Instant Genius: Fast Food for Thought

Instant Genius

by Bathroom Readers' Institute

The two mottos of the Bathroom Readers' Institute are evident in the pages of Instant "Get smart," and "Have fun." As the creators of the wildly popular Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series, the BRI has 20 years of experience translating those mottoes into fun and informative books. But, aware that not every reader is a bathroom reader, they've created this definitive collection of bite-sized bits of knowledge that cover a wide variety of topics from the seemingly ordinary to the obscure and mind-bending. Instant Genius will take the reader on a fun and fascinating trip through the essentials (and non-essentials) of history, science, geography, the arts, pop culture, mathematics, and more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Trivia

378 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2008

About the author

The Bathroom Reader's Institute UJBR boasts more than 12 million books in print and a membership base topping 40,000 loyal readers . . .

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

its a good book to pick up and read for a little bit when you feel like learning something. Did you know WD-40 coagulates and ruins cocaine?

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books in this series are reliably solid. Shallow and scattered, but interesting enough to hold my attention. These would make good training manuals for aspiring Jeopardy contestants.

[Brian Burriston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, some things could be helpful, written in fun style - actually more informative than I expected.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun read. Perfect for very short timespans, like the bathroom, standing in line, at bedtime, even at stoplights if you're really watchful. But you have to watch it, because it's addictive and you find yourself reading the next bit too. No real organization but that's okay for a book of this type. Lots of stuff I didn't know. Some I did. Some that was more than I wanted to know. No references so if you're really curious, you have to check it out elsewhere. There is an index if you want to find or re-find something particular.
Gene Autry's Cowboy Code. the 17 penguin species. Why is ice slippery? cities on rivers. 7 neutral nations. 6 honorary U.S. citizens. the 5 kinds of triangles. the oldest tools you probably have in your house (not the oldest you have, but the one that's been around the longest in history). 5 types of migrating fish. U.S. states named after people. And other stuff.
Highly recommended.

[Scott L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great book, but fun to read. Many, many facts and factoids are contained within: there is a LOT of information. On the other hand, I am unsure why the editors decided to present the information randomly and haphazardly. It make for some confusing reading; and I found myself having to put the book down every now and again because there was just too much information to digest. I recommend this book for information and trivia buffs.

[Nurshafiqa · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was really fun for me to read. the facts were bite-sized and most of them were interesting (to me) and even though i didnt turn into a genius after reading this book, i have learnt quite a few things.

if i owned this book, i would reread it over and over.

[AF]

These books are sensational!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the only nonfiction book I've actually had a real and enduring interest in. Good bathroom reading indeed.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally awesome, and fun. Lots of weird stuff. Amaze your friends!

[Dan Stern · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting book. basically, it goes through things you have forgotten from school, plus things you never knew. it presents the information in a logical but fun way, and actually makes them interesting (not like a textbook).