Greetings, Bathroom Reader fans around the world. BRI Thom here, reporting from the field, which, barring deportation or a fatal shark attack, I shall be doing so henceforth. I’ve flown the bathroom-reading-headquarters coop in our sleepy little Oregon hamlet, and am currently reporting from a picnic bench a few yards from the South Pacific Ocean just north of Sydney, Australia—one block or some from my new home. Leaving Uncle John and the crack staff at the BRI was heartbreaking…until I got here. (I mean come on! I practically live on a tropical beach, for goodness’ sake!)
Fortunately Uncle John forgot to change the locks here, and I’ll still be posting on the UJ Blog!
My first exclusive: The Aussie Loo, and how it perfectly fits Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. Just take a look at this beauty:
Those are the flush buttons. The one on the left, the half moon, is for a small flush, for those short visits, as it were; the one on the right is for a full flush for longer, more substantial stops—just like the Bathroom Reader and its short- and long-visit articles! Brilliant! We should have these in America! We should start a movement! (Oh, wait, that didn’t come out right. Oh, I did it again!)
• Now on to the great Australian myth: The water in Australian sinks, tubs, toilets, and whatnot swirls in the opposite direction – counter-clockwise – that it does in the Northern Hemisphere. Something to do with the Coriolis Effect, so the story goes. Well, is it true? No. That’s a myth we conked on the head years ago in the BR. But…I’ve taken a video of water draining from a sink. It’s a bit hard to see, but you be the judge:
Now call me crazy, but you can tell by that bit of flotsam in the water that it is clearly swirling, unprovoked, counter-clockwise. I think we have a bit of a mystery on our hands. Further research will be necessary. I’ll get right on it, and report back…
Until then, Happy Christmas – Australian for Merry Christmas – from the Great Down Under! Be well, and I hope your enjoying the brand new BR!