Uncle John's Bathroom Reader: WISE UP!


Book Description

With this volume filled with thousands of bizarrely fascinating facts, we’re on a roll! Is there any other single book in the universe with this many awesome tidbits of bite-sized information? Nope. And that’s a fact! At nearly 400 pages (with a handy index for your fact-seeking convenience), Wise Up! is a must-have for anyone who likes their information on the go. It’s organized into hundreds of topics—everything from sports and entertainment to word origins and science. Here are but a few of the facts awaiting you: * More women than men talk to their cars. * The melody for Nat King Cole’s 1954 hit “Smile” was composed by Charlie Chaplin. * Acid rain was first identified and named in 1852. * What is your buccal cavity? Your mouth. * There are no skunks in Newfoundland. * The average Super Bowl party has 18 people. * When dropped in water, a fresh egg will sink; a stale one won’t. * The average newborn baby spends 113 minutes a day crying. * Pepper was so valuable during Elizabethan times that it was sold by the grain. * Fossilized termite farts have been preserved in amber. And thousands more!




Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Takes a Swing at Baseball


Book Description

Strange-but-true stories, colorful characters, and big-league bizarreness for fans of America’s pastime! Why is baseball such a great subject for a Bathroom Reader? Because it’s steeped in history and tradition, it’s rife with scandals and controversy, and most of the men that dedicate their life to it are just a little bit . . . weird. Uncle John’s spirited take on the game takes you deep into that history to paint a detailed picture of where the game came from and where it may be going. You’ll go behind the scenes at spring training, listen in on pitcher’s mound conferences, and meet the players, coaches, fans, and broadcasters who make this the greatest game in the world! Swing for the fences as you read about . . . * Minor league mishaps * The violent history of umpiring * The true story of Lou Gehrig’s heroic rise and tragic fall * The man who pitched a no-hitter while tripping on LSD * The origins of gloves, baseballs, bats, uniforms, helmets, and more * Baseball’s most famous call and how it was saved for posterity * The best and worst teams of all time * Animals in the outfield * The birth of Little League * The Abner Doubleday myth * and much, much more!




Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Fake Facts


Book Description

From the market leader in true facts comes a big book of hilariously false information. The crackpot staff of the Bathroom Readers’ Institute is out of control. After 25 years of laboriously researching facts and verifying them and then verifying them again, Uncle John’s mischievous minions decided to blow off a little steam. The result: Fake Facts. It’s stuff that isn’t even remotely true--we just made it sound real. Why? Because it’s really funny. Fake Facts is 228 pages of origins, facts, weird products, strange diseases, kooky fads, slang terms, historical oddities, and other fascinating bits of information that are too good to be true…because they aren’t true. So put aside your BS detector and settle in to read about: * The ill-fated “Vice President For a Day” for kids program * How the overfishing of dolphins led to the canned tuna industry * “Crumble,” “plaidsy,” “benji,” and other British slang * Abandoned rules of early baseball, and obscure rules of grammar * How early vegetarians gave Boston its “Beantown” nickname * The secret superpowers of twins * James Joyce’s unpublished sci-fi trilogy * Unicorns, wizards, and pirates galore And lots more falsified fun!







Uncle John's Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader


Book Description

It's here! The 23rd annual edition in the popular Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series. The big brains at the Bathroom Readers’ Institute have come up with 544 all-new pages full of incredible facts, hilarious articles, and a whole bunch of other ways to, er, pass the time. With topics ranging from history and science to pop culture, wordplay, and modern mythology, Heavy Duty is sure to amaze and entertain the loyal legions of throne sitters. Read about… * Sideshow secrets * The worst movie ever made * The hidden dangers of watching the Super Bowl * The father of the shopping mall * The physics of breakfast cereal * How to speak dog, and how to crack a safe * The unluckiest train ride of all time * The origins of casino games * Powering your car with pee * Keith Moon, bathroom bomber And much, much more!




Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Weird Inventions


Book Description

Discover strange gadgets you never knew existed in this volume from the nation’s top collector of curious and interesting information! The writers behind Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader present this totally true treasury of amazing gizmos—devilish devices you never knew existed, created by people who thought the world absolutely needed what they had to offer and sell. Read all about: * The onesie that turns your crawling baby into a mop * The fart-stifling blanket * The square watermelon * The video game you control with your mind * The weight loss device that sucks food out of your stomach, and much much more!




Uncle John's Actual and Factual Bathroom Reader


Book Description

It’s an actual fact—Uncle John is the most entertaining thing in the bathroom! Uncle John and his team of devoted researchers are back again with an all-new collection of weird news stories, odd historical events, dubious “scientific” theories, jaw-dropping lists, and more. This entertaining 31st anniversary edition contains 512 pages of all-new articles that will appeal to readers everywhere. Pop culture, history, dumb crooks, and other actual and factual tidbits are packed onto every page of this book. Inside, you’ll find . . . Dogs and cats who ran for political office The bizarre method people in Victorian England used to resuscitate drowning victims The man who met his future pet—a stray dog—while running across the Gobi Desert Searching for Planet X—the last unknown planet in our solar system Twantrums—strange Twitter rants that had disastrous effects The true story of Boaty McBoatface And much more!




Now I Know


Book Description

Covering 100 outrageous topics, Now I Know is the ultimate challenge for any know-it-all who thinks they have nothing left to learn. Praise for the Webby Award-winning newsletter: “I eagerly read Now I Know every day. It’s always fresh, always a surprise, and always interesting!” —Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and Wikia ​Did you know that there are actually twenty-seven letters in the alphabet, or that the US had a plan to invade Canada? And what actually happened to the flags left on the moon? Even if you think you have a handle on all thing’s trivia, you’re guaranteed a big surprise with Now I Know. From uncovering what happens to lost luggage to New York City’s plan to crack down on crime by banning pinball, this book will challenge your knowledge of the fascinating stories behind the world’s greatest facts.




Scared Sh*tless


Book Description

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll s#*t yourself! Back by popular demand, the mind-blowing follow-up to the bestselling 1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You. An all-new collection of entertaining and horrifying truths about us, our world, and why we’re totally screwed. With more disturbing facts and fun new topics, including weird celebrities, boobs, the internet, clowns, serial killers, sexual fetishes, bacon, Elvis, things that will eat you, and more. From stupid dead people to halitosis caused by constipation to a singer whose music can get you killed in some Jamaican neighborhoods, it’s all here—everything you need to know about the scary s#*t that surrounds all of us. FACT: Men are four times as likely as women to be struck by lightning. FACT: McDonald’s McRib sandwich contains some of the same ingredients used to manufacture gym mats and running shoes. FACT: Möbius syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that renders victims unable to move their faces. FACT: You can get an STD from a bikini wax.




Stuff You Should Know


Book Description

From the duo behind the massively successful and award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know comes an unexpected look at things you thought you knew. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant started the podcast Stuff You Should Know back in 2008 because they were curious—curious about the world around them, curious about what they might have missed in their formal educations, and curious to dig deeper on stuff they thought they understood. As it turns out, they aren't the only curious ones. They've since amassed a rabid fan base, making Stuff You Should Know one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Armed with their inquisitive natures and a passion for sharing, they uncover the weird, fascinating, delightful, or unexpected elements of a wide variety of topics. The pair have now taken their near-boundless "whys" and "hows" from your earbuds to the pages of a book for the first time—featuring a completely new array of subjects that they’ve long wondered about and wanted to explore. Each chapter is further embellished with snappy visual material to allow for rabbit-hole tangents and digressions—including charts, illustrations, sidebars, and footnotes. Follow along as the two dig into the underlying stories of everything from the origin of Murphy beds, to the history of facial hair, to the psychology of being lost. Have you ever wondered about the world around you, and wished to see the magic in everyday things? Come get curious with Stuff You Should Know. With Josh and Chuck as your guide, there’s something interesting about everything (...except maybe jackhammers).