Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World, Brampton.

The Guinness Book of Records (or in recent editions Guinness World 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. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 351 KB) Summary Suresh Joachim at Shoppers World mall in Brampton, setting the ironing world record. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 351 KB) Summary Suresh Joachim at Shoppers World mall in Brampton, setting the ironing world record. ... Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World Brampton. ... An iron Ironing or smoothing is the work of using a heated tool to remove wrinkles from washed clothes. ... Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World Brampton. ... ... A world record is the best performance in a certain discipline, usually a sports event. ...

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 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 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". The book has been known to show people doing outrageous feats such as "Most Swords Swallowed." 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Arthur Guinness Son & Co. ... Game is any animal hunted for food. ... Alan Ross McWhirter (12 August 1925 - 27 November 1975), known as Ross McWhirter, was, with his twin brother, Norris McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records. ... Norris Dewar McWhirter, CBE (August 12, 1925 - April 19, 2004) was a writer, right wing political activist and television presenter. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a traditional holiday observed in much of the world on 25 December, or on 7 January in most Eastern Orthodox Churches. ... ÆÀÉRecord Breakers was a British Guinness Book of Records themed childrens TV show, originally presented by Roy Castle with twin brothers Norris McWhirter and Ross McWhirter. ...

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 (the Roe River), the longest-running drama (Guiding Light), the world's most successful salesman (Joe Girard, who sold 13,001 cars at a Chevrolet dealership in Detroit from 1963-78), etc. [[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]] {{{diversity}}} Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Trinomial name {{{trinomial}}} Type Species {{{type_species}}} Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens [[Image:{{{range_map}}}|{{{range_map_width}}}|]] Synonyms {{{synonyms}}} Homo (genus). ... Weightlifting is a sport where competitors attempt to lift heavy weights mounted on steel bars, the execution of which is a combination of power and technique. ... An average Whooping Crane egg is 102 mm long, and weighs 208 grams A baby tortoise emerges from a reptile egg. ... A large hot dog with ketchup A hot dog is the term for either a type of sausage or, alternatively, a sandwich with that same sort of sausage held in a bun. ... Competitive eating is a sport whose main goal is the quick and vast consumption of food. ... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in order to recover a right, obtain damages for an injury, obtain an injunction to prevent an injury, or obtain a declaratory judgment to prevent future legal disputes. ... Sandy Allen on the cover of her book Cast A Giant Shadow. ... Robert P. Wadlow Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940) was the tallest person recorded in modern times. ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ... The Murray River in Australia. ... The Roe River, which runs between the Missouri River and Giant Springs near Great Falls, Montana, is falsely recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest river in the world. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Joe Girard is recognized by the Guiness Book Of World Records as the most successful salesmen, selling 13,001 cars at a Chevrolet in Detroit dealership between 1963 & 1978. ... Chevrolet, often nicknamed Chevy, is a brand of automobile, now part of General Motors. ... The Detroit skyline at night as seen from Canada Nickname: The Motor City, Motown Motto: {{{motto}}} Official website: http://www. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

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 published book has gradually changed in format from a text-heavy reference book, containing many tables, particularly in the sports section, to a colorful book with many photographs highlighting a selection of entertaining records. 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 or odd-looking vegetables.

The book is usually published just ahead of the Christmas buying season in most markets. Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a traditional holiday observed in much of the world on 25 December, or on 7 January in most Eastern Orthodox Churches. ...

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. The book is now owned by HIT Entertainment. Copyright symbol. ... A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a new company formed from a university research group. ... HIT Entertainment PLC was established in 1989 and is one of the fastest growing childrens animation studios. ...

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). Shigechiyo Izumi (June 29, 1865 or 1880 – February 21, 1986) of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (where people are noted for their longevity), was the oldest documented person in the world after the death of Niwa Kawamoto. ... The original iMac model The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... A drawing of a desktop computer. ... A manual of style is also called a style guide; see that article for an account of manuals of style generally. ... Khardung La Khardung La (La means Pass in Tibetan, the local language) in the Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir, India, is arguably the worlds highest motorable mountain pass at a height of 5,682 m (18,640 feet). ...

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. Trinomial name Felis silvestris catus (Linnaeus, 1758) This article is about the domestic cat. ... A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in theatre or cinema. ... Freedive photographer Free-diving is an aquatic sport, considered an extreme sport, in which divers attempt to reach great depths unassisted by breathing apparatus. ... Sword swallowing is a dangerous performance art, in which the performer inserts a sword into his mouth and down his esophagus towards his stomach. ...

Among the discontinued records are those for consumption of liquor (and more recently all alcoholic drinks) and for weight endured while being compressed between beds of nails. Typically a quadrilateral, or, bed shaped piece of wood, with nails coming out of it. ...

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: 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. Copenhagen (Danish: København) is the capital of Denmark, and the name of the municipality (Danish, kommune) in which it resides. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... San Antonio (the Spanish name of Saint Anthony) is a common toponym in parts of the world where the Spanish language is or was spoken: Argentina San Antonio, Jujuy province Belize San Antonio, Cayo District Chile San Antonio Mexico San Antonio, San Luis Potosí Philippines San Antonio, Quezon San Antonio... The Horseshoe Falls, one of the three Niagara Falls. ... ... Gatlinburg is a popular tourist resort in the southeastern United States. ...

See also

• List of world records

This page lists World records by category. ...

References

• Watson, Bruce. (August 2005). "World's Unlikeliest Bestseller". Smithsonian, p. 76-81.

Smithsonian is a monthly magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution of the United States in Washington, DC External link Smithsonian webpage Categories: Smithsonian Institution | United States magazines | Stub ...

External links

• Guinness World Records, the official site of the book