http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Shaun-White-Breaks-Records-at-Winter-X-Games-14/BLOG/1780016/7691.html Another bright crisp shiny day greeted us as we made our way to Buttermilk Mountain to kick off Day 2 of Winter X Games 14.  We were pretty geared up for the day as in the evening the Men's Snowboard Superpipe Finals were going to take place and Shaun White stood a good chance of breaking his own record for most Winter X Games medals ever won.  Before the evening's competition he had 14, nine of which were gold so we were going to make sure we kept track of all the heats and elimination rounds to make sure he was there.  [image] Before that however we headed off to the Snowskate Park for another day of Guinness World Records challenges.  Today we were going to see who could do the highest ollie on a snowskate flat deck as well as seeing who could do the most kickflips in 30 seconds on a snowskate as well.   We were expecting good things because Phil Smage was present.  He is actually in the current Guinness World Records book for a number of things including the longest ollie on a snowskate which is over 11ft! [image] [image] Phil and others lined up to take part but the competition were quickly knocked out.  Starting the bar at 10 inches it seemed a fairly comfortable start but soon the bar rose to a record-breaking 28 and a half inches and only Phil was left standing.  Amazing!  Seriously, try popping a flat deck over two feet off the snow - very cool and a new Guinness World Record! [image] Next came the kickflip competition for which there was no current record so we were going to see what these guys could do.  After a few rounds only Max Hilty was left standing, or flipping I should say, as he completed 14 kickflips in the alloted 30 second time period.  You know, it looked kinda straight forward for these guys but by the end they were exhausted!  [image] Congrats to Max though, another Guinness World Record, another Guinness World Record breaker!  Phil and Max seemed comfortable in the superlative spotlight, nice one guys and thank you for competing! [image] After trying my own hand at a bit of snowboarding and failing miserably it was time to learn something from the pros so we headed to the superpipe to watch the men's snowboarding finals.  As mentioned all eyes were on Shaun White and he did not disappoint.  White seemed to be everywhere, even where you'd least expect it! [image] This is the view from the top of the pipe. [image] Despite a nasty fall on the lip of the pipe in a practice run he did what no-one else had ever done before - win gold for the third straight year in a discipline no-one can seem to match him at.  At only 23 years of age the guy is already a legend and an inspiration. Fans and media greeted Shaun everytime he finished a run. [image] But it wasn't just the medals he was breaking records in.  Oh no.  In his gold-winning run, White jumped 23 ft off the edge of the pipe to set a new world record for highest air ever.  That's what it takes to not only win gold but get in to the Guinness World Records book! [image] Congratulations Shaun White on your win and all the very best for the Winter Olympics. And those are the main headlines for Day 2 of Winter X Games 14.  Keep coming back for more updates as we continue to cover the absolutely awesome Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.  Another bright crisp shiny day greeted us as we made our way to Buttermilk Mountain to kick off Day 2 of Winter X Games 14.  We were pretty geared up for the day as in the evening the Men's Snowboard Superpipe Finals were going to take place and Shaun White stood a good chance of breaking his own record for most Winter X Games medals ever won.  Before the evening's competition he had 14, nine of which were gold so we were going to make sure we kept track of all the heats and elimination rounds to make sure he was there.  [image] Before that however we headed off to the Snowskate Park for another day of Guinness World Records challenges.  Today we were going to see who could do the highest ollie on a snowskate flat deck as well as seeing who could do the most kickflips in 30 seconds on a snowskate as well.   We were expecting good things because Phil Smage was present.  He is actually in the current Guinness World Records book for a number of things including the longest ollie on a snowskate which is over 11ft! [image] [image] Phil and others lined up to take part but the competition were quickly knocked out.  Starting the bar at 10 inches it seemed a fairly comfortable start but soon the bar rose to a record-breaking 28 and a half inches and only Phil was left standing.  Amazing!  Seriously, try popping a flat deck over two feet off the snow - very cool and a new Guinness World Record! [image] Next came the kickflip competition for which there was no current record so we were going to see what these guys could do.  After a few rounds only Max Hilty was left standing, or flipping I should say, as he completed 14 kickflips in the alloted 30 second time period.  You know, it looked kinda straight forward for these guys but by the end they were exhausted!  [image] Congrats to Max though, another Guinness World Record, another Guinness World Record breaker!  Phil and Max seemed comfortable in the superlative spotlight, nice one guys and thank you for competing! [image] After trying my own hand at a bit of snowboarding and failing miserably it was time to learn something from the pros so we headed to the superpipe to watch the men's snowboarding finals.  As mentioned all eyes were on Shaun White and he did not disappoint.  