THIS IS HOW IT’S DONEUncle John’s book is big on lists. Most pages have a lot of short, punchy paragraphs with a heading that might draw you in. Or not. The joy of this book is that there’s lots of it and if you don’t care for the stuff on one page you can move right on to the next.THINGS HERE CAN BE READ IN SHORT BURSTSEven without the title the fact that each page number is printed inside a picture of a toilet roll makes it quite clear where most of this book is going to be read. I was reading an electronic version, so I can't vouch for the paper quality should you be using it in an emergency situation.UNCLE JOHN HAS BEEN DOING THIS FOR A WHILEIt does say it’s the 25th anniversary edition. There's an introduction that tells you about how the book came about. The important thing is that they have been doing this for long enough to have got it off to a fine art. If you're in the market for book full of interesting snippets to read in the smallest room, this is probably the book for you.HE STEALS EVERYONE ELSE'S BEST LINES SHAMELESSLY“I'm 83, and I feel like a 20-year-old, but unfortunately there's never one around." See? Milton Berle said it (and is credited). Uncle John stole it and now I’m stealing it from him. It’s not the way to make great literature, but it means you get a lot of decent one-liners scattered through the book. And when you’ve bought a book specifically to read on the toilet, that seems a pretty good deal.THERE’S A SURPRISING AMOUNT OF REALLY INTERESTING STUFFAfter you’ve read this, you will drive your family to distraction by continually telling them “interesting facts”. Like that one of the editors of Marvel Comics was cremated and had his ashes mixed into comic book ink. There's a little bit of him in every issue of the paperback bind up of one of his final projects, Squadron Supreme.I THOROUGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOKHow can anyone not love this book? The first time I picked up an Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader was about 20 years ago when I was at a gift shop on vacation. The book was a hoot and an eye opener and I had never learned so many fun facts in all of my life. I thought to myself, “What fun it would be to find all those facts and make a book out of it” and they have been making them for 25 years. Wow!There is so much information in this 600+ page edition from great discoveries "The Origin of DNA Testing" which helped start "The Innocence Project" to crazy inventions of "High-Tech Underwear" using NASA technology. There are stories of "Dumb Crooks" like the one in Portland, Oregon, who passed around neighborhood fliers saying "Heroin for Sale", and then there are the things people actually do to themselves in "What Price Beauty?" to look younger or more attractive. Really?And don’t forget the lists containing bowling lingo, humorous epitaphs, and, of course, toilet talk (to name a few) and the wonderful factoids at the bottom of each page such as what is the word for fear of palindromes?, which President of the United States was an orphan?, and what are half of the 6 million parts on a Boeing 747? I could go on and on….This book is filled with information you didn’t know you wanted to know. It is great trivia for entertaining guests at parties.Thank you to Bathroom Reader’s Institute, Baker and Taylor Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
What do You think about Uncle John's Fully Loaded 25th Anniversary Bathroom Reader (2012)?
I won this book in a first reads free giveaway for my husband. Hope he enjoys it.
—blossom89
The trivia is so much fun to read. No deep thinking required.
—christina
Jeopardy prep! As always, full of great info.
—tyconderoga
