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 to 3 pages
Long—for those extended visits, when something a little more involved is required
*Extended—for those leg-numbing experiences
BATHROOM NEWS
Short
Uncle John’s Medicine Cabinet
Medium
Uncle John’s Stall of Fame
Space Bathroom Alpha
Plumbers By the Hour
Pit Stops on the World Wide Web
Bathroom News
Long
Number Two’s Wild Ride
How to Toilet Train Your Cat
Pay As You Go
MYTH-AMERICA
Medium
Urban Legends
“A Good Example Is the Best Sermon”
Long
*Buried Treasure
CUSTOMS & SUPERSTITIONS
Short
Wedding Superstitions
Happy Holidays
Future Imperfect
Domino Theory
Medium
Roll the Dice
Your Food Persona
AMERICANA
Short
Penny Wise
Medium
When the Big One Hit
After the Quake: The Heroes
Long
After the Quake: The Fire War
Does Your Couch Have Hairy Paws?
ANIMALS
Short
Shark Attack!
Pet Me
Good Dog
Bad Dog
Medium
Amazing Animals: The Opossum
Did You Know That Bees…
What’s All the Buzz About?
Humans of the Sea
A BLUNDERFUL LIFE
Short
Oops!
Desperately Seeking Approval
Medium
Oops!
Uncle John’s “Creative Teaching” Awards
Opening Lines
Dumb Crooks
Oops!
Dumb Crooks
More Opening Lines
MOUTHING OFF
Short
Great Scott!
Cliff’s Notes
Don’t!
Writing On the Wall
Shakes’s Takes
Homer VS. Homer
Just Joshing
Smarty Pants
The Miracle Worker
Salman Rushdie
Freedom’s Voice
Sage of the Sixties
In My Expert Opinion
Napoleon’s Code
Disraeli, Really
Smart Alecks
FORGOTTEN HISTORY
Short
Old History, New Theory
Old History, New Theory
So You Want to Win a Nobel Prize
A Light in the Night
Name That City
Medium
Old History, New Theory
Queen of the Jail
The King of Cotton
Greetings From Earth
The Cotton War
Long
The Rest of the U.S.
The “American System”
An Explosive Idea
For Posterity’s Sake
*The Rest of the Rest of the U.S.
CANADIANA
Short
A Note From Gander
Medium
Weird Canada
Parliamentary Manners
No Can(ada) Do
Gander
BUSINESS
Medium
Promotions That Backfired
Special Tips For Hiring Women
Caught In the Act
What’s On eBay
Funny Business
Memorable Moments in Marketing
Long
As Seen On TV
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Short
Canned Delicacy
Medium
Flunking the Pepsi Challenge
Banana Peels
Long
An A-Peel-ing History
THE REEL STUFF
Short
Hard Boiled
Medium
“I Spy”…At the Movies
Great Story…Just Change the Ending
Video Treasures
Box Office Bloopers
Long
The Cost of War (Movies)
*Rediscovered Treasure: Buster Keaton
TOYS/AMUSEMENTS
Short
It’s Slinky, It’s Slinky
The Saga of Silly Putty
The Magic Screen
Medium
The World’s First Video Game
Video Game Hall of Fame
Long
Let’s play Spacewar!
Let’s Play Pong!
The Rise and Fall of Atari
Mr. Gameboy
Let’s Play Nintendo!
MUSIC
Short
Elvis By the Numbers
Medium
International Elvis
Behind the Hits
Long
Has Anyone Seen My Stradivarious?
Secrets of the Stradivarius
Elvis By the Numbers
LAW & ORDER
Short
Court Transquips
Underworld Lingo
The Godmother
Phone Phunnies
Looney Laws
Phoning It In
Medium
Strange Lawsuits
Lemme Explain…
Did the Punishment Fit the Crime?
Benched!
Strange Lawsuits
Benched!
LIFE IS STRANGE
Short
It’s a Weird, Weird World
Amazing Coincidences
The Incredible Shrinking Heads
A Room With a Fish
It’s a Weird, Weird World
Amazing Coincidences
Medium
Amazing Luck
Nature’s Revenge
It’s a Weird, Weird World
CONSPIRACY!
Short
A Famous Phony
A Famous Phony
Medium
Smells Like…Murder
Long
Death of a Princess
ORIGINS
Short
You’re My Inspiration
Around the House
One Good Turn Deserves Another
Medium
Mothers of Invention
Fads
Lost Inventions
Patently Absurd
The World’s First Disposable Diaper
Long
I Want to Ride My Bicycle I
I Want to Ride My Bicycle II
I Want to Ride My Bicycle III
Microcars
MYTHS & LEGENDS
Short
The Ant and the Pigeon
Myth-Conceptions
Medium
The Tiger, the Brahman and the Jackal
How The People Got Beer
The Legend of Lincoln’s Ghost
Cruel Crane Outwitted
Long
Stranded!
PHRASES & WORD ORIGINS
Short
Familiar Phrases
Twist Me Dizzy
Familiar Phrases
Medium
Familiar Phrases
Word Origins
Word Origins
Word Origins
POP SCIENCE
Short
Human Hailstones
Ask the Experts
Medium
Ask the Experts
Invasion of the Frankenfish
Love at First Sight?
Rainforest Crunch
Ask the Experts
Mother Nature Is Out to Get You
POP-POURRI
Short
Is This Brain Loaded?
Uncle John’s Page of Lists
You Ain’t Got It, Kid
Know Your Ologies
The World’s Worst…
Tee-Shirt Wisdom
It’s Greek to Me
The Granny Quiz
Medium
Lucky Finds
New Vietnam
Underwear in the News
Houdini’s Secrets
Long
*A Restless Night
PUBLIC LIVES
Short
Celebrity Favorites
Sorry Charlie
Medium
Famous for 15 Minutes
Celeb Lawsuits
Harry’s Headlines
Famous for 15 Minutes
THAT’S DEATH!
Short
Epitaphs
My Body Lies Over the Ocean
They Went That-A-Way
Medium
The Final Days of King Charles II
My Body Lies Over the Ocean
My End is Near
Long
TheyWent That-A-Way
Death…It’s A Living
Where There’s a Will…
POLITICS
Short
Weird Sentences
Politalks
Trust Me…
Trust Me…
Medium
Democracy In Action
Over My Dead Chicken
D.C. Follies
D.C. Follies
WORDPLAY
Short
“Here Speeching American”
Brainteasers
What Am I?
If They Married
Holy Punctuation
Headlines
Free Pork with House
Warning Labels
No City Dust Here
Wonton? Not Now
Tom Swifties
For Sale, Buy Owner
Redundancies
Fictionary
Yah-hah! Evil Spider Woman
BE A SPORT
Short
Golf Flubs
Cartwheel Kicks
Medium
He Slud Into Third
It’s a Racket
Wrestling Lingo
The Man in the Mask
Long
Lord Stanley’s Cup
The Strange Trail of the Stanley Cup
The Legend of Gorgeous George
TV OR NOT TV
Short
The Professor’s “Inventions”
Medium
“Holy Catchphrase, Batman!”
“Book ’Em Danno”
“Oh My God, They Killed Kenny!”
Live From NY, It’s Saturday Night Live
SNL Part II: On the Air
SNL Part III: Eddie
SNL Part IV: “Well Isn’t That Special”
SNL Part V: Spartans Rule!
ANSWERS
Brain Teasers
What Am I?
Granny Quiz