Some commenters also mantioned that if said book is particularly old, it can contain dangerous amount of Arsenic or black mold. I would also mantion that it can be so dusty that it can trigger asthma attack in some people
@@pedroff_1 Not just speed but also weight. I have no fear of a dime store paperback. But a medieval tome as big as a person? I probably won't be taking it off the shelf without wearing a helmet.
The turner diary ban and the anarchist cookbook lack of ban in Canada makes for an interesting statement. “Telling someone how to build a bomb is less dangerous than giving someone a reason to.”
@WobblesandBean what about them? I just thought that since the above comment implied that the Cookbook had no political ideas or reasons I would point out that it wasn't the case.
@@mEmory______ i wasn’t trying to imply that. My main point was that a book centered around “here’s why we should do this” can be more dangerous than a book that is centered around “here is how to do this” at least at extremes like bombings and stuff. My belief from this video that the Turner Diaries is generally more politically motivating to the group it is trying to appeal to. Or the groups that agree with it
There's also the case of books made with arsenic, either to produce brilliantly coloured covers or, in one case, to drive home how dangerous arsenic-based dyes in wallpaper, clothing, etc were. The latter was sold with a "do not let children touch this" warning. And arsenic never degrades, so they're exactly as toxic as they day they were made.
In case anyone in the replies to this comment is wondering the book in question was called "Shadows of the Walls of Death" and I know this because a different comment on this video mentioned it
NGL The quality of these videos legit reminds me of broadcast educational television like on PBS. I'm genuinely very impressed at how high quality the animations and illustrations are for these videos. I've learned a lot from this channel but I am never not amazed by how quality everything is in these videos.
That sounds like "Darwin passages," aka, a method for keeping [those who do not look to secondary sources to confirm information] from fully using the contents of the book. If you trust primary sources without question, you are NOT a leader in the revolution, you are but a pawn in somebody else's game, and pawns are expendable.
"Shadows of the Walls of Death" can literally kill you if you don't handle it with gloves because it contains samples of various arsenic containing wallpaper. There are also some emerald green books that used arsenic to color their book covers.
A friend of mine that went to an all girls highschool had some english lessons examining the writings of charles manson. The goal of these lessons was to teach critical thinking and how to identify the ways the author would manipulate young women. A worrying number of girls in that class walk away thinking that charles manson was charming and had a good point.
I would want to lay some groundwork before doing something like that. I guess, though, Manson's message was custom-optimized for that audience, so maybe just no. Also, they always have a good point, that's how they convince people to follow them, and how they hide all their bad points.
Reminds me of my senior high school year, where we read 1984 and a large portion of the guys in that class walked away doing the edgelord "Lol that society is kinda based though" bit
@pancakes8670 wow. I could understand Brave New World (since it's more simiar to dystopian consumer capitalism ie control via manipulation, drugs, entertainment, etc ) but 1984 is so over the top authoritarian fascist what would be the appeal in being watched 24/7 and they have to escape just to get laid.
@@Vinemaple Yes critical thinking is absolutely necessary when dealing with the writings / ravings of a jackass like Manson (or really for anything/anyone). Villains don't just get people to follow them by saying all bad things all the time; they usually have a lot of charisma and say just enough good things to get people on their train before they go off and leave for crazytown. Unfortunately very rarely to the passengers get to go up and shoot the engineer or derail the crazytrain (NOTICE I am making a METAPHOR here. If you don't know what that is, go look up 'metaphor' and then reread this... I was suggesting it is unfortunate that Manson's followers all didn't collectively bring him down before he harmed anyone, instead of what actually happened, which is them going outwardly and harming innocents. I am not advocating for anyone doing anything bad involving an actual train). [and PS the "you" is directed at more naive readers; not necessarily you @vinemaple, since you are probably already well aware of metaphors]
The only reason I've not found a copy of Anarchists Cookbook is because the author genuinely regrets publishing it and asks people not to buy/sell/read the book. Since my impulse to own or read a banned book is a freedom of speech matter, I'll respect the wishes of the one who's speech this book represents.
I thought I, being the nosy little sucker that I am, would be the same. But noooope :P When a local bookstore had a banned book sale (that they very loudly advertised as having been obtained through off-the-grid means, like donations and rummage sales and not Amazon or smth), I wasn't interested in the least. Not even when the owner who, for the record, I know and (somewhat) trust, asked me if I wanted to take a peek. The fanfare around the books being banned made me feel like they all suck and their only selling point is morbid curiosity.
I'm surprised Nami no Tou wasn't brought up briefly, as much like the effect The Sorrows had, this novel may have supposedly been what further pushed people to see the lonely Aokigahara forest as a place to die, eventually creating its own popular folklore.
"Honey, Fred's ideas are... dangerous." "But Mom, all he wants to do is be left alone, and not have to give half of what he grows to the Council." "What your mother means is, if you don't stop trying to defend Fred, the Council will come after *you* next. And unlike Fred, they can come and take you away, any time they want."
@@localvega688 "honey, you should start an Organization against the council, maybe start calling the council The System, you will do alright with a lot of people, honey, just... fight the system, honey" and thats how honey wrote a cookbook and his diaries
Thank you for this one, as slippery and delicate as this topic is. So many people who approach it with the message of trying to tell others "what to think". Rather, this is very refreshing and heart warming that in the end, what you ask is for people "to think"
The King in Yellow being 'too moving' really resonated with me. I have extreme anxiety, so if I read a book that's especially thought-provoking, I sometimes physically hurt with the intensity of the whirlwind in my head. I still read them, though. I understand why The King in Yellow would still be so sought-after despite the ban on it.
On a gentler scale, this is one reason why bad movies continue to survive in the face of better ones: sometimes one doesn't want to have your heart broken in a movie theater, one just wants to relax for a few hours and look at something pretty... and crudely cathartic.
Having read it, there's really nothing to it as the short stories in the first part are just stories of how the book "The King in Yellow" affected them or someone close to them. Nothing truly mind-altering or horrific. Eerie, yes, but more obscure and Lovecraftian, which I understand is where Lovecraft got his inspiration.
As Stephen King once said, "My book did not break Cox, Pierce, Carneal, or Loukaitis, or turn them into killers; they found something in my book that spoke to them because they were already broken. Yet I did see Rage as a possible accelerant, which is why I pulled it from sale. You don't leave a can of gasoline where a boy with firebug tendencies can lay hands on it." It perfectly explains how a book can influence its readers and sometimes fiction can turn into reality because of people resonating with the books they read
Fun fact: there are "sequels" to the Anarchist Cookbook, from several authors, which go into detail about everything from making drugs and medicine from plants to making biodiesel. The poorly-bound example i found at a yard sale was specifically about homemade medicine, but it had three separate chapters about different kinds of drugs... It mentioned the Anarchist's Cookbook in the dedication, as inspiration for its creation. I also have a book from 1964 about how to make fireworks. Most of the ingredients aren't readily available anymore, but some of the larger models described are terrifying. Apparently safety and common sense were not fixtures the author considered important.
Immediately reminded of one of my favorite "South Park" episodes: "The Tale of Scroty McBoogerballs" "The Catcher in the Rye" is taken off South Park Elementary ban list and while reading it, our main cast of four find the book lackluster. They then write a book so juvenile and crass most people can't read it without an intense visceral reaction. The rest of the episode deals with things like how one gets a book banned and the will of the artist vs. The interpretation of the audience.
Harvard has a book with nothing but wallpaper samples in it. Might actually be the deadliest book, or at least the most dangerous. It's called Shadows from the walls of death (awesome title!) Everything is an eerie green. That green pigment, comes from arsenic. Not what the video was about, but it did feel like it was a notable exception.
I remember being a young teen and having access to the anarchist cookbook online. It was free. Lots of people knew about it. Most of us read at least some of it. Yet most of us never did anything more with the information. I don't know if the site is still available, but I think even if it is, the people who would use it for nefarious means would find the info even if is wasn't available. Bad people do bad things no matter what. I just hope I've raised my kids as well as my dad raised me.
There's a book called "Shadows From the Walls Of Death" with wallpaper samples that contain enough arsenic that warrant specialized containment. My brother and I saw it on display at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. It was in a protective case to protect visitors.
This can actually start a debate about how we are promoting the society to become childish and the dangers that come with that. Specially places like TH-cam, where you could get demonetized for saying a word the algorithm doesn't like.
I remember a Video Essay that explained UnderTale’s story. One of the 3 main paths is the Genocide Route. The Creator had to refer to it as “No Mercy” to nor be Demonetized. Just knowing makes it feel like Profanity or something. Don’t say sex, that’s a bbaadd wwoorrdd
We seem to confuse the difference between banned and limited or restricted. Some "banned" books are just age restricted, but people ignore that fact to make their point.
More than a few book "bans" are, in all sincerity and honesty, actually about curriculum. There's a world of difference between banning a book, and promoting it as a worthwhile source of information. Trust me, I have _no_ doubt that I would very much hate some of the book "bans", thinking that the book really, really should be part of the curriculum. Still, I wish people would be honest about what is actually happening.
