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About GWR (Credit
Guinness World Records official website)
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In 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then
the managing director of the Guinness Brewery,
went on a shooting party and became involved in
an argument. Which was the fastest game bird in
Europe – the golden plover or the grouse?
He realized then that a book supplying the answers
to this sort of question might prove popular.
He was right!
Sir
Hugh’s idea became reality when Norris and
Ross McWhirter, who had been running a fact-finding
agency in London, were commissioned to compile
what became The Guinness Book of Records. The
first edition was bound on August 27, 1955, and
went to the top of the British bestseller lists
by Christmas that year.
Since
then, Guinness World Records™ has become
a household name and the global leader in world
records. No other enterprise collects, confirms,
accredits and presents world record data with
the same investment in comprehensiveness and authenticity.
As
the Keeper of the Records, I maintain a vigilant
watch to guarantee the accuracy and relevance
of each and every Guinness World Record™,
and my team of researchers operates with unswerving
impartiality and commitment to veracity. A fact
may only become a Guinness World Record™
when it’s tested, verified and elevated above
all suspicion.
The
book has gone on to become a record breaker in
its own right. With sales of more than 100 million
copies in 100 different countries and 37 languages,
Guinness World Records™ is the world’s
best ever selling copyright book! Stewart
Newport
Keeper of the Records
Guinness
World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness
Book of Records (and in previous U.S. editions
The Guinness Book of World Records), is a reference
book published annually, containing an internationally
recognized collection of world records, both human
achievements and the extreme of the natural world.
The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling
copyrighted series.
Origins
On
10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the managing
director of the Guinness Brewery, went on a shooting
party in North Slob, by the River Slaney in County
Wexford, Ireland. He became involved in an argument:
which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the
golden plover or the grouse? That evening at Castlebridge
House, he realized that it was impossible to confirm
in reference books whether or not the golden plover
was Europe's fastest game bird.
Beaver
thought that there must be numerous other questions
debated nightly in the 81,400 pubs in Britain
and Ireland, but there was no book with which
to settle arguments about records. He realized
then that a book supplying the answers to this
sort of question might prove popular.
Beaver’s
idea became reality when Guinness employee Christopher
Chataway recommended student twins Norris and
Ross McWhirter, who had been running a fact-finding
agency in London. The brothers were commissioned
to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records
in August 1954. One thousand copies were printed
and given away.
After
founding the Guinness Book of Records at 107 Fleet
Street, the first 198-page edition was bound on
27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British
best seller lists by Christmas. "It was a
marketing give away—it wasn't supposed to
be a money maker," said Beaver. The following
year it launched in the U.S., and it sold 70,000
copies.
After
the book became a surprise hit, many further editions
were printed, eventually settling into a pattern
of one revision a year, published in October to
coincide with Christmas sales. The McWhirters
continued to publish it and related books for
many years. Both brothers had an encyclopedic
memory — on the TV series Record Breakers,
based upon the book, they would take questions
posed by children in the audience on various world
records, and would usually be able to give the
correct answer. Ross McWhirter was assassinated
by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975.
Following McWhirter's assassination, the feature
was called "Norris on the Spot".
Evolution
Recent
editions have focused on record feats by human
competitors. Competitions range from obvious ones
such as weightlifting to the more entertaining
such as longest egg-throwing distance or the number
of hot dogs that can be consumed in ten minutes
- although eating contest and beer and alcohol
consumption entries are no longer accepted, possibly
for fear of litigation. Besides records about
competitions, it contains such facts as the heaviest
tumor, the most poisonous plant, the shortest
river (Roe River), the longest-running drama (Guiding
Light), the longest serving members of a drama
series (William Roache for Coronation Street in
the UK, Kate Ritchie and Ray Meagher for Home
and Away in Australia), the world's most successful
salesman (Joe Girard), the most successful reality
television musical group (Girls Aloud), and the
only brother and sister to have solo number one
singles in UK chart history (Daniel and Natasha
Bedingfield). Many records also relate to the
youngest person who achieved something, such as
the youngest person to visit all nations of the
world, being Maurizio Giuliano.
