The Book of Lists

by David Wallechinsky

Title: The New Book of Lists( The Original Compendium of Curious Information) <>Binding: Paperback <>Author: DavidWallechinsky <>Publisher: CanongateBooks

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Trivia, History, Humor, Collections, Science

480 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 1977

About the author

David Wallechinsky is an American populist historian and television commentator, the president of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) and the founder and editor-in-chief of AllGov.com.

Reviews

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lists. Dontcha love 'em? You've got an item, then another item, and then some more items! All the items are similar, but at the same time, hey, they're different. And they come in an order, which may or may not mean something. Wow.

I'm afraid I'm already running out of ideas for explaining why lists are so damn fascinating. Instead, in the spirit of this book, I thought I'd compile a list myself. So here's

A LIST OF ALL MY DIALOGUE/CONVERSATION REVIEWS

Alice talks to
the Mad Hatter and the March Hare
the King of Hearts

Rowan Atkinson (as Blackadder) talks to Hugh Laurie

Isaac Asimov talks to Isaac Asimov, Isaac Asimov, Isaac Asimov and Isaac Asimov

Mr Banks talks to The Older Mr Dawes

Michael Bay talks to Jerry Bruckheimer

Characters from The Bent Sword talk to each other

Simone de Beauvoir talks to her toyboy lover

Isabella Beeton talks to Leo Tolstoy

Biggles talks to Algie, Bertie and Ginger

James Bond talks to
M
Q's attractive assistant

Brad talks to Janet

Rupert Brooke talks to his Cambridge friends

Elizabeth Buchan talks to an angry friend

Susan Calvin talks to her boss

Candide talks to a journalist

Carrie talks to Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha

Cherubino from The Marriage of Figaro talks to a talk show host

John Cleese talks to a difficult customer

Steven R. Covey talks to his girlfriend

Several Culture Ships talk to each other

D'Artagnan and his friends talks to Edmond Dantès

Richard Dawkins talks to Pierre-Simon de Laplace and Georges Lemaître

A Richard Dawkins fan talks to a creationist

Arthur Dent talks to Trillian, Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox

Albert Einstein talks to Robert Heinlein

Faust talks to Mephistopheles

Atticus Finch talks to an inquest into Hamlet's death

Frank Herbert talks to his publisher

George talks to his cool girlfriend about
The Amber Spyglass
The Blind Assassin
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
Copenhagen
Paradise Lost
No Country for Old Men  

Gertrude talks to herself

Hamlet talks to Charles Swann

The History Boys talk to Mr. Irwin

I talk to
Archy
The cast of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Alice from Go Ask Alice
My blog
This girl in a bookshop
The Emperor Claudius (in Latin)
John Cleese
This cool Chinese academic
Don Corleone
Philip K. Dick (probably)
My dinner guests
The Dykes to Watch Out For
A concerned friend
A sane, well-meaning friend
A femme fatale from Pioneer Books
A fish
The angel Gabriel
My girlfriend, Einstein, Kristen Stewart etc
The Good Reads Club
The Good Reads Club (again)
The Good Reads Club (yet again)
A girl who wants to kill her stepmother
This girl I knew
A hot older chick and an evil ex (warning: contains graphic scenes of kissing)
In That Other Dimension
Jordan, mysteriously transmuted into an attractive boy
Immanuel Kant
Linda Lovelace's unquiet spirit
Lotaria (or possibly someone else)
A loved one
Stephenie Meyer
Thursday Next
Mr. Nosnepets from the 25th century
The girl from Persona
A reality TV host
Roderick the robot
Someone who thinks they can be more pedantic than I am
My subconscious (about Wittgenstein)
My subconscious (about Die Kleine Hexe)
Myself
Catherine Townsend
Catherine Townsend again
John Updike
Isadora Wing
a Young Earth Creationist

Spencer Johnson talks to Jesus

Joseph K talks to the man behind the curtain

Garry Kasparov talks to
Black Swan
Death

Rudyard Kipling talks to a Time Traveler

Grandmaster Kotronias talks to his publisher

Krapp talks to himself

Lili talks to Max

Harry Lime talks to L'histoire de la Suisse pour les nuls

Lazarus Long talks to Goodreads

Manuela talks to her hot French flatmate

Michel from Paris au XXème siècle talks to an old scientist dude

Le petit Nicolas talks to Max et Lili

Roland Omnès talks to Divergent

A Patrick Lapeyre fan talks to his lover

The Little Prince talks to
Paul Davies
a Quiz Addict

Philip Pullman talks to Jesus

Macbeth talks to Sherlock Holmes

William Paley talks to the 21st century

Mary Poppins talks to
Isabella Beeton
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy

Montag from Fahrenheit 451 talks to a chess analyst

Michael Moorcock talks to a friend

Evadne Mount talks to Gilbert Adair

A movie producer talks to
Woody Allen
Jean-Paul Dubois

Paul Muad'Dib talks to a guy in a bar

Friedrich Nietzche talks to Philip E. High

O'Brien from 1984 talks to Humpty Dumpty

Robert Pattinson talks to a French movie director (through an interpreter)

Pericles talks to the rest of the cast

Two Pynchon fans talk to each other

A young philosopher talks to his English teacher about
Whom God Would Destroy
Gray Matters

Jemima Puddleduck talks to a foxy gentleman

Jessica Q. Rabbit talks to the Toon Town Times

Raymond Radiguet talks to the Sassy Gay Friend

Ayn Rand talks to Eugene O'Neill

A reluctant Margaret Atwood fan talks to his wife about
The Robber Bride
Wilderness Tips

Archancellor Ridcully talks to his colleagues at Unseen University

Salviati talks to Simplicio and Sagredo

Several fans of Report on Probability A talk to each other

A Roman Games Sports Commentator talks to his audience

Winston Smith talks to a senior member of the Inner Party

Snowman talks to the Crakers

Socrates talks to Oscar Wilde

A Surrealist Boxing Commentator talks to his audience

Tabitha from The Riddler's Gift talks to J.R.R. Tolkien

Two people who liked Sperm Wars talk to each other

The Them talk to each other

A Twilight Marketeer talks to a focus group subject

Jules Verne talks to Marcel Proust

Vladimir talks to Estragon, Pozzo and Lucky

R.E. Vuer talks to this hot Swedish chick

Hermann Weyl talks to his second wife

The Walrus and the Carpenter talk to 1984

Winnie-the-Pooh talks to
Christopher Robin
Goodreads
A Hostile Reviewer
Vikki Blows

Yossarian talks to Milo Minderbinder

Zippy the Pinhead talks to Ferric Jagger, Tarzan, Doc Savage and two velociraptors

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe i received a copy of this book in 1978 when my mother, sister, and i were living with my Nana—ie, after my parents separated. This book might've created my predilection for listmaking. At a minimum, it strengthened an innate predisposition. I loved it from the start and 45 years later/older i still love it (ie, fascinated by sex positions and serial killers, palindromes and populations, ...).

Anyway, below are lists that i revisited and that i hope you might also find interesting.


1. SOURCES OF USA IMMIGRANTS

Red numbers = minimum change.
[worldpopulationreview.com]


2. US PRESIDENTS (BEST TO WORST)

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt
4. Theodore Roosevelt
5. Dwight D. Eisenhower
6. Harry S. Truman
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. John F. Kennedy
9. Ronald Reagan
10. Barack Obama
11. Lyndon B. Johnson
12. James Monroe
13. Woodrow Wilson
14. William McKinley
15. John Adams
16. James Madison
17. John Quincy Adams
18. James K. Polk
19. William J. Clinton
20. Ulysses S. Grant
21. George H. W. Bush
22. Andrew Jackson
23. William Howard Taft
24. Calvin Coolidge
25. Grover Cleveland
26. Jimmy Carter
27. James A. Garfield
28. Gerald R. Ford
29. George W. Bush
30. Chester A. Arthur
31. Richard M. Nixon
32. Benjamin Harrison
33. Rutherford B. Hayes
34. Martin Van Buren
35. Zachary Taylor
36. Herbert Hoover
37. Warren G. Harding
38. Millard Fillmore
39. John Tyler
40. William Henry Harrison
41. Donald J. Trump
42. Franklin Pierce
43. Andrew Johnson
44. James Buchanan
[www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2021]


3. BILLION-DOLLAR CORPORATIONS THAT PAID NO INCOME TAX
$3.7 Charter Communications
$2.9 Nike
$2.6 Salesforce.com
$2.5 Dish Network
$2.2 American Electric Power
$1.6 Danaher
$1.5 DTE Energy
$1.5 Xcel Energy
$1.2 Consolidated Edison
$1.2 Nucor
$1.2 FedEx
$1.2 Advanced Micro Devices
$1.1 FirstEnergy
$1.1 Fiserv
[itep.org/55-profitable-corporations-z...]
2020 pre-tax earnings in billions


4. PRISONERS ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE BY 1990

CHARLES MANSON
Denied parole for the 12th time in 2012; died in prison in 2017.

