The Guinness World Records is the most famous record-keeping brand. Let’s go back to the start of it
Guinness World Records started out as an idea for a book of facts that could solve small arguments. It was originally called
The Guinness Book of Records and was the ultimate book of record-breaking facts. In London during the 1950s, Sir Hugh Beaver, the Managing Director of the Guinness Brewery, attended a shooting party (a social gathering for hunting animals). At this gathering, he and the hosts started arguing about what the fastest game bird in Europe was, but they couldn’t find the answer in any book..
In 1954, Sir Hugh then got the idea to create a book filled with facts from around the world to settle such small arguments. He invited the twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter, who were fact-finding researchers, to help him compile a book of interesting facts and figures. They then opened a two-room office in a converted gymnasium on the top floor of the Ludgate House. It took the McWhirter twins 90 hours a week for 13 weeks (including weekends and holidays) to write the book. The book was meant to be given for free in pubs as a way to promote the Guinness brand (a brand of beer). But little did they know that this book would become an all-time best-seller and one of the most popular brands in the world!
The twins trekked across the globe to research and verify records, and in 1956, an American edition debuted. Other editions from countries across the world soon followed, and Guinness World Records grew to be the global success it is today. They now have offices in London, New York, Tokyo and Dubai, with brand ambassadors all over the world. What a long way they’ve come from that two-room office! In 2021, more than 6 000 records were approved and over 150 million books were sold worldwide. From records such as the person with the longest fingernails to the fastest athlete in the world, they continue to inspire others to achieve amazing things – no matter how impossible or wacky they may seem.
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