(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best trivia & fun facts books
We found 328 Reddit comments discussing the best trivia & fun facts books. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 158 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
21. Mysterious America: The Ultimate Guide to the Nation's Weirdest Wonders, Strangest Spots, and Creepiest Creatures
Specs:
Height | 8.25 Inches |
Length | 5.3125 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | April 2007 |
Weight | 0.78043640748 Pounds |
Width | 0.84 Inches |
22. How Stuff Works
- UG802 is the first Mini Android PC to feature Rockchip’s new RK3066 dual core processor, running at 1.2Ghz (max. 1.6Ghz). It is equipped with 1GB DDR3, 4GB ROM, 802.11b/g/n WIFI network
- UG802 is a tiny computer that fits in the palm of your hands. It looks like a slightly bulky USB flash drive, but it actually has a processor, RAM, storage, and I/O ports, which make it a Mini PC.
- Wireless network card (WIFI) built-in, without any external antenna / adapter.
Features:
Specs:
Height | 11.125 Inches |
Length | 8.875 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | August 2010 |
Weight | 3.43 pounds |
Width | 1 Inches |
23. Did You Read That Review?: A Compilation of Amazon's Funniest Reviews
Specs:
Release date | November 2014 |
24. An Underground Education: The Unauthorized and Outrageous Supplement to Everything You Thought You Knew About Art, Sex, Business, Crime, Science, Medicine, and Other Fields
Specs:
Color | White |
Height | 9.23 Inches |
Length | 7.1 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | April 1999 |
Weight | 1.57410055068 Pounds |
Width | 1.17 Inches |
26. You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News: Shocking but Utterly True Facts
- You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News: Shocking but Utterly True Facts [Paperback]
Features:
Specs:
Color | Burgundy/maroon |
Height | 7.97 Inches |
Length | 5.3 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | December 2010 |
Weight | 0.5 Pounds |
Width | 0.73 Inches |
27. The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep
Specs:
Color | Multicolor |
Height | 8.2 Inches |
Length | 5.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | October 2003 |
Weight | 0.00220462262 Pounds |
Width | 0.98 Inches |
28. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Used Book in Good Condition
Specs:
Height | 9.44 Inches |
Length | 6.3 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | March 2004 |
Weight | 2.35 Pounds |
Width | 1.59 Inches |
29. You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News: Shocking but Utterly True Facts
- Bantam
Features:
Specs:
Release date | December 2010 |
30. Why Stop?: A Guide to Texas Roadside Historical Markers
- THICK & DURABLE GUN BELT - MADE IN THE USA OF USA LEATHER - 100% American - 100% Quality - GUARANTEED NO BREAK BELTS! Made by Skilled Craftsmen our USA made belts are here to stay. When you need a tough belt for CCW wear, that won't break the bank, this is it, the Hanks Gunner Gun Belt. Our solid leather belts will anchor your holster improving your ability to access your firearm.
- 100% FULL GRAIN LEATHER -ONE PIECE - NO FILLERS- These ccw belts will never split like some cheaper belts will - Made from 100% Full-Grain leather, the Gunner can take anything you throw its way and will continue to look great with age. Full Grain leather is the top layer of the hide which is the toughest part, making this concealed carry belt indestructible
- 14OZ LEATHER - 1.5" WIDE - Vegetable Tanned leather. Approximately .22-.23 thick No Sag, No Rollover, No Stretching we guarantee it! So add that extra ammo, your mag light and whatever else you might need for everyday carry. These belts are built to last and last they will. Removable buckle is fastened with removable Chicago Screws instead of snaps so the buckle can easily be changed,the last thing you will have to worry about is a snap that could break, because there are none!
- 100 YEAR WARRANTY - yep that's right we are so confident in our shooting belts we have your back for 100 years! This belt will not break and if it does, send it back, we'll get you another one, for free! The quality of our belts are unsurpassed.