Each
edition contains a selection of the large set
of records in the Guinness database, and the criteria
for that choice have 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 have
shifted it from a text-heavy reference book to
a highly-illustrated, colourful product.
These
changes have done no harm to its commercial success:
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.
Madonna is the most successful female recording
artist in the music history and she is the highest
earning female singer of all time, according to
the 2007 Guinness Book of Records.
Madonna is the most successful female recording
artist in the music history and she is the highest
earning female singer of all time, according to
the 2007 Guinness Book of Records.
Guinness
World Records do not monitor the category of 'Person
with the most records' as this changes too frequently,
and records that once existed may now have been
'rested' and therefore this would not be a fair
category.
In
2005, Guinness designated 9 November as International
Guinness World Records Day to encourage breaking
of world records; it was described as "phenomenally
successful". The 2006 version was dubbed
as, "the world’s biggest international
event" with an estimated 100,000 people participating
in over 10 countries. The promotion has earned
Guinness a whopping 2,244 all-new valid records
in 12 months, which is a 173% increase over the
previous year.
In
2006, Michael Jackson visited the Guinness World
Records office in London to collect 7 Official
Records Certificates related to his successful
career as a vocalist and song writer.
On
9 January 2007, Guinness announced it was working
with AskMeNow to offer mobile access to the Guinness
World Records databases. The company has been
collaborating with the UK-based firm Texperts
for several years already, and it offers both
companies exclusive access to their database.
Ethical issues
Several
world records that were once included in the book
have been removed for ethical reasons. By publishing
world records in a category, the 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,[citation needed]
so entries such as these were removed. The Guinness
Book also dropped records within their "eating
and drinking records" section of Human Achievements
in 1991 over concerns that potential competitors
could do harm to themselves and expose the publisher
to potential litigation. These changes included
the removal of all liquor, wine and beer drinking
records, along with other unusual records for
consuming such unlikely things as bicycles and
trees.
Other
records, such as sword swallowing, were closed
to further entry as the current holders had performed
beyond what are considered safe human tolerance
levels. There have been cases where closed records
have been reopened. For example, the sword swallowing
record was listed as closed in 1990 Guinness Book
of World Records, but the Guinness World Records
Primetime TV show, which started in 1998, accepted
three sword swallowing challenges.
Chain
letters are also not allowed. "Guinness World
Records does not accept any records relating to
chain letters, sent by post or e-mail. If you
receive a letter or an e-mail, which may promise
to publish the names of all those who send it
on, please destroy it, it is a hoax. No matter
if it says that Guinness World Records and the
postal service are involved, they are not."
Museums
In
recent years the Guinness company has permitted
the franchising of small museums with displays
based on the book, all currently (as of 2005)
located in towns popular with tourists: Tokyo,
Surfers Paradise, Copenhagen, San Francisco, San
Antonio, Niagara Falls, Hollywood, Atlantic City,
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
There was also once a Guinness World Records exhibition
at the Trocadero in London. 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.
Televison
series
Guinness
World Records has commissioned various television
series documenting world record breaking attempts,
including:
*
Guinness World Records UK
* Guinness World Records Primetime
* Australia's Guinness World Records
* Guinness World Records: 50 Years, 50 Records
* Ultimate Guinness World Records
With
the popularity of reality television, GWR began
to market itself as the originator of the television
genre, with slogans such as 'we wrote the book
on Reality TV'. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
Websites
Guinness
World Records official website
Guiness
World Attractions
Profiles
Lou
Ferrigno
Sir
Richard Branson
"The
World's Largest Steer"
PUBLICITY
STUNT
The
Record Breaking Domain
World
Directory
Books
and Authors
Interviews
Kez
Mercel & Tigger, Professional Extreme Bog
Snorkellers
Interview:
Andres Kello, owner of TheRecordBreakingDomain.com
Media
Man Australia does not represent Guinness World
Records™
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