This page is intended to be a home for snippets of interesting
information about the Guinness Book of Records that, quite frankly, we
don't know where else to put. Please
send us any more miscellany that you may have.
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The first copy of the book was bound on a Saturday.
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Compared to the average wage at the time each edition was published,
this year's new edition will probably be the least expensive edition
ever (especially with the competitive nature of online booksellers
and chains). The previous most affordable edition was probably the
11th
edition in 1964.
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The Christmas 1960 edition of the
Guinness Time staff magazine reports that, "... a lorry full
of the Guinness Book of Records has been stolen from a fleet of
lorries containing the book. Someone was obviously trying to break
another record."
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Some of the editions -
19th
(1972) to
30th (1983) - published by Redwood Press have up to 6 dots near
the publisher's information. We originally believed these to be
print-run marks, followed by a theory that they are bindery marks
(with the number of dots indicating which company bound that
particular copy). However, recent discussions with one of the
founders of Redwood Press have not shed any new light on the matter.
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The
19th edition shows that the brothers had a sense of humour: "...
we do not opine on ... the most formidable mother-in-law, only the
woman with the greatest girth or the organ (or indeed the
mother-in-law) generating the most decibels".
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The
21st Edition from 1974 was produced using the "perfect binding"
technique. Unfortunately, many copies proved that it wasn't.
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The hands in the third picture on page 166 of the
23rd
Edition are those of Jacqui Gould.
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On 24th October 1979, Guinness Superlatives honoured Paul McCartney
with a dinner held at Les Ambassadeurs Club in London. McCartney
subsequently appeared on the cover of the
27th
Edition.
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The brothers were obsessed by detail and accuracy, which seemed on
occasion to lead to a need to fiddle unnecessarily with chapter
titles and order.
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The ISBNs given in the
21st U.S. Edition
are incorrect - they are the ISBNs for the
20th Edition.
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The Facts on File
Guinness Book of Records 1992 is the
30th U.S. Edition,
but the
Guinness Book of Records 1993 is the
32nd U.S. Edition.
Anyone know where the 31st U.S. Edition went?
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The book inset at the top of page 4 of the 2021 edition is not
the 1964 edition as stated.
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The production cover artwork for the 2021 edition is subtly
different when compared to the pre-production version. The winner of
the prize draw is shown on the giant whoopee cushion, and Captain
Sir Tom Moore has been added. There are other changes - can you spot
them?