Let’s get random! There are lots of things you can do to earn a Guinness World Records title. . . . You can be great at sports or have the biggest collection of something. You can build a wacky car or you can have the heaviest bunny rabbit. There are all sorts of categories of records you can enter.
But some records just can’t be put in any category because they are too unique . . . too random! The last section of this book is filled with nothing but the most bizarre, unconventional, and baffling records there are!
Did you know it’s possible to roll a frying pan into a frying-pan burrito? You have to be incredibly strong. The record for most frying pans rolled in one minute by a male is held by Steven Weiner. On January 10, 2015, at the Venetian Theatre in Macau, China, he rolled 14 frying pans in a minute.
“Gurning” means making faces. Did you know there are gurning contests, to see who can make the ugliest face? There’s even a Gurning World Championship! The record for winning the most Gurning World Championships by a male belongs to Tommy Mattinson of the UK, whose flexible face took the top prize 14 times!
The tallest swing is in South Africa, and was constructed on May 14, 2011, by B!g Rush. It’s 288 feet, 8 inches from the seat of the swing to the crossbar it hangs from!
To celebrate the 75th convention of the US National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the organization arranged a rather unusual record attempt using umbrellas—and in the Sunshine State of all places! A total of 2,480 participants achieved the largest umbrella mosaic on July 8, 2015, re-creating the NFB’s logo and spelling out the words “Live the Life You Want,” all with umbrellas.
Henna tattoos are made by drawing designs on the skin using henna paste. When the paste dries and flakes off, it leaves a stain on the skin. These tattoos aren’t permanent, but they can last for a while! Henna tattoos are usually very complicated, so it takes a while to create them. Pavan Ahluwalia of the UK is so fast, though, that she set the record for the most henna tattoos completed in one hour: 511! This world record was set on February 27, 2012.
The record was set at Goodmayes Primary School in Ilford, UK. A total of 256 participants took part in the event. Each individual received two henna armband tattoos, one on each arm.
The world’s largest shoe is 20 feet, 11.97 inches by 7 feet, 10.09 inches and it stands 5 foot, 4.96 inches tall. It was created by Electric Sekki in Hong Kong, China, on April 12, 2013.
When people get dental caps, they’re usually very small—a fraction of the size of a human tooth. But the world’s largest dental caps don’t belong to a person. They belong to an Asian elephant. Spike’s tusk caps are 19 inches long and 5 inches in diameter. They weigh 28 pounds each. Spike’s caps were attached to his cracked tusks in a 3-hour, 30-minute operation on July 4, 2002, in Alberta, Canada. The caps are made of stainless steel.
The longest belly-dance shimmy is 3 hours, 7 seconds. This wriggly record was set by Melanie White of Australia on February 25, 2012.
Suresh Joachim of Sri Lanka holds the Guinness World Records title for longest time to balance on one foot. He stood on one foot for 76 hours, 40 minutes! This astonishing feat of endurance took place from May 22 to 25, 1997.
Classroom assistant Jill Drake of the UK produced the loudest scream by an individual on Halloween day in 2000, at the Millennium Dome in London. Her scream reached 129 dB!
The longest frog jump covered 3 feet, 11.64 inches. This lengthy leap was made by Noa Möller of Sweden on November 19, 2011.
The largest Russian nesting doll is a 51-piece set hand-painted by Youlia Bereznitskaia of Russia. The largest doll in Bereznitskaia’s record-smashing set measures 1 foot, 9.25 inches high, while the smallest is 0.125 inches. The set was completed on April 25, 2003. When all 51 pieces in this set of nesting dolls are lined up together touching, they measure 11 feet, 2.25 inches long.
The tallest toilet-roll pyramid is 13 feet, 5 inches high! It was built by Ivan Zarif Neto, Rafael Migani Monteiro, and Fernando Gama (all from Brazil), in São Paulo, Brazil, on November 20, 2012. The structure was made of 23,821 separate rolls!
