What do you think?
Rate this book
The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2023
#1 New York Times Bestseller! Get thousands of facts at your fingertips with this essential sports, pop culture, science and technology, U.S. history and government, world geography, business, and so much more.
The World Almanac® is America’s bestselling reference book of all time, with more than 83 million copies sold. For more than 150 years, this compendium of information has been the authoritative source for school, library, business, and home. The 2023 edition of The World Almanac reviews the biggest events of 2022 and will be your go-to source for questions on any topic in the upcoming year. Praised as a “treasure trove of political, economic, scientific and educational statistics and information” by The Wall Street Journal , The World Almanac and Book of Facts will answer all of your trivia needs effortlessly.
Features
The World Almanac® is America’s bestselling reference book of all time, with more than 83 million copies sold. For more than 150 years, this compendium of information has been the authoritative source for school, library, business, and home. The 2023 edition of The World Almanac reviews the biggest events of 2022 and will be your go-to source for questions on any topic in the upcoming year. Praised as a “treasure trove of political, economic, scientific and educational statistics and information” by The Wall Street Journal , The World Almanac and Book of Facts will answer all of your trivia needs effortlessly.
Features
1008 pages, Hardcover
Published December 6, 2022
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Janssen
44 books11 followersSarah Janssen is the senior editor of The World Almanac and Book of Facts, The World Almanac for Kids, and other diverse titles. She is the co-author of Under the Covers and between the Sheets, a book of facts and trivia about the world’s greatest books. Sarah lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 15, 2023
I do like reading selections within this every year!
My favorite parts:
Books
- Best-selling
- Most Challenged
.....1.Gender Queer
.....2.Law Boy
.....3.All Boys Aren't Blue
.....4.Out of Darkness
.....5.The Hate U Give
.....6.The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian
.....7.Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
.....8.The Bluest Eye
.....9.This Book is Gay
.....10.Beyond Magenta
- Notable new - fiction, poetry, nonfiction
- Literary awards
- The front always contains last year's obituaries. I'm always sad to read this, but I read every name.
- A summary of the entire year of news.
- I like the 16pages of Astronomy, as key events for the year are all reviewed.
- Big sports section (pgs 855-979) - each world record time in every swimming event, plus the last Olympics times/scores in everything.
- Education with all the colleges (tuition, room/board, enrollment)
- Nobel Prizes.
- World health statistics.
- Too many more to list!!!!!
I'm usually looking for something a bit specific when I open it, but with the full intent of extra exploring (or else I would have simply asked Siri for the ONE answer I sought). I always spend more time beyond my singular search.
I'll take credit for reading this book right now, but it really takes me the entire year, with substantial parts skipped. I buy this as a Christmas gift to myself every year.
My favorite parts:
Books
- Best-selling
- Most Challenged
.....1.Gender Queer
.....2.Law Boy
.....3.All Boys Aren't Blue
.....4.Out of Darkness
.....5.The Hate U Give
.....6.The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian
.....7.Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
.....8.The Bluest Eye
.....9.This Book is Gay
.....10.Beyond Magenta
- Notable new - fiction, poetry, nonfiction
- Literary awards
- The front always contains last year's obituaries. I'm always sad to read this, but I read every name.
- A summary of the entire year of news.
- I like the 16pages of Astronomy, as key events for the year are all reviewed.
- Big sports section (pgs 855-979) - each world record time in every swimming event, plus the last Olympics times/scores in everything.
- Education with all the colleges (tuition, room/board, enrollment)
- Nobel Prizes.
- World health statistics.
- Too many more to list!!!!!
I'm usually looking for something a bit specific when I open it, but with the full intent of extra exploring (or else I would have simply asked Siri for the ONE answer I sought). I always spend more time beyond my singular search.
I'll take credit for reading this book right now, but it really takes me the entire year, with substantial parts skipped. I buy this as a Christmas gift to myself every year.
