[Coign]

Originally Posted by morie

What he's doing is interesting and I think it qualifies as Art. However, the Guinness Book of World Records??? Just for using toothpicks in an artwork? Really, I take no further notice of the GBWR because of the ridiculous things that they deem qualify as a world record. For instance- the amount of people singing the Hallelujia Chorus in 1 place at 1 time is a world record. Give me a bloody break! Technically, it is a world record but how many people really care about dumb things like that so that there is a book made out of stupid facts like this? The world's tallest man: now that's something most people want to know. That's a world records that should be included in a book. Thanks GBWR editors: now I know how dumb you all are, I know not to waste money paying for paper that's worth more if nothing was printed on it.

That is EXACTLY why the book was written. To resolve stupid bar trivia.

THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS

History: The Guinness Book of World Records was born one bleak fall day in 1954 when Sir Hugh Beaver, while on a shooting expedition in Ireland, aimed at a small flock of golden plover and missed.

Sir Hugh, the managing director of Arthur Guinness, Son and Co., Ltd., had, of course, missed birds before, but it didn't happen often, and he was curious. Clearly the plover were considerably faster than the ducks and geese that he readily bagged. Perhaps, he mentioned to his companions over whiskey and soda that night, the plover was "the fastest game bird we've got." His companions countered with other birds, but the argument ended in frustration because there was nowhere to check. The most erudite encyclopedias, when consulted, proved to have no information on the flight speeds of game birds.

Back in London, Sir Hugh mulled over this deficiency; what modern Britain needed was a book that would tell people quickly and concisely just what was biggest, smallest, fastest, slowest, shortest, longest, etc., about as many things as possible. If such a book did not already exist, one should waste no time creating it; what was more, once created, it could be distributed to the many British pubs where Guinness stout was sold and where it would be useful in settling all those arguments that are peculiar to pubs.

http://www.trivia-library.com/c/hist...rds-part-1.htm