JUAN CORONA
Denied parole for the 8th time in 2016; died in prison in 2019.

ED KEMPER
Denied a parole hearing in 2017; next eligible in 2024.

SIRHAN SIRHAN
Denied parole for the 16th time in 2023; next eligible in 2026.

JOHN EHRLICHMAN
Paroled in 1978; died in 1999.

WILLIAM AND EMILY HARRIS
Released in 1983; re-imprisoned in 2002 after pleading guilty to the murder of Myrna Opsahl. Released again in 2010. Still alive.

SARA JANE MOORE
Paroled in 2007; still alive.

ARTHUR BREMER
Paroled in 2007; still alive.

LYNETTE ALICE "SQUEAKY" FROMME
Paroled in 2008; still alive.


5. COUNTRIES THAT USE TORTURE [AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL]
Pakistan
Thailand
Sri Lanka
Myanmar
China
Nepal


6. ALL NAZI SCUMBAGS DESERVED WORSE

Andrija Artukovic
Died in a Yugoslavian prison in 1988; cerebral sclerosis. apnews.com

Klaus Barbie
Died in a French prison in 1991 of cancer. www.washingtonpost.com (1991/09/26)

Martin Bormann
Died in Germany in 1945 while attempting to escape. encyclopedia.ushmm.org

Josef Mengele
Died in Brazil in 1979 (stroke while swimming). www.history.com

Heinrich Müller
Buried in a mass grave outside Luftwaffe headquarters but horrifically transferred to a Jewish cemetery and memorial site. www.latimes.com (2013-oct-31)

Walter Rauff
Died in Chile of a heart attack in 1977. www.warhistoryonline.com


7. COULD THEY BLOW UP THE WORLD… [ie, Which countries have enough nuclear bombs to...]

BY 1980?
Israel= yes.
Canada, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan= no.
Italy hosts US-made bombs.
BY 1983?
Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Norway, Poland, South Korea= no.
Germany and Netherlands host US-made bombs.
BY 1987?
Pakistan= yes.
Egypt, Finland, Iran, Mexico, Portugal, Romania, Yugoslavia= no.
Turkey hosts US-made bombs.

A US govt agency assessed the countries above as technically capable of making nukes. Since publication of BoL, "only" Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan joined the bad boys club.
13,080 warheads in the world [SIPRI Yearbook 2021]


8. MOST AGGRESSIVE DOG BREEDS
Dachshund
Chihuahua
Jack Russell Terrier
Pit Bull
Beagle
Australian Cattle Dog
Border Collie
English Springer Spaniel
German Shepherd
Cocker Spaniel American

9. LEAST AGGRESSIVE
Greyhound
Rhodesian Ridgeback
Havanese
Whippet
Golden Retriever
Brittany Spaniel
Poodle
English Mastiff
Portuguese Water Dog
Labrador Retriever

Duffy, Deborah L., Yuying Hsu, and James A. Serpell. "Breed differences in canine aggression." Applied Animal Behaviour Science 114, no. 3-4 (2008): 441-460.
My calculation= average of each breed's rank across Duffy's categories (toward human companions; toward unknown humans; toward dogs), eg, Dachshund was #2, #1, and #6, for an average rank of 3.0, which was the highest (most aggressive) of all 33 breeds.


10. ANOTHER 25 WONDERFUL COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR ANIMALS
ambush of tigers
bale of turtles
battery of barracudas
business of ferrets
dazzle of zebras
descent of woodpeckers
destruction of cats (feral)
fever of stingrays
flamboyance of flamingos
harem of seals
hover of trout
implausibility of gnus
kaleidoscope of butterflies
mutation of thrushes
rhumba of rattlesnakes
rout of wolves
scold of jays
scurry of squirrels
shiver of sharks
skein of geese
sleuth of bears
stubbornness of rhinoceroses
unkindness of ravens
wake of vultures
walk of snails
[www.mentalfloss.com]


11. ANIMALS ENDANGERED IN 1977 & NOW

AFRICAN WILD ASS
23-200 mature individuals; population decreasing; critically endangered [IUCN]

MEXICAN GRIZZLY BEAR
Extinct, probably as of 1969 [BearConservation.org.uk]