- 100% FREE EXCHANGES IF NEEDED! If you have any questions please contact us. We are here to help
Features:
Specs:
Height | 8.94 Inches |
Length | 6.01 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | April 2013 |
Weight | 1.56087281496 Pounds |
Width | 1.18 Inches |
31. Oregon Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, And Other Offbeat Stuff (Curiosities Series)
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 8.9 Inches |
Length | 6 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2010 |
Weight | 0.06172943336 Pounds |
Width | 0.8 Inches |
32. The Xenophobe's Guide to the Danes (Xenophobe's Guides - Oval Books)
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 7 Inches |
Length | 4.25 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.10582188576 Pounds |
Width | 0.25 Inches |
33. The Book of the Damned: The Collected Works of Charles Fort
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 9 Inches |
Length | 6 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | May 2008 |
Weight | 0.00220462262 Pounds |
Width | 2.25 Inches |
34. Alien Hand Syndrome
- Top quality japanese style bamboo rugs, 3 beautiful art print designs, 3 classic convenient sizes
- Durable kiln dried bamboo slat, wide black canvas finished edges, indoor use only
- Slip resistant backing, no need to buy rubber backing, indoor use only
- Browse our huge selection of japanese, chinese, asian décor, room dividers, art, lamps and gifts
Features:
Specs:
Height | 9.25 Inches |
Length | 7.38 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Width | 0.69 Inches |
35. The Secret Universe of Names: The Dynamic Interplay of Names and Destiny
Specs:
Height | 7.999984 Inches |
Length | 4.99999 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | October 2004 |
Weight | 3.16 Pounds |
Width | 0.999998 Inches |
36. The Secret Universe of Names: The Dynamic Interplay of Names and Destiny
- Used Book in Good Condition
Features:
Specs:
Height | 7.999984 Inches |
Length | 4.99999 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | March 2010 |
Weight | 2.55 Pounds |
Width | 0.999998 Inches |
37. The New Book of Lists: The Original Compendium of Curious Information
Specs:
Height | 9 Inches |
Length | 5.75 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 1.43961857086 Pounds |
Width | 1.5 Inches |
38. The Book of Word Records: A Look at Some of the Strangest, Shortest, Longest, and Overall Most Remarkable Words in the English Language
Specs:
Height | 7.5 Inches |
Length | 5.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | July 2013 |
Weight | 0.64595442766 Pounds |
Width | 0.68 Inches |
39. Uncle John's Giant 10th Anniversary Bathroom Reader (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Series)
Specs:
Height | 8.5 Inches |
Length | 5.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | September 1997 |
Weight | 1.34 Pounds |
Width | 1.5 Inches |
40. Alpha and Omega: The Search for the Beginning and End of the Universe
- This is an AUTHENTIC AM T-shirts Brand product with removable Official Seal sticker
- Printed in Tennessee, USA
- 100% Pre-shrunk Cotton
- 6.1 oz Classic Fit
- Explosive Freedom.
Features:
Specs:
Color | Black |
Height | 7.97 Inches |
Length | 5.06 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | June 2004 |
Weight | 0.5 Pounds |
Width | 0.67 Inches |
🎓 Reddit experts on trivia & fun facts books
The comments and opinions expressed on this page are written exclusively by redditors. To provide you with the most relevant data, we sourced opinions from the most knowledgeable Reddit users based the total number of upvotes and downvotes received across comments on subreddits where trivia & fun facts books are discussed. For your reference and for the sake of transparency, here are the specialists whose opinions mattered the most in our ranking.
As a fellow New Zealander currently living in Copenhagen, welcome!
My first recommendation would be to not make the New Zealand/Old Zealand joke, e.g., Yeah I'm from New Zealand, I thought I'd see what Old Zealand was like... Danes do not find it funny. Also, everyone will think you are from Australia, so that's something to get used to.
Misc. Helpful Info
Integration
Cool Streets/Areas/Going out
Hello, Brother!
Okay, so if it's non-fiction you want, then I know just what you need.
If you want a good overview, Mysterious America by Loren Coleman, who's more or less the godfather of cryptozoology, is a superb first entry for anybody interested in cryptozoology. I especially liked the sections on "Panthera Atrox." There are sections on phantom ships and other more mystical elements of the Fortean, and some might find its focus on North America a bit limited, but I'd still recommend it.
