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How do you make an old-fashioned hunk of entertainment seem cool in the era of iPhones, PlayStation 3s and hula-hoops? First, you make it 3-D. Then, you turn it into a videogame.
First published in 1955, The Guinness Book of World Records has been a pop-culture fixture for folks competing to earn their own bizarre niche of fame and for kids exploring the world of freaks.
Who can forget the fattest brothers and their scooters? The world's longest fingernails?
I couldn't have been the only third-grader who giggled like an idiot while looking up "longest fart." (It's not in the book. It might have been difficult to confirm such a record -- and certainly unpleasant.)
The latest edition of the official chronicler of world records includes 3-D images and the prerequisite red-and-blue glasses.
The new and updated records include snake-bathing, underwater pogo-sticking and chainsaw juggling. A Hollywood Hall of Fame segment looks at movie achievements. There's even a section devoted to Harry Potter and author J.K. Rowling.
In another good-natured attempt to get kids thinking in terms of meaningless but challenging human feats, the Guinness folks have released a Guinness World Records: The Videogame for the Wii (right), inviting kids to pull an airliner or mount the highest BMX jump.
The videogame's activities are kid-friendly and too tame for adults, but it could be good for play dates.
Images courtesy Guinness Book, Warner Bros.
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