BRANDER'S SWAMP DEER (aka, barasingha)
Vulnerable [IUCN]

MCNEILL'S DEER (aka, Wapiti)
Population increasing; least concern [IUCN, 2015]

NORTHERN KIT & SAN JOAQUIN FOX
Population decreasing; least concern [IUCN, 2014]

NORTHERN SIMIEN FOX (aka, Ethiopian wolf)
197 mature individuals; population decreasing, endangered [IUCN, 2011]

GOLDEN LION MARMOSET (aka, golden lion tamarin)
1,400 mature individuals; population decreasing; endangered [IUCN, 2015]

WOOLLY SPIDER MONKEY (aka, southern and northern muriqui)
Population decreasing; critically endangered [ICUN, 2019]

GIANT OTTER
Population decreasing; endangered [ICUN, 2020]

NOVAYA ZEMLYA REINDEER
5,000-6,000 individuals; recovered [Barentsportal.com; Korepanov 2008]

JAVAN RHINOCEROS
76 individuals; population stable; critically endangered [Rhinos.org; 2022]

NORTHERN SQUARE-LIPPED RHINOCEROS (aka, white rhino)
Extinct; but ~16,000 southern white rhinos [Rhinos.org; 2022]

SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS
<80 individuals; population declining; critically endangered [Rhinos.org; 2022]

JAPANESE SEA LION
Extinct [Sealion-world.org]

CARIBBEAN MONK SEAL
Extinct [Pinnipeds.org]

MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL
350-450 mature individuals; population increasing; endangered [ICUN, 2015]

BLUE WHALE
5,000-15,000 mature individuals; population increasing; endangered [ICUN, 2018]

RED WOLF
20-30 mature individuals; population decreasing; critically endangered [ICUN, 2018]


13. MOST POPULOUS COUNTRIES

In 2022 the 15 former Soviet Socialist Republics had a combined population of 293,608,190.
In 1975 East and West Germany had a combined population of 78,645,000 (according to Statistica.com).


14. MOST POPULOUS URBAN AREAS IN 2000

Estimated= US Bureau of Census in 1975.
Actual= https://population.un.org/wup/.

BoL messed up Tokyo-Yokohama and Osaka.

In 2000, Delhi was 7th (15.7M) & Dhaka was 15th (10.3M).


15. PALINDROMES ARE RASEMORDNILAP
A nut for a jar of tuna.
Was it a car or a cat I saw?
Madam, in Eden, I'm Adam.
Yo, banana boy!
[^Grammarly]
Evil olive!
Step on no pets.
Ah, Satan sees Natasha.
[^Reader's Digest]
Too bad; I hid a boot.
Nate bit a Tibetan.
As I pee, sir, I see Pisa.
Ma is a nun, as I am.
Ma is as selfless as I am.
[^ScaryMommy.com]


16. MORE THAN 10 PLATINUM-SELLING ALBUMS

[RIAA.com] (Feb 22, 2023).
Platinum ≥1M sales; Diamond ≥10M.


17. HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS

[the-numbers.com] (Feb 28, 2023)
"Domestic" = United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Not adjusted for inflation.

Jaws was #1 in BoL ($118,727,000); is currently #118 ($272,257,035). The Godfather was #2 in BoL ($85,747,184); currently #469 ($136,479,994).


18. SIGHT & SOUND GREATEST FILMS

1982
1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. La Règle du jeu (1939)
3. Seven Samurai (1954)
3. Singin’ in the Rain (1951)
5. 8½ (1963)
6. Battleship Potemkin (1925)
7. L’Avventura (1960)
7. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
7. Vertigo (1958)
10. The General (1926)
10. The Searchers (1956)

1992
1. Citizen Kane
2. La Règle du jeu
3. Tokyo Story (1953)
4. Vertigo
5. The Searchers
5. L'Atalante (1934)
5. Battleship Potemkin
5. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1927)
5. Pather Panchali (1955)
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2002 [votes]
1. Citizen Kane [46]
2. Vertigo [41]
3. La Règle du jeu (1939) [30]
4. The Godfather and The Godfather Part II (1972/1974) [23]
5. Tokyo Story [22]
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey [21]
7. Battleship Potemkin [19]
7. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) [19]
9. 8½ [18]
10. Singin' in the Rain [17]

2012 [votes]
1. Vertigo [191]
2. Citizen Kane [157]
3. Tokyo Story [107]
4. La Règle du jeu [100]
5. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans [93]
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey [90]
7. The Searchers [78]
8. Man with a Movie Camera (1929) [68]
9. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1927) [65]
10. 8½ [64]

2022
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
2. Vertigo
3. Citizen Kane
4. Tokyo Story
5. In the Mood for Love (2001)
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey
7. Beau travail (1998)
8. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
9. Man with a Movie Camera
10. Singin’ in the Rain

[www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greate...]