Mysterious America: The Ultimate Guide to the Nation's Weirdest Wonders, Strangest Spots, and Creepiest Creatures
I'd also recommend Coleman's "field guides." These don't go into quite as much detail as Mysterious America, but they do provide a rather intriguing look at the diversity in sightings of animals that do not belong. The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primates and The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep are useful, as is the similar, if somewhat dated, Cryptozoology A To Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature.
The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primates
The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep
Cryptozoology A To Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature
Coleman's written some other books as well, focused on individual cryptids. Bigfoot: The True Story of Apes in America and Mothman and Other Curious Encounters are among the most notable.
Bigfoot: The True Story of Apes in America
Mothman and Other Curious Encounters
Moving on, I found another book that functions as a good overview of cryptozoology is Jerome Clark's Unexplained!: Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena. Clark gets into a bit more Fortean elements than Coleman does, but his book also includes some cryptids that Coleman rarely pays attention to--including living dinosaurs.
Unexplained!: Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena
If you have a particular taste for feline cryptids--surviving Panthera Artox, surviving saber-toothed cats, whatever the heck the ones is--then I must recommend the writings of Karl Shuker. Shuker is a prolific writer, and to list his books would take up a lot more space, but if I had to choose one, I'd recommend Extraordinary Animals.
Extraordinary Animals: Revisited
You didn't mention whether you were an American, but Stackpole Books has a "Monsters Of" series that has the folklore of individual states in the United States.
Following up on that, if you live in California, or if you have a fondness for sea monsters, then you may also like the book Mysterious Sea Monsters of California's Central Coast.
Mysterious Sea Monsters of California's Central Coast
Now, I know you said you weren't looking for novels, but if you have kids of your own, or you have younger relatives who might like the material, there's always the works of Roland Smith. Sasquatch and the "Cryptid Quartet" which includes Cryptid Hunters, Tentacles, Chupacabra, and Mutation are all great reads for middle readers, or for the young at heart.
Sasquatch
Cryptid Hunters
Tentacles
Chupacabra
Mutation
as a kid, i used to grab the dictionary whenever i got bored. mom bought a set of the World Book Encyclopedia, and with it was a two-volume dictionary. i had no idea most people would think it was odd, or i'd have probably stopped reading it. but frankly, it was great fun. i'd learn a bunch from just a single page.
arguably, though, Johnson's dictionary is probably the most "readable" in terms of straightforward enjoyment and entertainment. of course some usages are now antiquated... but you might find it a good option if your desire is to read from A to Z, literally, in order.
"He is even believed to have made up some words. His definition of oats is very rude to the Scots. He defines the word as 'A Grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.' Johnson was criticised for imposing his personality on to the book. However, his dictionary was enormously popular and highly respected for its epic sense of scholarship." From the British LIbrary. You can get an abridged reprint HERE
The OED is the grand poobah. but a full set is not viable, unless you want to read it in the library. The condensed two-volume set requires a magnifying glass.... But if you wanted as close an experience to the real thing, an abridged Oxford English Dictionary would be excellent. I like the OED because it delves into etymology, and the usage examples are the definitive examples of first known appearance in print.
Windows plays games
If he is into League of Legends and it's anything like League of Angels was, get him game cash/"diamonds"/goodies (or SportsAuthority etc. gift cards to buy game cash/"diamonds"/goodies). The link would depend on his server, so it would be www.GTArcade.com if he's with them, but there are several. My husband played LoA for months and that was definitely his favorite gift. :P
If you don't wanna go the cash route, maybe a Best of Rooster Teeth DVD? http://store.roosterteeth.com/collections/home-video/products/thebestofroosterteethshortsdvd.
If I win, I'd like "You Might Be a Zombie, and Other Bad News". Thanks!
Last Christmas, I got my dad the latest edition of Famous Trees of Texas which may sound a little odd at first but it's given us some really good daytrip ideas. The book lists major landmark trees all over the state. Cool to see because those trees are still alive. It's fun to walk up and put your hand on a tree that goes back to some bygone era.
