Listverse.com's Epic Book of Mind-Boggling Lists: Unbelievable Facts and Astounding Trivia on Movies, Music, Crime, Celebrities, History, and More

Jamie Frater

Ulysses Press, May 13, 2014 - Reference - 432 pages

Delving into the shocking side of pop culture, science, and history, Listverse.com's Epic Book of Mind-Boggling Lists offers a wealth of fascinating reading. Movie buffs dive in to the list of crazy movie plots that actually happened in real life, plus the top ten films that accurately predicted the future. Celebrity gawkers do a double take at the list of famous people with secret physical deformities, as well as the numerous celebs who have killed someone. And music fans are set straight by the list of rock 'n' roll urban legends that never happened, while literary buffs cringe at the greatest writers who had crippling drug addictions. List after amazing list keeps readers enthralled, revealing the many entertaining aspects of this wonderful world: strange Civil War weapons, stupid criminals who were captured after butt-dialing the police, bizarre things you can buy from vending machines, and even sex toys with ridiculously ancient origins.

Contents

• MYSTERIES: 9
• CONSPIRACY THEORIES: 77
• CREEPY: 132
• Top 10 Creepiest True Stories behind Movie Scenes: 169
• Top 10 Silliest Lawsuits Ever Heard in Court: 206
• POP CULTURE: 243
• Top 10 Logos That Mean Way More Than You Think: 252
• Top 10 Insane Facts about Marvel Comics: 255
• Top 10 Ways Magic Tricks Your Brain: 259
• Top 10 RealWorld Technologies Inspired by Video Games: 263
• Top 10 Amazing but Overlooked Innovations by Walt Disney: 267
• Top 10 Classic Toys and Games That Are Older Than You Think: 271
• Top 10 Interesting Histories of Iconic Products: 275
• Top 10 Totally Ridiculous PR Disasters: 281
• MOVIES AND TV: 285
• Top 10 Weird Facts about Game Shows: 286
• Top 10 Odd and Fascinating Facts about The Wizard of Oz: 290
• Top 10 Hollywood Myths People Still Believe: 292
• Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Sesame Street: 296
• Top 10 Weird Ways Iconic Movie Costumes Were Created: 300
• Top 10 Movie InJokes and Traditions: 304
• Top 10 Crazy Movie Plots That Happened in Real Life: 307
• Top 10 Bizarre TV Incidents: 311
• Top 10 BehindtheScenes Stories of Simpsons Guest Stars: 317
• Top 10 Shocking Documentaries: 320
• MUSIC: 325
• Top 10 Wild Rock and Roll Urban Legends People Believe: 326
• Top 10 Fascinating and Unusual Music Techniques: 330
• Top 10 Music Recordings for the Insanely Determined: 335
• Top 10 Beatles Innovations That Changed Music: 338
• Top 10 True Rock Music Stories: 341
• Top 10 Famous Songs with Unknown Originals: 350
• Top 10 Major Stars Who Sang Backup on Hits by NotSoMajor Artists: 353
• Top 10 Rock Concerts That Were Just Messed Up: 356
• Top 10 Unpleasant Facts about John Lennon: 360
• CULTURE: 364
• Top 10 Books That Prove the Victorians Were Kinky: 365
• Top 10 Fascinating Typographical Origins: 368
• Top 10 Everyday Words with Unexpected Origins: 372
• Top 10 MindBlowing Stage and Circus Acts: 377
• Top 10 Sinister Origins of Nursery Rhymes: 380
• Top 10 Unusual LittleKnown Fairy Tales: 386
• Top 10 Curious Facts about Your Favorite Childhood Authors: 394
• Top 10 Deleted Chapters That Transformed Famous Books: 398
• Top 10 Stupidly Banned Childrens Books: 402
• Top 10 Horribly Disturbing Fairy Tales: 406
• HISTORY: 413
• Top 10 Notorious Witches and Warlocks: 418
• Top 10 Terrifying Historic Villains: 423
• Top 10 Weird Historical Coincidences: 428
• Top 10 Brutal Atrocities People Continue to Defend: 434
• Top 10 Badass Gangs from History: 438
• Top 10 Horrible Historic Homicides: 442
• Top 10 Mad and Murderous Victorians: 448
• Top 10 Weird Stories about Famous People: 452
• Top 10 Historically Significant Sites Destroyed for Awful Reasons: 455
• Top 10 Dirty Secret CIA Operations: 460
• Top 10 Greatest Impostors of the 20th Century: 465
• CRIME: 473
• Top 10 Evil Corporations You Buy from Every Day: 474
