Since 1987, the Bathroom Readers’ Institute has led the movement to stand up for those who sit down and read in the bathroom (and everywhere else for that matter). With more than 11 million books in print, the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series is the longest-running, most popular series of its kind in the world.Where else could you learn how soap works, why people started tipping, and the history of chocolate? Uncle John rules the world of information and humor, so get ready to be thoroughly entertained. Read all about…Dumb 9-1-1 calls22 things that fell from the skyHow Star Trek went from failed series to cult phenomenonThe origins of football, photography, soap operas, and paperclipsQuack medicines from yesterday and todayThe “Uplifting” history of the braAnd much more!

    Uncle John uncovers the truth behind some of history’s most persistent myths, flushes out information you were never taught in school, and gives history fans something they can really digest. Since 1987, the Bathroom Readers’ Institute has led the movement to stand up for those who sit down and read in the bathroom (and everywhere else for that matter). With more than 11 million books in print, the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series is the longest-running, most popular series of its kind in the world.Where else could you learn about the 10 most forgotten people in history, mistakes that led to great discoveries, and how a fish had a hand (er, fin) in beating Napoleon? Uncle John rules the world of information and humor, so get ready to be thoroughly entertained. Read all about…The short history of underwearOdd deaths of famous figuresAbe Lincoln, fashion iconThe real Lady GodivaRoyal inbreeds and promiscuous popesThe true story of BraveheartAnd much more!

    Short, sharp facts combine with hundreds of pictures and illustrations to deliver information with a punch. You'll find all the things you ever wanted to know plus so much more in one fascinating book. Key subject areas are clearly highlighted so finding information is effortlessly simple with the use of button-like icons. Compact and easy to use, this really is the complete reference resource for the fact-hungry. Ten bulleted facts on every spread Fascinating fact panels Highlighted subject areas Hundreds of color illustrations and pictures

    McQueen engagingly spins tales of the likes of career criminal George Barrett, psychic Edgar Cayce, duelist Alexander McClung and more than 20 other Kentuckians who he says are "peculiar footnotes to history." Keven's twin brother, Kyle. pens cartoon illustrations to contribute to this "fun read."

    Whiskers, those television celebrities who hammed it up between cartoons and contests during local kids' shows?In Hi There, Boys and Girls! America's Local Children's TV Programs, Tim Hollis tracks down the story of every known local children's TV show from markets across the United States.There have been many books about children's television on the networks, and such shows as Captain Kangaroo, Howdy Doody, and Sesame Street are legends in broadcasting.However, the local branch of children's programming has received much less attention. For every performer on the scale of a Captain Kangaroo or a Buffalo Bob, there were five or six local personalities who were just as beloved by their viewers--and sometimes even more so--since these local stars could be counted on for appearances at stores, children's hospitals, and shopping centers, where kids could meet them face-to-face.Anyone over the age of thirty who grew up with a TV set will remember at least one or two of these productions. Whether it was hosted by a cowboy character, a clown such as the one on the many-franchised Bozo shows, a policeman, a sea captain who showed Popeye cartoons, or one of the gentle and lovely ladies who presided over Romper Room, these hometown stars were some of the Baby Boomers' first friends. Although children loved them, these hard-working performers garnered less respect from the rest of the TV industry.Hi There, Boys and Girls! includes a capsule history of this programming from the earliest days of radio to the early 1970s, when a combination of social changes and broadcast regulations sent most of the hosts into retirement.Walt Disney once observed that while there is very little adult in a child, there is a lot of child in every adult. This book will bring back a flood of long-submerged memories for anyone who was a child during this golden era.