If you know you're going to be in some corner of the state, you can look up what trees are in the area and go check them out. I've usually found geocaches nearby and there's almost always a Texas Historical Marker near it.
Which leads me to my second recommendation if you think the tree thing is too odd. "Why Stop?" is a book with all the historical marker info in it. (There's also a few neat, free iOS apps with all the state historical marker info on it too.) I've found it interesting to be able to vicariously travel the state and explore area history from the couch.
fear cuts deeper than swords
[Here is a neat book about Oregon.] (http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Curiosities-2nd-Characters-Roadside/dp/0762749717/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1376357656&sr=8-3&keywords=made+in+oregon)
[Here is something made in Oregon.] (http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Shine-Breakfast-Gift-Set/dp/B0011UNLKY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376357656&sr=8-1&keywords=made+in+oregon)
PS: Are you from Oregon? Also, thank you for the reminder.
Anyone ever read any Charles Fort? A very early paranormal tabloid writer, he is super awesome!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1585426415/ref=mp_s_a_2?qid=1321767609&sr=8-2
Also, maybe less rare but super awesome: Francois Rabelais!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0679431373/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1321767690&sr=8-1
Every single article on damninteresting.com qualifies for TIL haha, that place is awesome, I wish Allan Bellows would start updating again but he's been getting his life on track since some RL drama.
P.S. buy the DI book "Alien Hand Syndrome"
http://www.amazon.com/Alien-Hand-Syndrome-Alan-Bellows/dp/B003NHR8P2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311271368&sr=1-1
It's awesome!
The concept of sound symbolism has gained some credibility recently... I got a coffee-table book that goes into huge detail on the associations each sound has and how that affects the impression a name produces. The book's pretty cheap on Amazon: [The Secret Universe of Names](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585675946/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1585675946&linkCode=as2&tag=32136546857-20 "In the interest of full disclosure, this is a referral link for me")
I also wrote a spreadsheet that alternates consonant and vowel sounds to help me generate passwords I can remember, and it works ok for coming up with name ideas.
There's a book about this: The Secret Universe of Names: The Dynamic Interplay of Names and Destiny.
It's not about name "meanings," but rather it describes and predicts personality traits based on the sounds in first names. E.g. "Why do the Keiths of the business world statistically out-perform the Nigels by almost 300%?"
It devotes one page for each similar-sounding name. I own it and it's pretty interesting.
(copypasta from a previous comment of mine, last time there was a thread like this)
I would recommend these:
Surely, there are others I've read and I don't remember at the moment.
Hello, Cracked writer here.
I understand some of the frustration you feel, but I don't fully agree with your conclusions. I have done the Cracked list and it is a great launching off point for writing.
The format may be similar, but because it is popular and smarter than Buzzfeed or the many Buzzfeed knock-offs, it opens a lot of doors. I used my Cracked resume to get into contact with Fox Studios, and as a result I have had two seasons of a college sports web series called Suit Up, the second season now airing on DirecTV's Audience Channel.
There are several writers for the site who have gone on to be published. Among them
In addition, if you go into the Lounge section of the forum you will find threads about other sites that pay and offer other types of writing. I wrote for Playboy's The Smoking Jacket for a while.
Overall Cracked has made me a much better writer and prepared me for receiving feedback, collaborating with other authors and building credentials. It's not the end all, be all of crafting great writers, but it is a rare gem that it is a site that allows anyone to sign up, contribute whatever weird or obscure knowledge and get an article before hundreds of thousands to millions of readers, all while giving far more attention to developing writing far more than other sites.
Oh man. There's a series of exactly this. They're fairly big tomes on cheap paper with about 3 pages at a time dedicated to some obscure and interesting fact or piece of history. They're like Cracked on paper, and slightly classier (very slightly).
Actually, Cracked has a few books. Like this and this. Buy, chain to the toilet and become the most loved man in your building.
Found it. The Bathroom Reader's Institute.
For a Kindle book I would LOVE to get this one
For a real book I can hold in my hands this would be the best Used is fine :)
Thanks for the contest!
