Most likely, you are familiar with Guinness World Records, or the Guinness Book of World Records, as it was formerly known. Guinness World Records is a yearly reference book that lists world records for both human accomplishments and the extremes of the natural world. It was first published in 1995. Since then, Guinness World Records has grown to be the best-selling copyrighted book in the entire world, and with every new edition, we learn about even stranger and more incredible records, just like the ones we’ve listed here!
Stretchiest Skin
Due to a rare medical condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which affects the connective tissues and results in loosening of the skin and hypermobile joints, Garry Turner has been the proud owner of this record since 1999.
Accordingly, Mr. Turner can stretch the skin on his stomach up to 6.25 inches without experiencing any pain. The British performer was a part of The Circus of Horrors in 2005 and is currently a sideshow performer.
Most Body Piercings
Some records cannot be broken because some people are born with a one-of-a-kind trait or physical quality that no one else can match (see Mr. Turner and has stretch skin).
Sometimes, like with Elaine Davidson, it’s a matter of finding someone who is prepared to endure a great deal of discomfort and/or adorn themselves with numerous piercings. The Brazilian has 462 body piercings, a record, including 192 on her face and 214 in her pubic area.
Most Big Mac Burgers Eaten in a Lifetime
Although McDonald’s addicts can be found all over the world, none can compare to Donald Gorske of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The record for the most Big Macs consumed in a lifetime is held by the 67-year-old “Big Mac enthusiast,” who has consumed a staggering 28,788 of them.
He eats about 14 of these burgers each week and claims that 90–95% of his total intake of solid food is made up of Big Macs. Interestingly, Mr. Gorske claims to have a cholesterol level of 140 despite only weighing 185 pounds and standing 6’2″.
Largest Rubber Band Ball
It’s amazing how much use the average person can get out of something so basic and seemingly pointless as a rubber band. After constructing a 9,032-pound monster rubber band ball, Joel Waul set the record.
Then, in 2008, he was granted a place in the Guinness World Records. Mr. Ward constructed his 6-foot-7-inch ball, which he called “Megatron,” out of 700,000 rubber bands of various sizes.
Longest Plank Held
Many people who exercise in the gym or practice yoga are familiar with the plank position. Get into a push-up position and rest your weight on your forearms rather than your hands; that’s all there is to it.
Holding it is challenging because your abdominal muscles can quickly become taxed. Unless you’re Mao Weidong of China, who in 2016 stood on a plank for eight hours and one minute.
Heaviest Onion
Given that people all over the world have managed to create gigantic-sized items, ranging from doughnuts to Doritos, you won’t be surprised to learn that food has its own category in the Guinness World Records.
With an onion that weighed 18 pounds, 11.84 ounces, Tony Glover of North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom set a world record in 2014. Can you picture the tears you’d shed if you cut that object?
Heaviest Object Sword Swallowed
A sword is passed through the mouth, down the esophagus, and into the stomach by a sword swallower. Despite the name, the act can apparently be carried out with a Dewalt jackhammer among other things.
We are aware of this because, in 2007, Thomas Blackthorne sword-swallowed a jackhammer weighing 83 pounds, 12 ounces, holding its entire weight for more than three seconds. He was awarded a world record for swallowing the heaviest sword as a result of his feat.
The Woman With The World’s Largest Natural Breasts
Annie Hawkins-Turner, the woman with the world’s largest natural breasts. Annie is wearing a special bra tailored for her size, American 52, weighing 30kg each. Just for reference, at the age of nine, she was already wearing a size 36D.
The doctors are still suggesting breast reduction surgery be Annie keeps refusing: “I don’t want to mess with nature. As my breasts grew the muscles in my back developed and supported them.”
Longest Fingernails
There are many people who have a habit of biting their nails; some do it out of laziness or boredom, while others do it out of stress or due to boredom.
Lee Redmond has grown her nails out for 30 years, beginning in 1979, so she obviously doesn’t have either of those issues. If you add up the length of all her fingernails, they are 28 feet and 4 inches long. That sets a significant new world record.
