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 is heeding the call of nature! So pack a rucksack, and let’s head outside! It’s a wild world out there, and the folks at the BRI want to explore it with you. From hornywinks to Dracula orchids, from alluvium to zymogen, Uncle John is embarking on a back-country safari to track down the wackiest, weirdest, silliest, and most amazing stories about the natural world. It’s 448 wild pages of great outdoor facts, strange stories, incredible science, and fun quotes and quizzes. You’ll feel the fresh mountain air energize you as you read about… * An ape that fries burgers and a lizard that plays video games * The explosive history of America’s deepest (and bluest) lake * The search for the mysterious rhinoceros dolphin * How to distinguish a mushroom from a toadstool * Cats vs. birds: the Feline-Avian War * A waterfall that turns toys to stone * The history of dirt And much, much more!

New from the Bathroom Reader: a grand slam, hole-in-one, hat trick collection of sports lore and trivia. Hey, sports fans: Sports Spectacular is bigger and better than ever! The not-so-dumb jocks at the BRI have packed in all the best sports and games articles from the wildly successful Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series--and then bulked the whole thing up with more than 50 fan-tastic new pages. So place the ball on the tee, square up to the basket, and make sure your laces are laced tight, because it’s time to throw the dice through the goalposts for a home run! You’ll feel the thrill of victory and laugh at the agony of defeat as you read about… * The origins of all the major sports (and a bunch of minor ones) * Classic games, from poker and pinball to Monopoly and Donkey Kong * How to play bathroom blackjack * The world’s worst matador * The Goodyear Blimp * Mascots gone wild * Olympic scandals * NASCAR’s illegal origins * Dodging the cow pies when you play pasture golf * Finnish wife-carrying, gerbil racing, flagpole sitting, and other bizarre sports And much, much more!

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 is back with another spectacular show—and it’s right here in front of you! Uncle John’s Greatest Know on Earth Bathroom Reader is bursting with the latest oohs and aahs from the worlds of pop culture, history, sports, and politics. Dazzling facts, jaw-dropping blunders, and astounding lists of trivia will make your visits to the throne room more entertaining than ever. Articles range in length from a single page to extended page-turners, so there’s always something to suit your needs. With Uncle John as the ringmaster for the 33rd straight edition, this Bathroom Reader is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

Presents a collection of brief articles on a wide variety of topics designed especially for bathroom reading.

Grab some quiet time for yourself and enjoy hundreds of pages of the world’s most twisted trivia! The crackpot staff at the Bathroom Readers’ Institute has scoured the worlds of pop culture, politics, sports, history, and more to bring you Slightly Irregular, the seventeenth all-new edition in the best-selling series. As always, the articles are divided by length for your sitting convenience. So turn thine eyes away from the shampoo bottle, O bathroom reader, and let Uncle John pepper your brain with these absorbing articles . . . * Women in space * The origin of Kung Fu * The CIA’s secret coup * The great windshield epidemic * Spider eggs in the brain, and other urban legends * What went down at Woodstock * Freedom of McSpeech * How to kill a zombie, and much more!

Uncle John’s all-new 8th edition is packed with everything that Bathroom Reader fans have come to expect from this stellar series—short, medium, and long articles covering a whole host of topics—everything from dumb crooks to funny quotes to forgotten history. Read about… * Ice cream origins * Olympic cheaters * Celebrity mummies * The first Thanksgiving * Groucho’s wit and wisdom * Weird tales of the Ouija board * The creation of Frankenstein’s monster * “Earring Magic Ken” and other weird dolls And much, much more!

Uncle John channel-surfs through America’s favorite pastime: television. What does Homer Simpson call “friend…mother…secret lover?” Television, you meathead! Here comes your wacky neighbor Uncle John to present TV the way only he can. From test patterns to Top Chef, from My Three Sons to Mad Men, as well as TV news, advertising, scandals, sitcoms, dramas, reality shows, and yadda yadda yadda, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Tunes into TV is “dy-no-mite!” Read about… * Gilligan’s seven deadly sins * The inside story of TV’s first commercial * What goes on behind the scenes of Jeopardy! * The most incredibly bizarre shows from around the world * Why Gene Roddenberry tried to beam the original Star Trek cast into space * What reality show producers don’t want you to know * How the King of Late Night crushed his competition * What really went down on the island of LOST * Unexpected sitcom fatalities * TV’s greatest chimps And much, much more!

From cannibals to conspiracy theories to the origin stories of candy, a compendium of thousands of fun facts to read behind closed doors! Our readers asked for it, and here it is: Uncle John’s first collection of his greatest short facts and quick reading material. Open up to any page of Extraordinary Book of Facts and you might find a list of, say, obscure words (“exocannibals” eat enemies; “indocannibals” eat friends). Flip to another page and there’s a whole bunch of facts about how long things take (a yak’s gestation period: 258 days). On another page: kid facts (the average four-year-old laughs 400 times per day; grownups, about fifteen). Get smarter and laugh a lot more with this amazing collection that features thousands of great facts, plus word origins, myth-conceptions, conspiracy theories, and much, much more. Arranged for simple and speedy reference, this book is the perfect companion for trivia buffs and knowledge junkies everywhere!