• Top 10 Instances of Violence Committed by Peace Movements: 479
• Top 10 Prison BreakIns: 485
• Top 10 Gruesome Acts of Justice: 488
• Top 10 Monstrous Killer Babysitters: 491
• Top 10 Grotesque Examples of Male Genital Mutilation: 495
• Top 10 Female Serial Killers from around the World: 498
• Top 10 Serious Crimes Committed for Bizarre Reasons: 502
• Top 10 Criminals Caught Thanks to Their Own Stupidity: 507
• Top 10 Phantom Law Breakers: 511
• Top 10 Innocent People Sentenced to Death: 515
• Top 10 Terrorist Organizations Operating in the U S: 519
• Top 10 Terrifying Unsolved Serial Murders: 523
• RELIGION: 529
• Top 10 Insane Facts about the Westboro Baptist Church: 530
• Top 10 Popes Who Resigned: 533
• Top 10 Things You Probably Dont Know about the Amish: 536
• Top 10 Biblical Figures Who Teach Outrageous Morals: 539
• Top 10 Truly Bizarre or Unsettling Biblical Accounts: 543
• Top 10 Amazing Feats Performed by Saints: 546
• Top 10 Alternative Religions Based on Popular Culture: 549
• FOOD: 554
• Top 10 Ways You Could Eat Feces Today: 555
• Top 10 Strange Facts about Hamburgers: 558
• Top 10 Truly Weird Food Tales: 563
• Top 10 Strange and Creepy Reasons Not to Eat Fast Food: 567
• Top 10 Food Facts and Fallacies: 571
• Top 10 Weird Foods Sold by Victorian Street Vendors: 578
• Top 10 Animals That People Eat Alive: 580
• Top 10 Strange Tales about Pizza: 583
• Top 10 Strange and Fascinating Fast Food Tales: 588
• Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Soda: 592
• Top 10 Disturbing Foods That Might Harm You: 595
• Top 10 Terrifying Things That Can Hide in Your Food: 598
• ANIMALS: 603
• Top 10 Strange Animal Freaks of Nature: 604
• Top 10 Surreal and Twisted Fish: 607
• Top 10 Genetically Modified Animals You Can Buy: 610
• Top 10 Truly Terrible Species Invasions: 614
• Top 10 Sadistic Killers of the Natural World: 618
• Top 10 Bizarre Animal Facts: 620
• Top 10 Amazing and Creepy Corpse Fauna: 624
• Top 10 Strangest Defense Mechanisms in Nature: 627
• Top 10 Extreme Insect Species: 630
• Top 10 Aberrant Avian Hunting and Feeding Methods: 633
• Top 10 Unusual Animal Senses: 636
• TECHNOLOGY AND SPACE: 640
• Top 10 Bizarre Scientific Stories: 641
• Top 10 Orwellian Technologies That Exist Today: 648
• Top 10 Unexplained Mysteries of the Stars: 653
• Top 10 Crazy Things You Should Know about Our Solar System: 658
• Top 10 Strangest Things in Space: 662
• Top 10 MindBlowing SciFi Technologies That Really Exist: 666
• Top 10 MindBending Discoveries in Physics: 670
• Top 10 Weird and Fascinating Facts about Space Travel: 675
• GRAB BAG: 679
• Top 10 Ridiculous Cold War Government Projects: 680
• Top 10 People Who Exposed U S Government Secrets and Lies: 686
• Top 10 Lesser Known Amazing Facts about the Human Body: 693
• Top 10 Fascinating Scientific and Psychological Effects: 696
• Top 10 Astonishing NearDeath Experiences: 700
• Top 10 Ridiculously Cool Natural Phenomena: 706
• Top 10 People Who Survived Your Worst Nightmares: 709
• Top 10 Strangest Places People Actually Lived: 714
• Photo Credits: 718
• Acknowledgments: 720

About the author

Jamie Frater is the creator of the popular website listverse.com. Born in Naenae, a suburb of Lower Hutt, New Zealand, he studied postgraduate music at the Royal College of Music in London, after which, due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts, he created Listverse.com, where he presents a new top ten list every day. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations in the United States and Great Britain. Jamie now writes full-time for his California-based website from his home in Naenae, New Zealand.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Listverse.com's Epic Book of Mind-Boggling Lists: Unbelievable Facts and Astounding Trivia on Movies, Music, Crime, Celebrities, History, and More
• Author: Jamie Frater
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Ulysses Press, 2014
• ISBN: 1612432972, 9781612432977
• Length: 432 pages
• Subjects: Reference / Trivia