Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

"Uncle John's Bathroom Readers" are a series of books containing trivia and short essays on miscellaneous topics, ostensibly for reading in the bathroom. The books are credited to the Bathroom Readers' Institute, though Uncle John is a real person. The introductions in the books, as well as brief notes in some articles, provide small pieces of information about Uncle John. The first book was published in 1988, and this year, the series reached its 20th annual release.

Volumes dedicated to a single topic have been released, under the title "Uncle John Plunges Into...", for example: history, presidents, and the universe. There are also books on individual U.S. states, the weather, numbers, quotes, the year 2000, a special book for mothers, cat lovers, love, "Uncle John's Book of the Dumb", and several "Bathroom Readers for Kids Only!". Though most of the books were written by the Bathroom Readers' Institute, some of the ones that are based around a specific subject are written by a lone author, who is not in the Institute. Additionally, the Institute will often publish articles and other contributions sent in from readers. Recurring articles such as "Flubbed Headlines", "Oops", and "Classifieds" often depend on these contributions.

Their volumes contain information on subjects such as quotes, dumb criminals, palindromes, anagrams, urban legends and hoaxes, failed inventions, the history of everyday things, and accidental discoveries, as well as articles on pop culture and 'celebrities' such as Emperor Norton (see Features). Throughout the books, there are what the BRI calls "running feet" - short fun facts on the bottom of each page. A typical example is "An object on Jupiter would weigh 144,000 times more than it would on Pluto." Some books have one running foot that simply says "Hi, mom.", being the dedication.

The series has sold 4.5 million copies.

Features

Among the regular articles in the books are:

* Origins of Words and Phrases- the "Familiar Phrases" feature, though having changed names several times throughout the series, has been featured in some form in 16 of the "Classic" books. It is often seen many times in each book, usually thrice or four times. The "Word Origins" has also had its name changed over the years, and has been seen in every book of the series since its introduction in "Uncle John's Second Bathroom Reader"
* Rumors and Urban Legends The "Rumors" article was first seen in the very first book, but has been replaced, starting with the "10th Anniversary Reader" with the similar, and very popular "Urban Legends" section.
* Famous for 15 Minutes- Also originating in the series' first book, "Famous for 15 Minutes" is based on Andy Warhol's famous quote that everybody will someday be famous for a short period. The feature describes the stories of those who fit this description, often in a style reminiscent of the Darwin Awards (ie, those mentioned often act in a very unbecoming fashion). Also very popular, it has been seen in 15 Bathroom Readers.
* Strange Lawsuits: Bizarre, actual lawsuits. For example, a woman sues Bill Clinton because aliens have told her that he will enslave all black women. [http://members.aol.com/schwenkler/wcc/tyler.htm]
* Oops! First seen in "Uncle John's Sixth Bathroom Reader," "Oops!" is a set of newspaper article excerpts describing humorous mistakes in the previous year.
* Q&A: Ask the Experts: Considerably more popular in the Kids Bathroom Reader series, "Ask the Experts" answers questions (e.g. "Do fish drown?"). It was first seen in the 6th Bathroom Reader.
* Court Transquips Originally called "Order in the Court," the feature was introduced in the 5th Bathroom Reader, and pokes fun at things said in court cases (such as 'Were you alone or by yourself?' and 'Was that the same nose you broke as a child?'
* They Went That-a-Way Accounts of unusual deaths, typically of celebrities--for example, the ironic passing of Redd Foxx. This first appears in the 2nd bathroom reader under epitaphs.

History

1988-1992

The Bathroom Readers' Institute began in 1988, with the publishing of the original "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader", by St. Martin's Press Publishers. After the book's success, "Uncle John's 2nd Bathroom Reader" was published in 1989, with a third and a fourth book being added to the series in the subsequent years. These earlier books are distinct from the rest not only due to their short length, but because of the writing style: Short articles starting with a brief history of the subject, followed by several tidbits on the subject.

1992-1995

After the initial four, successful books, the BRI decided that it would publish its own books, and "Uncle John's 5th Bathroom Reader" was released in October 1992. It sold well. Preoccupied with the writing of book 6, no more print runs were made. The same thing happened with 1993's "6th Bathroom Reader," and 1994's "7th Bathroom Reader." (The books later became available in omnibus format when "Uncle John's Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader" was printed.) In 1995, the millionth copy of the series was sold, and in commemoration, "The Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader," the 8th in the series, was printed. Books 5-8 are noted because they are the first to contain in-depth articles.

1996-2002

In 1996, the BRI got what was later described in the "Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader" as "A New Attitude:" The 9th book in the series was much larger. The group had begun to change their writing style and so books 9-14, published from 1996-2002, contain long articles that are spread out throughout the book, and use a more encyclopedic writing style.

2003-2006

In 2003 a spin-off series was introduced, and the books were selling better than ever. For the first 15 years, "Bathroom Readers" referred to just one series. Now, there were several competitors, (none quite as successful) and quite a few series "within" the BRI. Books 15-18 began to move away from the format seen in previous books, using 2 and 3 part articles, and often not using features that had been popular from the beginning. Despite the changes, the most recent books are often considered the best in the series.

External links

* [http://www.bathroomreader.com/ Bathroom Readers' Institute]