2010 February | Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

Archive for February, 2010

February 26, 2010

Internet Wonders: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries

We spend a lot of time on the internet here at the BRI, and one of the things we love about it is that amid all the clutter and crap there is some truly wonderful stuff out there. In “Internet Wonders” we’ll be sharing those finds with you, hopefully pointing you to gems you haven’t seen before. Like this one: “Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries,” from the underappreciated Curious Expeditions:

“For us here at Curious Expeditions, there has always been something about libraries. Row after row, shelf after shelf, there is nothing more magical than a beautiful old library.”

We couldn’t agree more. Here’s just one of the dozens of incredible photos they’ve collected over there, this one of the library at the Abbey of St. Gallen in Switzerland, dating all the way back to the 8th century:

Go on over, take a look around. We’re pretty sure you’ll enjoy it.

And here’s some more info on the Abbey of St. Gallen, from Wikipedia:

The Abbey Library of Saint Gall was founded by Saint Othmar, the founder of the Abbey of St. Gall. The library collection is the oldest in Switzerland, and is one of earliest and most important monastic libraries in the world. It holds 2,100 manuscripts dating back to the 8th through the 15th centuries.

And at this site you can actually view the abbey library’s ancient manuscripts online. (How cool is that?)

Posted by Thom

Tags: Internet Wonders

February 26, 2010

Hello, I’m Johnny Cash

Today is the Man in Black’s birthday. He died in 2003, but if he were still alive, Cash would be 78 today.

Cash’s signature song was “Folsom Prison Blues.” But Cash didn’t get the idea for the song while doing time. He got it while watching a documentary in 1951 about the legendarily tough northern California penitentiary called Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. It struck him that most people live in a prison of one kind or another, and that they would relate to a song about prison (even a real one) as much as they would to a song about the frequent country song subject matter of drinking, trains, or broken hearts.

By the way, Cash never did any hard time. He was arrested for minor infractions a few times, but never anything approaching “shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die.”

“Folsom Prison Blues” was initially released in 1956 as a B-side to Cash’s single “So Doggone Lonesome.” But a live version, recorded at San Quentin prison, became the #1 country hit of 1968.

Here’s an extra wad of Cash: just yesterday, an iTunes user downloaded the 10 billionth song sold on the service. The song: “Guess Things Happen That Way,” by Johnny Cash. Guess things happen that way.

Posted by Brian

Tags: Music

February 22, 2010

Miracle on Ice: Where are They Now?

Three days ago the Men’s U.S. Olympic Hockey team got an unexpected win over heavily favored Canada, the first time the Americans have beaten the Canadians in an Olympics since 1960. MSNBC got 8.22 million viewers for the Sunday afternoon broadcast—the second highest total in the network’s history. (Only election night 2008 got more.) Congratulations to the U.S. team, and good luck for the rest of the tournament to both the U.S. and Canada.

The game came just a day short of the 30th anniversary of what is arguably the biggest moment in U.S. sports history, the “Miracle on Ice” that saw the Americans beat the Russians, winner of the gold in the four previous Olympics, on their own way to winning gold at the 1980 games in Lake Placid, New York. In Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges into Minnesota (2006), we covered the “Miracle on Ice” story—and looked into where some of the players and coaches are today. Here’s an excerpt (with updates!):

Where Are They Now?