The biggest trick people pull is to claim that a book being removed from the compulsory reading list for some 5th grade class in a single rural Kentucky school is the same as “OH MY GOD THEY’RE BURNING BOOKS AND DISAPPEARING PEOPLE WHO TRY TO READ THEM AAAAHHHH!”
I live in Germany, here “Mein Kampf” (Hitlers diary) is rightfully banned but the commentated version is even read in some schools (History class) so I think that just proves the point here :)
I disagree with it ever being right to ban a book. That said, I am glad schools are at least using the commentated versions to warn of the dangers of evil people in power.
@@localvega688 well I strongly disagree the book is full of NAZI propaganda wich and they are framed as good and could lead people especially ones with less education to rethink there beliefs. the commentated version gives context and explains why those beliefs are bad, there’s always a reason why something is banned though some reasons might not seem reasonable at first. of curse there are probably books wich are unrightfully banned but to say there aren’t any books wich are rightfully banned is delusional.
@@milimii4011 This isn't about that book being right or even anything more than a pseudo-intellectual rant by a madman. This is about giving the government the right to dictate what a person can read by means of force is an evil thing. The fact there are some people who MIGHT do bad things is not an argument.
@@localvega688 so let me get this straight after your logic we shouldn’t ban books because only a minority would do evil with the information contained in them? But after that logic we couldn’t ban anything because well of course a minority would do bad things with (example) drugs but not everyone right? So where do we draw the line between it’s not okay to ban books but it’s okay to ban everything else if that even is the case?
@@milimii4011 You do realize that the war on drugs is not only a losing war but has CREATED the drug cartels. Notice how people aren't in the streets murdering eachother over cigarettes? Nearly all murders in the US are due to the seller end of the drug trade. ⚰
I think this to me highlights how powerful knowledge and perspective together truly are. Any information learned or reflected on can profoundly influence how someone sees the world, others and themselves. But changing perspective in turn influences how we interact with the world, others and ourselves. For better or worse...
Most times I'm less than appreciative of ad spots at the end of videos but yours are actually soothing to listen to especially after a video like this one. It's so true than banning a book really only elevates it's notoriety and often times just applying a bit more academic understanding and some context can sort it out fine. I am reminded, however, on the topic of restricting access to objectionable content and tools of violence; we'll just find some other way to crudely display our ugly, broken sense of self.
its interesting you mentioned goethe's werther! im from germany, i remember my high school literature teacher telling us that some years before our school time (so around early or mid 2000s i think?) a girl from our school killed herself (threw herself off a local tower monument) cause she was heatbroken due to werther. take it with a grain of salt if it was really cause of werther, but she did kill herself. just something i still remember, so it was interesting hearing it here as well.
Yes, that smells folkloric, but even if it is, it'd be a sort of social commentary on how poorly our society fosters our children's _emotional_ maturity.
Although not a girl, as a person with some pretty intense / heavy emotions as a teen, who fell in love a few times, and had my heart broken etc. I can imagine that it doesn't take much to push a person who can get that high-strung (hormonal) over the edge. A book might 'do it'. It's not the book's FAULT, of course, but sometimes people who are already prone to doing something, may latch onto an excuse for doing it. I will say, however, that as a polyamorous person, I got messed up by Western society (well specifically 20th century USA)'s mentality of 'one true love' and 'finding your soulmate', and the complaints floated by some about 'why don't you settle down with one perfect person?' etc etc. While well-intentioned, all that kind of propagandistic crap can mess someone up who isn't oriented like that, since (besides the monogamy vs polyamory difference, which which I have less problem since I know monogamous people will always outnumber polyamorous people by a large degree; that is the more usual orientation) it presupposes that: 1. there IS someone out there who is a 'perfect fit' for another person. While with billions of people on the planet, that might be true, but does the unknown original author / creator of that 'soulmate' 'perfect fit' concept expect everyone to be combing through all people on the planet to find the 'one true perfect person' ?!?!?! (In other words, there is not enough onus put upon the protagonist to _THEMSELVES_ get it together and be someone others would find worthy of dating, instead of just voyeuristically 'window shopping' for a partner, like on a dating app for example) 2. Also, some of this crap tends to be from a male perspective and a bit objectifying. As a person who already unfortunately tends to objectify people, I greatly dislike any philosophy which would encourage me to do so of a potential love interest / girlfriend, (i. e. 'do they look the way you want them to look?' 'do they act the way you want them to act?') instead of meeting them on an equal level as a friend, and each person making allowances and adjustments for the other person's quite human non-perfection, and foibles. The latter is way more grown-up, mature, and also egalitarian and humanistic towards the other person, but unfortunately that's not a lot of what I was brought up on in fairy tales, romance novels and the like. I WAS brought up to treat people decently, and be chivalrous etc. which is good; but that can conflict with the Stepford-Wives-and/or-Ruby-Sparks-designer-partner-objectification of finding 'one's perfect partner' or 'true soulmate' espoused in classic romance narratives and couched in so much OTHER ethics (also taught along with it in those same books), that it's made to look like a 'good thing' (and this isn't just about visual 'perfection' either, but also about having a personality one likes, being into things... basically grocery-store-shopping or genetic-engineering or genie-bottle-wishing these things about one's imagined partner).
An interesting thing to note about "Catcher In The Rye" being included in this list is that it was also used as a major plot device in the "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" anime wherein the hacker known as The Laughing Man uses a line from the book as part of his logo. He goes on to inspire other copycats as well, all of whom adopt the same emblem as a meme. There's a part in the series where the detectives of Section 9 even refer to "The Salinger Angle" as a hypothesis for the true motives and methods behind The Laughing Man's actions and use that as a means of tracking him down.
The most scareing story I have read, or more played actually, was "Hello Charlotte". It does something really weird with you, it combines feelings of spirituality with mass suicide... It is scary af.
Been watching a playthrough of it. Haven't finished it yet but OH BOY. It's got some rough stuff in there and is only pretending to be slightly subtle.
I didn’t expect to see another Hello Charlotte fan in the comments here, but I thought of my experiences with that game while watching this too. While I love that game, and I think I can say that I and most people I know can approach the game with enough critical discernment to recognize the difference between depiction and endorsement, I can definitely see how some of the more sensitive topics could be acted on harmfully if not handled carefully.
I love hello Charlotte, I always saw it more as a surreal story than a terrifying one but it certainly handles many delicate themes that if you think about them a little more they are deeply disturbing
those news sites were trying to wishcast a Joker movie mass shooting into manifesting for some reason. One of the big humor websites (Cracked? ) called them out on it.
@talesofgore9424 They wanted a mass shooting so they could milk it for ratings and most likely push a narrative that movies like the Joker were bad for America and it's people, "This movie caused a shooting! We should ban it and ignore any ideas it might put in people's heads!"
@@talesofgore9424 Did they call out the actual authors of the actual articles? And did said authors turn around and squeal on editors and other people trying to get them to deliver that kind of story?
Haven't seen the whole video but I have to say that "The Book Thief" immediately commes to mind, as it is a story about the power of words and their danger, specially by emphasizing the way that Hitler used words to cultivate his regime of hatred during World War II.
A very delicate subject handled gently and impartially. I am genuinely impressed, and quite relieved that you were able to tackle this subject as well as you were. VERY good video.
12:34 one fascinating example of "Writer makes something that the fans interperate in a different way" is Rorschach from the Watchmen series, I can't remember the exact details sadly but Alan Moore's original interperitations of the character as a deconstructive parody of characters like Mr. A and The Question, a character meant to mock those objectivist Blacka and White morality. But in spite of his ridicule, readers and watchers of the Watchmen series fell in love with the character and propped him up in ways that Moore was shocked to see
Abso-freakin-lutety no! If some children grow up reading the turner diaries, it can definitely shape how they think and act. It’s the people so many times, but what they are taught, what they listen to, what they read shapes who they are. If they grew up hearing that “we and they are different and that the cosmic law eternally punishes those who are not us” they are likely to be similarly extremist and inhuman. Another quote that I equally disagree with is “it’s not the religion but the people”
i completely agree, books are just tools, they do not force you to do anything the actions of its readers will always be completely dependant on themself as a person books transfer knowledge or thoughts no more effectively or dangerous than a theoretical discussion with a human
Another "dangerous" book example could be "The Neverending Story," which sucks the reader into its own fictional world, and gradually causes you to forget your real life. (In a way, it's kind of similar to Neverland, but in book form.)
I have never seen the Neverending Story described like that, I don't remember there being any serious warnings given to Bastien in the novel, doesn't the bookseller just hand it to him? This is a seriously underrated comment, I'd love to see some property like The Librarians or the SCP Wiki do a shout out by giving a line or two to the "real" Neverending Story, locked away so it can't suck anyone in. (No, don't go and make an SCP about it, that's not how the SCP Wiki works, they no longer accept tribute SCPs)
"How to think critically so the text doesn't decide our feelings for us" What an amazing line. I have read so many books in my years that have made me feel uncomfortable because I knew the author was pushing their ideaoligy hard through the characters and events. So that line really resonated with me.
