The Guinness World Records is a unique annual compilation of global achievements, discoveries, and natural phenomena.
Guinness World Records Day is celebrated on November 9th, starting from 2005. On this day, a record 100 million copies were sold, and the book received the status of “the best-selling copyrighted book in the world.”
The idea for creating this book originated at Arthur Guinness’s brewery in Dublin. In 1951, the “Woxford” company hosted a dinner for local hunters, during which a playful argument arose about which bird was the fastest. The dispute involved Sir Hugh Beaver, the managing director of the Guinness Brewery, who came up with the idea for a book that would record various achievements.
The first book, which had only 198 pages, was published on August 27, 1955, in London with a print run of several thousand copies. The creators of this “beer encyclopedia” were the owners of an information agency, brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter. Initially, the idea was to publish the book in a small print run, primarily for pub owners. It was first distributed in Guinness pubs and other drinking establishments. However, within two months, the book became a bestseller throughout the UK. In November 1974, the book itself appeared in the pages of the Guinness World Records, becoming the best-selling edition with sales of 23.9 million copies.
The first Russian “Guinness World Records” was published in 1989. That same year, a national record book called “The Book of Records of Russia” was released, which included both world and national achievements of Russians.
In the modern world, the Guinness World Records is not only the most widely published collection of achievements and records globally but also represents an independent industry. To continually update the facts within it, special authorized commissions have been established in many countries to document new records.