• Out of the 20 players on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, only defenseman Ken Morrow won the NHL’s Stanley Cup. (He won it four times with the New York Islanders, 1980-1983.) He’s currently the Islanders’ head of pro scouting, and lives in Kansas City.
• Left winger and Olympic team captain Mike Eruzione (who scored the winning goal against the Russians) became a television broadcaster for both the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers. Today he works for the University of Boston’s athletic department, and he also helps out the high school hockey team in his home in Winthrop, Massachusetts.
• Assistant Coach Craig Patrick went on to work for the Pittsburgh Penguins and helped create the template for a team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in the early 1990s. In 2005, as Penguins general manager, he was responsible for drafting 18-year-old phenom Sidney Crosby. (Patrick had left the team before they won the Cup in 2009.)
• Forward Mark Johnson had a strong career with five different NHL teams, and today is the head coach for the University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team. (Although he had to take a sabbatical in 2010—to coach the women’s U.S. Olympic hockey team. And they play for the gold against Canada on Thursday!)
• Defenseman Mike Ramsey had one of the most successful NHL careers of all the players, playing 17 years with four teams and being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. He is currently an assistant coach with the Minnesota Wild.
• Neal Broten also played 17 years in the NHL, wining the Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995. He currently lives in River Falls, Wisconsin, where he and his wife raise and train horses at the Sally Broten Horse Company.
• Center Mark Pavelich played on and off for the NHL—and in the UK, Germany, and Italy—until 1992. He lives in a cabin on a small lake in northern Wisconsin with his wife and their dog.
• Goalie Jim Craig lives in Massachusetts and is a renowned sales and marketing coach, as well as a motivational speaker. He regularly travels the country giving advice to workers at such companies as Coca-Cola, Dunkin’ Donuts, GE, Merrill Lynch, Time Inc., and Walt Disney.
• Dave Christian, Jack O’Callahan, Steve Christoff, Rob McClanahan, Dave Silk, and Bill Baker all also went on to play in the NHL.
After the Lake Placid games, coach Herb Brooks coached the New York Rangers (1981–1985), where he reached the 100-victory mark faster than any other coach in franchise history. He also coached the Minnesota North Stars (1987–1989), the New Jersey Devils (1992–1993), and the Pittsburgh Penguins (1999–2000). He headed the French Olympic team at the 1998 Nagano games, and returned to lead the U.S. Olympic hockey team to a silver medal in 2002 in Salt Lake City. Brooks died in 2003 in a single car accident in Minnesota, but the legacy of his achievement lives on in the state. In 2003 his hometown of Saint Paul erected a statue in his honor outside the Rivercentre Convention Center, and, in 2006, Herb Brooks was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame.

Posted by Uncle John

Tags: Sports

February 18, 2010

“(Not) Coming to the Theater Near You.” How do you say that in Na’vi?

Several of our fans have reminded us of this story via Facebook and email recently. For those that still haven’t read it, we thought we would make it easy and post it here.

We frequently run a feature called “(Not) Coming to a Theater Near You,” about potentially classic or blockbuster movies that never got made. Once in a while, however, these movies emerge from years of Hollywood purgatory and do actually end up getting made. And how. Here is one we said in 2004′s Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader was “not coming” then eventually did. It’s called Avatar.

AVATAR (1999)

Great Idea: After Titanic made $1 billion and won 11 Academy Awards, director James Cameron could make any movie he wanted—and this was the one he wanted to make. Set in the year 2040, Avatar follows a paralyzed war veteran named Josh on a mining expedition to the distant planet Pandora, where, through a computerized psychic link, he inhabits the body of a purple-skinned, nine-foot-tall, ammonia-breathing Pandoran.

Kiss of Doom: Cameron wanted to use a cast of ultra-lifelike computer-created actors. Plus, most of the special effects needed to render Pandora would have had to be invented. Avatar’s budget: a staggering $400 million. No studio would fund it, so the movie was scrapped.

Update: Now featured on ROFLRAZZI!

Posted by Uncle John

Tags: Movies, Predictions

February 16, 2010

Neat: Redesigns Come in Two’s

We just found out that our friends at Neatorama have also recently gone through a redesign of their blog, and the site looks great. While looking around their new site, we ran across a newly added section called Neatorama Spotlight with the post “7 Mad Science Experiments You Can Do At Home, But Probably Shouldn’t.” And although we don’t recommend trying any of these in your home, let alone the bathroom, the experiements are full of interesting scientific facts.

Posted by BRI

Tags: Neatorama

February 15, 2010

New Accounts for Our Loyal Fans

One of the features of the new Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Web site is our new store. We’ve upgraded the store to make the process of getting books from us faster, easier, and smoother.

But of course with anything new, there’s always a bit of tweaking that still has to happen. What that means for you, our loyal fans, is that even if you’re a returning customer you’ll need to set up a new account within the new store.

