Free Uncle John’s Unsinkable Bathroom Reader by Bathroom Readers’ Institute

arms. They each raise one leg—the one closest to the other player—straight up three times, counting “one, two, three” as they do. On the third lift they quickly interlock their legs and, like arm wrestling, they each attempt to pull the other player’s leg over and touch their opponent’s foot to the ground.
    Really? There are 127 ways to spell the last name Raleigh.
    GAME: Memory
    HOW IT’S PLAYED : Place 10 to 15 small items—a pencil, apaper clip, a key, and so on—on a tray. One person is the “monitor,” and makes a list of all the items. The rest of the players sit in a circle, and the monitor places the tray—with a towel over it—in the middle of the circle. The monitor takes the towel off, and the kids get to look at the items for a specific length of time (20 to 60 seconds), after which the towel is replaced. Then the kids, in order around the circle, attempt to name one item on the tray. When an item is named, the monitor crosses it off the list. If a player can’t name an object—no repeats—they’re out. Last person in wins.
    GAME: Statues
    HOW IT’S PLAYED : One player—often called “grandmother” or “grandfather”—stands at the end of a room facing away from the other players. She yells “Go!” and the others race toward her. The first person to tag her wins…but there’s a catch: Grandmother may turn around suddenly any time she likes, at which time the other players must stand stock still…like a statue. If grandmother sees you moving, you’re out!
    GAME: Duck, Duck, Goose
    HOW IT’S PLAYED : A group of kids sit in a circle, facing inward. One kid—the “goose”—walks around the circle tapping each sitting child on the head, saying “duck” each time, until she decides to say “goose.” The “goosed” child jumps up and chases the goose around the circle, trying to tag her before she can reach and sit in the empty spot. If the goose is caught, she’s still the goose. If not, the goosed duck is the new goose.
    GAME: Sardines
    HOW IT’S PLAYED : This version of “Hide and Seek” was (and presumably still is) more popular in the U.K. and Canada than in the United States. A group of players close their eyes and count to an agreed upon number (50 or 100 or whatever) while one player goes and hides. When the number is reached, the seekers split up and search for the player. If a seeker finds the hider, the seeker hides, too, as close to that person as possible. The game goes on until only one player is still looking for the seeker, and the hiders are all packed together…like sardines.
    The board game Risk has released Star Wars , Lord of the Rings , Narnia , and Transformers editions.

WEIRD CANADA
    Crystal lakes, snow-capped mountains, hockey, Mounties, universal health care, bilingual traffic signs…and some really, really weird news stories .
    N EWS JUNKIE
In 2007 the Edmonton Sun interviewed a 70-year-old woman identified only as “Maggie” who claimed she devoured the Edmonton Sun every day—literally. For the previous seven years, she’d cut the newspaper into strips and eaten it because, she said, it “tastes good.” The woman decided to come forward after doctors removed a massive ball of paper that was lodged in her esophagus.
THESE BANK FEES ARE CRIMINAL
    In 2007 Christopher Emmorey tried to rob a bank in Peterborough, Ontario. Instead of asking a teller for all the money, for some reason Emmorey demanded just $5,000. The teller replied that she had only $200 on hand, adding that because he wasn’t a customer of that bank, he’d have to pay a $5 withdrawal fee. Emmorey waited while the clerk did the paperwork—which he signed—and gave him $195. He was arrested an hour later.
ICE DANCING WINS
    In 2002 a group of softball players met in a Calgary park for a late-night game. At the next field over, a group of croquet players were also playing a late-night game. A few hours later, six players from both groups were in the hospital (two were