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4 unusual facts about Ship of Fools


Le Bateau ivre

Ship of fools, an allegory in western art depicting a ship of madmen, who sail oblivious of their destination.

Ship of fools

A 1962 novel by American writer, Katherine Anne Porter of the same name, set in the autumn of the year 1931, also uses the device of the allegory, and can be seen as an attack on a world that allowed the Second World War to happen.

Robert Plant recorded a song by this name in 1987 for his album Now and Zen; in the same year Erasure also released a song called "Ship of Fools".

Michel Foucault, who wrote Madness and Civilization, saw in the ship of fools a symbol of the consciousness of sin and evil alive in the medieval mindset and imaginative landscapes of the Renaissance.


José Greco

He also appeared in a number of films, including Sombrero (1953), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Holiday for Lovers (1959), Ship of Fools (1965), and The Proud and the Damned (1972).


see also

Berkley, Somerset

Alexander Barclay, author of The Ship of Fools, was a native of this village.

Love Parade disaster

Bruce Cullen of Parker, Colorado and founder of Trance Elements, a LoveParade artist/performer on float number 7 - "The Ship of Fools", is cited in The Denver Post as mentioning that he and other performers were concerned before the event that there would be problems, stating "we all said it seems like this is not going to work".

Wheat Chiefs

Several months after the 1989 breakup of their influential skate punk band SNFU, guitarists and twin brothers Marc and Brent Belke formed the new band The Ship of Fools with SNFU bassist Curtis Creager and longtime acquaintance Dave Rees playing drums.