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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.〔http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9gJKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Vh4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1211,628873&dq=uncle-john%27s-bathroom-reader&hl=en〕 The books are credited to the Bathroom Readers' Institute, though Uncle John is a real person, and are published by Portable Press, an imprint of Printer's Row Publishing Group. 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 published in 1988, and in 2012, the series reached its 25th release, The ''Fully Loaded 25th Anniversary Bathroom Reader''. Volumes dedicated to a single topic have been released, under the title ''Uncle John Plunges Into...'', for example: history, presidents, and the universe. There are also books on individual U.S. states, the weather, numbers, quotes, the year 2000, a special book for mothers, cat lovers, dog lovers, horse lovers, love, ''Uncle John's Book of the Dumb'', and several ''Bathroom Readers for Kids Only!''. 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 these contributions. Currently, the institute publishes three books a year; a "classic" reader, and two "plunges into" editions, one for a location such as a U.S. state, and another of a specific topic. Their volumes contain information on subjects such as 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). 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.". Uncle John's also publishes Page-a-Day calendars with Workman Publishing Company. The series has sold 15 million copies. == Features == Among the regular articles in the books are: * Origins of Words and Phrases- the "Familiar Phrases" feature, though having changed names several times throughout the series, has been featured in some form in 16 of the "Classic" books. It is often seen many times in each book, usually three or four times. The "Word Origins" has also had its name changed over the years, and has been seen in every book of the series since its introduction in ''Uncle John's Second Bathroom Reader'' * Rumors and Urban Legends The "Rumors" article was first seen in the very first book, but has been replaced, starting with the ''10th Anniversary Reader'' with the similar, and very popular "Urban Legends" section. * Famous for 15 Minutes- Also originating in the series' first book, "Famous for 15 Minutes" is based on Andy Warhol's famous quote that everybody will someday be famous for a short period. The feature describes the stories of those who fit this description, often in a style reminiscent of the Darwin Awards (i.e., those mentioned often act in a very unbecoming fashion). Also very popular, it has been seen in 15 Bathroom Readers. * Strange Lawsuits: Bizarre, actual lawsuits. For example, a woman sues Bill Clinton because aliens have told her that he will enslave all black women. * Oops! First seen in ''Uncle John's Sixth Bathroom Reader,'' "Oops!" is a set of newspaper article excerpts describing humorous mistakes in the previous year. * Q&A: Ask the Experts: Considerably more popular in the Kids Bathroom Reader series, "Ask the Experts" answers questions (e.g. "Do fish drown?"). It was first seen in the 6th Bathroom Reader. * Court Transquips Originally called "Disrder in the Court," the feature was introduced in the 5th Bathroom Reader, and pokes fun at things said in court cases (such as 'Were you alone or by yourself?' 'Was that the same nose you broke as a child?'), and unintentionally-humorous exchanges between judges and lawyers, defendants or witnesses ('You've been accused of stealing 15 chickens. Are you the defendant?' 'No, sir, I'm the guy that stole the chickens.'). * They Went That-a-Way Accounts of unusual deaths, typically of celebrities—for example, the ironic passing of Redd Foxx. This first appears in the 2nd bathroom reader under epitaphs. * Uncle John's Stall of Fame- Accounts of bathrooms and toilets being used in a positive way. * Uncle John's Stall of Shame -- Accounts of bathrooms and toilets being used in a negative way. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Uncle John's Bathroom Reader」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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