The New Book of Lists The Original Compendium of Curious Information

by Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Amy

ISBN13: 9781841957197

ISBN10: 1841957194

Format: Paperback

Pub. Date: 2005-11-04

Publisher(s): Canongate U.S.

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Summary

Ever wonder if anyone has ever actually died of laughter? Or perhaps who exactly has the most square miles of Earth named after them? Were you expelled from school and want to know if anyone wildly successful was too? The NEW Book of Lists has arrived to answer all your queries, from daydream musings to tricky historical debates.

Acknowledgments	p. xv
Contributors	p. xvii
Introduction	p. xix
People	p. 1
11 Tattooed Celbrities	p. 3
Ages of 32 People Had They Lived to the Year 2006	p. 4
7 People Whose Names Ware Changed by Accident	p. 5
10 People with the Most Square Miles of the Earth's Surface Named After Them	p. 6
9 People with Extra Limbs and Digits	p. 7
20 Famous People Who Were Expelled from School	p. 9
8 Unnamed Women of the Bible	p. 12
12 Men Who Cried in Public	p. 14
If 29 Famous Men Were Known by Their Mother's Maiden Name	p. 16
12 Ugly Ducklings	p. 17
6 Fake Des	p. 21
9 Disparaging Sobriquets	p. 22
17 Meetings Between Famous People and People Not Yet Famous	p. 23
30 Achievers After the Age of 86	p. 28
Movies	p. 31
21 Movie Stars and How They Were Discovered	p. 33
12 Movie Stars Who Fell in Love on the Set	p. 36
8 Memorable Lines Erroneously Attributed to Film Stars	p. 39
24 Actors and Actresses Who Turned Down Great Roles	p. 40
Mary Astor's 10 Greatest Movie Actresses	p. 43
Glenda Jackson's 10 Actresses Who Most Influenced Her	p. 44
Oliver Stone's 12 Best Political Films	p. 45
Patrick Robertson's 12 More Tales of the Movies	p. 46
John Wayne's 5 Best Motion Pictures	p. 51
The 7 Films in Which John Wayne Died	p. 51
Grace De Monaco's 5 Best Motion Pictures	p. 52
Jane Fonda's 4 Best Motion Pictures of All Time	p. 52
Sean Connery's 10 Favorite Movies of All Time	p. 53
Robert Duvall's 10 Favorite Movies of All Time	p. 53
15 Film Scenes Left on the Cutting Room Floor	p. 54
11 Movies That Were Part of History	p. 58
Federico Fellini's 10 Favorite Films	p. 60
William Wyler's 10 Greatest Films of All Time	p. 61
Robert Wise's 5 Best Motion Picture Directors of All Time	p. 62
Pedro Almodovar's 10 Best Films of All Time	p. 62
Roger Corman's 10 Favorite Movies	p. 63
William Friedkin's 10 Favorite Movies	p. 63
Stephen King's 6 Scariest Scenes Ever Captured on Film	p. 64
John Waters's 10 Favorite Overlooked Movies	p. 65
Walter Matthau's 10 Favoirte Comedies	p. 66
41 Famous Writers Who Worked for the Movies	p. 67
Henry Mancini's 10 Hardest Films to Score	p. 70
15 Commercial Film Titles That Might as Well Be Porno Titles	p. 71
Music	p. 73
23 Early Names of Famous Music Groups	p. 75
Dr. Demento's 19 Worst Song Titles	p. 75
12 Suggested Names for Religious Rap Groups	p. 77
Johnny Cash's 10 Greatest Country Songs of All Time	p. 77
Benny Goodman's 7 Best Popular Songs of the 20th Century	p. 78
Alan Jay Lerner's 10 Best Modern Songwriters	p. 79
Andrew Motion's Top 12 Dylan Lyrics	p. 79
Allen Ginsberg's 11 Greatest Blues Songs	p. 80
Dizzy Gillespie's 10 Greatest Jazz Musicians	p. 81
Wynton Marsallis's 14 Greatest Jazz Musicians in History	p. 82
Quincy Jones's 10 Favorite Jazz Recordings of All Time	p. 82
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 10 Greatest Jazz Artists in History	p. 83
13 Blind Musicians	p. 83
Bing Crosby's 10 Favorite Performers	p. 85
Jonathan Richman's 11 Favorite Singers	p. 86
9 Drummers of Note-Selected by Ben Schott	p. 86
Ian Rankin's 7 Great Gigs	p. 88
15 Composers Who Died in Unusual Circumstances	p. 91
Isaac Stern's 10 Best Violinists in History	p. 93
