Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
That night at his estate, after scouring countless reference books, they were disap-
pointed not to find a definitive answer.
Beaver realized that similar questions were likely being debated nightly across
pubs in Ireland and Britain. So he hired twins Norris and Ross McWhirter, who ran
a fact-finding agency in London, to compile a book of answers to various questions.
They set up an office at 107 Fleet Street and began assembling the first edition of
the topic by contacting experts, such as astrophysicists, etymologists, virologists,
and volcanologists. In 1955, the
Guinness Book of Records
(later renamed
Guinness
World Records
) was published. By Christmas, it topped the British bestseller list.
Inthebeginning,entriesmostlyfocusedonnaturalphenomenaandanimaloddit-
ies, but grew to include a wide variety of extreme human achievements. After
more than a half-century of noting record-breaking traditions around the globe, the
volume continues to answer a multitude of burning trivia questions, such as the
wealthiest cat in the world, the largest burrito ever made, and the record time for
peeling 50 pounds of onions (an event that likely caused a lot of tears).
Theiconicbooksarenowavailableinmorethan100countriesand26languages,
with more than 3.5 million copies sold annually. As the bestselling copyrighted
book of all time, it even earns a record-breaking entry within its own pages.
Visiting the Brewery:
Around the world, Guinness brews more than 10 million pints
a day (their biggest brewery is actually in Lagos, Nigeria). Although the home of Ireland's
national beer welcomes visitors with a sprawling modern museum, there are no tours of
the actual working brewery.
The museum fills the old fermentation plant used from 1902 through 1988, which re-
opened in 2000 as a huge shrine to the tradition. Step into the middle of the ground floor
and look up. A tall, beer-glass-shaped glass atrium—14 million pints big—soars upward
past four floors of exhibitions and cafés to the skylight. Then look down at Arthur's ori-
ginal 9,000-year lease, enshrined under Plexiglas in the floor...you realize that at £45 per
year, it was quite a bargain. (The brewery eventually purchased the land, so the lease is no
longer valid.)
The actual exhibit makes brewing seem more grandiose than it is and treats Arthur like
the god of human happiness. His pints contain only 200 calories, but they pack a 4.2 per-
cent alcohol content. Highlights are the cooperage (with 1954 film clips showing the mas-
ter keg-makers plying their now virtually extinct trade), a display of the brewery's clever
ads, and a small exhibit about the beer's connection to the
Guinness World Records
(see
sidebar on previous page).
Atop the building, the
Gravity Bar
provides visitors with a commanding 360-degree
view of Dublin—with vistas all the way to the sea—and an included beer.
