Guinness World Records

Where Did It Begin?
The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS book is a record-breaker itself, but it didn’t set out to be… The book started off as a way to settle an argument!
Thinking Point
Have you ever had a disagreement with someone about a fact? How did you find out who was right?
The head of the Guinness Brewery, Sir Hugh Beaver, was at a party in Ireland. Sir Hugh and his friends got into a disagreement about which the fastest game bird in Europe was. To find out who was right, the guests looked through every book they could find in the library but they had no luck.
The information couldn’t be found anywhere and the argument was left unsettled. Sir Hugh had the idea of compiling a book that contained lots of interesting facts and statistics. He asked twins Ross and Norris McWhirter to start writing it. The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records, as it was then called, was published in 1955.

What Is a World Record?
A GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title is an achievement that is the best in the world. To be a world record, an achievement has to be the following:
Measurable
Something like being the "most funny" wouldn’t
count as it's subjective!
Breakable
A record must have a possibility of being broken.
Standardisable
The conditions must be able to be replicated so another person could try to break the record.
Verifiable
This means you must be able to prove it happened.
One variable
Each record must only be measuring one thing to be
the best.

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Titles
Lee Redmond from the USA had the longest fingernails on a woman ever. Their combined length was 8.65m!
There are all kinds of record titles.
Here are just a few!
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest building at 828m.
Sultan Kösen from Turkey is the tallest living person at 251cm.
Otto is a skateboarding English bulldog from Peru. He formerly held the record for most legs skateboarded through by a dog. He travelled through 30 pairs of human legs!
Thinking Point
Do you know any animals who can do clever things?

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Quiz
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Quiz Questions
Which type of animal was the subject of the argument that inspired the first GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS book?
a. Seabirds
b. Wading birds
c. Game birds

Quiz Questions
In what year was the first GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS book published?
a. 1945
b. 1955
c. 1952

Quiz Questions
Jenny Graham from the UK is in GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2020 for being the fastest woman to cycle around the world. How long did it
take her?
a. 124 days and 11 hours
b. 80 days and 2 hours
c. 346 days and 9 hours

Quiz Questions
Getti Kehayova from the USA is in GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2020 for spinning the largest hula-hoop. What was the diameter of the hoop?
a. 5.1m
b. 7.1m
c. 10.9m

Quiz Questions
David Rush from the USA is in GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2020 for running 100m while balancing what on his finger?
a. A baseball bat
b. A basketball
c. A tennis racquet

Quiz Questions
Isobel Midnight from the UK holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for what fiery task?
a. Juggling the
most flaming torches.
b. The most fire
eating in one minute.
c. Hula-hooping with hoops that are on fire.

Quiz Questions
Lucky Diamond Rich from Australia holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for what?
a. Eating the most
burgers in one hour.
b. Having the longest hair.
c. Having the most tattoos.

Quiz Questions
The world’s largest spider is the goliath bird-eating tarantula. How wide can its legs span?
a. 10cm
b. 18cm
c. 28cm

Quiz Questions
Johanna Quaas from Germany holds the record for being the world’s oldest gymnast still entering competitions. How old was she when she broke this record?
a. 86
b. 72
c. 78

Quiz Questions
Mario Trindade from Portugal holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for travelling the farthest (182.4km) in 24 hours in what way?
a. Walking
b. Using a wheelchair
c. Skipping

Quiz Questions
The youngest player to play in the FIFA World Cup is Souleymane Mamam who was aged 13 years 310 days in a qualifying match. For which country did he play?
a. England
b. South Africa
c. Togo

Quiz Questions
The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the most accumulated time on spacewalks by a female is held by Peggy Whitson. How many hours did she spacewalk for in total?
a. 22 hr 14 min
b. 60 hr 21 min
c. 53 hr 22 min

Quiz Questions
Sanath Bandara from Sri Lanka holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for putting on 257 items of what clothing in one hour?
a. Trousers
b. Socks
c. T-shirts

Quiz Questions
Cherry Yoshitake from Japan holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for putting 33 items on his body in 30 seconds. What were those items?
a. Pegs
b. Sticky notes
c. Spoons

Quiz Questions
Mithlesh Choudary from India holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for balancing the most tennis balls in one hand. How many did he hold?
a. 10
b. 18
c. 27

Growth Mindset
None of the record holders achieved their record on their first attempt.
For many people, it takes years of hard work before they succeed in being a record-breaker.
Don’t think: I failed.
Instead think:
F
A
I
L
irst
ttempt
n
earning
Hi, I’m ALLY ZING™! I’m the official mascot for GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS and I search for and collect the most amazing records!

The Power of Yet
Yet is a magic word that can help us believe we can achieve our goals. Say these sentences out loud.
I don’t know my 12 times table.
I can’t speak a second language.
I can’t run very fast.
I can’t swim 100 metres.
Now repeat these sentences but add the word ‘yet’ to the end of each sentence.

Change It!
Look at these sentences.
How can we change these to help us believe we can achieve?
1
I’ll never be able to learn it.
2
I take too long to learn new things.
3
I’ll never be as good as other people.
4
This work is good enough.
5
My friends are all better than me.
7
I can’t do it.
8
I’m not clever enough.
9
It’s too hard.
6
I can’t make this work any better.

Change It!
Here are some ways we could change these sentences.
1
I will keep practising.
2
Some things take a long time to learn and that’s okay.
3
I won’t compare myself to others but I will do my best.
4
I’m going to make sure my work is the best it can be.
5
I can ask my friends to help me get better at things.
7
I’m going to keep trying.
8
I have lots of things I am good at.
9
This is hard but I’m going to get there.
6
I can always improve my work.