A Record Passing:
Norris McWhirter, the noted British sports journalist who founded the Guinness Book of World Records with his brother Ross, has died from a heart attack. He was 78. Founded in 1954 and sponsored by the Guinness brewery as a promotional item to settle bar disputes, there are over 100 million copies of its various additions in print. McWhirter served as editor until 1986 and advisory editor until 1996 when he retired.
I have a special fondness for the GWR since they were the first books I checked out of my elementary school library when I was in the first grade in 1979. I would spend hours pouring over the feats of human endurance and oddity then go running throughout the house shrieking “Mom, Dad. Did you know that the world record for yawning is 8 straight months?”
In recent years, The Diageo corporation who owns the Guinness brand decided that old fat books needed a facelift. The blurry newspaper photographs were replaced by full-color spread and freak-show era records (like wearing a beard of bees) tossed out in scads. In the Guinness Book of the 21st century, no one eats a bicycle or tries to waterski across the Pacific Ocean. Records now are carefully manufactured for maximum star wattage. Instead of Most Successful Pop Music Artist (the passe’ Elvis Presley), we get Most Top Ten Hits in the 1990’s by an Artist Named Britney. Even the cover is now a swarm of sparkles and holograms, like the front panel of a jukebox.
No one said progress had charm.
On another note, The Virtual Book tour pulls into Zulkey.com. Discussion of the tour continues at Readerville.