19. BEST-SELLING/MOST-DISTRIBUTED BOOKS

1. THE BIBLE
2. QUOTATIONS FROM CHAIRMAN MAO TSE-TUNG
3. THE QURAN
4. THE LORD OF THE RINGS
5. THE LITTLE PRINCE
6. HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
7. SCOUTING FOR BOYS
8. AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
9. THE HOBBIT
10. THE DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER
[alltopeverything.com]

1. Don Quixote
2. A Tale of Two Cities
3. The Fellowship of the Ring
4. Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince)
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (aka ...Philosopher's Stone)
6. Scouting for Boys
7. And Then There Were None (formerly Ten Little [bleeps])
8. The Hobbit
9. Dream of the Red Chamber
10. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
[businessinsider.com] "...excluded religious texts … included titles with reliable data from publishing companies, news articles, and official press releases."


20. BEST BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

Reader's Digest
The Very Hungry Caterpillar [baby to 3 yrs]
Llama Llama Red Pajama [1-3yrs]
And Tango Makes Three [2-5yrs]
Knuffle Bunny [3-5yrs]
Curious George [4-7yrs]
I Am Mixed [5-6yrs]
Where the Sidewalk Ends [6-8yrs]
The Boxcar Children [7-10yrs]
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [8-11yrs]
Anne of Green Gables [9-12yrs]
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind [10+ yrs]
The Lightning Thief [12+ yrs]
[^first title of each age range (eg, Curious George = 1st book for kids at least 4-yrs-old]

NPR
The Snowy Day [Picture Perfect]
Antiracist Baby [Baby's Bookshelf]
Last Stop on Market Street [Conversation Starters]
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day [Family Life]
Stellaluna [Animal (and Monster) Friends]
Strega Nona [Folktales and Fairy Tales]
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom [Fun to Read Out Loud]
Hidden Figures [Nonfiction]
Frog and Toad [Early Chapter Books]
Ways to Make Sunshine [Older Readers]
[^first book in each bracketed category]

Time
Where the Wild Things Are
The Snowy Day
Goodnight Moon
Blueberries for Sal
The Adventures of Little Bear
Owl Moon
The Giving Tree
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Tuesday
Where the Sidewalk Ends


21. WILLY LEY'S 7 FUTURE WONDERS OF THE WORLD

THE CHANNEL TUNNEL
Status= Realized.
Opened for rail traffic on May 6, 1994.

THE AEROGENERATOR
Status= Realized.
Global Wind Energy Council's 2022 report: "Total global wind power capacity … 837 GW".

THE TAMED VOLCANO (ie, geothermal energy)
Status= Realized (srsly!).
ThinkGeoEnergy.com's site says, "Global geothermal power generation capacity … 15.6 GW …2020."

VALLEY OF THE JORDAN (ie, irrigation+electricity in Palestine)
Status= Realized (but it's still complicated by Palestinian-Israeli conflict).

AFRICA'S CENTRAL LAKE
Status= Unrealized.
Dam the Congo to create a mega-lake, etc etc etc?!?!

ATLANTROPA
Status= Unrealized.
Create a land bridge from Europe to Africa ... by draining the Mediterranean Sea?!?!

SOLAR ENERGY
Status= Realized.
International Energy Agency's site says, "Solar PV generation increased by a record 179 TWh (up 22%) in 2021 to exceed 1,000 TWh [terawatt hours]."


22. TALLEST DOCUMENTED HUMANS
Men
Robert Wadlow 272cm
John Rogan 264cm*
John Carroll 263.cm*
Ho Van Trung 257.3cm
Vaino Myllyrinne 251.4cm
Sultan Kosen 251cm (still alive)
Bernard Coyne 248.9cm
Don Koehler 248.9cm
Vikas Uppal 248.9cm
Women
Zeng Jinlian 247cm
Jane Bunford 241cm
Yao Defen 233.7cm
[tallest-people.fandom.com]
Bold = in BoL.
* = disputed.
Women = 11th, 21st, and 64th overall.


