GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS

The start of the great book was not caused by the discovery of the world's fattest man, or the argument over who exactly was the world's fattest man. It was started during a hunting expedition.

In 1954, Sir Hugh Beaver (managing director of the Arthur Guinness, Son and Company, brewer of Guinness stout) was hunting in Ireland. He was able to shoot down a few ducks and geese, but he was unable to get any plovers. The birds were too fast. So fast, in fact, that he told his friends that the plover must be, "the fastest game bird we've got." Determined to find out if this was true, he searched for the answer, but no encyclopedia had it.

So, Sir Hugh decided to create a book that would be the definitive record of all kinds of superlatives. Who could help him amass such information? Well, Sir Hugh was directed to twins Norris and Ross McWhirter, avid devotees of trivia who helped assemble the first edition--which contained 198 pages.