The Twist was written by a bandleader in Georgia. He and his boys made up some twisting movements for the group to do while playing music. Then in 1960, Chubby Checkers made his twist record and made the Twist famous.
Chubby Checkers had a big roll in this dance. He made the dance popular to society. This dance has become less popular over the years because people wore the dance out by dancing it too much, doing the same moves over and over again.
It is an entertaining dance for every one. People can join in while others are doing the dance and I would think people would enjoy the dance.
Some other factors that influenced this dance could be that the war was going on at that time, and Rock and Roll was taking the country by storm. Some similarities between this dance and others are; some of the steps are the same as other dances, and some of the moves, or the way your body moves is similar to other dances.
The steps of the Twist are as following:

First 8: "Twist step" sequence with two 1/4 turns left
1 Stomp R foot in place
2-4 Touch L toe next to R foot (toe in), touch L heel to left (toe out), touch L toe next to R foot (toe in)
5-6 Pivot 1/4 to left on ball of R foot and touch L heel forward, touch L toe straight back
7-8 Pivot 1/4 to left on ball of R foot and step L foot in place, step R foot together
These steps are off the internet.