Guinness World Records

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(Redirected from Guinness Book of World Records)

Image:Ironing guinness 0357.JPG Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as the Guinness Book of Records (and in previous US editions Guinness Book of World Records) is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of world records, both human achievements and the extrema of the natural world. The book itself holds a world record, as the best selling copyrighted series of all time.

1 Origins
2 Evolution
3 Ethical issues
4 Museums
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

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Origins

The first edition was published in 1955, commissioned by the Guinness brewery after a debate between Guinness managing director Hugh Beaver and hunting partners over the fastest species of European gamebird could not be settled with existing reference books. It was researched by Ross and Norris McWhirter, twin brothers who were noted British athletes and journalists, and at the time ran a fact-finding agency in London. When the book, then titled "The Guinness Book of Superlatives," became a surprise hit, many further editions were printed, eventually settling into a pattern of one revision each year, published in October to coincide with Christmas sales. The McWhirters continued to publish it and related books for many years. Ross was assassinated by the Irish Republican Army in 1975. Norris had an encyclopedic memory — on the TV series Record Breakers, based upon the book, he would take questions posed by children in the audience on various world records and would usually be able to give the correct answer, the feature being called "Norris on the Spot".

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Evolution

Recent editions have focused on record feats by human competitors. Competitions range from obvious ones such as weightlifting to the more entertaining ones such as longest egg-throwing distance or the number of hot dogs that can be consumed in 10 minutes—although eating contest style entries are no longer accepted, possibly for fear of litigation. Besides records about competitions, it contains such facts as the height of the tallest person (Robert Pershing Wadlow), the heaviest tumour, the most poisonous plant, the world's shortest river (Roe River), the longest-running drama (Guiding Light), and the world's most successful salesman (Joe Girard, who sold 13,001 cars at a Chevrolet dealership in Detroit from 1963-78).

Each edition contains a selection of the larger set of records in the Guinness database, and the criteria for that choice has changed over the years.

The ousting of Norris McWhirter from his consulting role in 1995, and the subsequent decision by Diageo plc to sell the Guinness World Records brand, has shifted the emphasis from that of a text-heavy reference book, to a highly-illustrated, colourful product, specifically targeted at the interests of boys in the 9-13 age group. The change has not been universally popular, as the book is no longer intended to be comprehensive. The new, image-heavy format has also been criticized for giving too much attention to visually shocking or grotesque "records" such as physical deformities, odd-looking vegetables and peculiar stunts. The focus on scantily-clad female celebrities has also led to complaints from school librarians.

These changes have done no harm to its commercial success. The book is usually published just ahead of the Christmas buying season in most markets.

The Guinness Book of Records is the world's most sold copyrighted book, thus earning it an entry within its own pages. A number of spin-off books and television series have also been produced. Again the emphasis in these shows has been on spectacular, entertaining stunts, rather than any aspiration to inform or educate. The Guinness World Record brand is now owned by HIT Entertainment.

Most of the records are accurate, but a few are now believed to be questionable. For example, Guinness accepts the claim of Shigechiyo Izumi as the longest-lived man ever; many others, however, believe this claim to be false. In other cases, Guinness accepts the claim of the Apple iMac as having the shortest computer instruction manual (there are others that are similar), and the Khardungla Pass as being the highest motorable road (there are two that are higher).

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Ethical issues

Several world records that were once included in the Guinness Book have been removed for ethical reasons. By publishing world records in a category, the Guinness Book may encourage others to try to beat that record, even at the expense of their own health and safety. For example, following publication of a "heaviest cat" record, many cat owners overfed their pets beyond the bounds of what was healthy. Therefore, entries such as these were removed. Likewise, other records related to dangerous stunts are often not published, for example those closely related to freediving. Other records, such as sword swallowing, have been closed to further entry due to the fact that the current holders have performed beyond what are considered safe human tolerance levels.

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Museums

In recent years the Guinness Company has permitted the franchising of small museums with displays based on the book, all currently (2005) located in towns popular with tourists: Surfers Paradise, Copenhagen, San Francisco, San Antonio, Niagara Falls, Hollywood, and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. While some displays are dramatic, like the statues of the world's tallest and shortest people, or videos of records being broken, much of the information is presented simply with text and photos.

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