Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Wonderful World of Odd by Bathroom Readers’ Institute Read Free Book Online Page B

how hard that must have been for Sarah, he was making it up to her in marble.
    A third theory, simple but compelling, is that Davis was justplain nuts. He became a compulsive memorial builder in much the same way that some people are compulsive collectors. Even if he did realize that each new addition of statues further cluttered an already crowded memorial, he couldn’t stop himself.
    In the 1950s, it was against French law for a flying saucer to land in any vineyard.
THE END…OR IS IT?
    In 1937, the same year that he signed over his mansion to Horace England, John Davis learned from his doctors that he had less than six months to live. Davis quickly gave away the rest of his fortune—possibly as much as $55,000—and prepared to join his wife in their final resting place. Six months passed…and then a year…and then two years, until eventually Davis realized that the same doctors he blamed for losing his hand after his axe incident had also botched the diagnosis of his “terminal” illness. He didn’t have six months to live, he had ten years to live, and now that he had given away his entire fortune he couldn’t even afford to live in his mansion, even though it was rent-free. He moved into the local poorhouse and lived there for the rest of his days, though he did spend a lot of time out at the cemetery, proudly showing off the 11 life-size statues and The Vacant Chair to the throngs of people who came to see it. He died in his sleep in 1947.
    In all, Davis is believed to have spent $200,000 on his memorial, the equivalent of well over $1 million today. (Many locals also credit him with giving tens of thousands of dollars to the needy during his lifetime, usually in small sums. But since this giving was done in private, it has been overshadowed by the memorial.)
A SIGHT TO BE SEEN
    The Davis Memorial isn’t the prettiest grave in America. It looks like a cross between a gas station and a statue-company showroom. Nevertheless, it attracts as many as 30,000 visitors a year, many of whom go straight to the cemetery without bothering to visit the town. Perhaps it’s only fair, then, that Hiawatha’s townspeople are as ambivalent about Davis today as they were during the Depression, when he memorialized his wife in stone instead of building a library or a hospital that would have honored her memory while contributing to the common good. But Davis wouldn’t have had it any other way. “They hate me,” Davis admitted late in life, “but it’s my money and I spent it the way I pleased.”
    Forgotten First: Emilio Onra was the first human cannonball (1871).

40 ODD USES FOR WD-40
    Fifty years after its invention in 1953, WD-40 can be found in four out of five American homes. (We even have a couple of cans here at the BRI.)
    L IS FOR LUBRICANT
    Sure, it loosens and lubricates, but what else can it do? Well, if you believe what you read on the Internet and in tabloid newspapers, a lot. It removes makeup from carpet, liberates stuck Lego blocks, kills weeds, exterminates cockroaches, even foils squirrels from climbing into bird feeders. New uses are discovered every day; here are 40 of the best known. (WARNING: We haven’t tested these and do not recommend trying them…so don’t call us if you wreck your carpet trying to get ink stains out with WD-40.)
    1. Removes grime from book covers and marker from dry erase boards.
    2. Prevents mud and clay from sticking to shovels and boots.
    3. Removes grease and oil stains on clothes.
    4. Softens new baseball gloves.
    5. Cleans chrome fixtures in bathrooms.
    6. Makes the puck slide faster on an air hockey table.
    7. Cleans and softens paint brushes.
    8. Cleans and protects cowboy boots.
    9. Removes crayon from walls, carpet, wallpaper, plastics, shoes, toys, chalkboard, television screens, screen doors, and rock walls.
    10. Eases arthritis pain…just spray it on the joint that hurts.
    11. Cleans piano keys.
    12. Removes super strong glue from fingers.
    13. Keeps wicker