Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari: new world record for ultra-thin "Chasing world records is the folly of dreamers and lunatics, and only history can fix them." - Joshua Monjo, 2022

Leaving aside the citation I just made up, world records have been a mysterious field of knowledge that has been intensively studied since the first Guinness Book of Records was published in 1955. Originally, the book was intended to be a treasure trove of little-known or noteworthy facts. Useful as a reference book for settling arguments and providing entertainment.

It's basically the original Buzzfeed Top 10, nothing to be taken seriously, more as a compilation of the best, fastest, strongest, biggest things that can be measured and quantified.

Once the book became popular and the categories of records expanded to include human achievement, more and more categories began to be proposed in which people could compete for world records.

Over time, Guinness World Records has imposed more restrictions on the categories it recognizes to protect the health and safety of the public and the environment. But even with these limitations, there are still thousands of weird, wild, and extraordinary accomplishments by different people.