Largest Collection of Guinness Memorabilia
As one might expect, the largest memorabilia collection has its own category in the Guinness World Records. People will gather and store a wide variety of things, and their stockpiles can get pretty large!
Louis Georgiou of the UK, as an example, has 2,111 items related to the Transformers! The largest collection of Guinness World Records memorabilia, however, holds a record! There are 2,164 different items that Martyn Tovey of Radstock (also in the UK) has.
Heaviest Weight Lifted by a Human Beard
There is a ton of information in Guinness World Records about the heavy lifts that men, women, and kids have accomplished for various objects. But Antanas Kontrimas of Lithuania holds the record for the heaviest weight ever lifted by a human beard.
Back in 2013, Mr. Kontrimas used his facial hair to lift 63.80 kg. Additionally, his beard has allowed him to bear the weight of an adult. Wow, those hair fibers are sturdy!
Loudest Burp
People’s bodies are capable of incredible great achievements. Such skills can be seen on display after years of dedicated training, typically at least at sporting events such as the Olympics.
Some people spend their entire lives honing their skills in preparation for a single dive, gymnastic routine, lift, or, as in the case of Mr. Paul Hunn, a single burp. Back in 2009, Hunn let loose a burp that was 109.9 decibels loud. Hunn’s burp is louder than a large orchestra, to put that in perspective.
Longest Moustache
Sporting an epic beard or a sharp mustache is all the rage these days and for good reason. After all, the term “beard” stands for being unique among regular dudes.
Therefore, Ram Singh Chauhan from Jaipur, India went against the grain and allowed his mustache to grow for more than 37 years, while some men strangely prefer to go clean-shaven. The outcome was a 14-foot mustache that earned him a world record in 2010 that is still valid today.
Fastest Time to Eat a Bowl of Pasta
In the 21st century, we all know someone who, after eating, behaves more like a manic animal than a person. However, it turns out that they might be able to make a living as a competitive eater.
Elite competitive eaters can easily earn $500,000 per year in earnings from sponsorships and winnings (food for thought, eh?). Michelle Lesco, a fast eater who competes, set a world record by devouring a bowl of pasta (100 grams plus sauce) in just 26.69 seconds.
Most Consecutive Pinky Pull Ups
During this period of quarantine lockdowns imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people all over the world have been forced to turn to home workouts, with some achieving fantastic results. However, they would still need to work hard to match Tazio Gavioli’s abilities.
Congratulations on your one-arm pull-up, but you still have a ways to go to impress us, friend. The Italian currently holds the world record for consecutive pinky pull-ups with 36 reps.
Largest Ping Pong Paddle
Are you sick of losing the weekly office ping pong tournament to the same opponent every time? Want a surefire way to triumph in every game you play going forward? Well, just construct a huge paddle!
Rise Brands built a paddle that is 11 feet, 7.8 inches tall, and six feet, 7.8 inches wide in Columbus, Ohio in 2017. That is undoubtedly not the standard size.
Most Toothpicks in a Beard
Beards are more than just fashionable facial accents that enhance all men’s appearances. They also serve practical functions, such as serving as a nest for rescued birds or a convenient container for items like tooth pictures.
3,500 toothpicks were able to fit inside Joel Strasser’s beard in 2018. He completed it in three hours and 13 minutes, but his efforts earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records!
Most Tattooed Man
Many people have several tattoos. Some people even go so far as to cover their arms, legs, and/or back with permanent ink, creating a tattoo “sleeve.” But even those who have numerous tattoos cannot compare to Gregory Paul McLaren, popularly known as Lucky Diamond Rich.
The New Zealander has spent more than 1,000 hours having tattoo artists alter his body, as well as having his earlobes stretched and his teeth covered in silver veneers.
Farthest Arrow Shot Using Feet
Even with our feet, most of us would have trouble shooting an arrow a fair distance! However, some people are simply more skilled at archery than the typical person.