Yehudi Menuhin's 10 Greatest Violinists	p. 94
Stirring Opening Lines of 11 National Anthems	p. 95
Arts	p. 97
That's Entertainment? 7 Perfectly Wretched Performers	p. 99
13 Art Riots	p. 102
Ricky Jay's 10 Most Unusual Variety Acts of All Time	p. 106
Lucille Ball's 10 Favorite TV Series	p. 107
Chris Golden's 10 Favorite Supernatural Television Series	p. 108
Gene Kelly's 11 Greatest Dancers	p. 110
John Gielgud's 6 Greatest Hamlets	p. 110
Charles Schulz's 10 Greatest Cartoon Characters	p. 111
10 People Who Hated Portraits of Themselves	p. 112
10 Artists Whose Works Were Painted Over	p. 114
Andrew Wyeth's 8 Greatest American Paintings in History	p. 116
9 Valuable Art Works Found Unexpectedly	p. 117
Health and Food	p. 119
10 Really Unusual Medical Conditions	p. 121
10 Afflictions and Their Patron Saints	p. 123
Rating the Effects of 51 Personal Crises	p. 125
19 New Neuroses	p. 126
5-Year Survival Rates for 25 Types of Cancer	p. 129
13 People Who Succeeded After Having a Stroke	p. 130
14 Prominent People Who Died While Exercising	p. 132
29 Activities and the Calories They Consume	p. 134
12 Drinks Named After People	p. 134
15 Notable Events That Happened Under the Influence of Alcohol	p. 136
8 Great Sausage Events	p. 141
11 Mammoth Cheeses	p. 143
14 Highly Unusual Recipes	p. 145
16 People Who Became Foods	p. 148
Julia Child's 10 Favorite Cookbooks	p. 151
10 Famous Insomniacs	p. 151
14 Healthy Insomnia Cures	p. 153
21 Health Experts and How They Died	p. 154
12 Sufferers of Tinnitus	p. 160
5 Body Parts Named After Italians	p. 162
9 Body Parts You Didn't Know Had Names	p. 163
Animals	p. 165
10 Most Intelligent Breeds of Dogs	p. 167
10 Least Intelligent Breeds of Dogs	p. 167
17 Winners of the Dog Hero of the Year Award	p. 167
17 Children Who May Have Lived with Wild Animals	p. 173
11 Examples of Unusual Animal Mating Habits	p. 176
Average Erect Penis Lengths for 10 Species	p. 179
8 Examples of Strange Animal Behavior	p. 179
10 Animals That Have Eaten Humans	p. 181
11 Large Animals Discovered by Western Science Since 1900	p. 183
15 Extinct Animals That Are No Longer Extinct	p. 187
5 of the World's Most Oft-Sighted Lake and Sea Monsters	p. 190
12 Places with More Sheep Than Humans	p. 191
4 Places with More Pigs Than Humans	p. 192
10 Nations with the Most Camels	p. 192
Maximum Recorded Lifespan of 58 Animals	p. 193
The Cat Came Back: 15 Cats Who Traveled Great Distances to Return Home	p. 194
The Day of Extinction for 8 Birds	p. 197
5 Tips on How to Survive an Encounter with a Bear	p. 199
10 Funguses That Changed History	p. 200
24 Molecules and Amoebas with Funny Names	p. 203
America	p. 207
19 Possible Explorers of America Before Columbus	p. 209
9 Close Encounters with Richard Nixon	p. 213
15 Presidents Who Won with Less Than 50% of the Vote	p. 215
12 Presidents Ranked by Popularity	p. 217
36 Great Slips of the Tongue in American Politics	p. 217
13 Unexpected Expenses in the United States Budget	p. 221
The Real People Behind 6 Popular American Images	p. 222
15 American Thoroughfares with Unusual Names	p. 224
4 Noteworthy Intersections	p. 224
14 Arab Americans	p. 225
10 Leading Sources of Oil for the United States	p. 225
Oops: 6 Cases of Foreigners Mistakenly Killed by the American Military	p. 226
Work and Money	p. 229
42 Very Odd Jobs	p. 230
Early Careers of 7 Self-Made Billionaires	p. 234
17 Household Items and When They Were Introduced	p. 238
19 Little-Known Inventors of Common Things	p. 239
5 Unfortunate Product Names and 1 Honorable Mention	p. 244
12 Early Cars with Unusual Names	p. 245
15 Famous People Who Worked in Bed	p. 247
11 Famous People Who Were Dentists	p. 249
14 Librarians Who Became Famous in Other Fields	p. 251
Women's Wages Compared to Men's for 20 Occupations	p. 253
22 Famous People Who Went Bankrupt	p. 253
