Institute - Uncle Johns Impossible Questions (& Astounding Answers)

Bathroom Readers Press
Ashland, Oregon

UNCLE JOHNS
IMPOSSIBLE QUESTIONS
& ASTOUNDING ANSWERS

Copyright 2011 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
()
Escher duckie pattern by Rob Davis ()

eISBN: 978-1-60710-676-0

E-Book edition: September 2012

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

Gordon Javna

Jay Newman

Amy Miller

Jack Mingo

Michael Kerr

Brian Boone

Jeff Altemus

Angela Kern

Claire Breen

Melinda Allman

Kim Griswell

John Dollison

Thom Little

Michael Brunsfeld

Rob Davis

Mustard Press

Monica Maestas

JoAnn Padgett

Amy Ly

Annie Lam

Ginger Winters

Jennifer Frederick

Sydney Stanley

R.R. Donnelley,
who always do
the impossible

Publishers Group West

Raincoast Books

Jack Barry

Art Fleming

Loaf Newman

Madison
(the radio star, not the
mermaid from Splash)

Question Mark &
the Mysterians

Eddie Deezen

Thomas Crapper

O kay, we lied.

Now that weve got your attention, we should let you know that not all of the questions in Impossible Questions are necessarily impossible. As Uncle Johns mom used to tell him, nothings impossible. And some readers might be familiar with a few of these astounding answers. But unless you happen to be 1) ________ (Jeopardy!s all-time highest earner), 2) ________ (the brilliant scientist/violinist who bequeathed the rights to his name to a foreign university), or 3) ________ (the book publisher whom party guests always find annoying), most of these questions will probably stump you.

How do we know? Because most of them stumped us. And thats why we wrote this bookbecause the writers at the Bathroom Readers Institute are always trying to stump each other with weird and obscure trivia questions, so now were letting you in on the fun.

Heres how we do it at the BRI: We find little-known aspects of well-known information and turn them into Q&As. For example, most people know that the Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower in 1620 and sailed to the New World, but how many people know what the ship smelled like? Another example: You probably know that an airplane was the first machine to break the sound barrier, but what was the first man-made object that surpassed the speed of sound? Heres one more: What do you have 100 more of now than you did when you were a baby? Youll find the answers to these and hundreds more in the pages of this book.

In the making of Impossible Questions, we did what weve been doing in Bathroom Readers for 25 years: Telling brief stories that will inform, surprise, and entertain you. Bonus: When youre done reading, you can stump your friends!

So have fun.

And as aways,

Go with the Flow!

Uncle John and the BRI staff

p.s. Were already gathering ideas for Impossible Questions 2, so if you think you can stump Uncle John, send your questions and answers to us by logging on to www.bathroomreader.com.

Answers to the three blanks on the previous page:

1) Brad Rutter, with total earnings of $3,370,102.
(Ken Jennings holds the record for most consecutive wins74.)

2) Albert Einstein. He left his name to Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, who trademarked it and reportedly makes
$10 million from licensing fees annually.

3) Uncle John.

Everything has to begin somewhere. So lets get started!

When Kleinkinderbeschftigungsanstalt didnt catch on, its inventor changed its name towhat?

Al, Alf, Charles, Henry, and John are better known by their last name. What is it?

German educator Friedrich Froebel changed it to Kindergarten, which means childrens garden. His original term, Kleinkinderbeschftigungsanstalt, meant institute of care, playing, and activity for small children. The idea dates to 1837, when Froebel opened the first Kindergarten in Germany as a way to prepare children for later grades. Froebel believed young kids learned faster if they participated in educational activities, so his innovative curriculum combined artwork and play with formal instruction. Froebels idea was so good that his childrens gardens are still going strong today.

Ringling. The five original Ringling brothersAl, Alf, Charles, Henry, and Johnformed a traveling performance troupe in 1884 and were soon outgrossing all the other small circuses in the midwestern United States. Advertising themselves as Ringling Bros. United Monster Shows, Great Double Circus, Royal European Menagerie, Museum, Caravan, and Congress of Trained Animals, they became so successful that in 1907 they bought out their biggest competitorBarnum & Baileyto create what they called the Greatest Show on Earth. There were seven Ringling brothers in allthe five who founded the circus, and two who joined later, Gus and Otto. (They also had a sister named Ida.)