World Almanac's Top 10 Stories

"The World Almanac and Book of Facts" 2004 came out in November, continuing a 136-year tradition of providing what it believes is the most information on the most topics.

To the folks at "The World Almanac," there is no such thing as too much information. Kevin Seabrooke, a senior editor with the almanac and also editor of "The World Almanac for Kids," visits The Early Show on Wednesday to talk about some of the stranger news stories of 2003 and explain how they found their way into the almanac.

Facts and brief history of "The" Book Of Facts:

• The first edition of "The World Almanac" was published by The New York World newspaper in 1868 (the name of the publication comes from the newspaper itself, which was known as "The World"). Published just three years after the end of the Civil War and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the first almanac had 120 pages of information and touched on such events as the process of Reconstruction and the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson.
• Publication was suspended in 1876, but in 1886, famed newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, who had purchased The New York World and had quickly transformed it into one of the most influential newspapers in the country, revived "The World Almanac" with the intention of making it "a compendium of universal knowledge." "The World Almanac" has been published annually ever since.
• In 1894, when it claimed more than a half-million "habitual users," The World Almanac changed its name to "The World Almanac and Encyclopedia." This was the title it kept until 1923, when it became "The World Almanac and Book of Facts," the name it bears today.
• During World War II, the book could boast that it was read by GIs all over the world: between 1944 and 1946, at the request of the U.S. government, "The World Almanac" had special print runs of 100,000 to 150,000 copies for distribution to the armed forces.
• In 1961, a wire service photograph showed President Kennedy sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office and on his desk were 6 books: the only reference book was "The World Almanac." Amazingly, almost 40 years later, a 1999 New York Times photo showed President Clinton in almost the exact same position, seated at his desk in the Oval Office. Clearly visible on the desk behind him are busts of Jefferson and Lincoln, pictures of his wife and daughter, a Bible, and a copy of "The World Almanac." And they're not the only U.S. Presidents who have relied on "The World Almanac:" at Franklin Roosevelt's home in Hyde Park, N.Y., a reproduction of his White House desk includes a copy of "The World Almanac" 1945.
• In 1923, Calvin Coolidge was sworn as president after Warren Harding's sudden death by his father, a Vermont justice, who read the oath of office from a copy of "The World Almanac."
• "The World Almanac" is the bestselling U.S. reference book of all time, with more than 80 million copies sold since it was first published in 1868.
• It is limited to 1,008 pages, which is at the upper limits of what can be printed and bound and be expected to stay together. The book can't be printed all at once. Printing starts in the middle of the book, since world history doesn't change all that much, and works toward the front and back. So the most current information is at the beginning and at the end of the book.
• Over the years, the almanac has become a household name and has been featured in a number of Hollywood films. For example, Fred MacMurray talks about it with Edward G. Robinson in "Double Indemnity;" Bette Davis screams about it in "All About Eve;" Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper flirt about it in "Love in the Afternoon;" it is featured in "Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street" when a trial is held to see if Santa Claus really exists; and Rosie Perez continually reads it in the film, "White Men Can't Jump."
• "The World Almanac" also makes frequent appearances on television. It has been featured on Wheel of Fortune as a puzzle title to solve, and it is regularly cited as a source on Jeopardy - and as a source for contestants preparing for that show.