Amazon.com - item details
From the world of arts and entertainment to the world of nature, from the highest voice to the deepest cave, The Guinness Book of Records is the only authority of record for all the facts, figures, and vital statistics--and the photos to back them up! The most extraordinary human achievements and natural wonders humankind has ever known are all here in this exciting and expanded edition of the number one record book of all time.
Big Snow, the largest chicken on record, weighed 23 pounds, 3 ounces. Sheena, a barnyard bantam, flew 630 feet, 2 inches for the longest known chicken flight. And at 25 years, Wil Cwac Cwac of Wales holds the title for world's oldest duck. It's astounding how much time one can waste with the Guinness Book of World Records, and how genuinely absorbing hitherto overlooked questions of trivia can be. Guinness covers more than paltry poultry profiles. The 1998 edition contains more than 10,000 records of hobbies and transportation, technology and humanity, sports, arts, commerce, and nature. Curious about the biggest severance check ($58.8 million), the longest snake (a 32-foot, 9.5-inch python), the greatest distance cycled in one calendar year (75,065 miles), or the most prolific mother (a Russian mom who gave birth to 69 children from 1725 to 1765)? Want to beat the record for heaviest ice-cream sandwich (you'll have to top 830 pounds) or most expensive wedding (the 1981 nuptials of Mohammed and Princess Salama in Dubai cost $44 million)? Whether you seek specific facts to back up an essay or support an argument, need backseat entertainment for cross-country car trips and squirrelly passengers, or wish to browse eclectic facts whilst seated on the throne, the Guinness Book of World Records is a ceaseless source of interest and diversion. --Stephanie Gold
ASAD's useless GUINNESS records (my fav's)
1) HEAVIEST NEWBORN
The heaviest viable baby on record of normal parentage was a boy of 22 lb 8 oz born to Signora Carmelina Fedele of Aversa, Italy, in Sept 1955.
2) GREATEST WEIGHT DIFFERENTIAL
The greatest recorded for a married couple is 922 lb in the case of Mills Darden (1020 lb) of North Carolina and his wife Mary (98 lb). Despite her diminutiveness, however, Mrs. Darden bore her husband three children before her death in 1837.
3) WORST TONGUE TWISTER:
The most difficult tongue-twister is deemed by Ken Parkin of Teesside, England, to be "The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" - especially when spoken quickly.
4) EARLIEST MAN
The greatest age attributed to fossils of the genus "Homo" is for the remains of 8 adults and 3 children discovered in the summer of 1975 at Laetolil, Tanzania, by Dr. Mary Leakey, and dated by the University of Calif at Berkeley to between 3,350,000 and 3,750,000 B.C..
5) MOST REJECTIONS (AUTHOR):
The greatest recorded number of publisher's rejections for a manuscript is 137 for "One Man Versus the Establishment" by William E. E. Owens of Street, Somerset, England.
6) MOST CHILDREN (by one women)
The greatest officially recorded number of children produced by a mother is 69 by the first of the 2 wives of Feodor Vassilyev (b 1707-fl. 1782), a peasant from Shuya, 150 miles east of Moscow. In 27 confinements she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets. The children, were born in the period c. 1725-1765.
7) RAREST DISEASE
Kuru, or laughing sickness, afflicts only the Fore tribe of eastern New Guinea and is 100% fatal. This was formally attributed to the cannibalistic practice of eating human brains.
8) 100 x 1 MILE RELAY (MEN)
The record for 100 miles by 100 runners belonging to one team is 7 hours 56 min 55.6 sec (4:46 avg/runner) by Shore Athletic Club of New Jersey, on June 5, 1977.
(...)
This dook will realy tell you more thing that you have never know of. Like you never new that the tallast twins are 7ft 4in or the tallest tiger is 11ft tall. Its a great book you should read it.
Not entirely satisfactory. Needs more salt at the last minute to really bring the taste out. I Tried the '97 edition on a bed of shallots with a red current jus but it too let me down when the guests turned up. Still, not worth worrying about now is it?
Personally I'd recommend hanging in for the 2000 edition as it's bound to be more meaty, with soft subtle fruit flavors penetrating right through the flesh. I'm looking forward to trying in with a nice glass of d'Yquem '58 and pins in my eyes.
Not only is this little gem now on the best-seller list, it's also handy to have around to settle arguments - a bargain too. Keep in mind, a new edition comes out every year. In case you're using it to settle an argument, you'd better know the year you're arguing about.
Brainchild of Sir Hugh Beaver, managing director of Guinness Brewing in 1951, the book is a worldwide success. Published in 77 different countries, 38 different languages. The 1994 edition sold over 100 million copies. It's published by a host of editors and writers who strive mightily for accuracy. You are challenged to beat a record in the current edition of the book and the back pages tell you how to go about it. The editors are very upfront in their advice: "We are a very small editorial team, and receive hundreds of letters every week. "Please submit your request at least two months before your attempt so that we can give your inquiry the attention it deserves." As for the records themselves.., they cover almost every human activity and make for fascinating reading anytime, anywhere. Some samples...
CASSEROLE OF ETERNAL LEFTOVERS: The world's largest delicacy is roasted whole camel, a Bedouin wedding dish with eggs stuffed into the fish, the fish stuffed into cooked chickens, and the chickens stuffed into a roasted sheep's carcass and the sheep's carcass stuffed into a whole camel.
LARGEST MULTIPLE-MIRROR TELESCOPE: The MMT (multiple-mirror telescope) at the Whipple Observatory at Mount Hopkins, Arizona uses six 72-inch mirrors together, giving a 1ight-grasp equal to a single 176-inch mirror.
MOST BORDER CROSSINGS: The most frequently crossed frontier is the border between the United States and Mexico, with over 500 million crossings each year.
MOST FREQUENTLY SUNG SONGS: in English are, in order, `Happy Birthday to You" (1893); "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" (1781); "AuId Lang Syne" (1759).
Where was the plot! There was absolutly no character development and it felt like I was reading a dictonary! Very little social commentary.....if there was a 1/2 star I would have given it that! Please spare your eyes and time and choose another book...