December 23, 2022
12/21/22
When I was a kid, The World Amanac was for looking up things. Google killed that. I still go through the Almanac every year because it has stuff I would never know to look up;
Eleanor Holmes was elected as a Democrat to be the Nonvoting Member of Congress from Washinton DC. She received 139,629 votes. Her Republican rival, Nelson Rimensnyder, got 9,785 votes. (P 16)
Republican Dusty Johnson, South Dakota's only congressperson received 253,773 votes. Collin Duprei, his Democratic rival, got 74,002 votes. (P 15)
2023 is the fiftieth anniversary of the designated hitter rule in the American League and the 25th anniversary of the founding of Google. (P 50-51)
The 2021 median income of white male Americans was $47,697. For black females it was $28,424. For Hispanic females it was $25,324. (P 56)
The 2021 poverty line for a family of four was $27,740. (P 57)
11.6% of all Americans were below the poverty line. 19.3% of Black Americans were below the line. 18.4% of residents of Louisiana were below the line. 6.9% of residents of Minnesota and New Hampshire were below the line. (P 57)
In Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Louisville, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, and San Juan the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is less than $800. (P. 79)
In Boston, New York, San Francisco and San Jose the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is more than $2,000. (P. 79)
The counties with the highest average weekly wages in 2021 were Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo CA, New York and Suffolk County, MA. (P 102) (See item directly above)
In 1990 there were 1,820,127 violent crimes in America. In 2020 there were 1,277,696 violent crimes in America. Population increased over those 30 years so the violent crimes per 100,000 residents decreased from 729.6 to 387.8. (P 114)
America's defense budget in 2021 was $754 billion. China had the second highest budget at $207 billion. India! has the third highest at $65 billion. Russia is ninth at 45 billion. (P 130)
From 1990 to 2019 the US annual consumption of frozen potatoes increased by 80.4%. The consumption of fresh potatoes decreased by 44.6% (P 139)
When I was married in 1976 the median age for a male's first marriage was 23.5 years. (I was 22) The 2021 median for males was 30.4 (P 169)
In 2021 40.5 % 0f US children were born to unwed mothers, 28.5 % of white children and 70.4% of black children. (P 171)
In 2020 infant mortality for white male infants was 4 per 1000. For black male infants it was 11.2 per 1000. (P 178)
Enough for tonight.
12/22/21
Stage Name Birth Name
Bo Diddley Elias Bates
Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea
Mickey Rooney Joe Yule Jr.
Meg Ryan Margaret Hyra
Tiny Tim Herbert Khaury (P. 248)
The top grossing American movie of all time (Inflation adjusted gross) is "Gone With The Wind" (1939), $1,895,400 gross. "Star Wars Episode IV" (1979) is second with $1,699,000 gross. (P.248)
The top selling record album of all time is "Their Greatest Hits" by the Eagles with 38 million copies sold. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is number two with 34 million copies sold. The Eagles "Hotel California" is third with 26 million copies sold. (P. 258)
Twenty Nine of the top 34 all time watched TV shows are Super Bowls. The five non-Superbowl shows were;
Mash, Last Episode #12,
Womans Olympic Figure Skating 2/23/94, #19,
Womans Olympic Figure Skating 2/25/94, #32. (The Nancy Kerrigan Olympics)
Cheers Last Episode # 29
Dallas, "Who Shot J.R.?" # 34 (P. 263)
A human's maximum speed over a quarter of a mile is 27.89 MPH. This is faster than an elephant, 25 MPH, but slower than a house cat, 30 MPH, a grizzly bear, 30 MPH, or a warthog, 30 MPH. (P. 293)
The iPhone was released 15 years ago, in 2007. (P. 305)
I continue to be amazed that the lowest recorded temperature in Massachusetts, -35 on 1/12/81, and the highest recorded temperature in Massachusetts, 107 on 8/12/75, were both recorded in Chester, Massachusetts. (P. 316)
The ancient biblical cubit was 21.8 inches. The ancient Greek cubit was 18.3 inches. The ancient Roman cubit was 17.5 inches. (P. 366)
23% of US student loan debt is owed by person at least 50 years old. (P. 389)
The origin of the name "Rhode Island" is unknown. (P. 429)
Quiz. What do Daniel D. Tompkins, George M. Dallas, Richard M. Johnson and Charles W. Fairbanks have in common? See answer at end of today's entry. (P. 477)
Jimmy Carter was the first US president born in a hospital. (P. 506)
In the 2020 presidential election Wallace County Kansas cast 770 votes for Trump and 44 for Biden. (P. 523)
California has 1,263 residents per square mile. Wyoming has 5.9 resident per square mile. They each have two US senators. (P. 610)
From 1950 through 1999 'Michael" was the most popular first name in the US. It is not in the top ten for 2021. (P. 715)
Quiz Answer; they were all US Vice Presidents.