20 Famous Gurus and Their Former Jobs	p. 258
12 Unusual Items Actually Sold on eBay	p. 262
Sex, Love, and Marriage	p. 265
How 11 Famous People Met Their Mates	p. 267
George Burns's 5 Tips for Meeting Women	p. 268
8 Celebrity Couples Married Three Weeks or Less	p. 269
9 Unlikely Couples	p. 271
6 Incestuous Couples of the Bible	p. 273
32 Famous People's Thoughts About Marriage	p. 273
Benjamin Franklin's 8 Reasons to Marry an Older Woman	p. 276
12 Foods Claimed to Be Aphrodisiacs	p. 277
22 Memorable Kisses	p. 278
6 Positions for Sexual Intercourse	p. 283
Members of Society: Preserved Sex Organs of 5 Famous Men	p. 285
Rudolph Valentino's 10 Attributes of the Perfect Woman	p. 287
13 Mothers of Infamous Children	p. 288
Dear Abby Readers' 10 Most Unusual Problems	p. 292
Ann Landers Readers' 10 Most Unusual Problems	p. 293
Crime	p. 295
33 Stupid Thieves and 3 Dishonorable Mentions	p. 297
20 Underworld Nicknames	p. 305
11 Possible Alternative Gunmen in the Assassination of John F. Kennedy	p. 309
10 Defendants from History Alan Dershowitz Would Like to Have Defended	p. 312
19 Innocent Americans Who Were Almost Executed	p. 313
22 Unusual Stolen Objects	p. 318
Clifford Irving's 10 Best Forgers of All Time	p. 321
Abbie Hoffman's 10 Heroes Who Got Away with It	p. 326
38 Unusual Lawsuits	p. 329
What 12 Famous or Infamous People Were Doing When Arrested	p. 340
8 Creative Legal Defenses	p. 342
10 Trial Verdicts That Caused Riots	p. 345
22 Cases of Animals and Insects Brought Before the Law	p. 349
Witticisms of 9 Condemned Criminals	p. 356
War, Politics, and World Affairs	p. 357
The 10 Men Who Conquered the Most Miles	p. 359
10 Deadliest Wars Since World War II	p. 360
18 Secret Armies of the CIA	p. 362
11 Commanders Killed by Their Own Troops	p. 366
12 Politically Incorrect Terms and Their Alternatives	p. 368
17 Actors Who Became Politicians	p. 368
Percentage of Women in 30 National Legislatures	p. 372
10 Worst Dictators Currently in Power	p. 373
13 Deposed Dictators After the Fall	p. 378
10 Largest Arms Exporters	p. 383
10 Largest Arms Importers	p. 383
9 Ordinary Men Who Played King	p. 383
Travel	p. 387
7 Places with Unlikely Names	p. 389
16 Places Whose Names We Eat or Drink	p. 390
11 Unusual Journeys	p. 390
12 Museums of Limited Appeal	p. 394
12 of the Oddest Items Found at London Transport's Lost Property Office	p. 397
9 Unusual Disasters	p. 397
25 Cases of Bizarre Weather	p. 400
13 Possible Sites for the Garden of Eden	p. 404
The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World	p. 406
The 15 Least Populous Independent Nations	p. 409
Books	p. 411
8 Unlikely How-to Books	p. 413
11 Notable Book Dedications	p. 413
The Original Titles of 31 Famous Books	p. 415
28 Great Beginnings to Novels	p. 418
11 Last Lines of Novels	p. 420
15 Best-Selling Books Rejected by 12 or More Publishers	p. 421
Margaret Atwood's 10 Annoying Things to Say to Writers	p. 425
32 Bad Reviews of Famous Works	p. 426
31 Notable Banned Books	p. 429
14 Poets and How They Earned a Living	p. 434
7 Curious Poetry Anthologies	p. 438
17 Unusual Book Titles from the Library of The Book of Lists	p. 441
11 Incredible Lipograms	p. 442
44 Curious Histories and Esoteric Studies from the Library of The Book of Lists	p. 445
Brian Eno's 18 Mind-Changing Books	p. 452
Benjamin Spock's 10 Greatest Children's Books	p. 454
Maurice Sendak's 10 Favorite Children's Books	p. 454
29 Celebrities Who Wrote Children's Books	p. 455
Literary Favorites	p. 459
Henry Miller's 10 Greatest Writers	p. 461
Doris Lessing's 10 Favorite Writers of All Time	p. 462
Irving Wallace's 9 Favorite Authors	p. 462
Joe Kanon's 10 Favorite Thriller Writers	p. 463
Vaclav Havel's 4 Favorite Authors	p. 464
Elmore Leonard's 10 Favorite Novels	p. 464
Ken Kesey's 10 Best American Novels	p. 465
