, thinking about visiting, or just curious about a place recognized as one of the world's greatest natural wonders, don't miss this delightful guide to the wild and wonderful subterranean world of Mammoth Cave
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Curiosities and wonders -- Kentucky -- Mammoth Cave -- Anecdotes
TRAVEL -- United States -- South -- East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN)
Curiosities and wonders
SUBJECT Mammoth Cave (Ky.) -- History -- Anecdotes
Mammoth Cave (Ky.) -- Anecdotes
Subject Kentucky -- Mammoth Cave
Genre/Form Electronic books
Anecdotes
History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780813169279
0813169275
9780813169262
0813169267