The Guinness Book of Records was a big thing in the 1970s. Every house had a copy. The book contained all manner of world records of length, height, speed, and so on, in all areas of the human and natural world.

The edition I grew up with was the 1971 edition. I’d marvel at the photos of the world’s tallest human (Robert Wadlow), the world’s fattest twins (the McCrarys, famously pictured riding side by side on mini bikes), and a giant earthworm from East Gippsland.