I’VE GOT THE PERFECT GIFT FOR FATHER’S DAY: THE BATHROOM READER! And I’ve been interviewing the team from the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader for like 20 years because I love these books of knowledge doled out in short doses. Today I’ve got Brian Bloom on to talk about the Uncle John’s Know It All Bathroom Reader: Superior Trivia! Amazing Facts and Figures! which you can buy here!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I've interviewed someone from the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, and
today that someone is Brian Uncle John Bloom, and he
is cared to talk about what I always say is
the perfect gift for Dad and Brian, I want to
share with you what happened in my household. My husband
enters the restroom and he says, and I quote, dang it,
I forgot my phone. And I said, right behind you
(00:22):
is the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. It's not like in
the olden days where we had to read the back
of the can of lightesol. Now we've got quality literature
that can sit right on the back of the toilet.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Brian, welcome the show. Oh thanks for having me on. Yeah,
I mean the phone is for the rest of the day.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Just take that moment of solace in there and educate yourself,
learn something, and you know better yourself.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
A little bit for.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
My listeners that have not heard of the Uncle John's
Bathroom Reader series, tell the folks kind of give me
the lure. Tell me the story of how this came
to be.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
It is the biggest, greatest, most robust, variety laden trivia.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Book on the planet.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Basically, back in nineteen eighty eight, our original uncle John
John Davna was stuck in a bathroom with nothing to read,
and he said this must be a problem for other
people too, so he launched this trivia book series, and
they just kept getting bigger and bigger every year to
where I'm the third Uncle John now. But we keep
putting these books out and they are designed to where
you can flip them open at random and find whatever
(01:27):
you need to get you through your captive moment, your
dead time, your downtime.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
We cover everything.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
There's history, science, origins, word origins, wordplay, jokes, ill culture, music,
everything you want, and then just stuff you didn't even
know you wanted.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
To know anything about it.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
You know, maybe you don't know much about nature, and
then you'll find an article about nature or so, and
then everything is short so you don't need to commit
a whole lot of time too.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
It's just fun, fun stuff about the world around you.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
If you want to be one of the most interesting
people at a cocktail party, this is your book because
it doesn't just give you a trivia question and answer situation.
It is actually good sized blurbs about various things. And
because it's good sized blurbs, you get enough knowledge to
make yourself look super smart if somebody asks God for.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Going to follow up question.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
But I love the sort of random nature of what
you find. How do you guys edit this book, because
sometimes it feels like you must just throw a bunch
of stories on the table and start picking it up
and going, Okay, this is page one, this is page two.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
How do you put the book together?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I mean, best laid plans, the book that we think
we're going to do at the beginning of the process
is a lot different than the book that we end
up making because we we go down rabbit holes or
a story is much bigger than we think it is,
or you know, we'll start to you know, find little
things like, oh, this story can actually match up with
this story and things like that, where you know, we'll
find one story about you know, a funny robot, and
(02:56):
then you know, you'll just start to do a little
research and find ten more stories about that. So it's
just a matter of you know, what what comes across
the desks for us, and then what people send us,
and then what we seek out. And we've got a
huge research library and we were on the internet. We
get magazines, newspapers, people send us things. So it's just
kind of, you know, just kind of let have to
(03:18):
let it take shape. It's kind of let it be
a breathing thing.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Do you ever have an experience in real life that
teaches you something and you immediately go, oh my gosh,
that has to go in the book, like just a
random piece of information.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Oh yeah, absolutely all the time, you know.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
You know, my little cousin, well, cousin's kid offered me
a you know, a PEZ the other day, just like
you wan piece of candy. I'm like, oh, PEZ dispensers.
Why do I never How have I never written about
pet dispensers and so as? So I get on and
then you know, find you know, ten thousand facts about pays.
