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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. more...

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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 first published in 1988, and the series is currently up to its 18th annual release. Other volumes dedicated to a single topic have also been released, under the title Uncle John Plunges Into... (History, Presidents, the universe, etc.). There are also books on the weather, numbers, quotes, the year 2000, a special book for mothers, Uncle John's Book of the Dumb, and several Bathroom Readers for Kids. 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 contributions from readers.

Their regular volumes consist of information on various subjects. Popular segments include 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" section below.) 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 covers on some of the earlier books bill them as the best-selling bathroom reader series of all-time. In total, the series has sold 4.5 million copies, and is the longest running series of its kind as well, as it was the first series of its kind, and still runs today.

History

The Beginning (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 surprising 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 series continued to grow 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 very well, and the first print run was gone within a very short amount of time. 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 for the introduction of several popular features of the books, and because they are the first to contain (some) longer, more in-depth articles.

Read more at Wikipedia.org