I don’t know how long ago it was, I’m guessing early 1980s, when I bought a book that seemed to be the first of its kind. It was called The Book Of Lists, and that is exactly what it was, a book of lists.

There was all sorts in it: the top 10 grossing movies, the 10 tallest buildings, the 10 longest books, whatever. Not like a world records book, just a book of random lists.

As you might expect, it spawned and spawns, many copies. The data gets out-of-date.

My favourite was a paperback called Reel Facts:

It included all the lists you might reasonably expect, award winners, highest grossing etc. I pored over it.

Remember, this was a time before the world wide web. Now, if you want to know the ten most Oscar winning movies, then a simple search will find it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Academy_Award_records