Which is the longest running TV show based on a video game and has been around for nearly 2 decades? Which is the biggest selling gaming console in the world (it’s not PS3)? Which country has been hit by the biggest Earthquakes? Which is the most deadly creature on the planet?

Find me the person who doesn’t want answers to these questions and I will stop bragging about latest edition of Top 10 of Everything. It’s not huge but Top 10 of Everything 2016 is full of facts that can fill your appetite for fun. Unlike its competitor Guinness World Records, this book lists the top Ten of nearly everything and although the size of its latest edition may have shrunk, the flow of information hasn’t.

The book has been categorically divided into 10 sections. If you are a fan of machines, the ‘Mechanical Creations’ section is for you. Animal lovers will revel in the ‘Animal Kingdom’ chapter, while ‘Gaming’ is a gamer’s paradise. There is ‘Sports’ for the sports lovers; ‘Forces of Nature’ for those who love Nature; ‘Music’ for those with an ear for music; ‘Epic Structures’ for those with an eye for tall buildings and amazing structures while ‘Movies’ gives movie fanatics a lot to think about.

The ‘Humankind’ and ‘Outer Space’ give you the Top Ten for special humans and space respectively, and with so much information, you can surprise your friends, your colleagues and even those who think they know it all.

The best thing about this book is that it is easy to read and there is no narrative to bore you. It tells you that SS Atlantic Express has so far been the largest ship to sink ‘naturally’ and China is the country worst-hit by floods. It also informs you that Furious 7 is so far the most successful motor-movie ever and heads a list that also includes The Dark Knight, MIB3 and Cars 2!

You will also be surprised to know that while our very own Shoaib Akhtar has bowled the fastest delivery in cricket, it is Malaysian badminton player Tan Boon Heong who is at top position when it comes to swing. The Rawalpindi Express is at #10!

Usually books with statistics and records are boring and yawn-inducing, but not this one since it gives you information you don’t believe is information in the first place. Who would believe that Burj Khalifa in UAE is the tallest building in the world, taller than Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel.

Marvel Comics passes Sherlock Holmes as most movies in a franchise.

Rocky IV is the biggest boxing movie of all time.

Fahrenheit 9/11 is the most successful documentary.

Back To The Future is not the biggest time travel movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past is.

Shahid Afridi is regarded as the batsman to have hit the cricket ball, the farthest.

As for the questions asked at the start of the piece, Pokémon is the longest running TV show based on a video game and has been around for 18 years. Play Station 2 is still the biggest selling gaming console in the world, Play Station 3 is at #6. Chile features thrice each in biggest earthquake list while mosquito is regarded as the most deadly creature in the world.

This book has thousands of intriguing facts supported by all-colour photographs, quick facts, inside stories and links to websites which make it a must-have book for your collection.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 2nd, 2015