In the movie "Conspiracy Theory," there's a subliminal implant in brainwashed sleeper agents to keep buying copies of "Catcher in the Rye," so that if one of their agents goes rogue, they can look for anyone recently buying a copy of it. Also, there's an episode of "South Park," where the boys write a book called "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs," which everyone in town sees as a masterpiece, reading messages into it that were never intended, satirizing people's reactions to "Catcher in the Rye."
Im almost certain the anachist cookbook that's on amazon is a newer edited version with recipies changed to be less dangerous, that's why it is still sold
In the podcast, The Magnus Archives, there are a number of books under the name Jurgen Lightner that quite literally kill or at least, make you do things. Sort've a cross between The Necronomocon and The King In Yellow, but depending on the subject of the book, it's much worse. Like for instance, A Guest For Mr. Spider. For those who know, you know...
I bought the Anarchist Cookbook a few years ago on Amazon because I thought it was some sort of joke. I read a bit of it, found that I was horribly wrong, and realized I’m probably on a list somewhere now. Edit: typo
I think there is an interesting implication here: that a book can be dangerous not only for the material it contains, but for the feelings it stirs for those who read it. 8:59 Please like this just I can come back and read this line. As a Lit student, I need to remember it.
_"While the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power, words offer the means to meaning and, for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth..."_ - V for Vendetta.
SCP-033 is kind of like that. It proves the existence of a previously unknown integer, named θ', that completely breaks all computing devices if it's integrated with them.
@@localvega688 Or Alien Geometries from other dimensions, described by Eldritch Equations that have new number systems too complex for the human mind. Lovecraft had a fear of Maths, but I'd be looking for such anomalies
So good I just watched it twice. Has great timing, as 2 days ago I started trying to compile a list of documents to teach an AI what NOT to do. This just gave me a ton. Tysm!
Reading does not lead to hate crime, terrorism, or ending your own life. Those are actions separate from ideas. If a person commits such an act then they were susceptible to committing such acts regardless of the influence The question is whether or not there are ideas which having them in your head are inherently harmful simply as ideas. There are absolutely books that will irrevocably damage the soul. An easy example is 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade (there's a reason his name is the root of the word Sadism) I'm sure others can think of works they wish they could purge from their minds but are forced to live with because they were unlucky to encounter them. These are the books too dangerous to read
@@FelicityUwUI'm about 2/3rds of the way through the book. So far, it's mostly building a case for why the insistence to stay non-violent within the environmentalist movement may actually be detrimental to its cause. It argues that the climate crisis is potentially one of the greatest crises humanity has ever faced, and that more violence has been instigated by protestors, activists and rebels for much less severe threats. It also argues that having a more extremist and militant side of a movement aids in accomplishing the more moderate goals, and it cites examples in the american civil rights movement, the ending of apartheid in south africa, and more. It never outright explains how to actually blow up a pipeline.
@@thegamesforreal1673 a tree was killed for that book on violent climate protests and it won’t even tell me what it promised me to? SMH dude, clickbate really did exist back then
Funnily enough, the modern edition of _Mein Kampf_ provides a good example of how to treat "dangerous" books. Only one publisher has the copyright to the material, and their edition doesn't just reprint the original text and call it a day. The introduction discusses the history of Hitler, the Nazi party, and their crimes and explores why this book in particular became as significant as it did. The text itself, meanwhile, is heavily annotated with footnotes debunking its false claims, adding missing context and so forth. This way it's still possible to read the original text, but at the same time you'll be reading in-depth critical commentary that prevents you from simply blindly consuming it
I always interrupted the King in Yellow play as informing its reader to a truth about reality, and that existential horror was what drove them mad. (Or more accurately, let them see what others could not and so be _considered_ insane.) I never thought it made them feel too much.
I would never advocate censoring information with the flimsy justification of "it could hurt people if they decided to use it badly" especially in cases where it could be useful information as well. That statement of justification is true of practically anything. Like the books bludgeoning someone as you mentioned in the beginning. If someone bludgeons someone else with a book we don't ban books or paper.
The anarchiats choikbook from second publication onward is heavily censored compared to the first edition. Many of the more dangerous recipes have been removed or edited to be incorrect so as to prevent people using it as informational and instructional literature
Im so mad that Tale Foundry doesn't have at least 10 million subscribers, if you see this comment you are morally obligated to subscribe to Tale Foundry
I just got some ideas for devising that "story so beautiful it breaks the human mind", then a character experimenting with such a craft, inflicting it upon those near 'em, and then laughing like a mastermind while rolling it out en masse. I don't know why, but something about the premise made for a hilarious supervillain plot hook. That aside, there's a certain trend of trying to delete ideas, and that's what banning and combat are all about. Entire ideologies are forbidden for similar reasons, as if experiencing specific emotions is something those of power are trying to wholesale prevent. The book "Rage" merely poses a compelling and necessary question, to which my own comic book proposes the answer: *Sic Semper Tyrannis!*
This reminds me of a song that was banned because suicides spiked whenever it was played on the radio. It was a sad song and apparently made a lot of people very sad and depressed. They talked about it on QI if you're interested, that's where I heard of it.
I was thinking about a song too, a totally different reason though. Polly, by Nirvana was written to show how inhuman some people doing a specific nasty thing could be, but ended up being used as a mantra by some of those same people who missed the point entirely. I imagine it might have been part of what lead to Kurt's end...
@@AbstractStew Pretty sure that it was Gloomy Sunday. I`m not sure if this is true, but the version of the story I've heard is that the original, Hungarian, version was banned after an outbreak of people self-deleting while listening to that song. Then it was translated to English, and the most cheerful Jazz singer in history, Billie Holiday, recorded her own classic version. According to legend, the same thing happened in both America and England, and at least the BBC, and possibly some US radio stations as well, banned Billie's version for decades. Bjork did a great cover of it, too!
Reading the first twighlight book in high school did kill my enjoyment in reading for many years and sucked the sould right out of me. That was a pretty deadly book if I may say so myself. One of the riskiest things I've ever done.
15:18 A book that everyone was assigned to read in high school? Statistically speaking, I would be surprised if it didn't have a body count associated to it. By the way, from my favorite list of books that kill comes the one in **spoilers** The Name of the Rose: a book with its pages coated with a deadly poison, so anyone who might read it would die before being able to divulge its contents.
That diary you mentioned from Harry Potter not only drained your life energy, it was also an AI personal assistant, created by a sadistic child. He essentially trained this AI with his malicious personality, making AI personal assistant just as evil as he is, but unlike a malicious ChatGBT like WormGBT or PoisonGBT, the diary of Tom Riddle can not only hack cybernetic computers connected to the internet but also hack human brains and can generate its own physical Avatar to carry out actions on its own.
Probably the most 'dangerous' book I've experienced is easily 'Blood Meridian'. Not that it supports any violence but the sheer volume of it and its disgusting ending with incredible writing techniques.
Alright, so the Anarchists Cookbook... I got my hands on a copy years ago for academic purposes, and it's profile is hugely over-exaggerated in media. There's generally two kinds of information in the book: - Info that is so simple any random person could figure it out on their own. - And info so complicated you need a chemistry degree just to understand what you're looking at. There's not really much of an attempt to bridge the two either, so most of the people who do find themselves in possession of a copy either won't be able to use the majority of its contents, or won't need any of it because they *already know* how to do complex chemistry. More likely, people will just own a copy because its an edgy thing to own. Like owning a copy of the Satanic bible, which they probably never bothered to read either. It's just *a thing rebels are supposed to have* and so they get a copy. If someone was serious about causing problems, they'd probably be better served picking up surplus military training manuals in the 70s and 80s, unless all they wanted the cookbook for was recreational drug recopies - which actually make up the *majority* of its contents. It really is more 'cookbook' than 'anarchy'. Put it on the coffee table. A nice conversation starter during the holidays - probably the most dangerous thing the average person could do with it, lacking a 3rd year university chemistry course. No one is going to "learn" to make a bomb from it. Either you already have most of the knowledge to do so, and maybe it can provide a few things weren't covered in class, or you don't. If you don't; it will not help you any more than staring at a chemistry textbook you can probably find at your local library, and also not understand.
Superb video, as always. In topic of books, both "Sorrows of young Werther" and "The catcher in the rye" are actually a compulsory school reading book in Poland Educational System.
You forgot the most recent dangerous books, Medschool Textbooks. Reading them either makes you believe you have the illnesses it describes or gain 20+ lbs before finishing them.
Well done on this. It’s a hard topic to cover but I think you did a good job doing it in your own way. Here’s hoping we can all have access to the knowledge that we need one day.
Dang dude, you should really put an infohazard warning on this video! Everything is available on the Internet somewhere and even though some of these books are banned, they can still be dug up with a dedicated search! Names have power and even just naming some of these books is enough to allow people to find them.
@@localvega688 that may be so, but by naming and shaming they're also lighting the beacon to any viewers who may be susceptible to the toxic views of the books they mention. Plenty of people who intend to do good can be persuaded down the path of evil by charismatic leaders and basically every book mentioned was written by one. Hence the request for an info hazard warning. Not all information is safe for public consumption. As someone who wants to educate people as well as possible, some things are beyond some humans, and not everyone (in fact not most people) are immune to charismatic influence.
