Pandemics, 87
Pandya, Arvind Morarbhai, 176
Pantheon, 21
Paper Lion (Plimpton), 98
Parachuting, 188–90, 209 Parade magazine, 120
Pardellas, Alberto, 171–72
Paris, 224
Park Royal Brewery (London), 39, 45, 256
Parthenon, 21
Pattison, Jim, Jr., 218, 257
Peary, Commodore Robert E., 158
Pelican Hill Golf Club (Newport Beach, California), 63, 65–66, 68
Pencil, largest, 3
Pentagon, 75
People magazine, 3, 17
Peress, Naim “JP,” 147, 149, 150
Peters, Eric, 237
Pets, heaviest and lightest, 204
Philbin, Regis, 34
Philippines, 186, 227
Phillips, Sir Richard, 50
Phone booth stuffing, 99, 103
Pianos
marathon playing, 88
smashing, 93–97
Picholine restaurant (New York), 164
Pies
biggest, 158, 163
eating, 103, 158
Pinball, marathon, 136
Pizza
biggest, 158, 160, 161
speed eating, 198–99
Playboy magazine, 69, 120, 138
Plimpton, George, 98
Pogo stick jumping, 11, 15, 16, 18, 19–23, 44, 88, 212
up CN Tower, 20, 22, 180, 181
holding dog while, 23, 33
juggling while, 19
up Mount Fuji, 16, 17, 19, 20
underwater, 19, 21
Poker, 137–40
marathon, xv–xvii, 134–37, 140–56, 205
Polo, Marco, 231
Popular Science magazine, 224
Potato chips, most eaten, 92 PR Week, 170–71 Professional Poker Tour (TV show), 139
Pub crawls, 228–29
Pub trivia, 34, 37, 46, 49–50, 70
Pulling, vehicle, 104, 221–22, 226
Qantas Airlines, 63–65
Qatar, 186
Rabinowitz, Philip, 126
Radcliffe, Paula, 129
Radio City Music Hall, 21
Rattlesnakes, 79, 112, 120, 168, 191, 198, 212
Raymond, Kathy, 139, 152, 156
Reagan, Ron, Jr., 104
Record, best-selling, 75
Record Breakers (TV show), 20, 70, 102–5, 111, 119–20, 139, 180, 186, 254
Record Breakers Singapore (RBS), 178–79
Reid, Joe, 201
Reuter’s News Service, 257
Revere, Paul, somersaulting ride of, 17–19, 30, 192
Revolutionary War, 17
Rezac, Hans, 187–91, 209
Rich, Lucky Diamond, 119
Richards, Alistair, 204, 255
Ripley’s Believe It or Not, 177
Ripley’s Entertainment, 177–78, 201, 205, 216, 218, 245, 255, 257
Rishi, Guinness, 176–77
Risotto, biggest, 161–62 Riverdance, 184
Rivers, Joan, 19
Roberts, Michael, 79, 126
Rocket-belt powered flight, 224
Rockefeller Center, 21, 165
Rogers, Jim, 91–93, 98
Romania, big food in, 162
Rope jumping, 19, 30
Rosenthal, Matt, 147, 149, 150, 152
Ross (McWhirter), 37, 43
Rothman, Evan, 56–57
Royal Navy, 41, 203
Runner’s World magazine, 236
Running
around the world, 235–37
backward, 176
youngest marathon participant, 175, 177
Russell, John, 132
Sack jumping, 18
with animals, 23, 31
Safety glass, running through, 221
St. Basil’s Cathedral (Moscow), 21
St. James Gate Brewery (Dublin), 38, 253, 257
Sanchez, Dionsio, 157
Saudi Arabia, 186
Sausages
longest, xx, 159, 160, 171–72
speed eating, 199
Schott’s Sporting Gaming & Idling
Miscellany, 109
Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of, 35
Scotsman, 38
Scott, Eric, 224
Scott, Robert Falcon, 89
Scuba dive, longest, 180
Seagrave Trophy, 89
Seaton, Steven, 236
Seattle World's Fair, 159
Seesawing, 99
Selfridges supermarkets, 170
Serial record setters, 5, 12, 31, 136, 201, 234
