David Wallechinsky didn't invent what's on the Internet. It just seems that way.
In 1977, Wallechinsky, his father Irving Wallace and his sister Amy Wallace published "The Book of Lists." The compendium of cleverly presented facts, such as "15 People Who Became Words," "10 Men Who Were Supported By Their Wives" and "6 Positions for Sexual Intercourse -- In Order of Preference," wasn't just simple enumeration.
It featured detailed explanations about its subjects, proving itself a worthy and entertaining reference work. "The Book of Lists" immediately took its place on another list -- the bestseller list -- and spawned three sequels.
More than three decades later, in the Internet age, its impact is everywhere. Countless websites, including CNN.com, have turned to lists -- sometimes in the form of galleries -- to help tell stories in a digestible way and boost page views. Topics range from "History's Biggest Mysteries" to "13 Team Names That Will Make a Lot More Sense When You Know Their Origins" to "11 Things You Didn't Know About Spinal Tap."
Sure, you can't copyright an idea that goes back to God and Hammurabi, but one might think that Wallechinsky might be seething about seeing his child so misused.
Not in the least, says the author, Olympic historian and creator of the website AllGov.com.
"I was thrilled when the Internet came around," he says. He understands that the list concept makes it easier to process information, and "I'm glad to have done what I could."
These days, Wallechinsky, 66, devotes his time to AllGov.com, an attempt to create a different kind of information repository: a site all about the business of government, including details about dozens of government agencies and names of hundreds of government officials. Currently AllGov features the United States, California and France; plans call for it to cover every U.S. state and every country in the world.
"We pride ourselves on accuracy, double-checking," he says. "The Internet is so full of junk and not-researched material. ... We try to emphasize policy instead of politics."
