# What's with all the silly stunts in the Guiness Book of World Records?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-silly-stunts-in-the-guiness-book-of-world-records/755568
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 24, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-silly-stunts-in-the-guiness-book-of-world-records/755568 "2016-05-24T18:20:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-silly-stunts-in-the-guiness-book-of-world-records/755568/1 "2016-05-24T18:20:03Z")
It seems to be full of pointless stunts nowadays. Who cares how long somebody played Monopoly on a rooftop?
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-silly-stunts-in-the-guiness-book-of-world-records/755568/2 "2016-05-24T18:39:48Z")
They’re now catering to tweens and have been since 2000 or so. I miss my 1980 edition.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-silly-stunts-in-the-guiness-book-of-world-records/755568/3 "2016-05-24T18:45:54Z")
Most of the things that were the mainstay of the Guinness Book in its prime are easily found by Google. So they have to come up with wacky things to fill it all out.
The Guinness Book was the Google of its day.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2016, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-silly-stunts-in-the-guiness-book-of-world-records/755568/4 "2016-05-24T20:49:53Z")
I agree that it misses the point. It’s not like anyone has bar arguments going about who has slurped the longest continuous spaghetti noodle.
> [@](#):
>
> Most of the things that were the mainstay of the Guinness Book in its prime are easily found by Google.
They lost track of their mission long before Google. If they had held true, then when someone Googles “Who’s the tallest man in the world”, or whatever, Guinness would be the site Google would direct them to.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-silly-stunts-in-the-guiness-book-of-world-records/755568/5 "2016-05-24T22:18:05Z")
[This is what you get now for that book](http://www.amazon.com/Guinness-World-Records-2016/dp/1910561029/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464128227&sr=8-1&keywords=guiness+book+world+records)
[This is what I used to have, small, black and white, and filled with facts.](http://www.amazon.com/Guiness-World-Records-Giant-Revised/dp/B001PFRP9I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1464128256&sr=8-2&keywords=guiness+book+world+records+1988)
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-silly-stunts-in-the-guiness-book-of-world-records/755568/6 "2016-05-24T22:26:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> They lost track of their mission long before Google. If they had held true, then when someone Googles “Who’s the tallest man in the world”, or whatever, Guinness would be the site Google would direct them to.
Try it. 😉