This isn't really what you asked for, nothing like Alex Jones type stuff, but it's the first book that came to mind, and it's great:
https://www.amazon.com/Underground-Education-Unauthorized-Outrageous-Supplement/dp/0385483767
This one is also great and closer to what you might be looking for:
https://www.amazon.com/Everything-You-Know-Wrong-Disinformation/dp/0971394202/ref=asc_df_0971394202/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312154648235&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1073802474094651378&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013962&hvtargid=pla-570336966135&psc=1
Charles Seife's Alpha & Omega is a very good popular science book about cosmology, which is not astronomy exactly, but is closely related enough (and maybe part of what is in the documentaries you mentioned) to be of interest, I think. I enjoyed it immensely, along with a number of his other books (e.g., Decoding the Universe, Zero).
Love those books.
Depending on how old you are if you saw it growing up, it could have been [The Way Things Work] (https://www.amazon.com/New-Way-Things-Work/dp/0395938473) or possibly the How Stuff Works [book itself] (https://www.amazon.com/How-Stuff-Works-Marshall-Brain/dp/0785824324/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1491399864&sr=1-1&keywords=how+stuff+works)
not a subreddit but I think you'd enjoy An Underground Education
Amazon put out a book of funny reviews on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Did-You-Read-That-Review-ebook/dp/B00O7XEOJY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456857659&sr=1-1&keywords=funny+reviews+on+amazon
This is one of the disappearances detailed in a 1972 book by Brad Steiger, called 'Strange Disappearances'. I have had a copy of this book since I was a teenager, and there are many interesting stories told within its pages for which there is virtually no information available about online.. drives me bonkers, because I would love to know more about many of them!
https://www.amazon.com/Strange-disappearances-Brad-Steiger/dp/B0006XWCRK
If you like interesting and strange facts about history. Check out "An underground education" by Richard Zacks
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0385483767?pc_redir=1414100278&robot_redir=1
It is. Apparently the book is being released in two weeks or so - http://www.amazon.com/Did-You-Read-That-Review-ebook/dp/B00O7XEOJY It didn't come with a note though, so I had no idea why I was getting a free book until I saw the reviews of the unicorn mask.
Big fan for a number of years. Even bought David Wongs book and You Might Be A Zombie
Who would you say Cracked's biggest competitors are?
How do you see the website developing, i.e. more videos, moving away from lists etc...?
That's a tough question. Honestly a lot of engineers can't think uniquely enough because they don't know how all that stuff works. Most are book taught instead of hands on educated.
My father was an engineer and I loved taking things apart.
So if you want to learn some mechanical engineering I would do three things:
WARNING: Do not poke around inside CRT TVs or monitors unless you want to die. Capacitors in large appliances will injure or kill you. Not even joking. Learn what a capacitor is before you take anything apart. Little capacitors can't do much but the larger ones can. Hell some little ones will scare the fuck out of you. Like the ones in disposable cameras. They will make you take a tinkle in your shorts.
They also make a kickass book that is almost better than their website.
Bonus: Check out /r/askscience and /r/machineporn and check out popular science then popular mechanics.
Bonus 2: Physics and mechanical games.
I first read about the man from Taured in Brad Steiger's 1972 book "Strange Disappearances." Definitely worth the read and also predates the earliest source the guys in the video could find.
https://www.amazon.com/Strange-disappearances-Brad-Steiger/dp/B0006XWCRK
Oh thank you, it's been a while since I've read it. Found it reading in An Underground Education
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0385483767?pc_redir=1397922141&robot_redir=1
hmm...very interesting..it's been a while since i've read fiction books, i'm currently reading "Underground Education"..just to mix things up...i'll have to look at those two and start reading!
http://www.amazon.com/Underground-Education-Unauthorized-Outrageous-Supplement/dp/0385483767
Top 20 Selling Children's Book
The book How Stuff Works (or a similar book).
Ever read Charles Fort - The Book of the Damned ?
How Stuff Works
Cracked is actually what started my rant about this...
