Bathroom Readers' Institute's Blog, page 9

Why is Amelia Earhart Famous?

The name is familiar, and it looms large in American history books. Here’s specifically what Amelia Earhart did, and why she’s so important and notable.

Busting the Myths About Sacagawea

In May 1804— 218 years ago this month — Sacagawea departed with the expedition headed by William Clark and Meriweather Lewis, a great trek to explore the Louisiana Purchase, which would become the western United States. Those are the facts — here are some other well-known things about Sacagawea that just aren’t true, no matter […]

NFL Teams That Almost Moved (But Didn’t)

In the last few years, the St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers moved to Los Angeles, while the Oakland Raiders headed to Las Vegas. Those are some team moves that worked out — unlike these proposed franchise relocations that didn’t quite work out. St. Louis Patriots About a decade before quarterback Tom Brady arrived […]

More Than Four Fab Facts About the Fab Four

It’s Beatlemania all over again around here, both in this article filled with little-known facts about the Beatles, and in our publishing sibling Thunder Bay Press’s new book, The Beatles: Illustrated Lyrics,So get back, come together, drag a comb across your head, and get ready to love eight days worth of facts. The Beatles’ “White […]

Gandhi: The Myths About the Mahatma

Mahatma Gandhi is a towering, larger-than-life historical figure who changed the geopolitical makeup of the world of the 20th century. But how much do you really know about Gandhi, what he did, and why it’s important? As we prepare to release a book about the man, here’s a look at some of the misconceptions about […]

Imagine Ghosts Are Real

John Lennon was tragically assassinated in 1980. But according to some people, the Beatle never completely left the earthly realm. And your bird can sing In 1995, the three surviving Beatles at the time — George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr — reunited for the first Beatles recording in decades. They added their vocals […]

Death at Disneyland

Disneyland: It’s the happiest place on Earth! Well, not if you die there, it’s not. In 1984, a California woman named Dolly Regena Young boarded the Matterhorn Bobsleds. Sometime during the ride, her seatbelt came undone and she was thrown from the ride and onto the tracks. As she was riding in the back of […]

Bring Back the Bathroom Book

Chances are, you’re reading this on your phone. And you’re probably also in the bathroom. Save the blogs for when you’re waiting in line, and bring some more traditional reading material into the loo with you — like an Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader, for example. Return it to its pre-phone days as the restroom reader […]

History’s Greatest Potheads

And now, a sober, haze-free look at some noble and venerable historical figures who (somewhat surprisingly) partook in cannabis, the favorite pastime of Cheech, Chong, Snoop Dogg, and Willie Nelson. Queen Victoria. The monarch who reigned over the British empire from 1837 to 1901 was highly influential on many aspects of British life, from food […]

Billionaires…in…SPAAAAAAACE!

In July 2021, Amazon founder and multibillionaire Jeff Bezos launched himself into space. What’s more surprising about this? He’s hardly the first non-government-agency-affiliated person to reach the edge of the cosmos. Here’s a brief history of private spaceflight. 1961: Just four years after the Soviet Union launched two Sputnik satellites, the first manmade objects to […]