Uncle John's Electrifying Bathroom Reader for Kids Only! Read online




  OUR READERS RAVE

  Some books print fancy reviews written by fancy book critics. Borrring! At the BRI, we care more about what our faithful readers have to say.

  “Since sharing my Bathroom Reader with my friends at school my popularity has dramatically increased. Thanks!”

  —Chance G., age 13

  “I think your Kids Reader is stupendous, tremendous, terrific, and splenderiffic! I can’t put it down. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned. It is one of the best books I’ve ever read!!!!!!!!”

  —Allison D., age 11

  “On a scale of 1 to 10, I love ur books at about a…13.5.”

  —Zolly C., age 14

  “I got the Kids edition for Christmas! I love it. I frequently find myself in a position where my brother is banging on the door screaming at me to get out of the bathroom…tee hee thanks!:)”

  —Lindsay P., age 12

  “When I discovered the Bathroom Reader For Kids Only at the airport it changed my life. I would like to thank you…I’ll never be bored again!!!!”

  —Dominika D., age 11

  “The minute I opened up the Bathroom Reader for Kids Only, I couldn’t close it! I take it to school and all my friends want to read it! Thanks B.R.I.”

  —Toria Z., age 9

  “I just wanted to shout out that you are totally awesome. My mom bought me For Kids Only. You’re the best for making a book that just us kids can read.”

  —Elyssa A., age 10

  “I really love your Bathroom Reader, I read it everywhere. It’s better than Harry Potter and definitely the best thing since sliced bread.”

  —Richard L., age 12

  “I have 14 year old twin boys…one reads everything, anything, and everything. The other won’t read anything at all…except the Bathroom Readers.”

  —Jonna W.

  “My daughter, Mandy, loves your first Kids Reader. Now she can stop stealing my books and read her own. (By the way, Bathroom Readers are great for ANY room of the house.)”

  —Michael F.

  “Just finished reading For Kids Only. (OK, I’m a 50-year-old kid but my wife and mom said it was OK.)”

  —Chris P.

  Uncle John’s

  ELECTRIFYING

  BATHROOM READER

  FOR

  KIDS ONLY

  By the

  Bathroom Readers’ Institute

  Bathroom Readers’ Press

  Ashland, Oregon

  UNCLE JOHN’S ELECTRIFYING

  BATHROOM READER®

  FOR KIDS ONLY

  Copyright © 2003 by Bathroom Readers’ Press

  (a division of Portable Press). All rights reserved. No part

  of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever

  without written permission, except in the case of

  brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  “Bathroom Reader” is a federally registered trademark

  of Advanced Marketing Services, Inc. “Uncle John” is a

  trademark of Advanced Marketing Services, Inc.

  For information, write:

  Bathroom Readers’ Institute

  P.O. Box 1117, Ashland, OR 97520

  www.bathroomreader.com

  Cover design by Michael Brunsfeld,

  San Rafael, CA ([email protected])

  Illustrations by

  Lorraine Bodger

  ISBN-13: 978-1-60710-688-3

  E-book Edition: September 2012

  11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 05 06 07 08 09

  Hey Dash! Hey Skye!

  THANK YOU!

  The Bathroom Readers’ Institute thanks those people whose help has made this book possible.

  Allen Orso

  Jahnna Beacham

  Jeff Altemus

  Julia Papps

  Thom Little

  Lori Larson

  Lorraine Therring

  Brianna Bergman

  George Ene Lidell

  Janet Nelson

  Paul Stanley, Banta Books

  Bill Haduch

  Wilderness Charter School

  Gideon and Sam

  Maggie McLaughlin

  Bryan Henry

  Angela Kern

  Michael Brunsfeld

  Scarab Media

  Malcolm Hillgartner

  Gordon Javna

  Jay Newman

  John Dollison

  Jennifer & Gracie

  Rick Rebhun

  Mustard Press

  Dee Edwards

  Lorraine Bodger

  Sharilyn Hovind

  Kristin Marley

  Bernadette Baillie

  JoAnn Padgett

  Mike Nicita

  John Javna

  Dylan Drake

  Don Thomas

  Maggie Javna

  Catie Pratt

  Porter the Wonder Dog

  Thomas Crapper

  When we think of amazing kids, one very special one comes to mind. Our friend Marley Pratt is eighteen years old and has been battling cancer for three years. Yet through it all, Marley never fails to inspire us with his smiling face and winning attitude. He’s the toughest cowboy we know. We dedicate this book to him.

  Hiya Sophie! Hiya Jesse!

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Because the BRI understands your reading needs, we’ve

  divided the contents by length as well as subject:

  Short—A quick read

  Medium—2 pages

  Long—3 to 5 pages (that’s not too long, is it?)

  BOO!

  Medium

  The Bermuda Triangle

  Long

  Ghost Ship

  The Haunted Tomb

  Ghost Dog

  ANIMAL CRACKERS

  Short

  A Devoted Friend

  Animal Tales

  Medium

  Pet Pals

  Life on the Edge

  So Do Elephants

  Old R.I.P.

