Guinness Book of Records

The Guinness Book of Records (or in recent editions Guinness World Records, and in previous US editions Guinness Book of World Records) is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of world records, both human achievements and the extrema of the natural world.

Ethical issues

Several world records that were once included in the Guinness Book now are not, for ethical reasons. By publishing world records in a category, the Guinness Book may encourage others to try to beat that record, even at the expense of their own health and safety. For example, following publication of a "heaviest cat" record, many cat owners overfed their pets beyond the bounds of what was healthy. Therefore, entries such as these were removed. Likewise, other records related to dangerous stunts are often not published, for example those closely related to freediving. Other records, such as sword swallowing, have been closed to further entry due to the fact that the current holders have performed beyond what is considered safe human tolerances.

Related Topics:
Cat - Stunt - Freediving - Sword swallowing

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