You can do it the first time you place an order. You’ll see this screen:

Click on Create New Account, and you’ll be set to go.

Or you can do it now, while you’re thinking about it, even if you aren’t quite ready to place an order. Go to the Register page and you can sign right up.

Once you do this, you’ll be able to see any orders you place with the new store, track the shipments, see the status of any backordered books, and manage your personal information.

Because this is a new system, orders placed through the old store will no longer be visible to you. We know it’s a pain, but if you have any questions about those old orders—that’s any orders placed before February 15, 2010—you can contact orders@bathroomreader.com, and we’ll look into them personally.

Posted by BRI

Tags: Housekeeping

February 15, 2010

Presidential firsts, BRI style

Since today is Presidents Day, and it’s our first blog entry, we thought we’d share some presidential firsts we’ve collected over the years:

First to host a rock concert at the White House: Richard Nixon
Unlikely as it seems, Richard Nixon invited the Guess Who and the Turtles to play for his daughters.

First president to see a UFO: Jimmy Carter
One evening in 1969, Jimmy Carter and a few companions saw a “bluish then redding” saucer-shaped object moving across the sky. “It seemed to move toward us from a distance,” Carter later told UFO researchers, “then it stopped and moved partially away.”

Here’s a short clip of Carter discussing the incident on Larry King Live.

First president to throw out the first pitch of the baseball season: William Howard Taft
Weighing in at over 330 pounds, Taft was our fattest president. His handlers feared his girth might make him seem weak when he ran for office again. So, in 1910, one of them suggested that he begin playing a sport to prove that he still had his youthful vigor. When Taft vetoed the idea, his aide suggested that he at least make a ceremonial appearance at a sporting event—say, to throw out the first ball of the baseball season. Taft agreed, and on April 14, 1910, he waddled out to the pitcher’s mound at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C., and pitched a ball to home plate. (It went wild.)

First president to wear another president’s body part during his inauguration: Theodore Roosevelt
The night before he was sworn into office in 1901, Roosevelt was given an unusual gift—a ring containing strands of hair that had been cut from President Abraham Lincoln’s head the night he was assassinated. Roosevelt wore the ring to his inauguration the next day.

First president with a fear of electricity: Benjamin Harrison
President Harrison knew two things about electricity: The White House had just been wired for it, and it could kill people (the electric chair was becoming a common form of execution). That was all he needed to know—he didn’t want anything more to do with it. Throughout his entire term, he and his wife refused to turn the lights on and off themselves. They either had the servants do it or left the lights off or on all night.

First president to pardon a dog: Warren G. Harding
One morning Harding read a newspaper article about a Pennsylvania dog that had been ordered destroyed because it had been brought into the country illegally. Harding—who loved animals—wrote a letter to the governor of Pennsylvania. The governor saw to it that the dog’s life was spared.

This isn’t the dog, but it is Harding with a dog. (photo from the Library of Congress)

Posted by Uncle John

February 14, 2010

Uncle John’s Creature Feature Bathroom Reader for Kids Only!

Posted by BRI

February 14, 2010

The Web Site II

When we first launched the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Web site back in the early 1940s (it was made of wood then), we said to ourselves, “Let’s schedule a Web site update for February 2010.” Well, we’re right on time—as usual—and we’re very happy to introduce to you the new and improved, extra-strength, slightly irregular, ahh-inspiring, supremely satisfying Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Internet Station Extraordinaire. Most notably, we’ve added a new blog, which will appear right here on the front page, and which we’ll be updating regularly with tantalizing tidbits of mindbending information.

Even though we’ve updated some things around here, there’s a lot that’s still the same. You can still order any of our more than 50 books right here on the Web site. You can still sign up for our irregular newsletters, for all your Bathroom Reading news. You can still go to “The Throne Room,” where you can read articles taken from our most popular volumes.

And of course, the crack staff here at the Bathroom Reader remains dedicated to providing you with the best forgotten history, dumb crooks, bizarre science, bathroom news, spies and conspiracies, amazing animals—even links to the coolest, most fascinating Web sites on the internet—and anything else that makes for good bathroom reading. So welcome, thanks for visiting, and, as always…Go With the Flow!