Publication Design

Editor-In-Chief Craig Glenday

(Americanization), Chris Bernstein (indexing), Matthew White (proofreading) VP PUBLISHING Frank Chambers DIRECTOR OF PROCURMENT Patricia Magill PUBLISHING MANAGER Nick Seston PUBLISHING EXECUTIVE Charlie Peacock DESIGN Paul Wylie-Deacon, Richard Page at 55design.co.uk PICTURE EDITOR Michael Whitty

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2013 Bantam mass market edition GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS is a trademark of Guinness WIrld Records Limited and is reproduced under license by Bantam Books, Imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, INC, New York.

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ISBN: 978-0-553-59337-2 Printed in the United States Of America www.bantamdell.com

Table Of

6

Introduction

16

Human Body

28

Amazing Features

50

Extreme Bodies, 18 Age and Youth, 20 Body Parts, 22 Body Beautiful, 23 Medical Marvels, 24 Against All Odds,26

Unusual Skills, 30 Tests of Strength, 32 Courage & Endurance, 34 Marathon Efforts, 36 Mass Participation, 38 Teamwork, 40 Golden Oldies, 42 Early Starters, 44 Big Stuff, 46 Small Stuff, 48

Natural World Creepy Crawlies, 52 Animal Extremes, 54 Extraordinary Animals, 56 Fantastic Pets, 58 Plant World, 60

Science & Techonology Gadgets, 64 Internet, 66 Amazing Science, 68 Buildings, 70 Structures, 72

Arts & Media Music Feats & Facts, 76 TV Shows, 78 Stunts & Special Effects, 80 Cartoons & Animation, 82 Books & Magazines, 84 Art & Sculpture, 86 Toys, 88

Modern Society

Collections, 92 People & Places, 94 Big Money, 96 Big Food, 98 Fashion, 100

Travel & Transport

Bikes & Motorbikes, 104 Aircraft, 106 Cars, 108 Epic Journeys, 110 Air & Sea Heroes, 112

Sports & Games

Giraffe

stands 5–6 m (16–20 ft) tall and has an average weight of 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) for males and 830 kg (1,800 lb) for females.

Photo by Koegies

Action Sports, 116 Gymnastics & Weights, 118 Combat & Martial Arts, 120 Ball Sports, 122 Golf, 126 Credits, 138 Index, 140 Stop Press, 148

62 74 90 102 114

World 50 Natural World

Leopard

(Panthera pard us) 2 m (6 ft 6 in); 63 kg (140 lb) Photo By Krappweis

How Big Do Animals Really Get?

Despite their epic size, dinosaurs were not the largest creatures to have ever lived. We don’t need to look into prehistory to find this a bsolute record holder: we currently share our planet with the largest animal that ever lived; the blue whale. What about terrestrial creatures, or birds?

A 160-tonne blue whale can exist because of the support it receives from the water. But on land, the upper weight limit based on fossil evidence is around 70-100 tonnes (154,000220,000 lb), in the case of the herbivorous Argentinosaurus, which existed 95 milion years ago.

51 Natural World

Section 1

Extremes

The Blue Whale (Blaenoptera musculus)the largest mammal: 24 m (80ft) long; 160 tonnes (352,000 lb) Photos by Bschwehn

53 Animal Extremes

A figure of about 100 tonnes is a lso the limit reached theoretically when examining the stress lim its of bones - and the corresponding increase in muscle size - in terrestrial animals. Such a creature is feasible but would be limited by gravity, the availability of resources, the turnaround of offspring (larger animals produce fewer babies) and a lack of adaptability in times of crisis (such as a food shortage).

So if we were going to find an animal bigger than the blue whale, it would have to be in

the oceans . Could the mysterious “Bloop� be a contender?

The cookiecutter shark {lsistius brasiliensis) from the central regions of the Atlantic and Pacific is the brightest shark. It is named after Isis, an Egyptian goddess associated with light. Up to 1.5 m (5 ft) long, it has a dull brown upper surface, but underneath it is often covered entirely with photophores, light-producing organs which emit a very bright, ghostly green glow.

Bioluminescence is unclear.

Skeleton of The Blue Whale Photo by The Seymour Center Nothing on land has ever exceeded 100 tonnes (220,000 lb); in the oceans, the upper limit is a 160 -tonne (352,000-lb) whale.

54 Animal Extremes

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) - largest land carnivore: 2.4-2. 6 m (7 ft 1 0 in-8 ft 6 in) nose to tail; 400-600 kg (880-1,320 lb)

Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) largest penguin: 1 m (3 ft 3 i n) tall; 43 kg (95 lb)

The shortfin mako (lsrus oxyrinchus), with recorded swimming speeds exceeding 56 km/h (34.8 mi/h), is the fastest shark.

55 Animal Extremes

FUN FACT! The Hammerhead sharks hammer is known as a cephalofoil.

To Avoid attack Do not wear shiny jewellery - to a shark this can look like fish scales!

Avoid the areas between sandbars and steep drop-o s

African elephant (Loxodonta africana) - largest ungulate and largest land mammal: 3-3.7 m (9 ft 10 i n-1 2 ft 1 in)

What’s the oldest age animals can reach?

Guinness World Records’ founding editor, Norris McWhirter, once stated: “No single subject is more obscured by vanity, deceit, falsehood and deliberate fraud than the extremes of human longevity.” Extraordinary claims of old age continue to surface i n the media but what, realistically, is the upper age limit for the human race? No authenticated account can be found of someone living

beyond 122 years - and only one person ever reached this extreme age. But is this the absolute limit to life?

Here, GWR gerontologist Robert Young explains the limiting factors of longevity and makes his prediction for the oldest possible age ...

Longest elephant tusks (relative to body) Anancus was a prehistoric gomphothere (an extinct family of elephantine mammals) that lived from the late Miocene Epoch to

to the early Pleistocene Epoch, 3-1.5 million years ago. Each of its two long, straight tusks measured up to 4 m (13 ft) almost as long as its body!

56 Animal Extremes