The world's best-selling annual is back and bursting with thousands of amazing new records, never-before-seen images, fact-packed infographics and mind-boggling trivia. And as always, we have a few more surprises in store for you…As well as all your favourite records, relating to talented pets, superhuman achievements, big stuff and extreme vehicles, you'll find show-stopping superlatives from brand-new categories. Topics making their Guinness World Records debut include waterfalls, twins, ballooning, apps, lightning, manga, archaeology, drones, and pirates – and that's just for starters!

MORE IN-DEPTH RECORDS Check out the all-new PROFILE BOXES, offering a more comprehensive look into the inspiring stories behind our record-breakers.

• See some of our most iconic records IN FOCUS to uncover their awe-inspiring secrets.
• Dare to peek into the Tambora volcano – holder of the record for most powerful eruption.
• Marvel at the scale of the mighty blue whale – the largest animal on the planet ever!
• Discover what happens when atoms smash together at close to light speed…Think that's quick?
• Wait until you read about the fast-and-furious world of sport stacking!

So, get ready for your yearly dose of mind-blowing feats and wonders in Guinness World Records 2016 – the global authority on record-breaking.

Author Biography:** *In 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, the then managing director of the Guinness Brewery, went on a shooting party and became involved in an argument. Which was the fastest game bird in Europe – the golden plover or the grouse? He realized then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove popular. He was right! Sir Hugh's idea became reality when Norris and Ross McWhirter, who had been running a fact-finding agency in London, were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records. The first edition was bound on August 27, 1955, and went to the top of the British bestseller lists by Christmas that year. Since then, Guinness World Records™ has become a household name and the global leader in world records. No other enterprise collects, confirms, accredits and presents world record data with the same investment in comprehensiveness and authenticity.