Uncle John’s All-Knowing Bathroom Reader is now in stores. It’s densely packed with facts, trivia, stories, and amazing wonders from this weird and wild world. There’s 400 pages of brand-new bathroom reading to keep you covered for a year or so, and here are 39 tiny tastes to keep you intrigued about what’s in store.

1. More states begin with “m” than any other letter. And more end with “a.”

2. Olympic gold medals aren’t made of gold. They’re about 92.5 percent silver. The 1912 Olympics were the last to feature solid-gold ones; ever since, they’ve been plated with six grams of gold.

3. David Lee Roth actually quit Van Halen in 1985 not for a solo career but to make a movie called Crazy from the Heat. Given $10 million by CBS Films to produce and direct from his own screenplay about himself having wild adventures in an island paradise, the movie didn’t get made because the studio shut down.

4. Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign slogan “Yes, We Can” is a translation of “Si, Se Puede,” a labor rights slogan used by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers’ Association in the 1970s.

5. In April 1999, Fernando Tatis Sr. of the St. Louis Cardinals became the only player in Major League Baseball history to hit two grand slams in the same inning.

6. Christmas lights, earmuffs, water skis, Popsicles, snowmobiles, and braille were all invented by teenagers.

7. To call something “poppycock” is the same as calling it “B.S.” Poppycock is the English version of pappekak, a Dutch term that means “soft feces.”

8. The Libman mop company started out as a horse-drawn corn broom sales cart on the streets of Chicago in the 1890s by Lithuanian Jewish refugee William Libman.

9. The global fascination with amusement parks began with the opening of Luna Park on Coney Island in New York City in 1903. In a dozen European languages, the word for “amusement park” is a variation on “lunapark.”

10. Hair metal band Warrant wrote its 1990 mega-hit “Cherry Pie” in 15 minutes with the lyrics scrawled on a pizza box. The band was forced to record it by its label, who needed a big potential hit single. 

11. According to psychology professors at Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development, you’re more likely to believe a statement that’s immediately repeated. Immediately repeated. 

12. While about 90% of humans are right-handed, only about 58% of dogs are right-pawed.

13. The “Buckle Up!” public service campaign in the 1980s is credited with increasing adult seat belt use 11% to 91% and leading to seat belt laws in all 50 states.

14. Pop star Jason Mraz operates an avocado farm that’s a primarily supplier for Chipotle’s guacamole.

15. The first mock presidential campaign undertaken by a celebrity: In 1932, vaudeville and radio star Eddie Cantor announced his candidacy as a publicity stunt and a way to sell a joke book.

16. What’s a forklift? Food, usually. (That’s a joke.)

17. What’s “nervous” wine? A white wine that hasn’t been aged and may taste both bitter and bright at the same time.

18. Best-selling Canadian book of all time: Anne of Green Gables (1908), at 50 million copies.

19. What’s the difference between a streetcar and a trolley? As a general rule, the eastern U.S. calls it a trolley, while the western states call it a streetcar.

20. Cats weren’t a popular pet in the U.S. until the 1950s, likely because before the invention of cat litter that decade, indoor cats’ litter boxes were lined with ineffective sawdust and ashes.

21. Designer Ralph Lauren’s birth name is Ralph Lifshitz.

22. In 2024, an Italian professional surfer died after being impaled by a swordfish off the coast of Indonesia, the first recorded instance of this cause of death.

23. Three real street names in the U.S.: Kangaroo Court, Gravy Train Lane, and Tootin’ Hill Road.

24. A man named Tim Storms is the world-record holder for deepest voice, and he can sing notes so low that even he can’t hear them.

25. Pigeon poop can be used to dye your hair blond.

26. Cows don’t have udders. They have one udder. It’s a single organ comproising multiple mammary glands with protruding teats, often mistaken for udders.

27. In the U.S., anonymous male parties are nicknamed “John Doe.” It’s Jan Kowalski in Poland, Joao da Silva in Brazil, Mario Rossi in Brazil, and Aulus Agerius in ancient Rome.

28. The 1980 episode of CBS’s Dallas where it was revealed “Who Shot J.R.?” set a then record for TV viewers (84 million). Meanwhile, ABC reran Convoy, the 1978 movie version of the 1976 song about truckers and C.B. radios.

29. Apple’s Steve Jobs made the first iPhone call, prank calling a Starbucks at a live Apple event and ordered 4,000 lattes.

30. About 40 percent of all living material in the ocean is jellyfish.

31. In 1973-74, the first season that the NBA counted steals, the league leader was Larry Steele.

32. Last dinner served on the Titanic: chicken à la Maryland, or fried chicken with bananas.

33. Mrs. Beaton’s Book of Household Management (1861) contained a recipe for a sandwich made of brown bread, butter, and Cheshire cheese roasted in an oven — the first grilled cheese sandwich.

34. Czech composer Rudolph Karel passed the time as a POW during World War II by writing operas on toilet paper.

35. According to researchers, there are 36 intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy alone.

36. David Serkin is probably the world’s luckiest person. In 2012, he won $250,000 in a Canadian lottery. In 2024 and 2025, he won another $2.5 million in across three different jackpots. 

37. “National treasure” is a legally binding proclamation in Brazil. In the late 1950s, the government named soccer star Pelé a national treasure to prevent him from singing with a European team.

38. Fun-fact fact: Fact first appeared in the 1400s and comes from a Latin word that means “something done.”

39. What’s the meaning of life? According to writer W. Somerset Maugham: “The secret to life is meaningless unless you discover it yourself.”

Want more? Get the whole thing. Uncle John’s All-Knowing Bathroom Reader is in stores now.