Weird, Wonderful World
If you’re a little tired of eggnog, fruitcake, and those other familiar holiday sweets, try one of these special goodies from distant lands. Sweden: Knäck The name translates to “break,” an apt word to describe this “Christmas Butterscotch,” a toffee- or brittle-esque dessert. It’s made out of slowly cooking heavy cream, sugar, syrup, butter, vanilla, […]
Need a bottle of soy sauce? You could drive five minutes to the nearest grocery store and pick up a bottle for three bucks…or you could make some from scratch with the same method that soy sauce makers in Asia have been using for centuries. (Warning: Choose the latter option, and it’s going to take […]
It’s one of the most famous scenes in one of the most popular holiday movies of all time. In A Christmas Story, the 1983 big-screen retelling of the embellished Midwestern Christmas recollections of humorist Jean Shepherd, a kid named Flick (Scott Schwartz), best friend of main character Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) has no choice but to accept a winter-time, schoolyard “triple dog dare” and places his tongue against a metal pole in the freezing cold.
96 percent of the internet consists of cute cat pictures and funny cat videos. Okay, that’s not true, and neither are these long-held myths about cats. Myth: Cats love milk. Truth: It’s one of things we most associate with cats — they love to lap up a saucer of milk in much the same way […]
Does Uncle John, the guy responsible for producing a 600-page book every year, drinking a lot of coffee? You better believe he does. Here’s how the good stuff works. Awaken! Caffeine affects neurotransmitters. Normally, those keep blood vessels mostly closed, but the stimulation by caffeine widens them, allowing more blood to flow right through them. […]
Catch a whiff of these recent stories all about natural gas. (They’re about farts is what we’re saying.) The Air Up Here On a February 2018 flight from Dubai to Amsterdam on Transavia Airlines (a discount Dutcher carrier), an elderly man just couldn’t stop farting…nor would he (or could he) hold it in. He was […]
The holidays are coming, and you’ve got a long gift list. Let us handle that for you. For those who seek knowledge: Uncle John’s Actual & Factual Bathroom Reader For more than 30 years now, Uncle John and his crack team of BRI stall-warts have delivered a 500-plus page volume of, well, a little bit […]
This article was first published in our 31st annual edition, Uncle John’s Actual and Factual Bathroom Reader. Generic name The generic name for a soft drink varies by region: In New England and the Southwest, it’s generally called “soda,” in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest, it’s generally “pop,” and in Texas and the South it’s called “Coke” (even […]
On Election Day, millions of Americans cast their votes for senators, members of congress, local officer holders…and some quirky and fascinating ballot measures and initiatives. SOUTH POLL In Florida, voters passed Amendment 4. Previously in the Sunshine State, people convicted of felonies lose their right to vote…forever. But with the passage of this measure, felons […]
Ever wonder who put the “strone” in “minestrone”? The “owder” in “chowder”? The “ho” in “pho”? (Careful, there, soup boy! This is a family soup book!) Then sit thee down at the Table of Label—and read all about the name origins of several well-known soups. . (This article was first published in our 31st annual edition, […]
Put that competitive instinct and that deep-seated pathological need to win to the test: Here are some ways to increase the likelihood you’ll win at that classic battle of weapons and wits: Rock, Paper, Scissors.
We all want to be in the safest place possible, especially when we’re in these harrowing situations. (This article was first published in our 31st annual edition, Uncle John’s Actual and Factual Bathroom Reader.) SAFEST PLACE TO SIT ON A PLANE In 2015 Time magazine analyzed data from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aircraft Accident Database […]
Uncle John can barely fathom the agony doing all the work to make a book, get it out to thousands of bookstores…and then having to gather them all back up again. It occasionally happens to publishers, however—forced to recall a book because of a really bad mistake that nobody noticed. Kindle’s 1984 and Animal Farm In […]
When the microwave was first released in the late ‘70s, people thought that was a silly kitchen gadget, so who knows? Maybe over time people will swear by these things, too. Bear Paws Meat Shredder Claws You could shred meat or make a pork roast into pulled pork with the gentle use of a fork […]
Apples, oranges, melons, and berries—they’re sweet, delicious, nutritious…and extremely dangerous, apparently. Here are some weird news stories about people who sustained some nasty injuries courtesy of nature’s candy. Bad Breadfruit In December 2017, a Salt Lake City woman named Valerie Zaugg took a vacation to Hawaii, home to an exotic piece of produce called the […]
For fun facts and interesting stories, just dial 1-800-UNCLE-JOHN. Actually, don’t, because that’s not a functional number, and everybody does everything over the internet these days instead of the phone. For example, here’s a toll-free look at the history of 1-800 numbers. Automated collect calling Back in 1967, American telephone companies introduced a new system […]
Since 1982, book folk (libraries, publishers, readers) have celebrated “Banned Books Week,” setting aside the last week of September to examine literature that’s been “challenged” or banned” around the country. Here are some books removed from shelves…for some very odd reasons. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret The Judy Blume novel about a girl’s […]
While it takes its name from a German city, there are few foods more quintessentially American than the hamburger. But from sea to shining sea, there are tons of variations on the old meat patty between two buns. After all, America is a big country, and the land of ingenuity. Smash Burger While the rest […]