Just imagine what kind of monster crayon you’d need to fill in the largest coloring book. . . . The supersize coloring book measured 107.63 square feet and was created by Polish children’s publisher Wydawnictwo Zielona Sowa (Green Owl Publishing House), as verified at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, on May 24, 2014.
You can probably see these underpants from a mile away! The largest underpants are 65 feet, 7 inches across the waist, and 39 feet, 4 inches from waistband to crotch. They were presented by Pants to Poverty in London, UK, on September 16, 2010.
It must have sounded like Yahoo!’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, had been transported to the Swiss Alps on November 19, 2004. That was the day that 1,795 people came together to achieve the largest simultaneous yodel. After months of planning, the singing part of the Yahoo! Yodel Challenge lasted for just over a minute.
The largest published book is an edition of The Little Prince, which was published by Eidouro Gráfica e Editora, Ltda. of Brazil, on September 13, 2007. This voluminous volume—which is anything but little in any way, shape, or form—is 6 feet, 7 inches tall and 10 feet, 1 inch wide when open. It has 128 pages.
James Peters of the UK became the record holder for most straitjacket escapes in eight hours on September 27, 2003! He set himself free a staggering 193 times in the allocated time. He completed his fastest escape in just 56 seconds!
Shishir Hathwar of India holds the record for the fastest backward spelling of 50 words! He achieved this in 1 minute, 22.53 seconds. This gnizama record was set on November 13, 2010!
The record for people crammed in a photo booth is seven! This record was set by Photo-Me International in King’s Cross train station, London, UK, on July 4, 2012.
How about 2,036 of them? That’s how many Drama 24 Unhandy Handyman of Japan built on February 28, 2015, at Zuriyama Observation Field, in Hokkaido, Japan, to achieve the record of most snowmen built in one hour.
This record requires some flexibility! Skye Broberg of New Zealand became the record holder for fastest time to cram into a box when she managed to squeeze herself into one in just 4.78 seconds! Broberg set this record on September 15, 2011. The box she climbed into was a tiny 20.5 by 17.7 by 17.7 inches. Once Broberg’s body was entirely inside the box, the lid was closed from the outside. The clock was stopped once the lid was closed.
Being a champion is one thing, but it’s even cooler to be the champion of winning championships! Zac “The Magnet” Monro from the UK (pictured) and Ochi “Dianoji” Yosuke from Japan both hold the record for most wins in the Air Guitar World Championship. They have each won two championships to date. Monro was victorious in 2001 and 2002, and Yosuke won the titles in 2006 and 2007!
Think you’re a speedy texter? Wait until you hear about Elliot Nicholls of New Zealand. He achieved the fastest time to send a text message while blindfolded on November 17, 2007—45.09 seconds! The GWR-approved message he typed was “The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.”
Everyone loves party balloons, and we bet you’ve wondered how many helium-filled balloons you’d need to fly, right? Well, Mike Howard and Steve Davies found out that they needed 1,400 of them on August 4, 2001, in order to set the world record for highest altitude reached by helium balloons: 18,300 feet!
The most clothespins clipped on the face at once is 161! This painful and impressive record was set by Garry Turner of the UK in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 17, 2013.
Why use the snooze button when you can just smash the alarm clock altogether? The record for most alarm clocks smashed using the feet in one minute is 88 and was achieved by Jay Wheddon of the UK on October 3, 2008.
The heaviest shoes walked in weighed 323 pounds! These boots were used by Ashrita Furman at Potters Fields, London, UK, on Guinness World Records Day, held on November 18, 2010.
On November 15, 2012, Australian Steve Jacobs became the record holder for most underpants worn at once. Jacobs managed to get 266 pairs of undies on!
Serial record-breaker Silvio Sabba of Italy doesn’t waste any time getting dressed. He earned the record for most socks put on one foot in one minute, slipping on 45 socks on May 2, 2013.
The most people in a decorated hat competition is 1,343 at an event organized by AMUTER/Municipio de Vila Verde. They donned their festive hats on October 16, 2015, in Braga, Portugal.
