06-02-25 Interview - Brian Boone - Help Dad Get Smarter in the Can

Luckily for me my guests that was scheduled there and I was thinking about this. So I've had my own show since two thousand and five where I was a big cheese and I think I first spoke to Brian Boone from The Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, probably in two

I'm not kidding, because we've done this every year for a while.

That's an honor.

Yeah, absolutely, it's it's an honor. It's great to talk to you every year and talk about all the fun and silly stuff that I find that we get to put in these books.

It's a thrill.

Let's talk about the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.

This is your thirty seventh edition.

How did this art get start?

Well back in the eighties.

My predecessor, who was really named John John Javna he'd written a bunch of trivia books, and he decided that you know, there should be there should be something that you read in the bathroom. It's a you're a captive audience. He was stuck in there reading the side of a shampoo model, and you realize, you know what, I bet.

A lot of other people have this problem.

They're they're stuck in here for five to ten minutes, hopefully not any longer than that, and they need something to do with their time. So you might as well muzzle be productive, mus well learn something and be entertained while you're in there, do your business.

I love these books because they are basically like, in my mind, they are the books that you want to read if you ever want to go on Jeopardy okay, because they are so of like this completely diverse set of information. Most of the entries are a couple pages long. So to your point, Brian, you can read it while you're resting comfortably in the restroom and then pick it up again the next time and not feel like you have to go back and find out what you missed.

Is that the intention just to read it, and so.

That's the intention.

You should be able to just pick it up open at random, and you'll find something, something short, something interesting. You know, feel free to flip through the pages because there's a little something for everyone. There's history, there's science, there's word origins, there's stuff about movies and TV. There's jokes, there's stuff about food, which seems strange, but it's in there. A lot of bathroom humor, but not too much because we know that makes people a little squeamish.

So yeah, you can.

You can open it up to anything and you'll find something. You'll find something that you like. We guarantee it.

Well.

I got your press release, Brian, and something jumped out at me because in our family we have a long running joke about buffalo and bison being the same thing. Yes, but in the section what's the difference between you talk about buffalo and bison? What is the difference between buffalo and bison?

If any uh, there's there's actually quite a few. They're they are completely different animals. What we call in North America the buffalo that's actually a bison, and you can tell them apart because they have a hump on their shoulder and they're also the ones that have the beards and buffalo don't have don't have the beards or the humps on their shoulder, but they do have much much bigger horns. So that's how you can tell the difference.

Where Buffalo, if we have bison, were Buffalo.

Asia, Oh okay, then Buffalo or in Asia?

All right, Well, then I actually am somewhat vindicated from this little piece of knowledge that you just gave me, and I will be rubbing it in the family's face accordingly when I get home. What's your favorite what's your favorite story in the Uncle John's Action packed Bathroom Reader this year?

You know it's probably Roland the Farther, of course, Well, I was, I was curious.

I saw something on TV.

This is often the inspiration something on TV about court jesters, you know, the we think of them as you know, the the you know, kind of foppish, you know, court jester comedian like in the in the hat with the funny hat with the bells on the end, and they were a real thing. But there there were all kinds of performers who would who would you know, entertain the service and pleasure of the king and his court. And Roland the Farter wouldn't really tell jokes. He would fart on command.

That was his talent. He could fart, and King Henry the Second.

Of England thought that was the most hilarious thing ever, because it is.

The most hilarious thing ever, being able to fart on command.

And his special trick that he could do is he could jump, whistle and fart all at the same time, and that apparently brought down the house in twelfth century England.

You know what.

And with second raiders today as well, and jumping, farting and wait, not sneezing. He was jumping, farting and whistling, right.

Jumping, jumping, whistling and farting all at the same time, which which sounds easy, but it's, uh, it's not. We all, we all, we all, we all tried around the office in the comfort of our own, you know, we did it on our own, but we all, but we all tried.

To see if we could do it, and it's it's it's hard to do.

I'm not a big farterer on command myself, so I don't think I'm going to just let you guys try that. Brian, in a moment of seriousness about this very fun and silly book I've been recommending this book for Forever to parents of teenage boys.

Hear me out.

So teenage boys are not really many of them are not super into reading and not they don't necessarily want to spend some time reading, And now that kids have phones glued in their hands, it's even harder. These books are full of the useless, idiotic information like roll in the Farterer, And it's in such such a small dose that if you've got a kid that is not reading as much as you'd like them to say, look, I want you to read this. It's at least it'll be

That is.

That is the most wonderful compliment I think I've ever received about these books.

Thank you so much.

And that's really that really affects me, and knowing that we're making an impact and we're getting people involved with reading, and just because.

Reading should be entertaining, it should be engaging. It's it's theater of the mind. And we always say that we were the Internet Before the Internet. There's little little doses.

And you know, you know, you're always seeing you know, wacky stories on the Internet and stuff, and we just we just put them all in one place for you and we find the best stuff and try.

To make it entertaining and informative for people.

So thank you so much, no problem, it is my pleasure.

I love these books. I've got them all. I think they're fantastic. They make a great gift for dad. You know, if your dad doesn't have enough useless facts to spout off at the family barbecue, you are going to load him for bear. If you just go and up put a link to buy this, it will be here by Father's Day. If you go ahead and do this link today. It is the Uncle John's Action Packed Bathroom Reader thirty seven And Brian Boone, thanks for making time for us today.

Well, thank you so much. Thanks that. It's always always great to talk to you.

All right.

That's Brian Boone from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series.

I love these books. You will too.