Brittany Walsh holds the title of “a solo hand balancing artist” and holds the acrobatic archery Guinness World Record. In 2018, Walsh launched an arrow with her feet alone that traveled a remarkable 40 feet, 4.64 inches!
Largest Hula Hoop Spun by a Female
It seems that you either have it or you don’t when it comes to hula hoop spinning. To become an expert hula hooper, though, sometimes all it takes is a lot of practice, like with anything else. However, how much practice must Getti Kehayova have put in to spin a hula hoop with a circumference of 17 feet and .25 inches?
In reality, Kehayova spun the hoop while wearing a protective vest, almost breaking a couple of ribs in the process. However, she did break a record by successfully spinning the enormous hoop at least three times.
Largest Humanoid Vehicle
A vehicle having a body designed to imitate the human body is called a humanoid vehicle. In essence, picture a Transformer in its “natural” state.
Numerous people have succeeded in building humanoid cars over the years, but none are as large or as stunning as Sakakibara Kikai’s Mononofu from Japan. The imposing vehicle is 28 feet tall and almost seven tons in weight. The vehicle, dubbed “Mononofu,” which means “Samurai Warrior,” was created over the course of six years.
Man Covered by Most Bees
Many of the records in the Guinness World Records are completely insane, which says something about the person or people who set them. Who, after all, would voluntarily let a beehive rest on them for any period of time?
That would be Gao Bingguo. In 2015, a Chinese beekeeper who covered himself in about 1.1 million swarming bees weighing a whopping 109 kg (240 pounds) broke the previous Guinness World Record. More than 2000 bee stings later, his body temperature reached above 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit).
Longest Kiss
Public displays of affection, or PDA, are not for everyone. especially if a couple is kissing for a very, very long time. For a world record attempt, we’ll excuse it, though.
The current world record, set by Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat of Thailand, stands at an absolutely ridiculous 58 hours, 35 minutes, and 58 seconds, so if you’re hoping to smash it, you’re going to need some major stamina.
Most People in a Large Car
Anybody who has ever gone on a road trip with a large family or group of friends knows how cramped it can get, especially if you’re driving a small vehicle.
The 41 individuals who fit into a Toyota Rav 4 at the Toyota Centre Krasnoyarsk Zapad (Russia) in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, are likely not claustrophobic. They most likely would not have been able to establish this strange but still outstanding world record if not for that.
Largest Hairy Family
Congenital Generalized Hypertrichosis is a very rare skin condition marked by modest and asymmetric hair overgrowth in females and hair overgrowth on 98 percent of male bodies (excluding palms and soles).
Four people in a family of 19 in Mexico, spanning five generations, all have the condition: Victor Gomez, Gabriel Ramos Gomez, Luisa Lilia De Lira Aceves, and Jesus Manuel Fajardo Aceves.
First Person to Break the Sound Barrier in Freefall
There are many courageous people who have Guinness World Records, but in our opinion, none of them compare to Felix Baumgartner, the first and only person to break the sound barrier while falling freely.
To demonstrate exactly how much of a legend the Austrian skydiver is, on October 14, 2012, Baumgartner traveled to the stratosphere on a helium balloon and then descended to Earth while donning a unique outfit. In the process, he also broke the world record for the longest skydive, a distance of almost 24 miles, with a high speed of about 843.6 mph, or Mach 1.25.
Tallest Living Human
Although there are many different types and sizes of people, only one man may claim to be the tallest person ever to have lived. Sultan Kösen, who is 8 feet 2.82 inches tall, is that person.
According to Guinness World Records, he is one of just 10 people who have climbed 8 feet or higher and the seventh tallest man in history. Kösen’s acromegaly, which is brought on by a tumor that affects his pituitary gland, is the source of his growth. He walks on crutches because of his health issue.
Shortest Living Mobile Human
Colombian Edward Nino Hernandez is only 22 lbs. tall and measures 72.10 cm, or about 2 feet and 4 inches.