The students of Tsugeno High School in Japan worked together to set a world record! All 229 of them helped create this 436-square-foot mosaic made entirely of toothpicks. The largest toothpick mosaic was completed on October 5, 2008. It comprised 1,620,840 toothpicks in seven different colors!
The fastest time to pop three balloons with the back is 12 seconds! This back-breaking record was set by Julia Gunthel, aka Zlata, of Germany, on November 23, 2007.
The largest kite flown has a total lifting area of 10,225.7 square feet. When laid flat, it has a total area of 10,968.4 square feet. The kite is 83 feet, 7 inches long and 131 feet, 3 inches wide. The kite was made by Abdulrahman Al Farsi and Faris Al Farsi, and flown at the Kuwait Hala Festival in, appropriately, Flag Square, Kuwait City, Kuwait, on February 15, 2005.
Ten thousand is the most balls released! This record was set on June 5, 2010, in Lisbon, Portugal, at an event to celebrate the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The fastest time to ignite five targets by squirting milk from the eye is 34.9 seconds! Brandon “Youngblood” Kee set this eye-watering record on June 13, 2013.
Leslie Tipton holds the record for fastest time to enter a suitcase. She managed it in 5.43 seconds on September 14, 2009, on the set of Live with Regis and Kelly.
Serial record-breaker Suresh Joachim rocked on a rocking chair continuously for 75 hours, 3 minutes, taking the title for longest marathon rocking on a rocking chair. He rocked from August 24 to 27, 2005, at the Hilton Garden Inn, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
The shortest stand-up comedian is Imaan Hadchiti of Lebanon/Australia, who stands at 3 feet, 4.3 inches tall. He has been doing stand-up in Australia and the UK since 2005.
The thickest book published is 12.67 inches thick and was unveiled by HarperCollins in London, UK, on May 20, 2009. The volume is a collection of all of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple stories—12 novels and 20 short stories.
Ashrita Furman balanced 81 pint (20-ounce) glasses on his chin for 12.10 seconds in his backyard in Jamaica, New York. This incredible balancing act, which he performed on August 12, 2007, secured him the record for most pint glasses balanced on the chin!
Standing 11 feet tall and in the likeness of game show host Chuck Woolery, the largest bobblehead weighs 900 pounds! It was created by the Game Show Network and displayed at the McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois, on June 8, 2003.
The longest duration balancing in box splits between two objects is 12 minutes, 44 seconds and was achieved by Syed Marij Hussain of Pakistan at Punjab Youth Festival 2014 in Lahore, Pakistan, on February 28, 2014. This more than tripled the duration of the last record.
The most hot-water bottles burst with the nose in one minute is . . . three! These hot-water bottles were burst by Jemal Tkeshelashvili of the Republic of Georgia, during a live broadcast in Germany on June 2, 2012.
Building a house of cards is fun, but it usually falls down before it gets more than a foot tall. Take a look at the tallest house of cards, though—this soaring skyscraper is more than 25 feet, 9 inches tall! It was built on October 16, 2007, by Bryan Berg in Dallas, Texas.
How many socks can a person wear on one foot? Want to guess? 10? 20? Try 152! Fiona Nolan of Ireland wore 152 socks on March 25, 2011, giving her the record for most socks worn on one foot simultaneously.
The fastest crocheter is Lisa Gentry, who crocheted a total of 5,113 stitches in 30 minutes at the Michaels Arts and Crafts Store, Monroe, Louisiana. She stitched her way to a Guinness World Records title on June 25, 2005.
The longest time for three people to stay in a box is 6 minutes, 13.52 seconds. The trio who set this world record were all contortionists and also happen to be related! Sisters Skye Broberg, Nele Siezen, and Jola Siezen from New Zealand squeezed themselves into the box on September 20, 2009.
A lot of people join rock bands in their teens, but it’s not every day you see a professional drummer who hasn’t even turned five yet! The youngest professional drummer is Julian Pavone, who was 4 years, 10 months, 15 days old when he performed in his 20th concert on March 29, 2009.