addiction to fame of, 121–22
competitiveness of, 27–29, 88–89
see also Furman, Ashrita; Joachim, Suresh
Shakespeare, William, 241
Shaw, J., 86
Sheedy, Chris, 77, 108
Sherwood, Ben, 72–73, 80, 116, 130, 159, 160, 175, 194–95
on Ashrita, 27–28
on media fascination with records, 92–92, 159
Shortest people, 71, 75, 83
Showers, marathon, 118, 132–33
Siamese twins, 72, 80
Siew, Edwin, 179
Simpson, Jessica, 128
Singapore, 22, 173, 178–82
Singapore Book of Records, 178
Singing, marathon, 182
Sino-British Trade Council, 35
Sit-ups, 21–22 $64,000
Question, The (TV show), 34
Skiing, 239–40
Skin, removing large sections of, 206–7
Skipping, 4, 84, 88, 176
with tiger, 23–24, 33
Skydiving, 188–90, 209
Sleep deprivation, 145–47, 204–5, 244
Smashing, 93–97
Smiley, Norman, 45
Smith, Colin, 237
Smith, Emma, 233
Smith, Geoff, 233
Smith, people with surname, 223
Smith, W. H., 49–51
Smith, Will, 128
Smithsonian magazine, 106, 107
Snakes, poisonous, 112, 120–21, 168, 192, 205–6
see also Rattlesnakes
Snapple, 161, 170–71
Snowman, world’s largest, 117
Snyman, Peter, 198
Social Climbers, The (Darwin), 134
Soini, Toimi, 205
Somersaulting, 16, 21, 104
of Paul Revere’s ride, 17–19, 30, 192
Sorenstam, Annika, 55, 58
Soup, biggest bowl of, 162–63, 172
South Pole, 20, 21, 89, 188–90, 202, 209
Space, youngest and oldest in, 90
Space Needle (Seattle), 189
Spain, 171–72, 186
SportsCenter (TV show), 68, 116–17, 151–52
Sports Illustrated, 85, 118, 152
Sports records, 41–45, 86, 108, 118, 130
Sri Aurobindo Ashram (India), 7
Sri Lanka, 114
Stack, Richard Lynn, 226–27
Stacking the Deck (Berg), 225
Stadnyck, Leonid, 76
Stamm, Lloyd, 180–81
Standing on one leg, 29
Step Into Liquid (documentary), 240
Sterling Publishing, xii, 41, 71, 132, 200, 253–54
Steve the Grape Guy, 29
Stewart, Les, 240
Stewart, Potter, 56, 57
Stilts, 18, 88
can-and-string, 23, 107
highest, 83, 132
rope jumping on, 19, 30
Sting, 8
Stoker, Bram, 184
Stonehenge, 4, 6, 21
Stretcher carrying, 13
Sudan, 186
Sun Also Rises, The (Hemingway), 218
Sunshine Acquisitions, 256 Superlatives Book of World Records, xii
Superlatives Ltd., xi, 47–49, 51, 53, 253
Supreme Court, U.S., 56
Surfing, 240
Surgeon, youngest, 175, 177, 207–8
Surname, gatherings of people with same,
222–23
Sushi roll, longest, 159
Sussex, University of, 35, 39–40
Sweden, 186, 222
Swimming, 95, 101, 109–10, 188, 248
Sword swallowing, 74, 191
Syria, 186
Taco Bell, 163
Talking, continuous, 88
Tallest people, 2, 71, 73–83
all-time, 75–81, 83, 100, 112, 159, 174, 194, 211
living, 76, 77–78, 183
Tanabe, Tomoji, 82
Tanning, fake, 221
Tattoos, 119
Taylor, Helen and John, 178–79
Tea drinking, xx, 185, 224
Television watching, marathon, 143, 229–30
Teo Yen Kai, 179
Teresa, Mother, 8
Texas magazine, 120
Texas State Fair, 225
Text message, fastest, 179
Thailand, 23–25, 192
Thompson, Mickey, 88
Throwing, 27, 88, 99, 158
washing machine, 99, 125, 184
Tightrope walking, high-altitude, 191
Tikal (Guatemala), 21, 107 Time magazine, 120, 173 Times of India, 176 Times of London, 51, 76, 103, 118, 171–72, 193, 197, 207, 208, 237, 257
