Bathroom Readers� Institute - Uncle Johns briefs : quick bits of fascinating facts and amazing trivia

Uncle Johns Briefs

Bathroom Readers Institute

Portable Press (2012)

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Quick Bits
of Fascinating Facts
and Amazing Trivia

By the
Bathroom Readers
Institute

Bathroom Readers
Press Ashland, Oregon

OUR REGULAR
READERS RAVE!

I started reading your books after a colleague, ordinarily not much of a conversationalist, started to get smarter and smarter by the day. We couldnt figure out what was going on until we caught him reading one of your books. I bought my first one that night.

Ernie

God bless the Bathroom Reader . A lavatory without it is like a Pinto without a bumper: You could use it, but whod want to?

Gregory

Bathroom Readers are perfect for any occasion. When we needed a housewarming gift, we got an Uncle Johns . When we needed Christmas presents, we gave Uncle Johns . We were invited to a birthday party for three men and needed gifts for all three. Not knowing what they liked or needed, we bought three Bathroom Readers! The response? They cant stop talking about it. Thank you.

John

Just wanted to let you guys know that you are the BEST. I absolutely love your booksIve been reading them since I was ten, and Im sure Ive read all eight or nine in my collection fifteen times each, at least. And, thanks to you, I now have an interesting (albeit annoying) tidbit for every conversation! Many kudos.

Kristin

I worship your books. They are the best. Congratulations on making the only book Ive read in five years that I wasnt forced to read. Rock on!

Vincent

Youre the best thing to happen to the reading room since indoor plumbing and store-bought tissue (them cornhusks can get mighty rough, you know!) Keep up the good work and Go with the Flow!

Rick

UNCLE JOHNS BRIEFS Copyright 2010 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. Articles in this edition have been included from the following books: Uncle Johns Ultimate Bathroom Reader 1996; Uncle Johns Giant 10th Anniversary Bathroom Reader 1997; Uncle Johns Great Big Bathroom Reader 1998; Uncle Johns Absolutely Absorbing Bathroom Reader 1999; Uncle Johns Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader 1999; Uncle Johns All-Purpose Extra Strength Bathroom Reader 2000; Uncle Johns Supremely Satisfying Bathroom Reader 2001; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History 2001; Uncle Johns Ahh-Inspiring Bathroom Reader 2002; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe 2002; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader for Kids Only 2002; Uncle Johns Unstoppable Bathroom Reader 2003; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Plunges Into Great Lives 2003; Uncle Johns Colossal Collection of Quotable Quotes 2004; Uncle Johns Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader 2004; Uncle Johns Fast-Acting Long-Lasting Bathroom Reader 2005; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Tees Off on Golf 2005; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Plunges Into Hollywood 2005; Uncle Johns Curiously Compelling Bathroom Reader 2006; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Wonderful World of Odd 2006; Uncle Johns Tales to Inspire 2006; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Quintessential Collection of Notable Quotables 2006; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Cat Lovers Companion 2006; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Dog Lovers Companion 2007; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Plunges Into Music 2007; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Plunges Into National Parks 2007; Uncle Johns Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader 2007; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Takes a Swing at Baseball 2008; Uncle Johns Unsinkable Bathroom Reader 2008; Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader Plunges Into Pennsylvania 2009; Uncle Johns Certified Organic Bathroom Reader 2009. 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 ( ) eISBN: 978-1-60710-649-4 E-book edition: June 2012

THANK YOU!

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

Gordon Javna

Amy Miller

Jay Newman

Brian Boone

John Dollison

Thom Little

Michael Brunsfeld

Angela Kern

JoAnn Padgett

Melinda Allman

Sydney Stanley

Monica Maestas

Amy Ly

Lilian Nordland

Ginger Winters

Sarah Rosenberg

David Cully

Mustard Press

Scarab Media

John Javna

Karen Malchow

Publishers Group West

Raincoast Books

The Boxer Rebellion

Long John Silver

Amelia Bloomer

Will Shortz

Porter the Wonder Dog

Thomas Crapper

and the many writers, editors, and other contributors who have helped make Uncle John the bathroom fixture he is today .

CONTENTS

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

Short a quick read

Medium 2 to 3 pages, but still brief

INTRODUCTION

F irst, a brief history of the Bathroom Readers Institute: In 1987 a small gaggle of pop-culture aficionados led by Uncle John decided to make a book just for the bathroom. We compiled strange news stories, interesting facts, trivia, history, science, and whatever else we could find to create the very first Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader . Since then, weve released 22 annual volumes as well as dozens of special editionskids books, plus books about pets, states, sports, quotes, science, movies, and much more. All in all, it adds up to nearly 20,000 pages of bathroom reading. (Really? Wow.)

So why this book? Most of our Bathroom Readers include short, medium, and long articlesand a few extra-long ones for those leg-numbing bathroom experiences. But over the years, a lot of our readers have asked us to put together an edition with all of the best short stuff. So we scoured our entire library to find our all-time favorite 1- and 2-page articles (along with a few absorbing 3-pagers). And voilhere it is.

Open up Briefs to any page, and youre sure to find something you didnt know: an interesting origin, a wise quotation, an obscure bit of history, or something totally random, such as the Bunga Bunga hoax (a prankster fools the British Navy), symbolic meanings of dreams, the true story of Mike the Headless Chicken, Irish toasts and curses (our favorite: Your nose should grow so much hair it strains your soup!), how to say mullet in other languages, the science of farts, andwell, you get the idea.

So turn the page and treat yourself to a few seconds (or hours) of entertainment. Happy reading and, as always

Go with the Flow!

Uncle John, the BRI staff, and Porter the Wonder Dog

Check out www.bathroomreader.com for more bite-sized pieces of bathroom-reading fun.

Its always interesting to find out where the architects of pop culture get their ideas. These may surprise you .

C HARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY . In the 1920s, Englands two biggest chocolate makers, Cadbury and Rowntree, tried to steal trade secrets by sending spies into each others factories, posed as employees. Result: Both companies became highly protective of their chocolate-making process. When Roald Dahl was 13, he worked as a taste-tester at Cadbury. The secretive policies and the giant, elaborate machines later inspired him to create chocolatier Willy Wonka.

MARLBORO MAN. Using a cowboy to pitch the cigarette brand was inspired when ad execs saw a 1949 Life magazine photoa close-up of a weather-worn Texas rancher named Clarence Hailey Long, who wore a cowboy hat and had a cigarette in his mouth.

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