    obscenity laws, and you may find yourself hours later absorbed in the imaginary worlds of Camelot and The Matrix or sidetracked by the fascinating history of "The New Yorker. Designed to satisfy the curious browser as well as the serious researcher, this exciting new resource offers the most up-to-date information on literature available in English from around the world, from the invention of writing to the age of the computer. Interwoven throughout the more than 2,500 succinct and insightful entries on Creators, Works of Literature, and Literary Facts and Resources are the fascinating facts and quirky biographical details that make literature come alive. Readers will discover, for instance, that Walt Whitman was fired from his government job after his personal copy of "Leaves of Grass was discovered in his desk by the Secretary of the Interior, who was scandalized by it; that James Baldwin remembered listening to blues singer Bessie Smith ("playing her till I fell asleep") when he was writing his first book; and that a publisher turned down the serialization rights to "Gone with the Wind, saying, "Who needs the Civil War now -- who cares?"Looking for information about book burning or how many Nobel laureates have come from Japan? You'll find it here. Trying to remember the name of that movie based on a favorite book? Read the "Variations" section -- you'll be amazed at the pervasive presence of great literature in today's entertainment. From Aristophanes to Allende, from Bergson to Bloom, thebiographical entries will inform readers about the men and women who have shaped -- and are shaping -- the literary world. Look into "Works of Literature" to discover the significance of "Beowulf, The Fountainhead, Doctor Zhivago, and nearly 1,000 other titles. Check the "Dictionary of Literature" to find out what the critics and theorists are talking about. And if you wish to delve even deeper, "Websites for Literature" and "Literary Factbooks and Handbooks" are just two of the bibliographies that will point readers in the right direction.Unique in scope and design and easy to use, "The New York Public Library Literature Companion will be at home on every reader's shelf. Whether you are immersed in Stephen King or "King Lear, this book has the insights, facts, and fascinating stories that will enrich your reading forever. With four major research centers and 85 branch libraries, The New York Public Library is internationally recognized as one of the greatest institutions of its kind. Founded in 1895, the library now holds more than 50 million items, including several world-renowned collections of literary manuscripts and rare books. Among the books published from the library in recent years are "The New York Public Library Desk Reference (1998); "The Hand of the Poet (1997); "Letters of Transit: Reflections on Exile, Identity, Language, and Loss (1999); "A Secret Location on the Lower East Side: Adventures in Writing, 1960-1980 (1998); and "Utopia: The Search for the Ideal Society in the Western World (2000).

    Here, deftly defined and intriguingly displayed, are thousands of words, phrases, slogans, names, events, and titles of songs, books, films, and TV programs that resonate with English-speaking people everywhere. In addition to many unusual gems, you'll find fascinating lists, focused on such varied subjects as rock group monikers, operations code names of World War II, nicknames of famous sportspeople, and some of the most celebrated advertising slogans of the past century.

    Continuing in the format of the previous editions, a wide variety of subjects are included: individual carols and songs; historical events at Christmastime; popular Christmas symbols; Christmas plants, place names, and stamps; and celebrations in countries around the world, including the origins of some of the most cherished traditions in the United States. Unique to this work is its emphasis on Christmas as depicted in the popular media, with entries covering literary works such as Call Me Mrs. Miracle and Silver Bells, classic television series such as Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie, motion pictures such as Arthur Christmas and Santa Clause 3, and television specials expressing holiday themes.

    Patrick Lewis and artist Brian Ajhar team up (for the first time) to offer this surprising, informative, and wonderfully funny tribute to those who've gone before . . .well, everyone! A Pulitzer Prize winner and a prize-fighter, a bubble gum blower and a blue jeans maker, intrepid explorers, daredevils, and high-flying honeymooners are all a part of a gallery of awesome endeavors and notable events. A celebration of our history and the ever-striving human spirit, this upbeat homage will have young readers bursting to create their own fantastic "firsts".

    The authors of How to Succeed with Women and How to Succeed with Men deliver the definitive scoop on sex-related books, movies, Web sites, laws, fantasies and techniques.

    Between 1833 and 1950, over 3,300 patents were granted to residents of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI. From the scuba tank to the variable pitch propeller to two-piece long underwear, Great Maritime Inventions profiles the best of the best. Included are inventions that are considered to be great advances in science, those that have substantially changed the course of development of technology, or those that have enjoyed a lasting success that can still be remembered or observed to this day. All of the inventions described in the book were completely novel in their day. Each patent is first in its classification, or else its claims are so broad that the intellectual property protection it gave covered every possible precursor. Before a patent was granted, an applicant had to declare that their invention was entirely new. Each application then underwent a thorough examination by expert examiners at the patent office. Each of the patents in Great Maritime Inventions were found to represent knowledge newly available to the public, and to be an important step forward in engineering or in developing consumer products that enhance our lives. Not all inventions were spectacular. In fact, many of these inventions never made it into the history books. It is only after fifty years or more that we realize the influence that every one of these inventions has had on our society. Each invention, large or small, was an important link in the chain of evolution of science and useful arts and has improved the way we live today.