@@Jakob165 You may not realize it but what you just said is the justification that every tyrant ever has used to push censorship. The naming and shaming part really reeks of cancel culture as well... 😨
Just like the subject of suicide being taboo hiding these books away doesn’t solve the underlying problem, the subjects in these books should be openly discussed and debated
i made a huge multi-paragraph long reply but i think i can distill it down to a few sentences: In short, banning these books (and words) gives emotional credence to these oppressive ideologies where they don't deserve it, and also allows them to poison the well of many political discussions where it would be otherwise shameful in a free society. These people who killed hundreds of innocents need only think those individuals are collectively responsible for any injustice that their group commits, while simultaneously ignoring everything good they do. That type of idiotic double-think can be expressed and influenced from a book, but requires an exceptionally miserable existence, mentally or physically, for real harm to be possible. So yeah, the turner diaries suck, but banning it does nothing for us, and helps them. This goes for all excessively violent, ideological media.
I feel like you guys would really enjoy Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei. its almost like the next evolution of books influencing people to do evil, but instead of books, it's with computers. It's a super fun and short read too. Love the content!!
Ah, the Necronomicon. The McGuffin of the only gumshoe/Chthulhu mashup every made: _Cast a Deadly Spell,_ starring Fred Ward as grumpy detective Phil Lovecraft, Julianne Moore as duplicitous _chanteuse_ Connie Stone, Clancy Brown as arrogant mob boss Harry Dunwich, and David Warner as obsessive occult scholar Amos Hackshaw. Everyone uses magic in 1948 Los Angeles except Lovecraft, staunch independent that he is, who gets caught up in the search for the Necronomicon, and the dangers that result in the calling of Cthulhu. If you haven't seen it, you must dig it up. It's filled with some of the most quotable lines ever written. "Magic. Gives me the shakes what you can buy in this town." "Good ol' Phil, subtle as a flagpole." Just great stuff!
Lord of the Flies is a rough book, as is a similar book Let's Go Play at the Adams'. Both books have otherwise good children committing very adult evils.
"No book can kill you on its own" Me: *knows that there's a book about the dangers of green dye/wallpaper and how it poisons people, with ACTUAL EXAMPLES of the poison wallpaper so the readers know what to avoid.*
0:02 the thing is the great old ones don’t drive you insane just by looking at it, it’s by trying to understand it that you go mad, it’s best if you just accept is as a thing that exists and move on.
In Unordinary, there is a banned book by the same name. The book inspires people to become "vigilanties," which is something that is in direct odds with the in universe societal power structure. It's a good story, not perfect, yet i do find it rather entertaining.
Just in case anyone reading OP's comment doesn't know yet, "Unordinary" (aside from an in-universe banned book) is a Korean web comic available to (legally) read on Webtoon [yes, even in English].
Yeah, it's basically a case of "if you weren't dead-set on making everything out to be this one specific way it wouldn't be that bad a story". I don't recall John's dad writing the story specifically as a critique of the societal structure (though I've fallen very far behind on update and don't remember very well his expositions on why he wrote it aside from being a book for John), though.
Another lesson apart from critically examining the content of a story would be to continue reading other books of its kind, explore the genre, look at other authors. Don't get stuck with that one book as if it were your Bible, the only thing containing truth. The obvious danger in censoring things is that it's rather inconsistent: learning chemistry could also teach you how to make bombs, watching wacky science shows can do the same and instill people with the example of how it goes right, doing more damage than perhaps the Anarchist Cookbook ever did. We need to continue reading, contrast ideas, debate them with others and not brood on them endlessly. I saw a quote recently in a bookshop that cautions people who read little because they will read the wrong things first.
I loved this episode. There's a deep emotional, almost spiritual mentality to the dangers of books. I think probably one of my favorite quotes from any movie comes from ready player One and I'm not even sure if this was in the book but it might have been. "Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on the back of a chewing-gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe"
The Cookbook in theory is noble, A book for people (maybe in not-so-free places) to have some way of self-defense or direct action. But in practice, it's basically the more official version of "Anarchy is when I break windows and draw 'A' symbols". Also I prefer the FNB Cookbook, with actual (meal) recipes.
Was almost killed by a dictionary once....fell off top shelf and missed my head by millimeters. The thing was MASSIVE! Catcher in the Rye was the single most boring book i was ever forced to read.
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Hi! Love your videos!
Thanks for the second warning at 7:12 - but it's actually referring to the incorrect timestamp to skip to: it reads 7:37 but probably should be 8:37.
I'm certain that the anarchists cookbook is left on amazon so they have a digital record of who bought it when. Just a guess though.
I thought it was going to include Liz Truss' latest book...😊
You said, "leather bound" like it isn't human skin. 😂
2 ways a book can kill you:
1) the knowledge in it being a cogito hazard
2) by moving fast enough.
Some commenters also mantioned that if said book is particularly old, it can contain dangerous amount of Arsenic or black mold. I would also mantion that it can be so dusty that it can trigger asthma attack in some people
Or, rather, by moving fast enough then suddenly stopping on you
Well said 😂
@@pedroff_1 Not just speed but also weight. I have no fear of a dime store paperback. But a medieval tome as big as a person? I probably won't be taking it off the shelf without wearing a helmet.
@@nabra97yeah, see option 1.)
the mold and arsenic is the real eldritch secrets of the book!
Any book can kill you if you're unlucky enough
Me: goes to old library
Book that hasn't been opened in 30 years: Curse of black mold!
True
You’re*
Bonk. D:
@@GIBBO4182 fixed it
The Necromicon just sounds like the Terraria Wiki, "Contains knowledge of Eldritch Entities, How to beat them and how to summon them".
YESSSS
People just go straight to summoning without bothering to read about beating
the title means “dead name book” or maybe “book of dead names”
@@JStainto If you look at the end of the book you will see a list of citations and chain links with the name of the respective source.
a trans personsnightmare @@JStainto
What do you call an evil book that tries to eat you?
A Necro-nomnomnom-icon.
There actually is a cookbook with (almost) that name.
@@Zandaarl The necronomnomnom
@Zandaarl Link plz?
@@dubuyajay9964 look up the necronomnomnom
@@dubuyajay9964 google?
The turner diary ban and the anarchist cookbook lack of ban in Canada makes for an interesting statement. “Telling someone how to build a bomb is less dangerous than giving someone a reason to.”
That statement is very true
The Anarchist Cookbook starts off with the authors political beliefs critical of the US government.
@@mEmory______ ...Were you even listening to the part about the Turner Diaries?
@WobblesandBean what about them? I just thought that since the above comment implied that the Cookbook had no political ideas or reasons I would point out that it wasn't the case.
@@mEmory______ i wasn’t trying to imply that. My main point was that a book centered around “here’s why we should do this” can be more dangerous than a book that is centered around “here is how to do this” at least at extremes like bombings and stuff. My belief from this video that the Turner Diaries is generally more politically motivating to the group it is trying to appeal to. Or the groups that agree with it
There's also the case of books made with arsenic, either to produce brilliantly coloured covers or, in one case, to drive home how dangerous arsenic-based dyes in wallpaper, clothing, etc were. The latter was sold with a "do not let children touch this" warning. And arsenic never degrades, so they're exactly as toxic as they day they were made.
I will never fail to be gobsmacked at the sheer stupidity of people, especially kids. "Hey, don't touch this, it will literally kill you." kids:
@@WobblesandBean*puts into mouth*
At first, I thought that's what this video was about.
@@brianroberts783same, imagine my disappointment when it wasn’t mentioned at all.
In case anyone in the replies to this comment is wondering the book in question was called "Shadows of the Walls of Death" and I know this because a different comment on this video mentioned it
NGL The quality of these videos legit reminds me of broadcast educational television like on PBS. I'm genuinely very impressed at how high quality the animations and illustrations are for these videos. I've learned a lot from this channel but I am never not amazed by how quality everything is in these videos.
Way better than PBS too.
I haven't seen anything this good on PBS since I was 16.
I think it's A.I.
I think the most dangerous thing about the Anarchist's Cookbook might well be the bits that are *almost* right but will probably get you killed.
yeah there is a surprising amount of straight up false information in there that can end up looking like a suicide if you do them
That sounds like "Darwin passages," aka, a method for keeping [those who do not look to secondary sources to confirm information] from fully using the contents of the book. If you trust primary sources without question, you are NOT a leader in the revolution, you are but a pawn in somebody else's game, and pawns are expendable.
@@andrewdreasler428 And if you don't have access to any other sources?
@@MySerpentine then enjoy your banandine, comrade
@@talesofgore9424 LOL
"Shadows of the Walls of Death" can literally kill you if you don't handle it with gloves because it contains samples of various arsenic containing wallpaper. There are also some emerald green books that used arsenic to color their book covers.
I've seen it at the MSU art museum.
in a similar vein, marie curies diary is sealed away with her corpse, as both are still heavily irradiated.
Just like the book from The Name of the Rose!
A friend of mine that went to an all girls highschool had some english lessons examining the writings of charles manson. The goal of these lessons was to teach critical thinking and how to identify the ways the author would manipulate young women. A worrying number of girls in that class walk away thinking that charles manson was charming and had a good point.
