Besides being books, what could "Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas S. Kuhn, "Baby and Child Care" by Dr. Benjamin Spock, and "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter possibly have in common?

Each heads one of the hundreds of lists compiled in "The Best and Worst of Everything" (Prentice Hall) by Les Krantz.Kuhn's book heads the list of "most influential" books, on the basis of its being most cited in other works; Spock's book is listed as the best-selling paperback of all time, with 39.2 million copies sold; and "Peter Rabbit" is first on the list of best-selling hardcover books for children.

Books are only one of over 1,000 subjects among people, places and things covered on best and worst (and fewest and most) lists.

Among the lists' many revelations are:

Monaco has the most TV sets per capital; Chicago-O'Hare is the nation's busiest airport; auto assembler ranks first among jobs with the most quotas and deadlines; Sweden has the highest percentage of senior citizens living alone; and Hong Kong recycles 67 percent of its waste paper, leading the pack.

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One of the book's more surprising declarations is that among cities, New York leads in the percentage of population (36.1) not owning cars - not easy to believe for anyone who's ever experienced a Big Apple traffic jam.

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