Believe It or Not: Ripley's and Guinness still strong.(Big Winners)(2007 editions of Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Guinness World Records)

When Robert Ripley drew his first cartoon with the catchy headline "Believe It or Not!" in 1913, about a few noteworthy athletic feats of the day, the illustrator/journalist had no idea he was spawning a catchphrase and franchise that would last a century. The same can be said of Sir Hugh Beaver, a manager at the Guinness Brewery in Ireland, who, after getting into a dispute with some friends over which bird was the fastest in Europe, realized there was a need for a definitive book to settle such arguments. Both Ripley and Beaver, who first had their books published in 1929 and 1955, respectively, would likely be impressed with how their brands have weathered the ages. The 2007 …