I would want to lay some groundwork before doing something like that. I guess, though, Manson's message was custom-optimized for that audience, so maybe just no. Also, they always have a good point, that's how they convince people to follow them, and how they hide all their bad points.
Reminds me of my senior high school year, where we read 1984 and a large portion of the guys in that class walked away doing the edgelord "Lol that society is kinda based though" bit
@pancakes8670 wow. I could understand Brave New World (since it's more simiar to dystopian consumer capitalism ie control via manipulation, drugs, entertainment, etc ) but 1984 is so over the top authoritarian fascist what would be the appeal in being watched 24/7 and they have to escape just to get laid.
@@Vinemaple Yes critical thinking is absolutely necessary when dealing with the writings / ravings of a jackass like Manson (or really for anything/anyone). Villains don't just get people to follow them by saying all bad things all the time; they usually have a lot of charisma and say just enough good things to get people on their train before they go off and leave for crazytown. Unfortunately very rarely to the passengers get to go up and shoot the engineer or derail the crazytrain (NOTICE I am making a METAPHOR here. If you don't know what that is, go look up 'metaphor' and then reread this... I was suggesting it is unfortunate that Manson's followers all didn't collectively bring him down before he harmed anyone, instead of what actually happened, which is them going outwardly and harming innocents. I am not advocating for anyone doing anything bad involving an actual train). [and PS the "you" is directed at more naive readers; not necessarily you @vinemaple, since you are probably already well aware of metaphors]
@@rickwrites2612 Well, some people are into that kind of thing. They may have missed the subtext, at that age.
Well, John Wick did kill that big Russian dude in the library by smashing a book between his jaws.
knowledge is power
@@marcusrauch4223 “knowledge is power”
So is John Wick.
@@salvit6024 I would guess John Wick is this generation's Chuck Norris! 🤣
Boban is a really nice guy!
the guy was serbian
russians can't get this big
"This Book Will Kill You"
And that is why kids the Librarian is an Orangutan.
Terry Pratchett?
@@hiya-de5hd Hell yeah
Hahaha.... Love that reference!
Ook!
Some errant magic transformed him, and he has passionately resisted any attempt to change him back.
Can't say I blame him.
Banning books honestly just makes me want to read them more.
The only reason I've not found a copy of Anarchists Cookbook is because the author genuinely regrets publishing it and asks people not to buy/sell/read the book. Since my impulse to own or read a banned book is a freedom of speech matter, I'll respect the wishes of the one who's speech this book represents.
I try to own a copy of every book actually banned.
@@FairbrookWingates Look around garage sales, you could probably find one already in circulation. Not perfect, but it's a partial solution.
I thought I, being the nosy little sucker that I am, would be the same. But noooope :P When a local bookstore had a banned book sale (that they very loudly advertised as having been obtained through off-the-grid means, like donations and rummage sales and not Amazon or smth), I wasn't interested in the least. Not even when the owner who, for the record, I know and (somewhat) trust, asked me if I wanted to take a peek. The fanfare around the books being banned made me feel like they all suck and their only selling point is morbid curiosity.
All these books are online. Sail the high seas, and you'll find the treasure you seek.
I'm surprised Nami no Tou wasn't brought up briefly, as much like the effect The Sorrows had, this novel may have supposedly been what further pushed people to see the lonely Aokigahara forest as a place to die, eventually creating its own popular folklore.
yeah I like Nami too esp. when she control the weather.
The line, "Ideas are slippery, they can happen in unexpected places whether intended or not" really hit me. Well done, TF.
"Honey, Fred's ideas are... dangerous."
"But Mom, all he wants to do is be left alone, and not have to give half of what he grows to the Council."
"What your mother means is, if you don't stop trying to defend Fred, the Council will come after *you* next. And unlike Fred, they can come and take you away, any time they want."
I was thinking the same.
@@localvega688 "honey, you should start an Organization against the council, maybe start calling the council The System, you will do alright with a lot of people, honey, just... fight the system, honey" and thats how honey wrote a cookbook and his diaries
Thank you for this one, as slippery and delicate as this topic is. So many people who approach it with the message of trying to tell others "what to think". Rather, this is very refreshing and heart warming that in the end, what you ask is for people "to think"
The pen is mightier than the sword…but you gotta hold it just right 😵💫
According to Pratchett
"... but only if the sword is very small and the pen is very sharp"
Or if you are John Wick.
John Wick? Is that you?
The King in Yellow being 'too moving' really resonated with me. I have extreme anxiety, so if I read a book that's especially thought-provoking, I sometimes physically hurt with the intensity of the whirlwind in my head. I still read them, though. I understand why The King in Yellow would still be so sought-after despite the ban on it.
On a gentler scale, this is one reason why bad movies continue to survive in the face of better ones: sometimes one doesn't want to have your heart broken in a movie theater, one just wants to relax for a few hours and look at something pretty... and crudely cathartic.
Having read it, there's really nothing to it as the short stories in the first part are just stories of how the book "The King in Yellow" affected them or someone close to them. Nothing truly mind-altering or horrific. Eerie, yes, but more obscure and Lovecraftian, which I understand is where Lovecraft got his inspiration.
As Stephen King once said,
"My book did not break Cox, Pierce, Carneal, or Loukaitis, or turn them into killers; they found something in my book that spoke to them because they were already broken. Yet I did see Rage as a possible accelerant, which is why I pulled it from sale. You don't leave a can of gasoline where a boy with firebug tendencies can lay hands on it."
It perfectly explains how a book can influence its readers and sometimes fiction can turn into reality because of people resonating with the books they read
see the cautionary book "the handmaid's tale" which the modern gop seem to be using as an instruction manual
Fun fact: there are "sequels" to the Anarchist Cookbook, from several authors, which go into detail about everything from making drugs and medicine from plants to making biodiesel. The poorly-bound example i found at a yard sale was specifically about homemade medicine, but it had three separate chapters about different kinds of drugs...
It mentioned the Anarchist's Cookbook in the dedication, as inspiration for its creation.
I also have a book from 1964 about how to make fireworks. Most of the ingredients aren't readily available anymore, but some of the larger models described are terrifying. Apparently safety and common sense were not fixtures the author considered important.
Immediately reminded of one of my favorite "South Park" episodes: "The Tale of Scroty McBoogerballs"
"The Catcher in the Rye" is taken off South Park Elementary ban list and while reading it, our main cast of four find the book lackluster. They then write a book so juvenile and crass most people can't read it without an intense visceral reaction.
The rest of the episode deals with things like how one gets a book banned and the will of the artist vs. The interpretation of the audience.
I need to watch that episode!
Harvard has a book with nothing but wallpaper samples in it. Might actually be the deadliest book, or at least the most dangerous. It's called Shadows from the walls of death (awesome title!) Everything is an eerie green. That green pigment, comes from arsenic. Not what the video was about, but it did feel like it was a notable exception.
I remember being a young teen and having access to the anarchist cookbook online. It was free. Lots of people knew about it. Most of us read at least some of it. Yet most of us never did anything more with the information. I don't know if the site is still available, but I think even if it is, the people who would use it for nefarious means would find the info even if is wasn't available. Bad people do bad things no matter what. I just hope I've raised my kids as well as my dad raised me.
There's a book called "Shadows From the Walls Of Death" with wallpaper samples that contain enough arsenic that warrant specialized containment. My brother and I saw it on display at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. It was in a protective case to protect visitors.
Imagine that, an artifact kept in a case not to prevent it from being stolen, but to prevent it from harming whoever might touch it.
The Necronomicon is the kind of book that opens you more than you open it.
In Deep R'lyeh book read you!
Just like the box of ravishment.
So that's what all the tentacles are for
🥵
This can actually start a debate about how we are promoting the society to become childish and the dangers that come with that. Specially places like TH-cam, where you could get demonetized for saying a word the algorithm doesn't like.
Right? Its almost like the content of the books itself isnt the problem💀
This argument has been ongoing for decades (I remember such arguments growing up in the '80's). We just need to amplify it and not let it be ignored.
I remember a Video Essay that explained UnderTale’s story. One of the 3 main paths is the Genocide Route. The Creator had to refer to it as “No Mercy” to nor be Demonetized. Just knowing makes it feel like Profanity or something. Don’t say sex, that’s a bbaadd wwoorrdd
We seem to confuse the difference between banned and limited or restricted. Some "banned" books are just age restricted, but people ignore that fact to make their point.
More than a few book "bans" are, in all sincerity and honesty, actually about curriculum. There's a world of difference between banning a book, and promoting it as a worthwhile source of information.
Trust me, I have _no_ doubt that I would very much hate some of the book "bans", thinking that the book really, really should be part of the curriculum. Still, I wish people would be honest about what is actually happening.
The biggest trick people pull is to claim that a book being removed from the compulsory reading list for some 5th grade class in a single rural Kentucky school is the same as “OH MY GOD THEY’RE BURNING BOOKS AND DISAPPEARING PEOPLE WHO TRY TO READ THEM AAAAHHHH!”
Age restricting is still a form of banning.
@@localvega688 Restricted means limited in extent, number, scope, or action. Prohibited means that has been forbidden; banned.
