Uncle John’s Curiously Compelling Bathroom Reader Read Online Free PDF Page B

Violet (Lily Tomlin) gets stopped by the police for a broken taillight.
    Blooper: When the car pulls away, both taillights are working fine.
Nearly three-fourths of all the fresh water in the world is in Canada.
    Movie: Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
    Scene: Napoleon dances to a funk song after Pedro’s class president speech.
    Blooper: During the dance, Napoleon’s shirt is tucked in, then it’s untucked, then tucked back in, then untucked, then tucked in again.
    Movie: The Da Vinci Code (2006)
    Scene: In a flashback scene, Mary Magdalene (Charlotte Graham) leaves Jerusalem. As she walks, the Dome of the Rock is clearly visible in the background.
    Blooper: This landmark was built in the 7th century…about 700 years after Mary Magdalene died.
    Movie: Charlie’s Angels (2000)
    Scene: The Angels are fighting the Thin Man (Crispin Glover).
    Blooper: Just before Dylan (Drew Barrymore) lifts up Alex (Lucy Liu) to kick the Thin Man, she calls her “Lucy,” not “Alex.”
    Movie: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
    Scene: Three BMWs chase Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie).
    Blooper: The movie is supposed to take place in New York City. So why do we see a street sign reading “Los Angeles City Limits”?
    Movie: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
    Scene: The shuttle crew discovers the monolith on the moon. As they gaze at it, moon dust begins to blow around.
    Blooper: There is no wind on the moon—it has no atmosphere.
    Movie: Romeo + Juliet (1996)
    Scene: Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet (Clare Danes) lie dead.
    Blooper: Romeo blinks.
    Movie: A Night at the Opera (1935)
    Scene: Mr. Driftwood (Groucho Marx) complains that his meal at a restaurant in Milan, Italy, costs $9.
    Blooper: They didn’t use dollars in Italy…they used lire .
Johnny Depp played guitar on the 1998 Oasis album Be Here Now .

INVENTIVE ADVERTISING
The other day, we were eating delicious Cowboy Burgers at Applebee’s when Uncle John remarked that it seems like advertising is becoming more and more intrusive. Then he took a refreshing sip of his ice-cold Pepsi .
    B EER-FOOT
    When the town of Creston, British Columbia, couldn’t come up with the $20,000 needed to build a statue of Sasquatch, the Kokanee Brewing Company came to the rescue. But Kokanee’s contribution to the statue fund was contingent on one small change in the design. Now Bigfoot can be sighted in downtown Creston…carrying a 12-pack of Kokanee beer.
    HOT CUP OF WHAT?
    The advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi came up with a clever idea to help sell Folgers coffee: paint New York City manhole covers so they look like full cups of coffee viewed from above. As the manhole covers emit steam, they look like steaming cups of Folgers coffee. (You know it’s Folgers because the logo appears prominently on the street next to the cover.) One problem: The steam that rises out of the manholes doesn’t smell like coffee, but rather like something much worse and much less appetizing.
    FAUX-LANTHROPY
    In 2004 Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream responded to a plea from a group of nuns in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to help the homeless. Displaying incredible generosity, the company gave winter jackets to the city’s street people. But every jacket they donated bore the Ben & Jerry’s logo.
    PIMP MY DRINK
    In 2004 Seagram’s Gin “found” its way into popular songs from such hip-hop artists as Twista, Dem Franchize Boyz, and Kanye West. Another performer, Petey Pablo, scored the year’s second-most-played rap song, “Freek-a-Leek,” which features the lines: “Now I got to give a shout out to Seagram’s Gin / ’Cause I’m drinkin’ it and they payin’ me for it!”
Hedgehog urine was once believed to cure baldness.
    AMERICAN GRAFFITI, INC.
    Targeting their products to inner-city youth, Sony Music hired graffiti artists to spray-paint ads on walls in many American cities. The ads depicted caricatures of urban kids enjoying Sony music products. City officials, especially in San Francisco, were