23. BEST SEX POSITIONS
Chair
Sitting
Reverse Cowgirl
Propped up on Pillow
Shower
The Notebook (ie, face-to-face, penetrator holding penetratee off the ground)
Planking
Squat
Spooning
Missionary
[www.buzzfeed.com/juliapugachevsky/the... with safe-for-work stick figure illustrations]


24. AP'S GREATEST ATHLETES OF THE 20TH CENTURY

1. Babe Ruth (5) 1551
2. Michael Jordan (4) 1524
3. Jim Thorpe (3) 1471
4. Muhammad Ali (2) 1462
5. Wayne Gretzky 1368
6. Jim Brown 1333
7. Joe Louis (1) 1327
8. Jesse Owens 1307
9. Babe Didrikson-Zaharias (1) 1254
10. Wilt Chamberlain 1235
11. Willie Mays 1182
12. Jack Nicklaus 1167
13. Ted Williams 1124
14. Ty Cobb 1115
15. Pele 1095
16. Bill Russell 1071
17. Lou Gehrig 1064
18. Hank Aaron 1044
19. Joe DiMaggio 1031
20. Martina Navratilova 1026
[topendsports.com] 16 writers ranked 100 athletes; presumably 100 "points" for being ranked first and 1pt for being ranked last, so Ruth's "score" is almost perfect.


25. PER-CAPITA WINE CONSUMPTION

Portugal (51.9 liters)
France (46.9)
Italy (46.0)
Switzerland (35.3)
Austria (30.6)
Australia (28.7)
Germany (27.5)
Spain (26.2)
Netherlands (26.1)
Belgium (26.0)
[therealreview.com] "provisional figures …Int'l Org Vine and Wine".


26. PER-CAPITA BEER CONSUMPTION

Czechia (181.7 liters)
Austria (96.9)
Poland (96.0)
Romania (95.0)
Germany (92.5)
Estonia (84.4)
Namibia (83.4)
Lithuania (83.4)
Slovakia (82.2)
Spain (81.6)
[worldpopulationreview.com]


27. OLDEST HUMANS
Jeanne Calment [122 + 164 days] (F)
Jiroemon Kimura [116 + 54 days] (M)
Christian Mortensen [115 + 252 days] (M)
Kane Tanaka [119 + 107 days] (F)
Nabi Tajima [117 + 230 days] (F)
Emiliano Mercado [115 + 156 days] (M)
Mathew Beard [114 + 222 days] (M)
Misao Okawa [117 + 27 days] (F)
Walter Breuning [114 + 205 days] (M)
Sarah Knauss [119 + 9 days] (F)
Violet Brown [117 + 189 days] (F)
Yukichi Chuganji [114 + 189 days] (M)
[a-z-animals.com]


28. MOST COMMON PHOBIAS
Arachnophobia (spiders)
Ophidiophobia (snakes)
Acrophobia (heights)
Agoraphobia (open or crowded spaces)
Cynophobia (dogs)
Astraphobia (thunder/lightning; aka, Brontophobia, Tonitrophobia, Ceraunophobia)
Claustrophobia (small spaces)
Mysophobia (germs; aka, Germophobia, Bacterophobia)
Aerophobia (flying)
Trypophobia (holes)
[fearof.net]


29. RECENTLY DISCOVERED UNNATURAL LAWS

Betteridge's Law of Headlines
If a headline is phrased as a question, the answer is "no".

Clarke's Third Law
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Cunningham's Law
The best way to get the right answer on the internet is to post the wrong answer.

Godwin’s Law
The longer an online discussion goes on, the more likely it becomes that someone will make a comparison to Hitler or the Nazis.

Goodhart’s Law
When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.

Strauss's Observation
Making a comparison to Nazism derails an argument.

[^www.oxford-royale.com/articles/12-fun...]

Mike Tyson's Theory
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.

Lehman's First Observation
Everyone looks better from behind.

JRZ's Memorandum re Mass Transit
The number of delays is never one.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ultimate bathroom book.

[Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a special place in my heart. If I recall, I discovered it in 5th or 6th grade and quickly acquired all of the series that I could. Even then, in the ‘90s, the book was hopelessly out of date and a few of the lists had to be taken with a grain of salt but, as I did not yet have access to the internet, this was one of the finest sources of random trivia and bizarre facts available to me. I loved every page of it (with the exception, I suppose, of the chapter devoted to sports) and poured over each list, taking down notes and lists of my own. Divided into sections by topic, Crime, Literature, Nature, Art, etc., there were all sorts of tidbits to blow my eleven year old mind. I remember bringing them everywhere so as to be able to look up amusing facts for friends and classmates at short notice, at one point dropping a copy into a mud puddle at recess and having to painstakingly dry the thick little paperback.

