Ray Saintonge wrote:
Speculation is not proof. The "Guinness Book of World Records" has
been consistent best seller in the past century, as was Joseph P.
Haydn's "Dictionary of Dates" during the previous century. Both
contained an enormous amount of trivia.
Other consistent non-fiction best sellers of the past century include
Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "The
Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook". Being a bestseller does not make a
work instructive as to what an encyclopedia ought to contain.