Mr. Hernandez has hypothyroidism, a condition that has hindered his growth. “I use my smile to conquer the world! I always share my big smile with everyone; that’s my charm,” Hernandez told UPI. “I can achieve everything I set my mind to. Everything is possible . . . Size and height don’t matter! I want people to meet who I truly am: small in size, big in heart!”
Longest Time Breath Held Voluntarily
Do you recall the game you and your friends used to play in the pool? Everyone would take turns holding their breath underwater while attempting to beat the previous record. Although most people aren’t professional freedivers like Aleix Segura Vendrell, most people would find it difficult to complete a minute.
The Spaniard has a record for holding one’s breath for the longest amount of time—an amazing 24 minutes, 3.45 seconds.
Most Roof Tiles Broken in One Minute by a Woman
Have you ever watched videos of martial arts experts and pupils smashing bricks and other heavy things with just their fists? Really impressive, no? Lisa Dennis from the UK, I suppose. decided to step it up by shattering a ton of roof tiles in a single minute. To be precise, 923 tiles.
Only two tiles from the stack Dennis hit during the one-minute time frame were intact after her whole effort.
Most Fingers and Toes on a Living Person
Though having more than 10 fingers and toes may seem like something you’d only see in a science fiction film, polydactylism is a highly uncommon but very real aberration in humans. Although certain cases of polydactyly may be caused by a genetic flaw or underlying hereditary illness, the condition is random, occurring without a clear cause.
The record for having the most fingers and toes of any human being alive belongs to Devendra Suthar of India.
Largest Pizza
Pizza is consistently ranked as the most popular food in the world, and for good reason — anyone who disagrees with this statement is insane.
Of course, some people are more passionate about it than others, and it appears that Dovilio Nardi, Andrea Mannocchi, Marco Nardi, Matteo Nardi, and Matteo Giannotte are the most passionate about it. A pizza with a total surface area of 1,261.65 m2 (13,580.28 ft2) was made by a group of five. The name “Ottavia” for the pizza is a word of Roman origins that means “eighth son.”
Tallest Sandcastle
We typically turn to build sandcastles—or at least trying to—when spending time at the beach with family and friends.
However, unlike the people at Skulptura Projects GmbH, we don’t often have a team of 12 sculptors and 8 technicians working eight hours a day for three and a half weeks to construct a 57 ft 11 in a tall sandcastle. It was finished in June 2019 and required 11,000 tonnes of sand that was just combined with water.
Farthest Tightrope Walk in One Minute
Since tightrope walks frequently take place at considerable heights and occasionally the performer chooses not to wear a safety harness, they can be unnerving for spectators.
Russian Oxana Seroshtan wisely decided to walk a tightrope at a safe height in her quest to break a world record while wearing heels. With a distance of 24 feet and 7.2 inches, while wearing high heels, she broke the previous record.
Most Human Targets Hit With Plungers in One Minute
Throwing plungers at people would undoubtedly take home the prize if there was a category for the oddest record. However, it can be an indication of Gerhard Doni’s originality in coming up with the record attempt.
In 2010, the German broke his own record by one plunger by throwing (and sticking) 15 rubber-cup plungers to people in a minute.
Longest Duration Balancing on Four Fingers
Bruce Lee was a phenomenal martial artist who was capable of some amazing feats, such as a two-finger push-up. With Wang Weibao’s track record, we wager Lee would have been impressed.
In 2008, a Chinese guy was able to entirely lift himself off the ground using just two fingers on each hand, and he held that position for an astounding 19.23 seconds! You can see how outstanding Weibao’s record is by the fact that it has been in place since 2008.
Most Ice Cream Scoops Balanced on a Cone
Dimitri Panciera would be wealthy if ice cream dealers permitted you to put as many scoops as you wanted for a set price on a cone.
By packing 125 ice cream scoops onto a single cone in 2018, the Italian broke his own record. Dimitri, share with us your secrets!