So then I get to write a PEZ article or
just you know, just I see the world around me
(03:56):
and I'll you know, write an article about it, you know,
like a you know, like I came like there's there's
a reason candy canes are shaped the way they are
or pretzels you know, started off as a as a
treat for for for kids in Catholic school because it
resembles like praying arms.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
So there's there's just always.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Something I'm stumbling on that, I'm like, oh, that's a
great bathroom read article.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
So I write it down in my in my notes
app and then uh, yet after it later?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Is it hard to get great information? I mean it
seems like now we live in this kind of disinformation
as And the best example I have is how many
quotes have we attributed to the wrong person?
Speaker 2 (04:33):
You know, how how many.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Quotes are being attributed falsely? Is it more difficult to
verify what you guys have in the book is true?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Sometimes?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, it's you know, every quote is attributed to either
the Art of War or Mayor or Minroe right or
or sdr.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Nobody else ever said anything anything funny is always Mark Twain.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
But yeah, you got, you got.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
You gotta like as much more information that there is
out there and more places to find it. It's you
gotta do more sourcing and fact checking and verification of things.
But generally things turned out let's say about ninety five
percent of the time things turned out to be to
be true.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Honestly, there's just always more story there.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Lurking below the one fact that gets you into a subjects.
Then you and then instead of writing one paragraph about something.
I'm writing a four page article about it.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
This year's book is Uncle John's Know It All Bathroom Reader,
Superior Trivia, Amazing Facts and Figures.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
That's the whole title. I want to make sure I
got it all in there.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
I always mention this when I do this interview, and
I mean it. I have an eight year old grandson
who doesn't love to read, so we're going on a
family vacation in July. I've already started marking stories in
this Bathroom Reader that I think he will enjoy because
I'm trying to get him over that not liking to
read help. And I think some of these clever stories
(05:59):
are perfect for kids that maybe don't love to read
because they're having to read stuff they don't like, adults
that don't love to read, adults whose attention spans have
been whittled down to that of a goldfish because of algorithms.
This is the book for you. What is your favorite
story in this year's book.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
I think my favorite story, my favorite long story is
about those Burma Shave billboards that used to be overwhere
in America.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Just like that.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Turned into this, you know, this epic story about the
history of advertising. But I think my favorite nugget is
about one of my favorite baseball players.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Mike Piazza.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
He was drafted last, dad last, in the nineteen eighty
eight draft, kind of as a joke. His father was
friends with Tommy Lasorda, the manager of the Dodgers, so
lesorda draft, use their their you know nothing, drafted their
garbage pick to pick this to pick this guy, a
garbage pick to pick this guy who's playing out a
community college in Florida that nobody had heard of, just
(06:55):
as a favor, as a just a kind thing to
his to his friend.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
And then it turned Yeah, the guy that never ready
heard of was tremendous. So it's just a.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
It's just an inspirational story about being overlooked and and
then he just worked his way through the farm system
and became an All Star and a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
That's pretty amazing. That is pretty amazing. Brian Boon, Brian,
Uncle John Boode. You guys are also doing a big
fat giveaway on your website.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I see we are, Yeah, go to We have a
brand new website with lots and lots of great stuff
on there, our articles from our books, brand new stuff
all the time. But if you go there right now
a bathroomreader dot com bathroomreader dot com, you can win
a library of ten old, vintage, brand new bathroom readers
that are out of print that haven't been a scene
(07:40):
in bookstores for a long time, and you can you
can win yourself a little starter bathroom reader library that way.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I'm just gonna say I already own most of these,
just to let you know.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Yeah, I'm just said.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
People wonder I do a dumb trivia game at the
end of the show every day and everybody's like, you're
so good at them. It's because I read books like this. Uh, Brian,
I appreciate you making time today. I put a link
to bathroomreader dot com. Bathroom reader dot com. You can
buy the book that's out now, you can buy any
other book, but do it. This is a great Father's
Day gift. It's just quirky and nerdy and often there's
(08:14):
some good dad joke material in here. I'm just throwing
that out there. So, Brian, I really appreciate your time today.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Oh, I appreciate you having me on the show.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Thanks so much, No problem that is, Brian, Uncle John Boone,
thanks so much. We'll see you next year. Man, thank
you all right. That is a fantastic gift.
