What Ukrainians records get to Guinness Book: Shevchenko's poetry marathon, "Mriya," ladybug collection

Alice Smahina

By a number of press runs, a collection of various impressive records stands alongside books such as the Bible and the Koran. It's published in nearly 100 countries and translated into 37 languages. Over 100 million copies of the extraordinary guide are sold each year. The Guinness Book of Records is updated annually, and it's easy to get into it. You just need to do what no one has ever done before or to beat an existing record.

The famous book's history begins in 1951. The head of the Irish Guinness brewery, Hugh Beaver, after a failed hunt, argued with friends about which bird is the fastest. Since no one could answer this question, he had the idea to create a book of bird records, and a bunch of other records. The first copy of the Guinness Book of Records was published in 1955 and was initially positioned as a serious guide. The authors collected scientific data after consulting with various experts in different fields. Over time, the book became incredibly popular, thickened almost twice, and it excepted even meaningless and curious "achievements."

Every year, celebrating the day of the famous bestseller, many people try to get on its pages. But you can become a record holder not only on November 9 but on any day; the key thing is that a book's official representative should be present while the record being set and would record achievements according to all rules. However, not all records get to the Guinness Book for ethical reasons. One day the book got a record with the fattest cat. After the publication commemorated this achievement, many people began to overfeed their pets, hoping to set a similar record. Records related to dangerous tricks, alcohol, and food intake are not very welcome, because people can harm themselves by beating such "records."