As May marks National Photography Month, we’re sharing an exclusive collection of some of the brand's most historic and noteworthy images.
The original Guinness Book of World Records was first published in 1955 with black and white photography, and over the decades, our annual edition has evolved to reflect the times and the current titles in the world we live in.
Since that first publication, one of the most iconic elements of the Guinness World Records books has become the marvellous, shocking, and striking images of our very own record holders.
Check out the moments that showcase some of the world’s most extraordinary record holders.
Tallest man Don Kohler (1925 – 1981)
Don Koehler (USA) held the title of tallest man living throughout the 1970s. He stood at 2.48 m (8 ft 2 in). Born in 1925, he lived in Denton, Montana and had a twin sister who stood at 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in). Don is pictured here with the McWhirter brothers in 1974 on a trip to New York to film with David Frost for the Guinness World Records TV show. Don died in 1981 in Chicago.
Heaviest right hand deadlift - bar
Hermann Goerner (Germany 1891-1965) unofficially lifted a 330 kg (727.5 lb) bar with his right hand on 8 October 1920 at Leipzig, Germany. The bar was correctly lifted from the floor to the full erect position. He officially performed a right-handed deadlift of 301 kg (663.5lb) on 29 October 1920 also at Leipzig using a Berg Olympic revolving bar.
The longest place name
A previous record holder for the longest place name in use, “Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu” (85 letters), is located at Southern Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. The unofficial name of a hill, the Maori translation meaning 'The place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as landeater, played his flute to his loved one'.
Fastest time to ignite five targets by squirting milk from the eye 
The fastest time to ignite five targets by shooting milk from the eye is 34.9 seconds and was achieved by Brandon "Youngblood" Kee (USA) on the set of 'Guinness World Records Unleashed' in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 13 June 2013.
Stretchiest Skin
Garry Turner (UK) is able to stretch the skin of his stomach to a distended length of 15.8 cm (6.25 in) due to a rare medical condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a disorder of the connective tissues affecting the skin, ligaments and internal organs. With this condition, the collagen that strengthens the skin and determines its elasticity becomes defective, resulting in, among other things, a loosening of the skin, and "hypermobility" of the joints. In more serious cases, it can cause the fatal collapse or rupturing of blood vessels.
Heaviest spider
Pictured above is goliath bird-eater Rosi, the Heaviest spider specimen measured. Owned by Walter Baumgartner (Austria), she weighed in at 175 g (6.1 oz) in 2007. That’s seven times the weight of a mouse! Despite the name of this species, it very rarely preys on birds – more typically on the menu are insects, frogs and small rodents.
Most ice cream scoops balanced on a cone
Proud Italian Dimitri Panciera loves ice-cream so much that two scoops just isn't enough, he prefers to squeeze as many as possible on top of a cone. At the annual Gelatimo ice-cream festival in Forno di Zoldo, Italy, Dimitri achieved the Guinness World Records title for the most ice-cream scoops balanced on a cone with 125 scoops.
Farthest eyeball pop
Kim Goodman (USA) can pop her eyeballs to a protrusion of 12 mm (0.47 in) beyond her eye sockets. Measuring the “pop” is an exact science that has to be done by an optometrist using a device known as a proptometer; an average of three measurements gives the final, eye‑watering result. “Proptosis” is the term for eyeball displacement or bulging eyes. Kim discovered her talent when she was hit on the head by a hockey mask, but can now pop out her eyes on cue.
Tallest dog ever (male)
The tallest dog ever is Zeus (USA), a Great Dane who measured 1.118 m (44 in) tall on 4 October 2011 and was owned by Denise Doorlag and her family, of Otsego, Michigan, USA. Zeus weighed 70.30 kg (155 lb) and ate approximately 13.6 kg (30 lb) of food every two weeks. When standing, Zeus reached an astonishing 2.23 m (7 ft 4 in) tall.
Most Oscar® wins – Makeup
Rick Baker (USA) has won 7 Academy Awards® for Best Makeup over the course of his career, the first forAn American Werewolf in London (1981) at the 1981 (54th) Academy Awards® on 29 March 1982, and the most recent at the 2010 (83rd) Academy Awards® for The Wolfman (2010) on 27 February 2011. To this day, he still holds the record.
Most tattooed senior citizens
Happy Floridian couple Charlotte Guttenberg and Chuck Helmke (USA) currently have 97.5% of their bodies covered in intricate tattoos which have helped them become known to the world as the most tattooed senior citizens. The pair first became interested in tattoos well over the age of 50, and met by fate when Chuck helped Charlotte get through the pain of her first tattoo session. Chuck now has the record for most skulls tattooed on the body, at an incredible 376.
Tallest horse and the smallest horse
Big Jake the Belgian Gelding horse stands at a majestic 20 hands 2.75 in (210.19 cm, 82.75 in), he officially became the tallest horse living when measured on 19 January 2010. Here he is pictured next to a toddler, and the world’s the smallest living horse - female is Thumbelina, a miniature sorrel brown mare who measures 44.5 cm (17.5 in) to the withers.
Tallest rideable motorcycle
The tallest rideable motorcycle measures 5.10 m (16 ft 8.78 in) tall from the ground to the top of the handlebars. It was constructed by Fabio Reggiani (Italy), and the motorcycle was ridden over a 100-m course at Montecchio Emilia, Italy, on 24 March 2012. The bike measures 10.03 m long and is powered by a 5.7L V8 motor. 280 HP, 3 forward gears plus reverse. It is 2.5 m wide and weighs approx 5,000 kg. It was completed in only 6 months.
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