I've interviewed someone from the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, and
today that someone is Brian Uncle John Bloom, and he
is cared to talk about what I always say is
the perfect gift for Dad and Brian, I want to
share with you what happened in my household. My husband
enters the restroom and he says, and I quote, dang it,
I forgot my phone. And I said, right behind you
(00:22):
is the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. It's not like in
the olden days where we had to read the back
of the can of lightesol. Now we've got quality literature
that can sit right on the back of the toilet.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Brian, welcome the show. Oh thanks for having me on. Yeah,
I mean the phone is for the rest of the day.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Just take that moment of solace in there and educate yourself,
learn something, and you know better yourself.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
A little bit for.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
My listeners that have not heard of the Uncle John's
Bathroom Reader series, tell the folks kind of give me
the lure. Tell me the story of how this came
to be.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
It is the biggest, greatest, most robust, variety laden trivia.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Book on the planet.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Basically, back in nineteen eighty eight, our original uncle John
John Davna was stuck in a bathroom with nothing to read,
and he said this must be a problem for other
people too, so he launched this trivia book series, and
they just kept getting bigger and bigger every year to
where I'm the third Uncle John now. But we keep
putting these books out and they are designed to where
you can flip them open at random and find whatever
(01:27):
you need to get you through your captive moment, your
dead time, your downtime.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
We cover everything.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
There's history, science, origins, word origins, wordplay, jokes, ill culture, music,
everything you want, and then just stuff you didn't even
know you wanted.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
To know anything about it.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
You know, maybe you don't know much about nature, and
then you'll find an article about nature or so, and
then everything is short so you don't need to commit
a whole lot of time too.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
It's just fun, fun stuff about the world around you.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
If you want to be one of the most interesting
people at a cocktail party, this is your book because
it doesn't just give you a trivia question and answer situation.
It is actually good sized blurbs about various things. And
because it's good sized blurbs, you get enough knowledge to
make yourself look super smart if somebody asks God for.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Going to follow up question.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
But I love the sort of random nature of what
you find. How do you guys edit this book, because
sometimes it feels like you must just throw a bunch
of stories on the table and start picking it up
and going, Okay, this is page one, this is page two.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
How do you put the book together?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I mean, best laid plans, the book that we think
we're going to do at the beginning of the process
is a lot different than the book that we end
up making because we we go down rabbit holes or
a story is much bigger than we think it is,
or you know, we'll start to you know, find little
things like, oh, this story can actually match up with
this story and things like that, where you know, we'll
find one story about you know, a funny robot, and
(02:56):
then you know, you'll just start to do a little
research and find ten more stories about that. So it's
just a matter of you know, what what comes across
the desks for us, and then what people send us,
and then what we seek out. And we've got a
huge research library and we were on the internet. We
get magazines, newspapers, people send us things. So it's just
kind of, you know, just kind of let have to
(03:18):
let it take shape. It's kind of let it be
a breathing thing.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Do you ever have an experience in real life that
teaches you something and you immediately go, oh my gosh,
that has to go in the book, like just a
random piece of information.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Oh yeah, absolutely all the time, you know.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
You know, my little cousin, well, cousin's kid offered me
a you know, a PEZ the other day, just like
you wan piece of candy. I'm like, oh, PEZ dispensers.
Why do I never How have I never written about
pet dispensers and so as? So I get on and
then you know, find you know, ten thousand facts about pays.
So then I get to write a PEZ article or
just you know, just I see the world around me
(03:56):
and I'll you know, write an article about it, you know,
like a you know, like I came like there's there's
a reason candy canes are shaped the way they are
or pretzels you know, started off as a as a
treat for for for kids in Catholic school because it
resembles like praying arms.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
So there's there's just always.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Something I'm stumbling on that, I'm like, oh, that's a
great bathroom read article.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
So I write it down in my in my notes
app and then uh, yet after it later?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Is it hard to get great information? I mean it
seems like now we live in this kind of disinformation
as And the best example I have is how many
quotes have we attributed to the wrong person?
