Uncle John holds the world record for the most pages ever read on the throne (234,815 and counting). Here are some other dubious achievements.
• Christian Adam of Germany set the distance record for riding a bicycle backward while playing the violin: 37.5 miles. It took him a little more than five hours. He played J. S. Back…er, Bach.
• For 20 minutes of “every waking hour” for 16 years, Australian Les Stewart spelled out every number from one to one million on his typewriter. He went through seven typewriters and 1,000 ink ribbons. Now he not only owns a world record but a 19,890-page book consisting of every spelled-out number up to one million.
• On May 6, 2009, Eric “No Class” Matyjasik of Arizona unzipped his pants 162 times in 30 seconds, breaking the old record by 27 zips.
• Artist Maria Reidelbach built the world’s largest garden gnome in 2006. It stands 13 feet, 6 inches, and lives on a miniature golf course in Kerhonkson, New York. The gnome’s name: Gnome Chomsky, a play on the name of linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky (who is only about half as tall as Gnome Chomsky).
• The unofficial world record for staying awake: 18 days, 17 hours, set by Maureen Weston of England while participating in a rocking-chair marathon. Although she hallucinated quite a bit, she says she hasn’t suffered any long-term health effects.
• An exotic dancer who goes by the name Maxi Mounds is the proud owner of the world’s largest augmented breasts. Each of Mounds’s mounds weighs 20 pounds; her bust measurement is about 60 inches.
• Naya Ganj of India has the world’s longest ear hair. “Making it into Guinness is special for my family! God has been very kind to me!” said the guy with 5.25 inches of hair growing from his ears.
World record for the most people in one place dressed up like Smurfs: 451.