Uncle John’s Unsinkable Bathroom Reader

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Authors: Bathroom Readers’ Institute

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Uncle John’s

UNSINKABLE

B
ATHROOM
R
EADER
®

By the
Bathroom Readers’
Institute

Bathroom Readers’ Press
Ashland, Oregon

OUR “REGULAR”
READERS RAVE!

“I just wanted to say I love
Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader
! I have learned more from them than in school (ha!). I hope to collect all of them.”


Andrea

“Just a note to say I love your books. I read them from cover to cover, over and over. I dazzle people with my seemingly bottomless well of useless information. Thanks so much for that!”


Jenny

“Keep ’em coming! I am totally addicted to your books, currently owning 14. I was a teacher for 30 years, and am now a reference librarian. I suggested to my supervisor that we order your books for our local library collection, as they are the most consistently fascinating series on facts and trivia that I have ever come across. I have sung your praises to our librarian patrons on numerous occasions, so hopefully I have helped spawn a new generation of BR fanatics!”


Jack

“I love your books and have read and reread and reread the
Bathroom Readers
I have. My wife tells me I am a warehouse of useless information, thanks in part to you guys.”


Ben

“As a former teacher who used trivia as the main source of inspiring students, I have enjoyed all 15 books that I have read. The ones directed at children were spectacular and I used them in my daily routine. Keep up the great effort as there is always another fact or detail to be uncovered!”


Marty

“I love your book so much. One day, I brought it to school and my friend went all crazy about it. He won’t give it back!”


Peter

For Richard Farnsworth Staples

UNCLE JOHN’S UNSINKABLE
BATHROOM READER
®

Copyright © 2008 by the Bathroom Readers’ Press (a division of Portable Press). All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

“Bathroom Reader” and “Bathroom Readers’

Institute” are registered trademarks of Baker & Taylor.
All rights reserved.

For information, write:

The Bathroom Readers’ Institute

P.O. Box 1117

Ashland, OR 97520

www.bathroomreader.com

888-488-4642

Cover design by Michael Brunsfeld, San Rafael, CA

(
[email protected]
)

BRI “technician” on the back cover: Larry Kelp

 

 

ISBN-13: 978-1-60710-460-5

E-book edition: November 2011

Hiya, Sophie! Hiya, Jesse!

THANK YOU!

The Bathroom Readers’ Institute sincerely thanks the people whose advice and assistance made this book possible
.

Gordon Javna

John Dollison

Thom Little

Brian Boone

Jay Newman

Amy Miller

Kait Fairchild

Julia Papps

Lorraine Bodger

Michael Brunsfeld

Angela Kern

Jeff Altemus

Jolly Jeff Cheek

Jef Fretwell

Megan Todd

Nephew Dave Fitzpatrick

Kyle Coroneos

Sue Steiner

Viola Rose

Christine DeGueron

Scarab Media

Elise Gochberg

Julie Bégin

Claudia Bauer

Claire Breen

Sydney Stanley

JoAnn Padgett

Melinda Allman

Lisa Meyers

Amy Ly

Amelia & Greta

Ginger Winters

Monica Maestas

Maggie Javna

(Mr.) Mustard Press

Steven Style Group

Eddie Deezen

Jeffrey Assisi

Publishers Group West

Raincoast Books

Porter the Wonder Dog

Thomas Crapper

I YAM NOT KIDDING

The people of Kiriwana, New Guinea, have a unique way of resolving disputes peacefully: Opponents meet in front of witnesses, then go search for a yam. Whoever finds the biggest yam wins.

Hiya, Sam! Hiya, Gideon!

CONTENTS

Because the BRI understands your reading needs, we’ve
divided the contents by length as well as subject.

Short
—a quick read

Medium
—2 to 3 pages

Long
—for those extended visits, when something
a little more involved is required

* Extended
—for those leg-numbing experiences

BATHROOM LORE

Short

Back Side Story

Hollywood’s #1 Star

Beware! Toilet Attack!

Medium

Bathroom News

Uncle John’s Stall of Fame

Butt…Butt…

Toilet Tech

Bathroom News

Uncle John’s Stall of Fame

FADS & FLOPS

Medium

Fast Food Flops

Like, Totally ’80s Slogans!

The Tapeworm Diet

High-Tech Toy Flops

POP SCIENCE

Short

Let’s Do a Study

Medium

The Lego Spill of ’97

Robots in the News

The Constellations

13 Things About Botulism

Q&A: Ask the Experts

Come See the
Meteor Showers

Long

What Race(s) Are You?

ALMOST HISTORY

Medium

Atom Bombs Away!

Unamused

The (Almost) Colony

Long

The Plot Against FDR

Project Orion

*The Secret Race
to the Moon

SPORTS

Short

Super Bowl Trivia

Medium

Games People Play

After the Olympics

Sacrifice on the
Softball Field

Basketball Team
Name Origins

The Sumo Way

Death in the Ring

Long

The Runningman, Part I

The Godfather of Fitness

The Runningman, Part II

LIFE IS STRANGE

Short

World’s Largest…

Bra-vo!

Medium

Don’t Make Them Angry

Strange Coincidences

Heeere’s Baby!

Uncle John’s Creative
Teaching Awards

It’s a Conspiracy!

It’s a Weird, Weird World

The World’s Largest…

Weird Attractions

Ironic, Isn’t It?

High-Tech Underwear

IT’S A BLUNDERFUL LIFE

Short

Injury…Meet Insult

Oops!

Medium

Oops!

Wow! That’s Dumb!

Oops!

MUSIC

Short

Woodstock, Y’all

Musical Notes

Hip-Hop Namez

Medium

Behind the Hits

Not-So-Easy Riders

Long

*
Rock ’n’ Roll
Lawsuit

ORIGINS

Medium

Founding Fathers

Random Origins

Cocktail Party

FORGOTTEN HISTORY

Medium

History’s Last Stands

Lost Arts

The Comstock Lode, Part I

The Comstock Lode,
Part II

The Comstock Lode,
Part III

More Lost Arts

Where’d They Go?

Long

Dustbin of History:
Masabumi Hosono

The Mercenaries

The Comstock Lode,
Part IV

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

Short

Open Wide

Medium

Medical Miracles

Know Your Knuckles

A Hole in the Head

Maneuver-Ability

The Truth About
Food Allergies

THE DRIVER’S SEAT

Short

Steered Wrong

A Beetle by
Any Other Name

Medium

The Da Vinci of Detroit,
Part I

Hypermiling

The Da Vinci of Detroit,
Part II

Long

Hypermiling

The Da Vinci of Detroit,
Part III

HI-TECH BITS & BYTES

Short

Networds

The Internuts

Medium

Plug and Play

Long

eBay: The Real Story

CANADIANA

Short

30 People You Didn’t Know
Were Canadian

Medium

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