Guinness World Records 2001 - Softcover

3.81

133 ratings by Goodreads

9780553583755: Guinness World Records 2001

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553583751 ISBN 13: 9780553583755

Publisher: Bantam, 2001

Newly revised with all-new photos and features

The must-have, fun-to-read guide to every amazing fact, figure, and feat for the new millennium

From the world's largest teddy bear to the smallest handheld cell phone, from the biggest lottery jackpot to the youngest winner of the Nobel Prize, Guinness World Records is an indispensable compendium, filled with every vital statistic you'll ever need -- as well as the pictures to back them up!

Did you know...

* The world record for most body piercings belongs to a Scottish woman who sports a total of 462 -- including 192 on her head!

* The world's most valuable bikini -- handsewn and encrusted with diamonds -- is worth nearly $200,000.

* The world's longest human chain spanned 370 miles, when 2 million people in Latvia joined hands to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a peace treaty.

Featuring over 1,000 extraordinary new records and 300 stunning photographs, the 2001 edition of Guinness World Records includes updated sections on computer games, the Internet, special effects, martial arts, dance music, the prehistoric world, and much more. It is the world's favorite family reference book -- the undisputed authority on world records for almost 50 years.

Guinness World Records and the Star Figure Logo are trademarks of Guinness World Records Ltd., London.

Used under license by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

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Review:

This is not so much a book as an institution. It's not only the trivia buff's Bible, it even has its own TV show. The fans can be assured: beneath the garish purple cover, the world's most famous reference book is better than ever, with startling pictures, snappy text, and an awesome range of records. From the youngest DJ to the oldest living person, the biggest snail to the fastest goal in first-class football (2.8 seconds), the most cocktails mixed by a robot to the biggest railway station, there's every kind of extreme you could ever want.

This book doesn't just have all the records you'd expect, it has records for things you've never even dreamed of, with blink-because-you-can't-believe-it photos that add enormously to the effectiveness of the text. Check out the shots of the world's longest fingernails (total length 6.15 metres, 20 feet 2.25 inches), the world's fastest furniture (a great image of the happy record-holder speeding along on his motorised sofa) and a winceworthy image of the world's strongest beard (a woman's hanging from it). All the classic records are still there: you can find the tallest, smallest, fastest, slowest, oldest of just about anything--you name it, it's there. For sports fans there's a major section, and other big areas include: the natural world; music, films, TV and other media; wealth, valuables and very rich people; technology; and transport. There's even a page on how to set your own world record and get it onto Guinness's database. Now there's fame. --David Pickering

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