There isn’t much point in a cannon that’s only 1.25 inches long . . . except to achieve a world record! The smallest working cannon is 0.86 of an inch wide and 0.62 of an inch high. This tiny weapon was made by Joseph Brooks and fired in Okeechobee, Florida, on October 22, 2006.
On March 21, 2011, Prakash Baly Bachche of India set the record for the most dabbawala tiffin crates carried on the head. Bachche carried three crates!
Dabbawalas are people who deliver lunch to offices on long trays that they balance on their heads. Each tray is a tiffin crate—tiffin means “lunch.” Dabbawalas are known for their speed as well as for always being on time.
Crawling is usually something you do really slowly, but on January 23, 2007, Suresh Joachim crawled one mile in 23 minutes, 45 seconds. He achieved the fastest mile crawling in Toronto, Canada.
The longest Barrel of Monkeys chain is 1,143 feet long and consisted of 5,990 monkeys! This crazy chain of plastic monkeys was strung together by Parker Phinney. It was created and measured in Hanover, New Hampshire, on May 13, 2012.
The world’s largest roll of toilet paper was 9 feet, 8.9 inches in diameter. That means it was way wider than a human being! This righteous roll was created by Charmin in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 26, 2011.
The largest game of head, shoulders, knees, and toes at different places was played by 4,727 participants! This game took place at 45 locations across the UK on March 1, 2011, at exactly 11:00 a.m.
Haunted houses are scary, but at least they don’t usually take too long from start to finish. The longest walk-through horror house is the 4,951-feet-long Factory of Terror haunted house located in Canton, Ohio, as verified on September 17, 2014.
The fastest time to push an orange a distance of one mile using the nose is 22 minutes, 41 seconds. This wacky record was set by—who else?—Ashrita Furman, on November 2, 2007.
James Devine of Ireland holds the record for fastest tap dance. On May 25, 1998, he tapped 38 taps per second! That record hasn’t been beaten in 17 years!
The most giant balloons entered by a person and burst in two minutes . . . is 11! This wacky record was set by Paolo Scannavino of Italy, on March 31, 2012.
The largest pop-up book was 13 feet, 1 inch by 9 feet, 10 inches when closed. The book, titled My Word, was completed on September 6, 2010, for a television commercial by Pearle Opticiens in Belgium.
The smallest newspaper is an edition of the Portuguese newspaper Terra Nostra. This teeny-tiny tabloid measured just 0.72 by 0.99 inches and was created by Nova Gráfica on February 16, 2012. The small newspaper, which weighed just 0.04 ounces, was an exact replica of the normal edition, and a total of 3,000 copies went on sale.
Shearing a sheep is like giving someone a haircut . . . if that someone is woolly, wild, and won’t stop squirming! It takes a while to get a single sheep sheared. But Hilton Barrett of Australia sheared a sheep in 39.31 seconds flat on May 1, 2010, shaving more than six seconds off the existing record when he achieved the fastest time to shear one sheep!
Ilker Yilmaz of Turkey squirted milk from his eye a distance of 9 feet, 2 inches at the Armada Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey, on September 1, 2004. This awesome accomplishment secured him the record for farthest distance squirting milk!
Sean Shannon of Canada recited Hamlet’s soliloquy “to be or not to be” (which is 260 words) in a time of 23.8 seconds on August 30, 1995. Rattling out his lines at a rate of 655 words per minute, that makes him the fastest talker!
Have you ever tried to balance a spoon on your elbow or nose? How about your elbow and your nose? And your ears, and your cheeks, and your knees and your shoulders and your fingers? The most spoons balanced on the body is 52! All the cutlery was balanced on the body of Eitibar Elchiev of the republic of Georgia, on December 7, 2012.
How fast can you bend a 20-foot-long iron bar so it fits into a suitcase? Probably not as fast as Alexander Muromskiy of Russia, who did it in 25 seconds! On November 9, 2008, his iron will earned him the title for fastest iron bar bending to fit into a suitcase.