Compiled by a father, sibling team, the lists reflect the time period they were written, but have a witty, casual style and, in addition to lists of facts like the ten countries where the highest percent of men and women live to 85, there are lists consisting of the opinions of famous people such as the ten worst movies of all time (circa 1977). Whether it was the five most hated people in history (1970-1976), the nine dog breeds that bite the least, or fifteen authors who wrote best sellers in prison, I learned a lot (particularly in the section on sex). In the end, I feel that there was definitely an influence there on shaping my interest in organizing knowledge and sparking my eclectic, multidisciplinary interests in learning as much as I could.

Reading it today brought back this feeling of awe at the endless variety of weird stuff in the world throughout time, and I smiled as I remember being amazed or shocked by various facts that I now remember having been confirmed or questioned in my later education. The yellowed, slightly brittle pages still have that nice, slightly sweet tinge of a ‘70s era paperback, redolent of library book sales and middle school classrooms. The Books of Lists are probably entirely redundant now, what with new lists of bizarre, random amusing facts being posted by the hundreds daily on websites such as Cracked and BuzzFeed. How much influence have these books had on the other 20 and 30 somethings who make these online compilings? I wonder.

[Hank Stuever · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went completely batshit bonkers for this book the summer between 5th and 6th grade. You can keep your Guinness Book of World Records. I would spend hours poring over this.

[Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book of Lists - The Original Compendium of Curious Information by David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace is a clever non-fiction collection of trivia and interesting stories and information broken down into the following chapters:
People
Movies
The Arts
Food and Health
Animails
Work and Money
Sex, Love and Marriage
Crime
War, Politics and World Affairs
Travel
Literature
Words
Sports
Death
Miscellaneous

The book gets its title because all information contained within each chapter is presented in list form. For example, in Chapter 1, People, we have a list of 6 People Whose Names Were Changed By Accident; which happens to include: Buddy Holly and Oprah Winfrey.

Here are some of my favourite lists from the book:
8 Memorable Lines Erroneously Attributed To Film Stars (Movies)
10 Famous Insomniacs (Food & Health)
10 Really Unusual Medical Conditions (Food & Health)
The Cat Came Back: 9 Cats Who Travelled Long Distances To Return Home (Animals)
15 Famous People Who Worked In Bed (Work & Money)
11 Most Unusual Objects Sold on eBay (Work & Money)
Witticisms of 9 Condemned Criminals (Crime)
29 Words Rarely Used In Their Positive Form (Words)
10 Celebrated People Who Read Their Own Obituaries (Death)
16 Famous Events That Happened In The Bathtub (Miscellaneous)

The Book of Lists is the perfect book to have on the coffee table so that others may enjoy the obscure trivia and hilarity within its pages. I also found it a great accompaniment to a novel I was reading at the time; enabling me to interchange quite easily depending on my mood.

The Book of Lists contains a wide variety of interesting tidbits, and I just hope I can remember them all.

[David Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

The People's Almanac Presents the Book of Lists  by Amy Wallace (William Morrow and Co. 1977)(031.02). Now THIS is a trivia book! Before every website had scads of "top ten lists" of every subject under the sun, there was The Book of Lists. I read this thing cover to cover. I couldn't get enough! It's amazing what the author assembled here! I highly recommend this for fans of "Jeopardy"! My rating: 8/10, finished 1977.

[Joe Noir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Come with us back to those thrilling days of yesteryear before there was an internet. This book collected lists compiled by all kinds of people on all kinds of subjects. The project led by David Wallechinsky, his father author Irving Wallace, and sister Amy Wallace. Very entertaining, very funny, and fascinating. This book sent me looking for other books, on many subjects, because my curiosity had been piqued.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The original book of lists has been slightly updated. Most of it I'd already read in the original from the late '70's. There is such a left-wing slant to this one that I feel I should take much of the information with a grain of salt.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love lists and random trivia, so this book jumped out at me when I was wandering the library yesterday. It is divided into many themed sections so there is really something for everyone. I LOVE books with lists and this was a fun late-night read!

[Paloma Meir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not comfortable living on a planet where anyone would rate this book less than five stars.

