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The first edition was published in 1955, commissioned by the Guinness brewery after a debate over the fastest species of gamebird could not be settled with existing reference books. It was researched by Ross and Norris McWhirter, twins and noted British athletes and journalists, who at the time ran a fact-finding agency in London. When the book 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. 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'.
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 human ( Robert Pershing WadlowRobert Pershing Wadlow ( 1918 1940) was and is the tallest human ever recorded. He reached 8' 11. 1" (272 cm) in height and 490 pounds (222. 26 kg) in weight before his death at the age of 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due), the heaviest tumour, the most poisonous plant, the world's shortest riverMurray River in Australia Australia A river is a large natural waterway. It is a specific term in the vernacular for large streams, stream being the umbrella term used in the scientific community for all flowing natural waterways. In the vernacular, strea (the Roe RiverThe Roe River which runs between the Missouri River and Giant Springs near Great Falls, Montana, is claimed to be the shortest river in the world. It is about 201 feet (61 meters) long and is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records. The river was initi), etc.
Each edition contains a subset of the larger set of records in the Guinness database, and the choice reflects the year of publication. In recent years, many records devoted to current pop culture trends have been added.
The Guinness Book of Records is the world's most sold copyrightA copyright is a form of intellectual property that grants its holder the sole legal right copying their works of original expression, such as a literary work, movie, musical work or sound recording, painting, computer program, or industrial design, for a book, thus earning it an entry within its own pages. A number of spinoff books and televisionSee TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. The term has come to refer to all the aspects of television p series have also been produced.