@@ObsidianFallen That is what banned means. Even the "Approved" people are allowed to read the banned books. It's "Rules for thee, but not for me". 👑
I live in Germany, here “Mein Kampf” (Hitlers diary) is rightfully banned but the commentated version is even read in some schools (History class) so I think that just proves the point here :)
I disagree with it ever being right to ban a book. That said, I am glad schools are at least using the commentated versions to warn of the dangers of evil people in power.
@@localvega688 well I strongly disagree the book is full of NAZI propaganda wich and they are framed as good and could lead people especially ones with less education to rethink there beliefs. the commentated version gives context and explains why those beliefs are bad, there’s always a reason why something is banned though some reasons might not seem reasonable at first. of curse there are probably books wich are unrightfully banned but to say there aren’t any books wich are rightfully banned is delusional.
@@milimii4011 This isn't about that book being right or even anything more than a pseudo-intellectual rant by a madman. This is about giving the government the right to dictate what a person can read by means of force is an evil thing. The fact there are some people who MIGHT do bad things is not an argument.
@@localvega688 so let me get this straight after your logic we shouldn’t ban books because only a minority would do evil with the information contained in them? But after that logic we couldn’t ban anything because well of course a minority would do bad things with (example) drugs but not everyone right? So where do we draw the line between it’s not okay to ban books but it’s okay to ban everything else if that even is the case?
@@milimii4011 You do realize that the war on drugs is not only a losing war but has CREATED the drug cartels. Notice how people aren't in the streets murdering eachother over cigarettes? Nearly all murders in the US are due to the seller end of the drug trade. ⚰
"Rage" is legit an excellent book. I understand why King pulled it, but it was an excellent read. Would absolutely recommend.
Yeah, Rage was a fascinating read.
King is outstanding, he’s the most adapted author alive for a reason.
I think this to me highlights how powerful knowledge and perspective together truly are. Any information learned or reflected on can profoundly influence how someone sees the world, others and themselves. But changing perspective in turn influences how we interact with the world, others and ourselves.
For better or worse...
Most times I'm less than appreciative of ad spots at the end of videos but yours are actually soothing to listen to especially after a video like this one.
It's so true than banning a book really only elevates it's notoriety and often times just applying a bit more academic understanding and some context can sort it out fine. I am reminded, however, on the topic of restricting access to objectionable content and tools of violence; we'll just find some other way to crudely display our ugly, broken sense of self.
The most dangerous book I knew of before this was Malleus Maleficarum. The book that fanned the fire of the witch trials.
You naver heard of the book hitler wrote?
That was the first book I thought of, in the line of properly dangerous real-world books!
@@jonberg5331 I thought for sure that was the book our robot friend was going to mention rather than that Turner one.
@@localvega688 we all know that one. not fun to talk about it
its interesting you mentioned goethe's werther! im from germany, i remember my high school literature teacher telling us that some years before our school time (so around early or mid 2000s i think?) a girl from our school killed herself (threw herself off a local tower monument) cause she was heatbroken due to werther. take it with a grain of salt if it was really cause of werther, but she did kill herself. just something i still remember, so it was interesting hearing it here as well.
Yes, that smells folkloric, but even if it is, it'd be a sort of social commentary on how poorly our society fosters our children's _emotional_ maturity.
Although not a girl, as a person with some pretty intense / heavy emotions as a teen,
who fell in love a few times, and had my heart broken etc.
I can imagine that it doesn't take much to push a person who can get that high-strung (hormonal) over the edge.
A book might 'do it'.
It's not the book's FAULT, of course, but sometimes people who are already prone to doing something,
may latch onto an excuse for doing it.
I will say, however, that as a polyamorous person, I got messed up by Western society (well specifically 20th century USA)'s mentality of 'one true love' and 'finding your soulmate', and the complaints floated by some about 'why don't you settle down with one perfect person?' etc etc.
While well-intentioned, all that kind of propagandistic crap can mess someone up who isn't oriented like that,
since
(besides the monogamy vs polyamory difference, which which I have less problem since I know monogamous people will always outnumber polyamorous people by a large degree; that is the more usual orientation)
it presupposes that:
1. there IS someone out there who is a 'perfect fit' for another person.
While with billions of people on the planet, that might be true, but does the unknown original author / creator of that 'soulmate' 'perfect fit' concept expect everyone to be combing through all people on the planet to find the 'one true perfect person' ?!?!?!
(In other words, there is not enough onus put upon the protagonist to _THEMSELVES_ get it together and be someone others would find worthy of dating, instead of just voyeuristically 'window shopping' for a partner, like on a dating app for example)
2. Also, some of this crap tends to be from a male perspective and a bit objectifying.
As a person who already unfortunately tends to objectify people, I greatly dislike any philosophy which would encourage me to do so of a potential love interest / girlfriend, (i. e. 'do they look the way you want them to look?' 'do they act the way you want them to act?') instead of meeting them on an equal level as a friend, and each person making allowances and adjustments for the other person's quite human non-perfection, and foibles.
The latter is way more grown-up, mature, and also egalitarian and humanistic towards the other person, but unfortunately that's not a lot of what I was brought up on in fairy tales, romance novels and the like.
I WAS brought up to treat people decently, and be chivalrous etc. which is good;
but that can conflict with the Stepford-Wives-and/or-Ruby-Sparks-designer-partner-objectification of finding
'one's perfect partner' or 'true soulmate'
espoused in classic romance narratives and couched in so much OTHER ethics (also taught along with it in those same books),
that it's made to look like a 'good thing'
(and this isn't just about visual 'perfection' either, but also about having a personality one likes, being into things...
basically grocery-store-shopping or genetic-engineering or genie-bottle-wishing these things about one's imagined partner).
An interesting thing to note about "Catcher In The Rye" being included in this list is that it was also used as a major plot device in the "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" anime wherein the hacker known as The Laughing Man uses a line from the book as part of his logo. He goes on to inspire other copycats as well, all of whom adopt the same emblem as a meme. There's a part in the series where the detectives of Section 9 even refer to "The Salinger Angle" as a hypothesis for the true motives and methods behind The Laughing Man's actions and use that as a means of tracking him down.
The most scareing story I have read, or more played actually, was "Hello Charlotte". It does something really weird with you, it combines feelings of spirituality with mass suicide... It is scary af.
Been watching a playthrough of it. Haven't finished it yet but OH BOY. It's got some rough stuff in there and is only pretending to be slightly subtle.
I didn’t expect to see another Hello Charlotte fan in the comments here, but I thought of my experiences with that game while watching this too. While I love that game, and I think I can say that I and most people I know can approach the game with enough critical discernment to recognize the difference between depiction and endorsement, I can definitely see how some of the more sensitive topics could be acted on harmfully if not handled carefully.
I love hello Charlotte, I always saw it more as a surreal story than a terrifying one but it certainly handles many delicate themes that if you think about them a little more they are deeply disturbing
After seeing the bit about The Catcher in the Rye I think I now know why so many news sites began scaremongering about the movie Joker so much.
those news sites were trying to wishcast a Joker movie mass shooting into manifesting for some reason. One of the big humor websites (Cracked? ) called them out on it.
@talesofgore9424 They wanted a mass shooting so they could milk it for ratings and most likely push a narrative that movies like the Joker were bad for America and it's people, "This movie caused a shooting! We should ban it and ignore any ideas it might put in people's heads!"
That is very apt.
@@talesofgore9424 Did they call out the actual authors of the actual articles? And did said authors turn around and squeal on editors and other people trying to get them to deliver that kind of story?
Haven't seen the whole video but I have to say that "The Book Thief" immediately commes to mind, as it is a story about the power of words and their danger, specially by emphasizing the way that Hitler used words to cultivate his regime of hatred during World War II.
I remember seeing the movie. That was certainly a Jolly watch….
The book is on my bucket list
@luisjauregui2197 I loved the book thief (btw I love your pfp)
A very delicate subject handled gently and impartially. I am genuinely impressed, and quite relieved that you were able to tackle this subject as well as you were. VERY good video.
12:34 one fascinating example of "Writer makes something that the fans interperate in a different way" is Rorschach from the Watchmen series, I can't remember the exact details sadly but Alan Moore's original interperitations of the character as a deconstructive parody of characters like Mr. A and The Question, a character meant to mock those objectivist Blacka and White morality. But in spite of his ridicule, readers and watchers of the Watchmen series fell in love with the character and propped him up in ways that Moore was shocked to see
A good cautionary tale for those who create strawmen... and for anyone who wants to start writing parody or satire.
Paul Verhoeven: First time?
I'd argue there is no dangerous books out there, just dangerous people.
Exactly this!
Abso-freakin-lutety no!
If some children grow up reading the turner diaries, it can definitely shape how they think and act. It’s the people so many times, but what they are taught, what they listen to, what they read shapes who they are. If they grew up hearing that “we and they are different and that the cosmic law eternally punishes those who are not us” they are likely to be similarly extremist and inhuman. Another quote that I equally disagree with is “it’s not the religion but the people”
i completely agree, books are just tools, they do not force you to do anything
the actions of its readers will always be completely dependant on themself as a person
books transfer knowledge or thoughts no more effectively or dangerous than a theoretical discussion with a human
Another "dangerous" book example could be "The Neverending Story," which sucks the reader into its own fictional world, and gradually causes you to forget your real life. (In a way, it's kind of similar to Neverland, but in book form.)
