In the late 1970s and into the 1980s, a book that became a phenomenon was the “Book of Lists,†which included hundreds of lists on arcane subjects such as famous people who died during sex, or people misquoted by Ronald Reagan.
The series was compiled by best-selling author Irving Wallace with two of his children, and while top-ten lists existed previously, Wallace’s book seemed to trigger an onslaught of lists in all forms of media.
A Trend That Caught Hold
Starting with David Letterman’s “Top Ten List†and continuing with lists by hundreds upon hundreds of bloggers, it’s a phenomenon that doesn’t appear to be fading any time soon.