Guinness World Records

Each year, Guinness World Records releases a reference book containing an internationally recognized and verified collection of world records, both man-made and natural. Recently, the book has focused on human records, such as the record for the world's tallest man and the world's oldest woman. The series has given birth to several spin-offs, including a television series and museums.

The Guinness World Records book has sold more than 120 million copies over the years and has been printed in 37 different languages. Those who create new records are issued certificates of their achievements by the company. While around 65,000 records are set each year, not all of them are included in the book.http://corporate.guinnessworldrecords.com/about_us_main.aspx

• 27 March, 2010 - Ryan Hart, the European Champion for Street Fighter IV, competed with and won against 169 challengers in a period of 4 hours. He beat the prior record number of challengers by 61 to make the longest winning streak for this game. http://www.wfnatv.com/dpps/entertainment/video_games/street-fighter-guiness-world-record-set-_3295885
• 14 Sept., 2009 - 594 participants in Verona, Italy set a new world record for number of people playing in a single Nintendo Guitar Hero session over a 24-hour period. http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=96669
• 16 and 20 Aug. 2009 - In the 2009 world championships in Berlin, Usain Bolt broke his own world record in the 200 meter sprint. The Jamaican took the gold with a run of 19.19 seconds. Earlier in the competition, he also ran the 100 m sprint in 9.58 seconds to set another world record.http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/08/20/athletics.bolt.200m.gold/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
• 11 July 2009 - Largest serving of snails in Loures, Portugal. 1,111 kg (2,449 lb) of snails were cooked. http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Largest-serving-of-snails/blog/435792/7691.html
• 11 July 2009 - To celebrate Nude Recreation Week, 13,648 people in various locations across the United States went skinny-dipping. This was the first world record for this event and plans are for an even bigger event in 2010. http://aanr.com/skinny-dip.html

The idea of a book of world records was conceived by Sir Hugh Beaver, who managed the Guinness beer brewery. Beaver came up with the idea for the book while playing a pub game and realized that there were surely trivia nights in pubs and bars all over the world that needed a source to verify information easily. The first edition was published in 1954 and sold thousands of copies in Britain and the United States.http://corporate.guinnessworldrecords.com/about_us_main.aspx