Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Golden Plunger Awards (51 page)

BOOK: Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Golden Plunger Awards
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Every year, thousands of people participate in rubber duck races around the country. The largest, the Derby Duck Races, is held exclusively for charity. The first such race was in 1988, the brainchild of Eric Schechter, president of Great American Merchandising and Events (GAME). Since then, the races have raised over $140 million, and continue to raise more than $10 million per year. That’s a lot of ducks—and bucks.
CREATIVE CANARDS
In 2007, an outdoor art exhibit in France called “Loire Estuary 2007” provided an opportunity for Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman to create one of the biggest rubber ducks on record—80 feet high! Hofman extolled the healing virtues of his “Canard de Bain,” saying the giant mallard did not discriminate, did not have political views, and was basically just good for the soul to look at. The duck floated in the Loire River until the exhibit closed in September 2007.
Estonian sculptor Villu Jaanisoo created a giant rubber duck completely out of old tires in 2003. It’s on display at the Retretti Art Center in Punkaharju, Finland, but unfortunately, it’s a duck out of water—it rests on land.
TIME
MAGAZINE’S PERSON OF THE YEAR
2007:
Vladimir Putin
2006:
You (Internet user-
generated content)
2005:
Good Samaritans (Bono,
Bill and Melinda Gates)
2004:
George W. Bush
2003:
The American Soldier
2002:
Corporate Whistleblowers
2001:
Rudolph Giuliani
2000:
George W. Bush
1999:
Jeff Bezos of
Amazon.com
1998:
Bill Clinton and Ken-
neth Starr
1997:
Andy Grove of Intel
1996:
AIDS researcher David Ho
1995:
Newt Gingrich
1994:
Pope John Paul II
1993:
Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak
Rabin, Nelson Mandela,
and F. W. de Klerk
1992:
Bill Clinton
1991:
Ted Turner
1990:
George Bush
1989:
Mikhail Gorbachev
1988:
The Endangered Earth
1987:
Mikhail Gorbachev
1986:
Philippines president
Corazon Aquino
1985:
Chinese leader Deng
Xiaoping
1984:
Baseball commissioner
Peter Ueberroth
1983:
Ronald Reagan and Yuri
Andropov
1982:
The Computer
1981:
Polish politician Lech
Walesa
1980:
Ronald Reagan
1979:
Ayatollah Khomeini
1978:
Anwar Sadat
Also available from
Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader
!
THE LAST PAGE
FELLOW BATHROOM READERS:
The fight for good bathroom reading should never be taken loosely—we must do our duty and sit firmly for what we believe in, even while the rest of the world is taking potshots at us.
We’ll be brief. Now that we’ve proven we’re not simply a flushin-the-pan, we invite you to take the plunge: Sit Down and Be Counted! Become a member of the Bathroom Readers’ Institute. Log on to
www.bathroomreader.com
, or send a self-addressed, stamped, business-sized envelope to: BRI, PO Box 1117, Ashland, Oregon 97520. You’ll receive your free membership card, get discounts when ordering directly through the BRI, and earn a permanent spot on the BRI honor roll!
If you like reading our books...
VISIT THE BRI’S WEB SITE!
www.bathroomreader.com
•Visit “The Throne Room”—a great place to read!
•Receive our irregular newsletters via e-mail
•Order additional
Bathroom Readers
•Become a BRI member
Keep on flushin’…
Well, we’re out of space, and when you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go. Tanks for all your support. Hope to hear from you soon. Meanwhile, remember…
Go with the Flow!
Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Golden Plunger Awards
 
Copyright © 2008 by Portable Press.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles or reviews.
 
“Bathroom Reader,” “Portable Press,” and
“Bathroom Readers’ Institute” are registered trademarks
of Baker & Taylor, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
For information, write:
The Bathroom Readers’ Institute
P.O. Box 1117
Ashland, OR 97520
www.bathroomreader.com
 
eISBN : 978-1-607-10465-0
 
E-book edition: July 2011

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