I have never seen the Neverending Story described like that, I don't remember there being any serious warnings given to Bastien in the novel, doesn't the bookseller just hand it to him? This is a seriously underrated comment, I'd love to see some property like The Librarians or the SCP Wiki do a shout out by giving a line or two to the "real" Neverending Story, locked away so it can't suck anyone in. (No, don't go and make an SCP about it, that's not how the SCP Wiki works, they no longer accept tribute SCPs)
@@Vinemaple the multiverse is so huge, its inevitable that you would be fiction in some universes.
@@tomkatt8274 I am fiction in _all_ universes.
@@Vinemaple why
@@tomkatt8274 Because that's not how the SCP Wiki works, they no longer accept tribute SCPs.
"How to think critically so the text doesn't decide our feelings for us" What an amazing line. I have read so many books in my years that have made me feel uncomfortable because I knew the author was pushing their ideaoligy hard through the characters and events. So that line really resonated with me.
In the movie "Conspiracy Theory," there's a subliminal implant in brainwashed sleeper agents to keep buying copies of "Catcher in the Rye," so that if one of their agents goes rogue, they can look for anyone recently buying a copy of it.
Also, there's an episode of "South Park," where the boys write a book called "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs," which everyone in town sees as a masterpiece, reading messages into it that were never intended, satirizing people's reactions to "Catcher in the Rye."
The absolute MOST dangerous book in all of fiction is most certainly Stanford’s Second Journal, featuring the instructions to summon Bill Cypher…
Im almost certain the anachist cookbook that's on amazon is a newer edited version with recipies changed to be less dangerous, that's why it is still sold
In the podcast, The Magnus Archives, there are a number of books under the name Jurgen Lightner that quite literally kill or at least, make you do things. Sort've a cross between The Necronomocon and The King In Yellow, but depending on the subject of the book, it's much worse. Like for instance, A Guest For Mr. Spider. For those who know, you know...
I love the bone turners tale
Ayeeeeeeee, Magnus fans!!!!
or that one that binds people in a page
The Magnus Archives was an amazing story, with a very strange ending that I adored.
I bought the Anarchist Cookbook a few years ago on Amazon because I thought it was some sort of joke.
I read a bit of it, found that I was horribly wrong, and realized I’m probably on a list somewhere now.
Edit: typo
Necronomicon in Evil Dead tries to bite you.
Well, one of the fake ones anyway. When dealing with the Necronomicon, always make sure you don’t pick up the wrong book.
"KLAATU... BARATA... [cough] necktie! [cough]" --Ash
putting the Nom in necronomicon
I have never considered Lovecraft's Necronomicon and the Evil Dead's Necronomicons (3 books) to be the same books. But that just me.
I think there is an interesting implication here: that a book can be dangerous not only for the material it contains, but for the feelings it stirs for those who read it. 8:59
Please like this just I can come back and read this line. As a Lit student, I need to remember it.
Was expecting a Malleus Maleficarum mention, as its kind of the real world inverse of the Necronomicon.
Don't make the pipe bomb in the cookbook. It is not measured right and will blow up in your face. Same for the flamethrower.
Thx man, it's honestly gonna be useful theese days. The pipebpmb part that is. Idk abt the flamme thrower much
@@ardugaleen2231 whatever you're planning, do not
I wasn’t planning on it.
@@rmb6037 i'm not planning anything lmao just living in france yk
How do you know? Genuine Question here.
_"While the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power, words offer the means to meaning and, for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth..."_
- V for Vendetta.
I love Maths, so the idea of a Black Theorem, some piece of maths that shatter minds is so cool
Cool
SCP-033 is kind of like that. It proves the existence of a previously unknown integer, named θ', that completely breaks all computing devices if it's integrated with them.
You mean the Anti-Life Equation?
@@localvega688 Or Alien Geometries from other dimensions, described by Eldritch Equations that have new number systems too complex for the human mind. Lovecraft had a fear of Maths, but I'd be looking for such anomalies
@@André-b3w This is very interesting. I must learn more about this Lovecraft lore.
So good I just watched it twice. Has great timing, as 2 days ago I started trying to compile a list of documents to teach an AI what NOT to do. This just gave me a ton. Tysm!
Reading does not lead to hate crime, terrorism, or ending your own life. Those are actions separate from ideas. If a person commits such an act then they were susceptible to committing such acts regardless of the influence
The question is whether or not there are ideas which having them in your head are inherently harmful simply as ideas.
There are absolutely books that will irrevocably damage the soul. An easy example is 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade (there's a reason his name is the root of the word Sadism)
I'm sure others can think of works they wish they could purge from their minds but are forced to live with because they were unlucky to encounter them. These are the books too dangerous to read
"How to Blow Up a Pipeline" does NOT include any recipes for explosives or anything like that!
What does it have?
@@FelicityUwU it's more of an environmentalist ideological manifesto iirc
@@FelicityUwUI'm about 2/3rds of the way through the book. So far, it's mostly building a case for why the insistence to stay non-violent within the environmentalist movement may actually be detrimental to its cause. It argues that the climate crisis is potentially one of the greatest crises humanity has ever faced, and that more violence has been instigated by protestors, activists and rebels for much less severe threats. It also argues that having a more extremist and militant side of a movement aids in accomplishing the more moderate goals, and it cites examples in the american civil rights movement, the ending of apartheid in south africa, and more. It never outright explains how to actually blow up a pipeline.
@@thegamesforreal1673 a tree was killed for that book on violent climate protests and it won’t even tell me what it promised me to? SMH dude, clickbate really did exist back then
@@thegamesforreal1673 It's funny though because if they try to use violence people will use violence against them and they'll lose.
Funnily enough, the modern edition of _Mein Kampf_ provides a good example of how to treat "dangerous" books.
Only one publisher has the copyright to the material, and their edition doesn't just reprint the original text and call it a day.
The introduction discusses the history of Hitler, the Nazi party, and their crimes and explores why this book in particular became as significant as it did.
The text itself, meanwhile, is heavily annotated with footnotes debunking its false claims, adding missing context and so forth.
This way it's still possible to read the original text, but at the same time you'll be reading in-depth critical commentary that prevents you from simply blindly consuming it
I always interrupted the King in Yellow play as informing its reader to a truth about reality, and that existential horror was what drove them mad. (Or more accurately, let them see what others could not and so be _considered_ insane.) I never thought it made them feel too much.
"This book will kill you.
"How?"
"It's being held by John Wick."
"😳😳😳"
Any book held by John Wick > The Necronomicon
I would never advocate censoring information with the flimsy justification of "it could hurt people if they decided to use it badly" especially in cases where it could be useful information as well.
That statement of justification is true of practically anything.
Like the books bludgeoning someone as you mentioned in the beginning.
If someone bludgeons someone else with a book we don't ban books or paper.
The anarchiats choikbook from second publication onward is heavily censored compared to the first edition. Many of the more dangerous recipes have been removed or edited to be incorrect so as to prevent people using it as informational and instructional literature
always lovely to see another video from you, Tale Foundry! 💚
"This book will kill you!"
"That just makes it better😀"
2:55 Thank you for the trigger warning. I'm leaving and not watching further, but I want you to know that this is appreciated.
Agreed, I'm going to check out another video on this channel just because of the courtesy here
Im so mad that Tale Foundry doesn't have at least 10 million subscribers, if you see this comment you are morally obligated to subscribe to Tale Foundry
I concede, just subbed.
they recommend him so often, Hell, i thought i was subscribed O_o
Already have. I love his work
This made me realize I wasn’t. Thanks
I just got some ideas for devising that "story so beautiful it breaks the human mind", then a character experimenting with such a craft, inflicting it upon those near 'em, and then laughing like a mastermind while rolling it out en masse. I don't know why, but something about the premise made for a hilarious supervillain plot hook.
That aside, there's a certain trend of trying to delete ideas, and that's what banning and combat are all about. Entire ideologies are forbidden for similar reasons, as if experiencing specific emotions is something those of power are trying to wholesale prevent.
The book "Rage" merely poses a compelling and necessary question, to which my own comic book proposes the answer: *Sic Semper Tyrannis!*
This reminds me of a song that was banned because suicides spiked whenever it was played on the radio. It was a sad song and apparently made a lot of people very sad and depressed.
They talked about it on QI if you're interested, that's where I heard of it.
Was it Gloomy Sunday?
I was thinking about a song too, a totally different reason though. Polly, by Nirvana was written to show how inhuman some people doing a specific nasty thing could be, but ended up being used as a mantra by some of those same people who missed the point entirely. I imagine it might have been part of what lead to Kurt's end...
@@AbstractStew Pretty sure that it was Gloomy Sunday. I`m not sure if this is true, but the version of the story I've heard is that the original, Hungarian, version was banned after an outbreak of people self-deleting while listening to that song. Then it was translated to English, and the most cheerful Jazz singer in history, Billie Holiday, recorded her own classic version. According to legend, the same thing happened in both America and England, and at least the BBC, and possibly some US radio stations as well, banned Billie's version for decades. Bjork did a great cover of it, too!