Enough for today.
12/23/22
Osaka, Japan's population, 19,060,000, is larger than New York City's population, 18,867,000. The world's largest city is Tokyo. It has a population of 37,274,000, twice the size of New York City. (P. 732)
Since it became an Olympic sport in 1998, Canada has only won three of the sixteen Olympic Gold Medals awarded in curling. (P. 876)
I feel bad for Gavvy Craveth. He was the National League home run king in 1917, 1918 and 1919. He hit 12, 8 and 12 homers in those years. In 1920 Babe Ruth hit 54. (P. 919)
Records that won't be broken department. Bill Russel is the all-time NBA finals leader in rebounds with 1,718. Wilt Chamberlin is second with 862. (P. 934)
Names for animal collectives; a parliament of owls, a gaze of racoons, a smack of jellyfish, an obstinacy of buffaloes, a scurry of squirrels. Does anyone really use these? (P. 713)
That's all I have for this year. Read your Almanac!
When I was a kid, The World Amanac was for looking up things. Google killed that. I still go through the Almanac every year because it has stuff I would never know to look up;
Eleanor Holmes was elected as a Democrat to be the Nonvoting Member of Congress from Washinton DC. She received 139,629 votes. Her Republican rival, Nelson Rimensnyder, got 9,785 votes. (P 16)
Republican Dusty Johnson, South Dakota's only congressperson received 253,773 votes. Collin Duprei, his Democratic rival, got 74,002 votes. (P 15)
2023 is the fiftieth anniversary of the designated hitter rule in the American League and the 25th anniversary of the founding of Google. (P 50-51)
The 2021 median income of white male Americans was $47,697. For black females it was $28,424. For Hispanic females it was $25,324. (P 56)
The 2021 poverty line for a family of four was $27,740. (P 57)
11.6% of all Americans were below the poverty line. 19.3% of Black Americans were below the line. 18.4% of residents of Louisiana were below the line. 6.9% of residents of Minnesota and New Hampshire were below the line. (P 57)
In Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Louisville, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, and San Juan the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is less than $800. (P. 79)
In Boston, New York, San Francisco and San Jose the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is more than $2,000. (P. 79)
The counties with the highest average weekly wages in 2021 were Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo CA, New York and Suffolk County, MA. (P 102) (See item directly above)
In 1990 there were 1,820,127 violent crimes in America. In 2020 there were 1,277,696 violent crimes in America. Population increased over those 30 years so the violent crimes per 100,000 residents decreased from 729.6 to 387.8. (P 114)
America's defense budget in 2021 was $754 billion. China had the second highest budget at $207 billion. India! has the third highest at $65 billion. Russia is ninth at 45 billion. (P 130)
From 1990 to 2019 the US annual consumption of frozen potatoes increased by 80.4%. The consumption of fresh potatoes decreased by 44.6% (P 139)
When I was married in 1976 the median age for a male's first marriage was 23.5 years. (I was 22) The 2021 median for males was 30.4 (P 169)
In 2021 40.5 % 0f US children were born to unwed mothers, 28.5 % of white children and 70.4% of black children. (P 171)
In 2020 infant mortality for white male infants was 4 per 1000. For black male infants it was 11.2 per 1000. (P 178)
Enough for tonight.
