Companies and media

Guinness World Records

A reference work born in 1955 from a pub argument. It certifies records according to written rules of evidence — which makes it, in its own way, an authority.

In brief

First edition published in 1955, on the initiative of the Guinness brewery, to settle bar-room bets.
Certification requires a file of evidence: witnesses, supporting documents, measurements — a record is not self-declared.
The organisation refuses certain categories (records deemed dangerous or encouraging risky behaviour).
It certifies Don Gorske's record for the number of Big Macs eaten — on the strength of his receipts.

What gives Guinness World Records its value is not the feat, it is the proof procedure. A record is certified only if the candidate produces a file: documents, witnesses, verifiable measurements.

That is precisely what distinguishes the case of Don Gorske from a mere anecdote: his receipts, kept since 1972, constitute a material record. The count is verifiable, which is not true of any nutritional claim subsequently drawn from his case.

Sources

External sources.

Our history — Guinness World Records

Where this comes up in the case file

ArticleDon Gorske, 35,000 Big Macs

Other glossary entries — Companies and media

McDonald's Corporation McDonald's France Supermac's and Pat McDonagh The Economist

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