Language lovers rejoice at the best wordplay articles in the history of Uncle John! We asked Roget himself what he thought of Talk Wordy To Me, and he gushed that it’s “incredible, magnificent, wonderful, marvelous, spectacular, astonishing, awe-inspiring, tremen…” Then we cut him off because there’s only so much room to tell you about all the great articles you’ll find in this e-book about word and phrase origins, anagrams, palindromes, puns, jargon, tongue twisters, and the (unintentionally) naughtiest typos ever typed. What else is in here? Lots! A smorgasbord! A cornucopia! A plethora! Myriad! So expand your vocabulary with… • How txting b changin langage lol • The epic story of epic words that are losing their luster (like “epic”) • A pop music anagram quiz • The world's wordiest novelist • Presidential misspeaks that spawned new words • Hilarious headstones from around the world • Words and phrases that are much older than you’d think (like “politically correct” and “truthiness”) • Peter Mark Roget’s obsessive-compulsive quest to create his famous thesaurus • What irony isn’t • Trivia, with a catch—all answers contain poo And much, much more!

From cannibals to conspiracy theories to the origin stories of candy, a compendium of thousands of fun facts to read behind closed doors! Our readers asked for it, and here it is: Uncle John’s first collection of his greatest short facts and quick reading material. Open up to any page of Extraordinary Book of Facts and you might find a list of, say, obscure words (“exocannibals” eat enemies; “indocannibals” eat friends). Flip to another page and there’s a whole bunch of facts about how long things take (a yak’s gestation period: 258 days). On another page: kid facts (the average four-year-old laughs 400 times per day; grownups, about fifteen). Get smarter and laugh a lot more with this amazing collection that features thousands of great facts, plus word origins, myth-conceptions, conspiracy theories, and much, much more. Arranged for simple and speedy reference, this book is the perfect companion for trivia buffs and knowledge junkies everywhere!

Uncle John takes readers on a journey through the ages, shedding new light onto some of the past’s most famous (and infamous) figures, and digging up obscure history you’d never learn in school. Featuring classic BRI articles along with some great all-new material, History Makers travels from the Far East to the Old West, from ancient times to the recent past, debunking myths and exposing the truth along the way. So wind up your wayback machine and read all about...- The lost “Cloud People” of Peru - Twelve countries that no longer exist- Looney English Lords- The mystery of Great Zimbabwe’s ruins- What happens when a U.S. president goes bonkers- The strange fate of some famous body parts- History’s most hilarious blunders- Building the Great Wall(s) of China- Some startling predictions that didn’t pan out...and some that didAnd much, much more!

Got a minute to spare? That’s all you’ll need to get a quick hit of great bathroom reading! After hearing from our fans that they’d love an edition with all our best short stuff, we pored through more than 100 past editions to bring you the all-time greatest one- and two-page articles we’ve ever written. Result: Uncle John’s Briefs is chock full of thousands of great facts and hundreds of quick hits covering history, origins, blunders, sports, pop science, and entertainment--plus a sprinkling of riddles, puns, anagrams, and other classic wordplay. Just open up to any one of these 288 pages. Who knows what you might find? Read about… * The secrets of top-secret spy lingo * The monkey that got a head transplant…and lived * Uncle John’s all-time favorite “Stall of Fame” winners * Bizarre recipes: jellied moose nose, steamed muskrat legs, and haggis * The worst movie bloopers from Best Picture Oscar winners * The man who built Death Valley’s “Castle in the Desert” * The little-known story of the best deal in sports history * How to decipher the hidden codes a dollar bill * Sinister left-handed facts * Earth’s greatest hits And much, much more!

The weirdest, wittiest, wackiest facts and trivia from the Bathroom Reader series are packed into this new volume. Is there any other single book in the universe with this many awesome tidbits of bite-sized information? Nope. And that’s a fact! At nearly 400 pages (with a handy index for your fact-seeking convenience), Wise Up! is a must-have for anyone who likes their information on the go. It’s organized into hundreds of topics—everything from sports and entertainment to word origins and science. Here are but a few of the facts awaiting you: * More women than men talk to their cars. * The melody for Nat King Cole’s 1954 hit “Smile” was composed by Charlie Chaplin. * Acid rain was first identified and named in 1852. * What is your buccal cavity? Your mouth. * There are no skunks in Newfoundland. * The average Super Bowl party has 18 people. * When dropped in water, a fresh egg will sink; a stale one won’t. * The average newborn baby spends 113 minutes a day crying. * Pepper was so valuable during Elizabethan times that it was sold by the grain. * Fossilized termite farts have been preserved in amber. And thousands more!

Hundreds of incredible origin stories, ranging from everyday items to social customs to history-altering inventions. Uncle John’s Where’d That Come From? delivers the true stories behind all sorts of things, even things you never thought of as having origins. Covering a wide range of topics--pop culture, science, sports, politics, customs, superstitions, language, and more--you’ll discover the most engrossing origin stories from the BRI’s deep archives, as well as some all-new “origin”al material! Find out about… - Why the number seven is considered lucky - An airplane in ancient Egypt, and other “OOPAs” (Out Of Place Artifacts) - Who put the hole in a doughnut, the K in K-mart, and the e in e-book - Automotive firsts--including the gas pump, the solar-powered car, and the drag race - The ancient games that led to golf, and the story of the boomerang - Louis Perrier, Earl Grey, Mrs. Paul, and other tasty namesakes - The origins of toothpaste, the color purple, the Ming Dynasty, Valentine’s Day, the recycle symbol, Captain Kirk, “gobbledygook,” and much, much more!

Did you know that Did You Know? is full of bite-sized tidbits of absorbing information just for kids? You do now! It’s also loaded with tons of funny illustrations. And in true Uncle John style, there are lots of surprises to be discovered in these 252 pages! To make it easier for kids to navigate, the book is divided into fun categories covering a wide range of topics—from Antarctica to zebras to nearly everything in between. Here are a few of the facts sure to amaze kids both big and little: * Listening to music is good for digestion. * The word cash originally referred to a money box. * By 2040, robots may become as intelligent as people. * Grasshoppers hear with the fronts of their knees. * Reebok shoes are named after a type of African gazelle. * 11,111,111 X 11,111,111 = 123,456,787,654,321. * In almost every language on Earth, the word for mother begins with the letter “m.” * The word hiccup appears once in the works of William Shakespeare. * Scientists have revived bacteria that were dormant for 250 million years. * If you’re floating in space and you fart, it will generate enough force to propel you forward. And hundreds more facts just like these!