Lavender Town Syndrome?
@@localvega688 Lavender town syndrome isn’t real
I just found your channel and I have to say this easily the most beautiful intro in TH-cam and one of the most beautiful in general.
In addition to lethal books, there are lethal ideas, not all of which are limited to books.
Reading the first twighlight book in high school did kill my enjoyment in reading for many years and sucked the sould right out of me. That was a pretty deadly book if I may say so myself. One of the riskiest things I've ever done.
15:18 A book that everyone was assigned to read in high school? Statistically speaking, I would be surprised if it didn't have a body count associated to it.
By the way, from my favorite list of books that kill comes the one in
**spoilers**
The Name of the Rose: a book with its pages coated with a deadly poison, so anyone who might read it would die before being able to divulge its contents.
That can't be a real book. Books are made to be read.
That diary you mentioned from Harry Potter not only drained your life energy, it was also an AI personal assistant, created by a sadistic child. He essentially trained this AI with his malicious personality, making AI personal assistant just as evil as he is, but unlike a malicious ChatGBT like WormGBT or PoisonGBT, the diary of Tom Riddle can not only hack cybernetic computers connected to the internet but also hack human brains and can generate its own physical Avatar to carry out actions on its own.
I occasionally empty out the insides of books and fill them with bees and put them in no bee zones
What a coincidence. I just reread the Sorrows of Young Werther yesterday in preparation for my German literature exam.
"A book can't kill you"
SCP-3023: ...right.
Probably the most 'dangerous' book I've experienced is easily 'Blood Meridian'. Not that it supports any violence but the sheer volume of it and its disgusting ending with incredible writing techniques.
Alright, so the Anarchists Cookbook... I got my hands on a copy years ago for academic purposes, and it's profile is hugely over-exaggerated in media.
There's generally two kinds of information in the book:
- Info that is so simple any random person could figure it out on their own.
- And info so complicated you need a chemistry degree just to understand what you're looking at.
There's not really much of an attempt to bridge the two either, so most of the people who do find themselves in possession of a copy either won't be able to use the majority of its contents, or won't need any of it because they *already know* how to do complex chemistry. More likely, people will just own a copy because its an edgy thing to own. Like owning a copy of the Satanic bible, which they probably never bothered to read either. It's just *a thing rebels are supposed to have* and so they get a copy.
If someone was serious about causing problems, they'd probably be better served picking up surplus military training manuals in the 70s and 80s, unless all they wanted the cookbook for was recreational drug recopies - which actually make up the *majority* of its contents.
It really is more 'cookbook' than 'anarchy'.
Put it on the coffee table. A nice conversation starter during the holidays - probably the most dangerous thing the average person could do with it, lacking a 3rd year university chemistry course.
No one is going to "learn" to make a bomb from it. Either you already have most of the knowledge to do so, and maybe it can provide a few things weren't covered in class, or you don't. If you don't; it will not help you any more than staring at a chemistry textbook you can probably find at your local library, and also not understand.
I must have got the whitewashed 90's version without the durgs LOL
Superb video, as always.
In topic of books, both "Sorrows of young Werther" and "The catcher in the rye" are actually a compulsory school reading book in Poland Educational System.
Hermaeus Mora wants to: know the books location
My god will not be denied. 🤪
You forgot the most recent dangerous books, Medschool Textbooks. Reading them either makes you believe you have the illnesses it describes or gain 20+ lbs before finishing them.
0:27 love the use of the evil dead necronomicon
Well done on this. It’s a hard topic to cover but I think you did a good job doing it in your own way. Here’s hoping we can all have access to the knowledge that we need one day.
Dang dude, you should really put an infohazard warning on this video! Everything is available on the Internet somewhere and even though some of these books are banned, they can still be dug up with a dedicated search! Names have power and even just naming some of these books is enough to allow people to find them.
That defeats the point of the video. Tale Foundry knows what they are doing.
@@localvega688 that may be so, but by naming and shaming they're also lighting the beacon to any viewers who may be susceptible to the toxic views of the books they mention. Plenty of people who intend to do good can be persuaded down the path of evil by charismatic leaders and basically every book mentioned was written by one. Hence the request for an info hazard warning. Not all information is safe for public consumption. As someone who wants to educate people as well as possible, some things are beyond some humans, and not everyone (in fact not most people) are immune to charismatic influence.
@@Jakob165 You may not realize it but what you just said is the justification that every tyrant ever has used to push censorship. The naming and shaming part really reeks of cancel culture as well... 😨
Just like the subject of suicide being taboo hiding these books away doesn’t solve the underlying problem, the subjects in these books should be openly discussed and debated
i made a huge multi-paragraph long reply but i think i can distill it down to a few sentences:
In short, banning these books (and words) gives emotional credence to these oppressive ideologies where they don't deserve it, and also allows them to poison the well of many political discussions where it would be otherwise shameful in a free society.
These people who killed hundreds of innocents need only think those individuals are collectively responsible for any injustice that their group commits, while simultaneously ignoring everything good they do. That type of idiotic double-think can be expressed and influenced from a book, but requires an exceptionally miserable existence, mentally or physically, for real harm to be possible.
So yeah, the turner diaries suck, but banning it does nothing for us, and helps them. This goes for all excessively violent, ideological media.
I feel like you guys would really enjoy Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei. its almost like the next evolution of books influencing people to do evil, but instead of books, it's with computers. It's a super fun and short read too. Love the content!!
to be specific, the novel by Aya Nishitani is what im referring to
Ah, the Necronomicon. The McGuffin of the only gumshoe/Chthulhu mashup every made: _Cast a Deadly Spell,_ starring Fred Ward as grumpy detective Phil Lovecraft, Julianne Moore as duplicitous _chanteuse_ Connie Stone, Clancy Brown as arrogant mob boss Harry Dunwich, and David Warner as obsessive occult scholar Amos Hackshaw. Everyone uses magic in 1948 Los Angeles except Lovecraft, staunch independent that he is, who gets caught up in the search for the Necronomicon, and the dangers that result in the calling of Cthulhu. If you haven't seen it, you must dig it up. It's filled with some of the most quotable lines ever written. "Magic. Gives me the shakes what you can buy in this town." "Good ol' Phil, subtle as a flagpole." Just great stuff!
Well. That went harder than I was expecting. Good on you!
Lord of the Flies is a rough book, as is a similar book Let's Go Play at the Adams'. Both books have otherwise good children committing very adult evils.
"No book can kill you on its own"
Me: *knows that there's a book about the dangers of green dye/wallpaper and how it poisons people, with ACTUAL EXAMPLES of the poison wallpaper so the readers know what to avoid.*
you'd have to try somewhat hard to die from that. usually you don't eat a book. definitely don't give it to children
0:02 the thing is the great old ones don’t drive you insane just by looking at it, it’s by trying to understand it that you go mad, it’s best if you just accept is as a thing that exists and move on.
The Anarchist Cookbook is a great book to un-alive yourself. Many recipies are more dangerous for the reader than the actual target.
In Unordinary, there is a banned book by the same name. The book inspires people to become "vigilanties," which is something that is in direct odds with the in universe societal power structure. It's a good story, not perfect, yet i do find it rather entertaining.
Just in case anyone reading OP's comment doesn't know yet, "Unordinary" (aside from an in-universe banned book) is a Korean web comic available to (legally) read on Webtoon [yes, even in English].
@@amegenshiken ooh I love Webtoon and Tower of God.
i love that webtoon! it's the first i've ever read
Yeah, it's basically a case of "if you weren't dead-set on making everything out to be this one specific way it wouldn't be that bad a story".
I don't recall John's dad writing the story specifically as a critique of the societal structure (though I've fallen very far behind on update and don't remember very well his expositions on why he wrote it aside from being a book for John), though.
Another lesson apart from critically examining the content of a story would be to continue reading other books of its kind, explore the genre, look at other authors. Don't get stuck with that one book as if it were your Bible, the only thing containing truth.
The obvious danger in censoring things is that it's rather inconsistent: learning chemistry could also teach you how to make bombs, watching wacky science shows can do the same and instill people with the example of how it goes right, doing more damage than perhaps the Anarchist Cookbook ever did.
We need to continue reading, contrast ideas, debate them with others and not brood on them endlessly. I saw a quote recently in a bookshop that cautions people who read little because they will read the wrong things first.
I loved this episode. There's a deep emotional, almost spiritual mentality to the dangers of books. I think probably one of my favorite quotes from any movie comes from ready player One and I'm not even sure if this was in the book but it might have been.
"Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on the back of a chewing-gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe"
I love the intro so much
Tale foundry read the king in yellow and cant stop posting about it, soon he will get some supernatural fate.
Ideology always determines if a book is dangerous not content
The Cookbook in theory is noble, A book for people (maybe in not-so-free places) to have some way of self-defense or direct action.
But in practice, it's basically the more official version of "Anarchy is when I break windows and draw 'A' symbols".
Also I prefer the FNB Cookbook, with actual (meal) recipes.
Was almost killed by a dictionary once....fell off top shelf and missed my head by millimeters. The thing was MASSIVE! Catcher in the Rye was the single most boring book i was ever forced to read.