Uncle John's Unsinkable Bathroom Reader is jam-packed with over 500 pages of humor, history, science, pop culture, and more. This all-new 21st edition in this popular series is divided into short, medium, and long sections that explore topics including: Breaking the Mayan Code, Cycads: The Most Ancient Plants on Earth, The History of the Library of Congress, Return to Chernobyl, An Untold Story of WWII: The Fighting 442, The Origin of Lasers, Japanese Scholar Rocks, The Heart of the Andes, The Luniverse, and The Truth About Jumping Beans. With Uncle John’s trademark trivia, obscure facts and figures, forgotten histories, and unknown origins, this book provides readers with hours of fun.

Proving that some things do get better with age, Uncle John's Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader is packed with 600-plus pages of all-new material. Here, fans of “the John” can find all of their favorites: obscure trivia, strange lawsuits, dumb crooks, origins of everyday things, forgotten history, quotable quotes, dazzling wordplay, and much more. Celebrating two decades of royal reading on the throne, this edition plunges deep into history to reveal the origin of the Golden Rule and the history of boxing; flushes away all the fictions surroundings real-life sea monsters, and cowboys and Indians; and wipes out preconceived notions about how tastebuds work. Other sections dip into such topics as Viewmaster and the 3-D revolution; books by crooks; and the real-life Zorro. Equally suited for quick stopovers or lingering stays, this absorbing anniversary book is sure to entertain and educate readers while eliminating any traces of boredom.

What do Franz Liszt, Louis Armstrong, Woody Guthrie, and Elvis Presley have in common? What’s the story on the birth of the banjo, the electric guitar, and the Stradivarius violin? Why did disco happen? Who are the punk princesses? These are just a few of the questions answered in this lively book. Filled with facts, trivia, and stories about the world’s musicians, instruments, songs, and more, this endlessly diverting "plunge" dips into the history of Motown, muzak, and marching bands; tells the secret stories behind the hits; explores legendary venues like the Grand Ole Opry, the Apollo, and the Fillmore; spots the rarely sighted “two-hit wonders”; describes the origins of karaoke, rap music, and the cha cha cha. In short, it includes all the music news that’s fit to print is here in a variety of formats — longer entries for extended sojourns and brief tidbits for shorter stays.

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Extraordinary Book of Facts combines the most intriguing, enlightening material from nine previous Bathroom Reader favorites into one concise volume. Flush with delightfully useless — and sometimes even useful — information about sports, movies, music, politics, American and world history, and much more, the book is the most extensive reference guide in the series to date. Contained within this handy, portable tome are the fascinating narratives, terrific trivia, and easy-to-read lists that fans have come to delight in, as well as quotes, facts, findings, and historical tidbits. Weird and wonderful factoid footers on the bottom of each page are perfect for super-quick trips, while quizzes and puzzles enliven lengthier stays. Arranged for simple and speedy reference, the book is the perfect companion for trivia buffs and knowledge junkies who need a quick, fun read not just “at the office,” but in airports, waiting rooms, while traveling, or for any other moments that would otherwise be wasted.

The first full baseball game took place in 1838 — so it's no surprise that in the last 170 years the sport has produced staggering volumes of statistics, raised an impressive array of players, and, perhaps most significantly, won the love of an entire nation. Baseball is America's most treasured and nostalgic sport, and this massive volume collects nearly everything any fan would ever want or need to know. It's all here: from the sport's history to its philosophy, its equipment to the evolution of the uniforms — this is the place to find any relevant factoid. And that's not including the slightly askew tidbits — this hefty reader brings readers fascinating pieces of lesser-known trivia, history, and obscure facts, as well as enjoyable anecdotes related to the game of diamonds.

For 20 years, Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers have been a tried-and-true remedy for eliminating boredom while taking care of business. For this latest entry, the Bathroom Reader’s Institute crackpot team of writers has picked through volumes eight through 20 in the series to come up with a collection that’s packed with the weirdest, funniest, and most entertaining articles to date. It’s flush with Uncle John’s favorite bits of information: obscure trivia, strange lawsuits, stupid crooks, origins of everyday things, forgotten history, silly science, quotations, wordplay, and much, much more. Intriguing selections such as The Dawn of Fertilization, Imposters!, The Lonely Phone Booth, The Curse of MacBeth, and Mother of the Bomb liven up both quick trips and lengthier stays. With nearly 600 pages of delightfully useless and occasionally useful material, this absorbing anthology is sure to become the most-thumbed book in the house.

And the Golden Plunger goes to…

Forget about the Oscars, Grammys, and Golden Globes. After two decades of producing interesting, entertaining, and mind-boggling stories, Uncle John has come up with his own unique opinions about what deserves an award. So he recruited the dedicated staff at the BRI to compile this collection of 100 things he deems award-worthy.

Here are just a few of the Golden Plunger Awards Uncle John is giving out: Scrumptious Cookie, Baseball’s Unbelievable Blunder, Versatile Condiment, Enduring Sports Rivalry, Stinkiest Cheese, American Dream Hero, Memorable Commercial, Classic Cocktail, Essential Bathroom Accessory, Oldest Con, Supreme Sex Symbol, Breakthrough Graphic Novel, Inspirational Speech, Intriguing Unsolved Mystery, and Best Tattoo.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and Uncle John is back with a new compilation of Christmas past and present. Packed with as much fun stuff as an elf’s Christmas stocking, this anthology includes all the legends, lore, trivia, and history Uncle John didn’t have room for in the first Christmas collection. Highlights include why Figgy pudding was banned in Boston, the story of snow globes, the Christmas pickle, Bad Santas, and more!

This fascinating collection is sure to bowl over fans of the king of pets, the humble and charming dog. Uncle John helps readers decode their dog’s behavior; reveals backstage secrets from the famed Westminster Dog Show; profiles famous folk and their canine companions, as well as daring dog heroes and cartoon-pooch favorites; lists record-breaking mutts from largest and fastest to smartest and oldest; explains how to train a puppy for a career in TV; and even gives the scoop on poop!