Today Show (TV show), 61, 164–67, 201
Toronto Star, 10
Toronto Sun, 124, 187
Tour de France, 86, 152, 247, 248
Tower Bridge (London), 208
Tranfield, J. J., 171
Travel, most extensive, 238–39
Travel Channel, 139
Tree eating, 24
Trinity College, 48
Trocadero (London), 106
Trump, Donald, 129
Tug-of-war, 202–4
Tunisia, 186
Turkey, 25, 46
20th Century Fox, 105, 254
20/20 (TV show), 19
Typing
books backwards, 240–41
numbers from one to one million, 240
U.S. Open Golf Tournament, 58
Ultimate Joke Encyclopedia, 256
Underwater feats hula hooping, 31
juggling, 10, 19
pogo stick jumping, 19, 21
violin playing, 85
Unicycling, xx, 16, 18, 20, 84
United Arab Emirates (UAE), 186
United States, 174–75, 179
big food records in, 163
commonest surname in, 223
speed records in, 88
tallest man in, 77
United Way, 180
U2, 184
Valley News, 68, 152
Vandiver, Elizabeth, 125–26
van Gogh, Vincent, 81
Vardon, Harry, 58
Vedanta, 7
Veley, Charles, 238–39
Vietnam, 186
Vietnam War, 240
Violin playing, underwater, 83
Virgin Atlantic, 89
Virgin Publishing, 130
Wadlow, Robert Pershing, 75–81, 83, 100, 112, 159, 174, 194, 211
Waes, Tom, 198–99
Walking
around the world, 230–32, 234
longest walk, 235, 238
Wall Street Journal, 61, 100–101, 131, 189, 217, 254
Walt Disney World, 225
Warhol, Andy, 110
Washing machine throwing, 99, 125, 184
Washington Post, 189, 201, 203 Washington Times, 112
Wat Pa Luangta Yanasampanno
Forest Monastery (Thailand), 23–24
Wayne State University, 94
Webb, Matthew, 109–10, 135, 188
Weber, Timothy, 141, 142
Webster, Dale, 239–40
Webster, Daniel, 117
Wedding, most attendants at, 29
Week That Was, The (TV show), 105
Weight-lifting, 3–4, 84, 101
Westlife, 184
Wheeler, Jack, 189 “White Christmas” (Berlin), 75
Whitman College, 125
Willis, Bruce, 212
Wilson, Arnie, 239
Wilson, Flip, 105, 254
Wine drinking, 157, 196
Winfrey, Oprah, 19
Witherspoon, Reese, 127
Woods, Tiger, xix, 55, 56, 58
World Breastfeeding Week, 227
World Harmony Run, 8
World Poker Tour (TV show), 138–39, 144, 152, 153
World Trade Center (New York), 22
Worldwalk (Newman), 230, 232, 234
Wright, Tony, 205, 244
Wu Xiaohong, 183
Xixabangma, Mount, 179
Yazdik, Philip, 157
Yellowstone National Park, 21
Yemen, 186
Yodeling, 16
Young, Mark, 194, 201
Youngest records, 90, 175, 187, 207–8
pilots, banning of, 201, 202
YouTube, 213
About the Author
Larry Olmsted is a prolific freelance writer who has published thousands of articles in national publications, including Outside, Playboy, USA Today, and Inc., is a contributing editor to numerous publications, and was a longtime columnist for Investor’s Business Daily. He lives in Vermont.
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Credits
Jacket design by Matt Lehman for Invisible Associates
Copyright
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GETTING INTO GUINESS. Copyright © 2008 by Larry Olmsted. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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