By 2000, in how many newspapers did the famous 'Dear Abby' advice column appear?
Answerover 500 newspapers
Dear Abby became one of the most widely syndicated columns in American newspaper history.
Source: Wikipedia (2025) en.wikipedia.org
Society · Facts & sources
Advice facts & stats
6 sourced facts about advice columns and the advice industry, each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
Going deeper
In the 1970s, about how many people read the 'Dear Abby' column daily?
Answerabout 65 million readers
At its peak, Dear Abby reached a huge share of the American newspaper-reading public every day.
Source: Wikipedia (2025) en.wikipedia.org
According to a 2005 critique, about what share of self-help book buyers are repeat customers?
Answerabout 80%
Critics have pointed to repeat buying as evidence that self-help programs don't fully solve people's problems.
Source: Wikipedia (2005) en.wikipedia.org
Expert level
In what year did the first known newspaper advice column, in The Athenian Mercury, appear?
Answer1690
Readers wrote in with personal problems and the paper printed answers, a format still used today.
Source: Wikipedia (2025) en.wikipedia.org
How many letters did columnist Ann Landers reportedly receive at the White House over one anti-nuclear column?
Answerover 100,000 letters
Advice columnists sometimes wielded real political influence through their huge readerships.
Source: Wikipedia (2025) en.wikipedia.org
How many letters a week did Daniel Defoe's early-1700s advice section reportedly receive?
Answerabout 40-50 letters a week
Even 300 years ago, people were eager to write in for advice on their problems.
Source: Wikipedia (2025) en.wikipedia.org
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