April 19, 2004
World's Tallest man vs. world's smallest cell phone
The Guinness Book of World Records was started in the 1950's by Sir Hugh Beaver as the definitive guide to resolving disputes.
The Guinness Book of World Records was really the paper version of the Internet. Before the internet where else could you find answers to life's most difficult questions? It used to be first to the guinness book of world records, second to the encyclopedia britannica. Now all disputes are resolved by Google and imdb.
I remember it being the book to get when the scholastic book fair came to our school every year. In the good old days they used to cram about 1000 newspaper print thin black and white pages into a nice paperback that contained stories that fascinated the average schoolboy mind. World's longest car. World's tallest house of cards, World's longest fingernails, World's largest gas station, World's largest ambulance ... Now the book is a wimpy color hardback version of highlights that pales in comparison to how comprehensive the original used to be.
Robert Wadlow always stuck out as the world's tallest man. His modern day counterpart Leonid Stadnik lives in a world where smaller is always better. We live in a world of cell phones, PDA's, laptops that make life for modern day giants impossible. Right now Stadnik is probably the world's tallest living man, but life is incredibly difficult for this giant. He has trouble getting around, getting clothes and shoes, and his knees hurt. But thanks to the internet, at least now he can be famous.
Posted by Bryant at April 19, 2004 01:01 PM