The book of small pubs, big men and lots of rubber ducks
THE most canned drinks opened by a parrot in a minute, the longest kiss ever and the largest collection of rubber ducks.
They are all entries that can be found in the Guinness Book Of World Records.
The records – in case you were wondering – are 35 cans; a smooch lasting 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds; and 5,631 rubber ducks.
The fact that the famous collection of records shares its name with a certain black Irish stout is no coincidence as it was
Norris and Ross McWhirter collated facts and figures
Sir Hugh Beaver, managing director of the Guinness Brewery, who came up with the idea in the first place, in 1954.
At a shooting party in County Wexford, Hugh and others were debating which game bird was the fastest in Europe.
They were frustrated that they had no reference book that had the answer, and the idea of a book of world records was born.
Hugh later employed twins Norris and Ross McWhirter to collate some facts and figures to go in the book.
The brothers spent 13 90-hour weeks – including bank holidays and weekends – on the project.
The book was published on August 27, 1955, and little did anyone know that it would go on to become hugely successful and it was a UK bestseller by Christmas.
It might surprise you to know there were still roughly the same number of records in the first issue as more recent ones, around 4000.
However, without the wonders of modern technology, the first edition didn’t include loads of glossy, colourful photos.
Instead, there just eight pages of black-and-white snaps, including one of The Smith’s Arms, with the record for the smallest pub, at 10 ft wide and 4 ft high at the eaves.
Other records had to be illustrated by ink drawings.
One of the more obscure records was held by Michel Lotito, who ate an aeroplane.
Yes, you did read that sentence correctly – he ate an entire aircraft!
So interesting have the records been that spin-off TV shows have been produced – Record Breakers, hosted by Roy Castle from 1972-93, is just one.
Museums in many countries have demonstrated the records, too, with a waxwork of the tallestever man Robert Wadlow (8ft 11.1ins), allowing you to stand next to him — something Romeo Dev enjoyed doing when he visited Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! museum in London.
He’s the smallest bodybuilder in the world, so Robert seemed especially tall in comparison.
The Guinness World Records brand was sold to Ripley’s for £60 million in 2008, but it still retains its original name and is so in demand that of 50,000 records sent in every year, only 1,000 make the cut.