Everyone knows about Roger Tory Peterson's field
guides to the birds, bees, and flowers. We offer for your
entertainment a variety of guides to the more unusual
things you may see.
Riding through residential neighborhoods, you've
noticed that the houses aren't all alike. Which ones
are Colonial, which are Victorian, which are
Craftsman? A Field Guide to
American Houses. Order
it from Amazon.com
OK, so there aren't any houses where you are, just
fields. Fields full of cows. Jerseys, Guernseys,
Shorthorns, Anguses, so many cows: A
Field Guide to Cows describes
identifying marks and economic significance of breeds
found, even rarely, in the US. We wish that it had
color pictures instead of line drawings.
Order
it from Amazon.com
On the road, there's a messy smear. What do you
supposed it used to be? Flattened Fauna :
A Field Guide to Common Animals of Roads, Streets,
and Highways is a wonderful spoof of
field guides. Sample from the quick key for
identification: "More than 12 times longer than
broad; no legs or other appendages: see snake". Order
it from Amazon.com
Going too fast to stop and read the roadside
historical markers? Full text provided by the Guide
to the State Historical Markers of Pennsylvania.
Order
it from Amazon.com
Did you know that there are 7 distinct types of
covered bridges in Pennsylvania? We use Susan
Zacher's Covered Bridges of Pennsylvania :
A Guide. Order
it from Amazon.com An alternative, which we
haven't used, is Pennsylvania's Covered
Bridges : A Complere Guide. Order
it from Amazon.com
Ever wondered what is in those tank trucks zipping
past you on the highway? Look for the diamond shaped
hazardous material placard with the 4 digit number.
Not obvious? Well, you can probably figure out from
the oil-company logo that 1203 is gasoline, gasohol,
petrol or other motor fuel. It is not quite so
obvious that 1365 is wet cotton and 1360 is
2,5dimethyl-2,5-d:(3,5,5-trimethylhexanoylperoxy)hexane.
It is all there in the Emergency Response
Guidebook, including what to do about it
when it spills. Order
it from Amazon.com
Some of these routes have been transportation
corridors for hundreds of years. Indian
Paths of Pennsylvania identifies the
routes of major paths and describes how to follow
them as closely as possible on modern roads.
Order
it from Amazon.com
