Collegiate Times

Read: Weird Virginia

Halloween may be over, but if you still have a hunger for creepy weirdness, then check out “Weird Virginia.”

“Weird Virginia,” by Jeff Bahr, Troy Taylor and Loren Colemanis, is part of the popular “Weird U.S.” book series and bills itself as “Your Travel Guide to Virginia’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets.” Not surprisingly, it is a book filled with all sorts of urban legends, local attractions and roadside wonders from the commonwealth.

If you’re a Virginia native, chances are you’ve heard some of the stories in the book, such as the Bunnyman of Clifton or the legacy of Edgar Cayce.

Not every story is rooted in the supernatural. 

One chapter is devoted to strange architecture around the state and mentions the giant milkbottles of Richmond Dairy and the giant steel pencil adorning the front of the Wytheville Office Supply Store.

Discounting the weirdness of the book, it is truly a great collection of Virginia history and folkore and stands on its own, even without the oddities.

“Weird Virginia” supplements the stories with submitted accounts by fans of the “Weird U.S.” series, usually in the form of letters or interviews with Virginians. 

They shed light on the various points of view and experiences claimed by those involved with Virginia’s oddities.

“Weird Virginia” is a great read, especially if you are a native. 

You’ll find stories you’ve grown up hearing and learn a few interesting things about Virginia you probably didn’t know.

“Weird Virginia” gets five thumbs up out of five.

Buy: Aerobie AeroPress

Admittedly, I’m not much of a coffee drinker. I don’t particularly enjoy the taste, unless it is buried under a heavy layer of milk and sugar.

With that said, the opportunity to review a coffee press was viewed as an interesting departure from the usual repertoire of books, websites, films and video games.

The contraption looked like nothing I had ever seen anyone make coffee with, but this is probably because of my lack of culture in the coffee
realm. 

The AeroPress makes coffee the same way a French press does, by forcing hot water through the coffee grounds and into a mug.

What separates it from the traditional French press is what makes the AeroPress special. It uses paper filters, rather than a metal mesh, which means coffee lovers can use finer-ground beans, resulting in a more flavorful brew with less risk of coarse grits getting through.

The AeroPress is utilitarian as well. It has a funnel for the coffee grounds, which can be adapted to use on the opposite end in case your mug is too small to fit snugly over the end.

The coffee I made wasn’t that bad. I followed the coffee tips included and used hot, but not boiling water, and I noticed the cup I made tasted much less bitter than what I was used to. 

It would have been nice to have a step-by-step guide for those of us uninitiated in the coffee world, but I was able to figure out how to operate the device, which cleaned up in about the same time it took to make the coffee (about a minute).

The AeroPress comes with a $30 price tag, which seems to be a pretty middle-line price for similar products. If you’re a caffeine addict, this means it will pay for itself in about a week-and-a-half after saving you 10 trips to Starbucks.

The Aerobie is a pretty neat device, which has convinced this coffee naysayer to try the black brew again.

It gets four beans out of five.

A version of this article appeared in the Nov 2 issue of the Collegiate Times.