Loudest Snoring
Have you ever had a snoring complaint from someone? Maybe your companion snores so loudly that it seems to shake the entire home.
So please keep Kåre Walkert’s partner and Walkert herself in your thoughts. The Swedish patient, who has apnea, on May 24, 1993, at the Rebro Regional Hospital in Sweden, registered peak levels of 93 dBA while sleeping. According to studies, snoring is caused by variations in throat shape and lung capacity.
Heaviest Person to Complete a Marathon
Guinness World Records contains a lot of strange records, but it also includes some amazing and motivational ones.
Take Charles Bungert, for instance. With a weight of 193.96 kg, the American became the heaviest person to ever finish a marathon in 2013. (427 lb 9 oz). Bungert completed the LA marathon at 8:23:40. Kelly Gneiting, a 400-pound sumo wrestler who finished the 2011 event in nine hours, 48 minutes, and 52 seconds, held the previous record that Bungert broke.
Longest Human Tunnel Travelled Through by a Skateboarding Dog
Animals are included in Guinness World Records as well as humans. For instance, Otto, an English Bulldog, rode his skateboard through the legs of 30 people in his native Lima, Peru, in 2015.
Otto accomplished this feat by skating through the longest human tunnel ever made by a skateboarding dog. Otto passed without being guided or touched through the legs of each individual.
Fastest Time to Wrap a Person With Wrapping Paper
Bulky gift wrapping for Christmas or a birthday can be extremely tedious and challenging to execute right. When you really care about the gift, it might be all too easy for sloppy wrapping to give the impression that you don’t.
If only we had Coby Cotton, Cory Cotton, and Cody Jones’ abilities, who established the record for wrapping a person in wrapping paper in the shortest amount of time (a team of two), at one minute and 58.9 seconds.
World’s Tallest LEGO Tower
You wouldn’t believe it, but LEGO parts are useful for things other than tearing off your foot’s sole! This tower was constructed in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest and is 114 feet, 11 inches tall, making it essentially every child’s fantasy.
The tower, which is made of thousands of bricks, is topped with a Rubik’s cube. It was built with the assistance of the mayor of Budapest, primary school students, and official Danish builders!
Most Walnuts Smashed With Nunchucks in One Minute
This upcoming world record attempt is a little nutty (pun intended). A Pakistani martial arts pupil by the name of Mujtaba Hassan Mughal is shown here.
Samuel Sprague from the United States previously held the record for the most walnuts smashed with a nunchaku in a minute, which was broken by Mughal. Sprague broke 62 nuts, but Mughal crushed a stunning 118. Wow, that’s impressive!
Most Riders on a Surfboard
A Guinness World Record was broken in 2015 in Huntington Beach, California when 66 surfers rode a wave together on a single 42-foot surfboard.
More than 5,000 onlookers cheered them on as they rode the giant surfboard for 12 seconds on a wave near the renowned Huntington Beach Pier. According to reports, 47 surfers in Queensland, Australia, set the previous record back in 2005.
Most Balls Caught by a Dog in One Minute
Why not include a dog that can catch balls into the mix since we’ve already seen one skateboarding? Here is a cute beagle named Purin who broke her own prior record from 2014 by successfully catching the most balls with a dog’s front paws in one minute in 2015!
Guinness World Records stated, “The beagle from Tokyo can also skateboard, walk on two legs, […] and has many other impressive skills.”
The Loudest Purr
You certainly didn’t believe that we would just feature records established by dogs without also including records set by cats, did you? Merlin the cat received a Guinness World Record in 2015 for having the loudest purr.
Domestic cats typically put off 25 dB of noise, but Merlin’s peaks at 67.8 dB, which is loud enough for a shower or even two people conversing! Owner Tracy Westwood claims that she adopted the four-legged furry creature from a rescue.
Longest Coin Spin
Who would have imagined that spinning a coin might qualify you for the Guinness World Records? But it must take some time to master a skill like that. After all, spinning coins requires a certain kind of expertise, doesn’t it?
If so, then Japanese coin-spinner Keita Hashimoto, who set the record at 25.71 seconds, undoubtedly put in a lot of effort to beat it.
World’s Largest Ice-Cream Scoop
All ice cream enthusiasts, don’t miss out on this! You might think we’re lying, but we have discovered the biggest ice cream scoop in the world, and it inevitably made it into the Guinness World Records!
This massive treat, which weighs just over 3,000 pounds, was developed in 2014 in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, by the American dairy firm Kemps LLC. The strawberry-flavored treat stood five feet six inches tall and included about 733 ice cream containers.
Highest Jump on a Pogo Stick
It’s no secret that jumping on pogo sticks is enjoyable. Nevertheless, we find it quite astonishing that a record for the highest pogo stick leap was actually set.
A pogo professional by the name of Biff Hutchinson made it into the Guinness World Records 2018 Edition. Biff, who is from Idaho, owns the record for the highest pogo stick leap at 11 and a half feet, which is double the height of the typical person. Whoa!?
Fastest Typing Time With the Nose
Although we don’t really understand why somebody would type with their nose if it gets you into the Guinness World Records, who are we to judge? Let’s meet Vinod Kumar Chaudhary from India’s New Delhi.
With a time of 46.30 seconds, this guy set a new record for the quickest typing speed using the nose in 2014. “Typing is my profession and my love,” the man says, “which encouraged me to do something fresh and amazing.”
Fastest Tortoise
We present to you Bertie the tortoise in the spirit of the proverb “slow and steady wins the race”! Bertie ran an 18-foot course in 19.59 seconds at a remarkable speed of 0.92 feet per second at his home in Adventure Valley, a family adventure park in the UK.
With this small accomplishment, he broke the previous record for the fastest tortoise in the world, which had stood since 1977.
Fastest Time to Find and Alphabetize the Letters in a Can of Alphabet Soup
There’s little doubt that alphabet soup is the all-time favorite soup among children worldwide. Heck, many adults still consider it to be their favorite. It is created with pasta that has been mechanically chopped or flattened into the alphabet’s letters.
Thus, it only made sense that someone would think it would be entertaining to attempt and locate each letter and arrange them into the alphabet. Cody Jones achieved this feat in 2018 and set a world record in the process.
Fastest Time to Carve One Pumpkin
Every Halloween, amazing examples of pumpkin carving from skilled individuals throughout the globe are presented. Given the complexity of some of the designs, one can only guess that they took some time to complete. What about speed carving, though?
In 2013, Stephen Clarke achieved a world record by carving a whole face, including the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, into a pumpkin in under 16.47 seconds.
Fastest Time to Complete a Triathalon Blindfolded
In case you didn’t know, triathlons are very challenging. The 2.4-mile swim (3.9K), 112-mile bike ride (180.2K), and 26.2-mile run make up the IRONMAN triathlon lengths. That’s challenging enough to accomplish in the conventional sense, but what about when your eyes are covered?
British athlete Haseeb Ahmad, who is legally blind, finished an IRONMAN in 11 hours, 3 minutes, and 31 seconds while using blacked-out swimming goggles and a guide named Duncan Shea-Simonds.
Longest Flatulence
Yes, according to Guinness World Records, there is a record for just about anything, including the longest butt burp in recorded human history. Other individuals find it embarrassing to pass gas, while others find it humorous, and some people even take joy in it.
With a gas pass lasting two minutes and 42 seconds, Bernard Clemmens of London now holds the record. Unknown if a gas mask was required for the Guinness evaluator to wear while timing the attempt.
Most Guinness World Records
Undoubtedly, achieving a Guinness World Record is something to be proud of. But what if you broke so many records that you made a record for it?
More than 600 records have been set by Ashrita Furman, who presently owns more than 200. These titles include a wide range of topics and a variety of skills, such as underwater juggling, distance sack racing, and the biggest pencil in the world.