Speaker 2 (04:33):
You know, how how many.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Quotes are being attributed falsely? Is it more difficult to
verify what you guys have in the book is true?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Sometimes?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, it's you know, every quote is attributed to either
the Art of War or Mayor or Minroe right or
or sdr.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Nobody else ever said anything anything funny is always Mark Twain.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
But yeah, you got, you got.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
You gotta like as much more information that there is
out there and more places to find it. It's you
gotta do more sourcing and fact checking and verification of things.
But generally things turned out let's say about ninety five
percent of the time things turned out to be to
be true.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Honestly, there's just always more story there.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Lurking below the one fact that gets you into a subjects.
Then you and then instead of writing one paragraph about something.
I'm writing a four page article about it.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
This year's book is Uncle John's Know It All Bathroom Reader,
Superior Trivia, Amazing Facts and Figures.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
That's the whole title. I want to make sure I
got it all in there.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
I always mention this when I do this interview, and
I mean it. I have an eight year old grandson
who doesn't love to read, so we're going on a
family vacation in July. I've already started marking stories in
this Bathroom Reader that I think he will enjoy because
I'm trying to get him over that not liking to
read help. And I think some of these clever stories
(05:59):
are perfect for kids that maybe don't love to read
because they're having to read stuff they don't like, adults
that don't love to read, adults whose attention spans have
been whittled down to that of a goldfish because of algorithms.
This is the book for you. What is your favorite
story in this year's book.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
I think my favorite story, my favorite long story is
about those Burma Shave billboards that used to be overwhere
in America.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Just like that.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Turned into this, you know, this epic story about the
history of advertising. But I think my favorite nugget is
about one of my favorite baseball players.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Mike Piazza.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
He was drafted last, dad last, in the nineteen eighty
eight draft, kind of as a joke. His father was
friends with Tommy Lasorda, the manager of the Dodgers, so
lesorda draft, use their their you know nothing, drafted their
garbage pick to pick this to pick this guy, a
garbage pick to pick this guy who's playing out a
community college in Florida that nobody had heard of, just
(06:55):
as a favor, as a just a kind thing to
his to his friend.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
And then it turned Yeah, the guy that never ready
heard of was tremendous. So it's just a.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
It's just an inspirational story about being overlooked and and
then he just worked his way through the farm system
and became an All Star and a Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
That's pretty amazing. That is pretty amazing. Brian Boon, Brian,
Uncle John Boode. You guys are also doing a big
fat giveaway on your website.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I see we are, Yeah, go to We have a
brand new website with lots and lots of great stuff
on there, our articles from our books, brand new stuff
all the time. But if you go there right now
a bathroomreader dot com bathroomreader dot com, you can win
a library of ten old, vintage, brand new bathroom readers
that are out of print that haven't been a scene
(07:40):
in bookstores for a long time, and you can you
can win yourself a little starter bathroom reader library that way.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I'm just gonna say I already own most of these,
just to let you know.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Yeah, I'm just said.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
People wonder I do a dumb trivia game at the
end of the show every day and everybody's like, you're
so good at them. It's because I read books like this. Uh, Brian,
I appreciate you making time today. I put a link
to bathroomreader dot com. Bathroom reader dot com. You can
buy the book that's out now, you can buy any
other book, but do it. This is a great Father's
Day gift. It's just quirky and nerdy and often there's
(08:14):
some good dad joke material in here. I'm just throwing
that out there. So, Brian, I really appreciate your time today.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Oh, I appreciate you having me on the show.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Thanks so much, No problem that is, Brian, Uncle John Boone,
thanks so much. We'll see you next year. Man, thank
you all right. That is a fantastic gift.
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