Ain't Nobody's Business if You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Free Society by Peter McWilliams
An Underground Education : The Unauthorized and Outrageous Supplement to Everything You Thought You Knew About Art, Sex, Business, Crime, Science, Medicine, and Other Fields of Human by Richard Zacks
Zacks - An Underground Education : The Unauthorized and Outrageous Supplement to Everything You Thought You Knew About Art, Sex, Business, Crime, Science, Medicine, and Other Fields of Human Knowledge
Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything
Bastiat - The Law
The first waves of coulrophobia that we have records of comprise what were initially labelled "phantom clown" scares. The earliest of these actually dates to 1981 – five years before Stephen King published It – and was reported on by Loren Coleman in a seminal article which appeared in the US magazine Fate (1982), and which was elaborated on shortly afterwards by Bob Tarte and Bill Holms in piece for the British magazine Fortean Times (autumn 1982) titled "A Circle of Clowns". Coleman's original article was later republished as a chapter of his book Mysterious America (1983), a compilation that has run through numerous editions since it was first published. It's very interesting to note, in this respect, that the relevant chapter was actually omitted from the 1989 edition, because, Coleman has said, it was considered "too scary" by the book's publisher.
The scare that Coleman reported on began in Boston, and involved the spread of accounts of men dressed in colourful clothes attempting to lure children into vans. The scare spread within the state, to Brookline, and then from Massachusetts to Pittsburgh and on to Kansas City, Denver, Omaha and St Louis, where newspapers reported on "killer clowns" that were supposedly menacing children at bus stops. In every case, the police investigated, but were unable to apprehend any perpetrators, and in fact concluded that no adults had seen any of the mysterious figures – every report they had originated with children, though they were actually phoned in by concerned parents: "We've had calls saying there was a clown at a certain intersection and we happened to have police cars sitting there, and the officers saw nothing. We've had over 20 calls on 911. When the officers get there, no one tells them anything."
In fact, all these tales conformed to a basic common pattern, as Coleman explained:
>I have always strictly defined a "Phantom Clown" episode as one involving a clown-costumed individual attempting to entice or lure a child into a van, the woods, or other isolated situations. But then when the police or parents get involved, no clown can be found or captured.
Tracing the spread of stories of this sort was not easy in the pre-internet age unless they became front-page sensations, which the great majority of "phantom clown" stories did not. Coleman was only able to do so by utilising the contemporary networks that then existed of amateur newspaper clippers who supplied Fortean Times, its US equivalent INFO Journal, and an organisation known as COUD-I ("Collectors of Unusual Data – International") which was run for several years in the 1980s by an American researcher called Ray Nelke. [Full disclosure: beginning in 1981, I was one of those clipsters, and I joined the Fortean Times team in 1982 and have worked either for or with the magazine ever since.]
Compiling the information that he was able to retrieve in this way, Coleman observed that, although "the national newspapers and wire services were totally unaware of the widespread nature of such accounts, the stories were remarkably alike." One key characteristic was that the perpetrators were never caught, and indeed very likely never existed – that is, the "scares" appeared to be a type of urban legend.
Coleman's work was picked up and followed up on by the folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand, who in August 1991 published an account titled "Take away kidnapping clowns" in the Syracuse Post Standard. Brunvand's article gives a listing of clown panics that begins with the 1981 "flap", and no earlier accounts have been traced so far, although similar reports have recurred as recently as 2016.
Several writers have attempted to investigate the factors that caused the initial wave of panic back in 1981. Two that were very heavily publicised at the time, and are frequently cited as possible inspirations, are the Atlanta child murders of 1979-81, later attributed to the serial killer Wayne Williams, which involved the widely-reported disappearance of at least 19 children and adolescents aged from 7 up, and – as you mention – the trial of John Wayne Gacy, which began in February 1980. Gacy, who was found guilty of murdering 33 children, adolescents and young men, had worked as a children's entertainer known as "Pogo the Clown".
Later inspirations certainly included It (1986) and the move Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988). But I'd suggest that some elements of the trope probably go back a lot further than that – very arguably at least as far as the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamlin.
Sources
Loren Coleman, Mysterious America (1983)
Robert E. Bartholomew and Benjamin Radford, The Martians Have Landed!: A History of Media-Driven Panics and Hoaxes (2011)