diff --git a/components/util/lib.rs b/components/util/lib.rs
index 364a7e92712..46e8b0b60df 100644
--- a/components/util/lib.rs
+++ b/components/util/lib.rs
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ pub mod logical_geometry;
 pub mod memory;
 pub mod namespace;
 pub mod opts;
+pub mod persistent_list;
 pub mod range;
 pub mod resource_files;
 pub mod rtinstrument;
diff --git a/components/util/persistent_list.rs b/components/util/persistent_list.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7aae2bf030c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/util/persistent_list.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+/* This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
+ * License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
+ * file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. */
+
+//! A persistent, thread-safe singly-linked list.
+
+use std::mem;
+use sync::Arc;
+
+pub struct PersistentList<T> {
+    head: PersistentListLink<T>,
+    length: uint,
+}
+
+struct PersistentListEntry<T> {
+    value: T,
+    next: PersistentListLink<T>,
+}
+
+type PersistentListLink<T> = Option<Arc<PersistentListEntry<T>>>;
+
+impl<T> PersistentList<T> where T: Send + Sync {
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn new() -> PersistentList<T> {
+        PersistentList {
+            head: None,
+            length: 0,
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn len(&self) -> uint {
+        self.length
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn front(&self) -> Option<&T> {
+        self.head.as_ref().map(|head| &head.value)
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn prepend_elem(&self, value: T) -> PersistentList<T> {
+        PersistentList {
+            head: Some(Arc::new(PersistentListEntry {
+                value: value,
+                next: self.head.clone(),
+            })),
+            length: self.length + 1,
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn iter<'a>(&'a self) -> PersistentListIterator<'a,T> {
+        // This could clone (and would not need the lifetime if it did), but then it would incur
+        // atomic operations on every call to `.next()`. Bad.
+        PersistentListIterator {
+            entry: self.head.as_ref().map(|head| &**head),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl<T> Clone for PersistentList<T> where T: Send + Sync {
+    fn clone(&self) -> PersistentList<T> {
+        // This establishes the persistent nature of this list: we can clone a list by just cloning
+        // its head.
+        PersistentList {
+            head: self.head.clone(),
+            length: self.length,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+pub struct PersistentListIterator<'a,T> where T: 'a + Send + Sync {
+    entry: Option<&'a PersistentListEntry<T>>,
+}
+
+impl<'a,T> Iterator<&'a T> for PersistentListIterator<'a,T> where T: Send + Sync {
+    #[inline]
+    fn next(&mut self) -> Option<&'a T> {
+        let entry = match self.entry {
+            None => return None,
+            Some(entry) => {
+                // This `transmute` is necessary to ensure that the lifetimes of the next entry and
+                // this entry match up; the compiler doesn't know this, but we do because of the
+                // reference counting behavior of `Arc`.
+                unsafe {
+                    mem::transmute::<&'a PersistentListEntry<T>,
+                                     &'static PersistentListEntry<T>>(entry)
+                }
+            }
+        };
+        let value = &entry.value;
+        self.entry = match entry.next {
+            None => None,
+            Some(ref entry) => Some(&**entry),
+        };
+        Some(value)
+    }
+}
+