Green Eggs and Ham was written by Dr. Seuss using only 50 different words
to win a bet with his publisher.

Only 50 words are used in Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham. The use of only 50
words was due to a bet that Bennett Cert, Dr. Seuss' editor and co-founder
of Random House, made in 1960 with the author that Dr. Seuss couldn't write
a book using 50 words or less. The bet was for $50 (the equivalent of $382
as of 2011). Dr. Seuss succeeded, and Green Eggs and Ham became one of his
best-selling books. In a poll done by the School Library Journal in 2012,
Green Eggs and Ham placed as one of the "Top 100 Picture Books".