  Elephants, Part 2

  Animals to the Rescue

  AMAZING KIDS

  Medium

  White House Gang

  Long

  Kids Can

  Kids On Strike

  Child Prodigies

  Kid Inventors

  EW…GROSS!

  Short

  Wild Spitters

  Animal Acts

  Space Waste

  Medium

  Royal Slobs

  That Stinks!

  BUG OFF!

  Short

  The Bug Awards

  Royal Insect

  Medium

  La Cucaracha

  Chirp! Chirp!

  Long

  Inside the Anthill

  PAGE TURNERS

  Short

  Imaginary Worlds

  Decoding Harry Potter, Part I

  Decoding Harry Potter, Part II

  It Couldn’t Be Done

  Long

  Haunted Summer

  Young Authors

  BAG OF TRICKS

  Short

  Cooking with Uncle John

  Medium

  Cooking with Uncle John

  Camp Capers

  Cooking with Uncle John

  Long

  Mind Reader

  WILD WORLD OF SPORTS

  Short

  The Wave

  Medium

  Hiiiiiiiiii-Ya!

  Have An Ice Day

  Sports Superstitions

  Play Ball!

  Long

  Sports Greats

  DIG THE DI
GITAL

  Short

  TXT TLK

  Medium

  Tele-Visionary

  Where It’s @

  Sim Man

  The Microwave

  GOOFY GROWNUPS

  Short

  Dumb Crooks

  Mark Twain Sez

  Funny Ladies

  Wise Guys

  Duh!

  Dumb Crooks

  Medium

  X-treme Eating

  Star Power

  Dumb Crooks

  Long

  Crocodile Hunter

  HIGH VOLTAGE

  Medium

  Shocking!

  Let There Be More Lights

  Long

  Let There Be Lights

  Thomas Edison

  AROUND THE HOUSE

  Short

  The Big Flush

  Medium

  Bathroom Inventions

  Dental Floss

  Lucky Accidents

  Mirror, Mirror

  HOLIDAZE

  Short

  Happy New Nian!

  Medium

  April Fools

  Family Holidays

  Trick or Treat

  IT’S A MOUTHFUL

  Short

  Mystery Eats

  Medium

  May I Take Your Order?

  Candy Bits

  A Slice of Life

  Foods That Went to War

  Long

  I Scream, You Scream

  WATCH IT!

  Short

  Reel Wisdom

  Reel Silly

  Medium

  Movie Bloopers

  Cool Cartoons

  Video Treasures

  POP SCIENCE

  Medium

  Ask the Experts

  Earthquake!

  Phobias

  Lefties

  Long

  Berg-Watching

  LIFE IS STRANGE

  Short

  Amazing Coincidences

  Medium

  Dead or Alive?

  Amazing Coincidences

  Long

  Real-Life X-Men

  NAME GAME

  Short

  Name That Town

  Your Name Is What?

  Where’s the John?

  Anima-Lists

  The Name Game

  Medium

  Rock Names

  SPACED OUT

  Short

  Spaced Out

  No-Nos in Space

  Medium

  Space Toilets

  Long

  Roswell

  Space Junk

  UFOs

  TRY THIS AT HOME

  Short

  Spark in the Dark

  The Chair Trick

  Medium

  The Singing Balloon Trick

  Long

  Ecret-Say Anguages-Lay

  MYTHS & LEGENDS

  Short

  Superstitious?

  Medium

  How Do Supertitions Start?

  Arachne

  The Devil’s Dozen

  Yin and Yang

  Long

  If You Were Born in the Year of

  TIME MACHINE: THE PAST

  Short

  Food Fights

  Medium

  Mind Your Manners

  If the Shoe Fits

  Bigwigs

  Long

  OOPAs

  The Great Molasses Flood

  TIME MACHINE: THE FUTURE

  Short

  Coming Soon

  Medium

  Future Perfect

  Long

  Dr. Future

  TOYS AND GAMES

  Short

  Not It!

  Medium

  Toys ‘R’ Weird

  It’s in the Cards

  Toys ‘R’ Weird

  Long

  Games Around the Globe

  Lego Master

  JUST FOR FUN

  Short

  Riddle Me This

  Brainteasers

  Knock-Knock

  Amazing Anagrams

  C-O-D-E-Breakers

  Word Origins

  Riddle Me This

  Medium

  Masters of Disguise

  Looney Tunes

  QUIZ ANSWERS

  RESOURCE GUIDE

  ***

  SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

  “Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.”

  —Socrates (469–399 B.C.)

  GREETINGS FROM UNCLE JOHN

  Hiya Kids,

  We’re back with our second book for kids, Uncle John’s ELECTRIFYING Bathroom Reader for Kids Only. I didn’t believe we could top our last effort, but you know—I think we actually did.

  So, here I am on a Sunday afternoon, finally putting the finishing touches on the book so it can go off to the printer tomorrow and I realize nothing’s changed since I was a kid—I’m still doing my homework at the last minute on a Sunday night! (I hope I get an A.)

  First, a few announcements:

  • Thanks to the thousands of kids who let us know how much they loved our last book, Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader for Kids Only. We hope you like number two as much as you liked number one.

