On August 21, 1966, after receiving a tip of dead bodies high on a rugged hill in southeastern Brazil, authorities discovered two formally dressed male corpses in waterproof coats, partly covered with grass and each wearing eye masks made of lead. The young men bore no obvious signs of trauma, and there was no evidence of a struggle or immediately […]

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Since 1879, residents of a quaint town in upstate New York have mediated conversations between loved ones—parents and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters. What’s so special about that? These mediators connect the living…with the dead. TRAPPED IN TIME Pastel-painted Victorian homes line the streets of Lily Dale, New […]

Some refer to the rock-like substance as “floating gold” because of its hue and value. (For reference, 175 pound, 79 kg, lump of it was recently found floating off the coast of Qurayat, netting the fishermen who found it a cool $3 million when they sold it at auction.) Others call it “ambergris,” derived from the Old French “ambre gris,” […]

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader POO-BOT You’ve probably never heard of the Japanese comic-book character Arale Norimaki. She’s a purple-haired robot teenager whose favorite hobby is “poking poop with a stick.” Arale Norimaki has a huge following not just in Japan, but in other parts of Asia as well, including Taiwan. That’s where, in 2004, […]

Fifty white stars on a field of blue (one for each state) and 13 horizontal stripes, alternating red (7) and white (6) for the original 13 colonies, the U.S. flag is a revered symbol by many of the nation. And in recognition of the honored place Old Glory holds, in 1947, Congress passed a series of laws, specifically proscribing how […]

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader “Scattered around our planet are hundreds of creatures that have been to the Moon and back again. None of them are human.”—NASA ORBITAL ORCHARD On January 31, 1971, Apollo 14 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, launching astronauts Edgar Mitchell, Alan Shepard, and Stuart Roosa to the moon. Roosa, an […]

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader To help win World War II, the Allies used every skill they could come up with—including illusion, trickery…and magic. WIZARD SCHOOL In 1940 Britain’s Ministry of Home Security created a military unit dedicated to “civil camouflage.” Their job would be to provide safety through “seriously ridiculous deception.” The unit of […]

With rents for even the smallest quarters exceeding the equivalent of $1000 monthly, a relatively large number of working class people in Asia’s largest cities have become, essentially, homeless. Rather than being completely destitute, as many homeless are, a not inconsiderable number of these individuals earn enough to otherwise support themselves outside of being able to afford housing. To solve […]