Shobha S. Tipnis of India holds the female record for the fastest time to blow up a hot-water bottle until it bursts. It took her a mere 41.2 seconds to burst that bottle! Tipnis set this record on the TV show Guinness World Records—Ab India Todega in Mumbai, India, on March 17, 2011.
The world’s largest jigsaw puzzle measured 58,435.1 square feet, and had 21,600 pieces. Created by Great East Asia Surveyors & Consultants Co. Ltd, it was assembled by 777 people in Hong Kong on November 3, 2002.
The most shoes shined in eight hours is 210 pairs. Kieran Porter set this record on behalf of Street Kids International, in London, UK, on April 12, 2012.
Why would anyone want to drink ketchup? To set a world record, of course! In 2012, TV reporter Benedikt Weber drank a 14-ounce bottle of ketchup in 32.37 seconds through a straw—the fastest time to drink a bottle of ketchup. He performed the feat on the television show Galileo in Germany.
From April 22 to 23, 1998, Ashrita Furman traveled the greatest distance walked with a milk bottle balanced on the head: 80.96 miles! The walk lasted for 23 hours, 35 minutes.
The Guinness World Records title for the most consecutive generations of twins is shared by two families.
Within the Rollings family of the UK, there have been four consecutive generations of twins born from 1916 to 2002. The first were Elizabeth and Olga Rollings (born December 3, 1916). The second generation saw Margaret and Maureen Hammond (born July 20, 1950). Margaret and Maureen were nieces to Elizabeth and Olga Rollings. The third-generation twins were Fay and Fiona O’Connor (born February 26, 1977). Fay and Fiona were nieces to Margaret and Maureen. And finally, on January 12, 2002, Kacie and Jessica Fawcett were born. They are nieces to Fay and Fiona.
The other record holder is the Taylor family of the USA (pictured). Within the Taylor clan, there have been four consecutive generations of twins born from 1919 to 2002. The first were Gail and Dale Ritchie Taylor (October 19, 1919). The second generation saw Janet and Joyce Taylor (February 5, 1955). The third generation of twins were Debra and Daniel Haroldsen (September 4, 1981). And finally on May 19, 2002, Nathan and Alexander Bartholoma were born.
Nick Janson of the UK has escaped from handcuffs locked on him by more than 1,760 different police officers around the world since 1954. He holds the record for most handcuff escapes!
The record for the fastest tiddlywinks mile belongs to Ashrita Furman! He managed a mile in 23 minutes, 22 seconds in the Dominican Republic, on December 17, 2007.
Just imagine trying to talk with your mouth full of 400 straws! On August 6, 2009, Simon Elmore from the UK managed to stuff 400 straws into his mouth. He set the record for most straws stuffed in the mouth while filming a television show in Bavaria, Germany. Table manners are the last thing on this guy’s mind, at least when it comes to record-breaking!
How many people can you fit in your car? How about in one of those tiny little Smart cars? The world record for most people crammed in a Smart car has two record holders—each group fit 20 people in a Smart car! This epic squeeze was accomplished by the Glendale Cheerleading Team (pictured) on the set of Guinness World Records Gone Wild at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on September 28, 2011, and then equaled by the Comets Cheerleaders on the set of Lo Show dei Record in Milan, Italy, on July 3, 2014.
Usually advertisements are supposed to be as big as possible—but this ad was made as tiny as possible! It’s the smallest advertisement in the world, and it measures only 65.15 by 59.34 micrometers. This puny promo was created by Gillette—Procter & Gamble at the University of Nottingham’s Nanotechnology and Nanoscience Centre, UK, on April 14, 2011.
The world’s smallest washing machine measures just 10.08 by 10.94 inches by 1 foot, 3.04 inches. This tiny washer was made by Qingdao Haier Washing Machine Co, Ltd. of China and was unveiled in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China, on May 18, 2011. The washing machine weighs 11 pounds, 12 ounces and has a tiny washing capacity of just 5.29 ounces.