Welcome to The Academy of Unusual Skills, the only school where balancing a broom on your face, flipping an oven mitt, and turning a towel into a chicken can land you on the honor roll.

Part comedy book, part hands-on training manual, The Academy of Unusual Skills teaches readers more than 100 strange, silly, oddly impressive tricks using everyday objects. From coin snatching and card throwing to hat tricks, snack-based stunts, minor miracles, science illusions, juggling, balancing, and other strangely cool life skills. This book is your official guide to becoming unusually impressive.

Written by professional comedian, stunt performer, and three-time Guinness World Record holder Matt Baker, this book combines step-by-step instructions, hilarious faux-academic nonsense, and over 350 illustrations. Each skill is designed to build coordination, confidence, creativity, and showmanship, or at the very least, give you something weird to do at parties.

Whether you're a curious kid, a bored adult, a future variety performer, a teacher looking for fun activities, or someone who simply believes life should contain more silliness, The Academy of Unusual Skills is your ticket to a world where useless is useful, silly is serious, and being bad at boring is practically required.

Classes are now in session.