William Burroughs's 10 Favorite Novels	p. 466
Ken Follett's 10 Favorite Novels	p. 467
William Styron's 10 Favorite Novels	p. 468
Peter Straub's 10 Great Genre Novels	p. 469
Tom Clancy's 6 Greatest War Novels	p. 469
Brian Aldiss's 10 Favorite Science Fiction Novels	p. 470
Michael Ondaatje's 12 Twentieth-Century Classics in Translation	p. 471
Michael Ondaatje's 12 Twentieth-Century Classics in English	p. 471
Roald Dahl's 5 Books to Take to a New Planet	p. 472
Sidney Sheldon's 10 All-time Favorite Books	p. 472
Coleman Barks's 11 Favorite Poems	p. 473
Dr. Seuss's 10 Best Cartoon Characters	p. 474
Words	p. 475
So to Speak-The Truth Behind 16 Common Sayings	p. 477
13 Sayings of Woody Allen	p. 479
18 Sayings of Oscar Wilde	p. 480
16 Well-Known Sayings Attributed to the Wrong Person	p. 481
17 Pairs of Contradictory Proverbs	p. 483
8 People Who Ate Their Own-or Others'-Words	p. 484
33 Names of Things You Never Knew Had Names	p. 486
7 Words in Which All the Vowels Appear in Alphabetical Order	p. 488
17 Untranslatable Words	p. 488
22 Obscure and Obsolete Words	p. 491
13 Colorful "Aniverbs"	p. 492
33 Words Rarely Used in Their Positive Form	p. 493
Leo Rosten's 13 Favorite Yiddish Words or Phrases	p. 494
Willard R. Espy's 10 Ugliest Words in the English Language	p. 496
Sports	p. 499
7 Bizarre Sports Events	p. 501
10 Olympic Controversies	p. 502
13 Olympic Medalists Who Acted in Movies	p. 506
Coach John Wooden's 10 Rules to Live By	p. 508
Arnold Palmer's 18 Best Golf Holes in the U.S.	p. 508
6 Non-Boxers Who Took On the Champions	p. 509
6 Famous People Who Invented Games	p. 510
6 Unusual Duels	p. 513
Death	p. 515
8 Almost Indestructible People	p. 517
16 Cases of People Killed by God	p. 521
9 People Who Died Laughing	p. 523
5 People Who Died Playing Cards	p. 524
29 Strange Deaths	p. 525
12 Timely Deaths	p. 531
10 Celebrated People Who Read Their Own Obituaries	p. 534
Preserving Our Heritage: 29 Stuffed or Embalmed Humans and Animals	p. 538
Remains to Be Seen: 14 Preserved Parts	p. 545
Miscellaneous	p. 549
21 Ignoble Prizes	p. 551
10 Famous Noses	p. 553
Bruce Felton's What Were They Thinking? 14 of the Worst Ideas in History	p. 554
Jeremy Beadle's 20 Not-So-Easy Quiz Questions	p. 558
15 Strange Stories	p. 560
27 Things That Fell from the Sky	p. 564
26 Things That Are Not What They Seem	p. 569
21 Bad Predictions	p. 570
Barbara Walters's 5 Events in History I Would Like to Have Seen	p. 576
Ronald Reagan's 6 People in History Whose Life I Would Like to Have Lived	p. 576
Truman Capote's 11 People in History Whose Life I Would Like to Have Lived	p. 577
George Plimpton's 10 People in History Whose Life I Would Like to Have Lived	p. 577
Marcel Marceau's 10 People in History Whose Life I would Like to Have Lived	p. 578
8 Onlies	p. 579
16 Famous Events That Happened in the Bathtub	p. 580
12 Amazing Attic Events	p. 583
Stephen Spender's 10 People He'd Like to Invite to Lunch	p. 587
Paul Bowles's 10 Favorite Dinner Guests in History	p. 588
Arthur Koestler's 10 Favorite Dinner Guests from All History	p. 588
Polonius's 10 Pieces of Advice to Laertes	p. 589
Miss Manners's 10 Worst Faux Pas	p. 590
Vidal Sassoon's 10 Historical Characters He Would Like to Have Made Up or Styled	p. 591
16 Tips for Removing Household Stains	p. 592
12 Prodigious Savants	p. 593
Marshall McLuhan's 10 Most Potent Extensions of Man	p. 595
10 Good Things That Happened on Friday the Thirteenth	p. 596
Mark Twain's List of 27 People and Things to Be Rescued from a Boardinghouse Fire	p. 597
Henny Youngman's 10 Favorite One-Liners	p. 598
8 Last Facts	p. 599
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The New Book of Lists The Original Compendium of Curious Information

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