12/22/21
Stage Name Birth Name
Bo Diddley Elias Bates
Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea
Mickey Rooney Joe Yule Jr.
Meg Ryan Margaret Hyra
Tiny Tim Herbert Khaury (P. 248)
The top grossing American movie of all time (Inflation adjusted gross) is "Gone With The Wind" (1939), $1,895,400 gross. "Star Wars Episode IV" (1979) is second with $1,699,000 gross. (P.248)
The top selling record album of all time is "Their Greatest Hits" by the Eagles with 38 million copies sold. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is number two with 34 million copies sold. The Eagles "Hotel California" is third with 26 million copies sold. (P. 258)
Twenty Nine of the top 34 all time watched TV shows are Super Bowls. The five non-Superbowl shows were;
Mash, Last Episode #12,
Womans Olympic Figure Skating 2/23/94, #19,
Womans Olympic Figure Skating 2/25/94, #32. (The Nancy Kerrigan Olympics)
Cheers Last Episode # 29
Dallas, "Who Shot J.R.?" # 34 (P. 263)
A human's maximum speed over a quarter of a mile is 27.89 MPH. This is faster than an elephant, 25 MPH, but slower than a house cat, 30 MPH, a grizzly bear, 30 MPH, or a warthog, 30 MPH. (P. 293)
The iPhone was released 15 years ago, in 2007. (P. 305)
I continue to be amazed that the lowest recorded temperature in Massachusetts, -35 on 1/12/81, and the highest recorded temperature in Massachusetts, 107 on 8/12/75, were both recorded in Chester, Massachusetts. (P. 316)
The ancient biblical cubit was 21.8 inches. The ancient Greek cubit was 18.3 inches. The ancient Roman cubit was 17.5 inches. (P. 366)
23% of US student loan debt is owed by person at least 50 years old. (P. 389)
The origin of the name "Rhode Island" is unknown. (P. 429)
Quiz. What do Daniel D. Tompkins, George M. Dallas, Richard M. Johnson and Charles W. Fairbanks have in common? See answer at end of today's entry. (P. 477)
Jimmy Carter was the first US president born in a hospital. (P. 506)
In the 2020 presidential election Wallace County Kansas cast 770 votes for Trump and 44 for Biden. (P. 523)
California has 1,263 residents per square mile. Wyoming has 5.9 resident per square mile. They each have two US senators. (P. 610)
From 1950 through 1999 'Michael" was the most popular first name in the US. It is not in the top ten for 2021. (P. 715)
Quiz Answer; they were all US Vice Presidents.
Enough for today.
12/23/22
Osaka, Japan's population, 19,060,000, is larger than New York City's population, 18,867,000. The world's largest city is Tokyo. It has a population of 37,274,000, twice the size of New York City. (P. 732)
Since it became an Olympic sport in 1998, Canada has only won three of the sixteen Olympic Gold Medals awarded in curling. (P. 876)
I feel bad for Gavvy Craveth. He was the National League home run king in 1917, 1918 and 1919. He hit 12, 8 and 12 homers in those years. In 1920 Babe Ruth hit 54. (P. 919)
Records that won't be broken department. Bill Russel is the all-time NBA finals leader in rebounds with 1,718. Wilt Chamberlin is second with 862. (P. 934)
Names for animal collectives; a parliament of owls, a gaze of racoons, a smack of jellyfish, an obstinacy of buffaloes, a scurry of squirrels. Does anyone really use these? (P. 713)
That's all I have for this year. Read your Almanac!
July 24, 2025
I love reading facts and statistics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews