THEGUINNESSBOOKOFWORLDRECORDS

　　In1951,thethendirectoroftheGuinnessBrewery,SirHughBeaver,wantedtosettleanargumentaboutthefastestbirdinEurope.Aftertalkingtohisfriends,heconcludedthatabookwhichansweredsuchquestionsmightbepopular.TheGuinnessCompanyhiredtwoEnglishmentowritewhatlaterbecametheGuinnessBookofWorldRecords.Thefirsteditionwaspublishedin1955andhasbeenabestsellereversince.

　　Morethan60,000newrecordsaresentinthebookeachyear,buttheycannotallbeprinted.Instead,theeditorsofthebooksetdowntherecordsandkeeptrackoftheminotherways.TherecordsareputintodifferentcategoriesTheGuinnessBookofWorldRecordshaschaptersonthehumanbody,amazingfeats,thenaturalworld,scienceandtechnology,artsandthemedia,modernsociety,travelandtransport,andsportsandgames.Youcanlearnthattheoldestpersonisawomanwholivedtobe122yearsand164days,thatthelongestmoustachereachedalengthof1.6metresandthatthelongestpoisonoussnakeis5.71metreslong.Therearealsostrangerecords,liketheEnglishmanwhobalancedasmallcarweighting159.6kilogram’sonhisheadforthirty-threeseconds!

　　TherearemanyChineserecords.Forexample,Tian’anmenSquireisthelargestsquireintheworldwithanareaofabout40hectares.ChinahasthegreatestnumberofhospitalsintheworldandUrumqiisthemostremotecityfromthesea-itis2,500kilometersfromthenearestcoast.Aspecialanddeliciousrecordwassetin1997tocelebrateHongKong’sreturntoChina.Theworld’slargestjiaoziwasmade,weightinganincredible480kilogrammes!

　　ManyoftherecordsintheGuinnessBookofWorldRecordscomefromtheworldofsports.Amongthebrilliantathleticachievements,afewrecordsstandoutbecauseofthemovinglifestoriesbehindthem.TheGuinnessworldrecordforthefastestaveragespeedatTourdeFrancewassetin1999bytheAmericancyclistLanceArmstrong.Impressiveastherecordis,itfadesnexttothestoryofArmstrong’sstruggleagainstdisease.In1996Armstrong,thethenNO.1cyclistintheworldwasdiagnosedwithcancerandmanythoughtthatitmeanttheendofhiscareer,maybeevenhislife.In1998,however,Armstrongreturnedtotheworldofracing.HewentontosetthespeedrecordandachievehisgoalofwinningtheTourdeFrancesixyearsinarowfrom1999to2004.

　　Whyarepeoplesointerestedinworldrecords?PartofthereasonforourinterestisprobablythesamecuriositythatLedSirHughtowritetheGuinnessBookofWorldRecordsinthefirstplace.Wewanttoknowwhatispossibleandfindoutjusthowfarwecanpushourselves.Clearly,wearealsoentertainedbyaccountsofstrangeandunusualdeedsandfacts.Whetherweareouttosetanewrecordourselvesorsimplyenjoyreadingaboutchampions,theGuinnessBookofWorldRecordsmakesforinterestingreading.

　　Anybodycantrytosetarecord.Thereare,however,somerecordsthatthebookdoesnotaccept.Norecordsthataredangeroustothepersonwhoisattemptingitortoothersareallowed.Ifyouwanttotrytosetarecord,youshouldfirstcontacttheGuinnessBookofWorldRecords.Theeditorswilldecideifyourideaissuitableandthensendyourulesandtheformyouneedtoapplyfortherecord.Afterwards,ifallgoeswell,aGuinnessofficialwillcometoinspectyourattempt.Ifyouaresuccessful,theofficialwillconfirmtherecordandyouwillgetacertificatefromtheGu