[Pvw · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just some lists in all kinds of categories. "The ten most stupid thieves", "People who died in weird accidents" and stuff like that. I think it is great toilet literature. And by that I don't imply anything negative; it's the kind of book that you can open on a random page, read some amusing facts and then leave the rest for another visit.

But this book is not perfect. First of all, lists are not an exact science but more often personal opinions. Therefore, it is a lot more fun making lists yourself, than reading other people's thoughts. Secondly, I read this book in a really horrible Dutch adaptation, in which the translators had tried to add facts that were relevant for a Dutch audience. Those were incredibly boring, badly written and generally blows under the water at some Dutch personalities.

[Valerie]

As a reference book, this is almost completely useless. Why? Because it's poorly indexed. Thus, for example, if you're trying to find the names of the Seven Dwarves (and that is the correct plural, by the way), you can't find them without just reading or skimming through until you strike it lucky. Or at least, reading the table of contents thoroughly, which isn't a substitute for an index.

If I were trying to use the book as a reference source, I would most likely have to assemble an index. So why wasn't this done in the first place? Well, the authors didn't consult me, did they? Or any reference librarian, for that matter.

[Azeem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Interesting read... though I did not have to verify many of the facts at the time I first read it. Now, I realize that many of the facts presented herein are eminently challenge-able. I own Book of Lists 2 and Book of Lists 3 too. Lots of categories, lots of topics, lots of diversion. I will not recommend it as a reference book but it is very readable (that's why it gets four stars). The Wallace family obviously put a lot of effort in compiling this book and many of the lists are actually quite helpful.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fact filled, long and tedious book tells you everything you wouldn't want to know about everything. The bad news is that because of its age it is dated and much has changed, but that is also good because much of it is for the better. As an example, the fact that sticks in my mind the most is that I learned that our beloved President George Washington was a redhead. If you would like to know who H.R. Haldeman's ten favorite dinner guests from all time would be, then this book is for you. In any case, I think I'll now try to find a place to play trivia

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great! Better than I thought it would be. Whoever added this book to Goodreads got the page numbers wrong. There is way more than the posted amount. I was at one point 124% done the book and I still had two chapters left. :P

This book is just plainly, very interesting and it is amazing what you can learn from a book like this.
Entertaining and informative. I just wonder where they get the idea to create a book like this.

[Elyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you grew up in the 1970s, your parents probably had this book on the coffee table and if you were like me, you read it many, many times. Back then, the lists were an innovative writing format and the subject matter the authors chose was quite fascinating. I hope to recover this entertaining gem somewhere--maybe it's still on my father's bookshelf.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I'm a certifiable geek. I love reading this junk, though, and it's part of the reason why I rock at trivia. I also gleaned some great ideas for some writing projects...just have to do some more research and develop some characters around random historical events. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction!

[Amanda Ure · Rating 5 out of 5]

This and its three successors are supreme examples of books that simply could not exist today because of the internet. They're fascinating, but they also replicate almost perfectly the kind of content which people browse on list sites and videos online nowadays. They serve as a kind of nostalgic fossil of what used to be.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very readable book. There is much variety of the lists, as some were prepared especially for this book such as legal minds considering the most significant trials or travel writers on best and worst destinations. I especially like some of the lists tied to specific years, like the ones of most despised or adored people.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite reference books! I own all the subsequent list books as well. I have found out years later that some of the information was not exactly based on facts, but still a lot of fun to read anyway.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book SO MUCH as a teenager! I can't remember a single fact in it (although that may not be entirely true - perhaps a lot of the useless trivia knowledge I now have may be the result of reading this book!) but I know I loved it and would have given it 5 stars back in the day.

[Jason Yarborough · Rating 3 out of 5]

My parents had nearly the whole series. I probably read these books ten times each when I was eight years old. It's the foundation of all my trivia knowledge...

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

the amount trivia funny quirky stuff about people is A1

[Jazzhunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite. I have bought six copies (2 hardcover and four paperback) of this over the years - they all fall apart due to overuse :-)

[Astraia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something for everyone in here. If you like trivia- you will love this. Sex, drugs and more.

[Dave Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this when I was still living in Kankakee. Very addictive reading on a multitude of subjects.

[Clay Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resourse, I still find it useful.

[Lincoln Wert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect bathroom reads. Quick, short, and fun.

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first introduction to lists. I thoroughly enjoyed it - been a list fan ever since.