  • Special thanks to the great Bathroom Reader staff, especially to Jahnna Beecham, our head writer supreme.

  Okay. Now here’s a bit of what’s in this book:

  • Amazing kids, like 12-year-old Craig Kielburger, who started Kids Can Free the Children, an organization that helps young people around the world. You’ll also find stories of kid authors, kid inventors, and kid geniuses.

  • Origins of everyday things—stuff you’ll find around the house, like mirrors, towels, and toothbrushes.

  • Spooky stories, like the tale of the sailing ship, Mary Celeste, whose entire crew vanished without a trace and remains a mystery to this day. Woo-oo-oo-o-o-o.

  • And while we’re on mysteries, you won’t want to miss our article on the Bermuda Triangle, where dozens of planes and ships have disappeared into thin air.

  • We’ve got some stories of animal heroes, like Roy, the dog that rescued a baby from a building ledge. And Priscilla, the pig that rescued a drowning kid.

  • How about gross stuff? Spitting camels, farting snakes, stinky flowers, and a recipe for making fake boogers.

  • What else? Riddles, brainteasers, movie bloopers, space facts, real-life X-men, the origin of pizza, secret languages, myths, dumb crooks, and much more.

  There’s something for everybody, so let’s get started!

  From all of us at the Bathroom Readers’ Institute, including my trusted assistant, J. Porter Newman, and my talking dog, Elbow Room, remember:

  When in doubt…

  Go with the Flow!

  —Uncle John and the BRI staff

  P.S. Visit us on the Web at: www.bathroomreader.com

  NAME THAT TOWN

  Some town names describe the land around them: Grand Rapids, Twin Falls. Others celebrate famous people: Washington, Lincoln, Victoria. And others…what were the founders thinking?

  •Burnt Corn, Alabama

  •Twodot, Montana

  •Toad Suck, Arkansas

  •Worms, Nebraska

  •Sucker Flat, California

  •Lizard Lick, N. Carolina

  •Yellow Water, Florida

  •Frog Jump, Tennessee

  •Snapfinger, Georgia

  •Kickapoo, Illinois

  •Gas, Kansas

  •Boring, Oregon

  •Grasshopper Junction, Arizona

  •Toad Hop, Indiana

  •Hoop and Holler, Texas

  •Bug, Kentucky

  •Big Ugly, West Virginia

  •Soso, Mississippi

  •Bumpass, Virginia

  •Peculiar, Missouri

  •Chugwater, Wyoming

  •Yum Yum, Tennessee
/>   •Cheesequake, New Jersey

  •Bird in Hand, Penn.

  •Possum Kingdom, Texas

  •Pie Town, New Mexico

  •Cookietown, Oklahoma

  •Ninety Six, S. Carolina

  •Chicken Bristle, Illinois

  •Love Station, Tennessee

  •Shaft Ox Corner, Del.

  •Okay, Oklahoma (Okay, OK)

  Check for yourself: Cats don’t have eyelashes.

  REEL WISDOM

  We go to movies to be entertained, but occasionally we can be enlightened, too.

  “You know, Peter, with great power comes great responsibility.”

  —Uncle Ben, Spider-man

  “Never give up! Never surrender!”

  —Commander Taggart, Galaxy Quest

  “The future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one.”

  —Doc Brown, Back to the Future, Part 3

  “Never send an adult to do a kid’s job.”

  —Carmen, Spy Kids

  “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”

  —Sam, The Two Towers

  “Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen carefully.”

  —Littlefoot’s mother, The Land Before Time

  “You can’t stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting.”

  —Shmi Skywalker, Star Wars: Episode I

  “It does not do to dwell on dreams, Harry, and forget to live.”

  —Dumbledore, Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone

  “Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking.”

  —The Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz

  Hola, Big Bird! Sesame Street airs in 180 countries.

  PET PALS

  Sure, there are a lot of stories about dog heroes—but what about rats, pigs, and raccoons? Read on.

  RAT ATTACK

  In Stuttgart, Germany, the Steich family’s pet rat, Gerd, is a real hero. Gerd lived in a bookcase and normally was just a friendly, mild-mannered pet. But one night two burglars broke into the house. Surprise attack! With teeth bared and feet outstretched, Gerd landed on the face of one thug, practically scaring the life out of him. Then he pounced on the other burglar’s foot, scurried up his pant leg, and gave him a ferocious bite…right where it counts. The would-be burglars were caught. It turns out that they were suspects in a series of robberies and murders, but thanks to Gerd the hero rat, the Steich family was not among their victims.

  PIG PATROL

  One day, a mentally handicapped boy named Anthony went swimming in a lake near Houston, Texas. Suddenly he realized he had gone too far from shore and started to panic. Anthony flailed around in the water, then began to sink. Luckily, a friend’s pet pig (her name was Priscilla) heard the boy’s cries for help and swam out to save him. Anthony held onto the pig’s harness, and she towed him back to shore. The boy was saved, and the city of Houston declared the day, “Priscilla the Pig Day.” Priscilla was later inducted into the Texas Pet Hall of Fame.