White seemed to be everywhere, even where you'd least expect it! [image] This is the view from the top of the pipe. [image] Despite a nasty fall on the lip of the pipe in a practice run he did what no-one else had ever done before - win gold for the third straight year in a discipline no-one can seem to match him at.  At only 23 years of age the guy is already a legend and an inspiration. Fans and media greeted Shaun everytime he finished a run. [image] But it wasn't just the medals he was breaking records in.  Oh no.  In his gold-winning run, White jumped 23 ft off the edge of the pipe to set a new world record for highest air ever.  That's what it takes to not only win gold but get in to the Guinness World Records book! [image] Congratulations Shaun White on your win and all the very best for the Winter Olympics. And those are the main headlines for Day 2 of Winter X Games 14.  Keep coming back for more updates as we continue to cover the absolutely awesome Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.  Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:54:59 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Shaun-White-Breaks-Records-at-Winter-X-Games-14/BLOG/1780016/7691.html sclaxton 2010-01-30T16:54:59Z Guinness World Records Another bright crisp shiny day greeted us as we made our way to Buttermilk Mountain to kick off Day 2 of Winter X Games 14.  We were pretty geared up for the day as in the evening the Men's Snowboard Superpipe Finals were going to take place and Shaun White stood a good chance of breaking his own record for most Winter X Games medals ever won.  Before the evening's competition he had 14, nine of which were gold so we were going to make sure we kept track of all the heats and elimination rounds to make sure he was there.  [image] Before that however we headed off to the Snowskate Park for another day of Guinness World Records challenges.  Today we were going to see who could do the highest ollie on a snowskate flat deck as well as seeing who could do the most kickflips in 30 seconds on a snowskate as well.   We were expecting good things because Phil Smage was present.  He is actually in the current Guinness World Records book for a number of things including the longest ollie on a snowskate which is over 11ft! [image] [image] Phil and others lined up to take part but the competition were quickly knocked out.  Starting the bar at 10 inches it seemed a fairly comfortable start but soon the bar rose to a record-breaking 28 and a half inches and only Phil was left standing.  Amazing!  Seriously, try popping a flat deck over two feet off the snow - very cool and a new Guinness World Record! [image] Next came the kickflip competition for which there was no current record so we were going to see what these guys could do.  After a few rounds only Max Hilty was left standing, or flipping I should say, as he completed 14 kickflips in the alloted 30 second time period.  You know, it looked kinda straight forward for these guys but by the end they were exhausted!  [image] Congrats to Max though, another Guinness World Record, another Guinness World Record breaker!  Phil and Max seemed comfortable in the superlative spotlight, nice one guys and thank you for competing! [image] After trying my own hand at a bit of snowboarding and failing miserably it was time to learn something from the pros so we headed to the superpipe to watch the men's snowboarding finals.  As mentioned all eyes were on Shaun White and he did not disappoint.  White seemed to be everywhere, even where you'd least expect it! [image] This is the view from the top of the pipe. [image] Despite a nasty fall on the lip of the pipe in a practice run he did what no-one else had ever done before - win gold for the third straight year in a discipline no-one can seem to match him at.  At only 23 years of age the guy is already a legend and an inspiration. Fans and media greeted Shaun everytime he finished a run. [image] But it wasn't just the medals he was breaking records in.  Oh no.  In his gold-winning run, White jumped 23 ft off the edge of the pipe to set a new world record for highest air ever.  That's what it takes to not only win gold but get in to the Guinness World Records book! [image] Congratulations Shaun White on your win and all the very best for the Winter Olympics. And those are the main headlines for Day 2 of Winter X Games 14.  Keep coming back for more updates as we continue to cover the absolutely awesome Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.  winterxgames14 nonadult false Shaun White Breaks Records at Winter X Games 14! text blog winterxgames14 699 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New York 10036 0 0 1780016 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Hugs-and-Limbo-Record-Attempt-At-Winter-X-Games-14/BLOG/1778523/7691.html A bright snowy crisp day greeted us as we arrived at Buttermilk Mountain.  Already the crowds had gathered and were lining up for the best spots from which to see all the heats and elimination rounds due to take place that day.  Apparently Aspen grows from a population of 6,000 people to 40,000 when the X Games are in town…holy moly!I started the day off in style with complimentary breakfast in my hotel.  As I knew we were going to be out for a while and as the food at these events is sometimes not so good my tactic was to load up as much as possible in the morning.  Check this out; after ordering the obligatory orange juice and coffee, a small bowl of fruit was placed before me and before you could say Shaun White has won more Winter X Games medals than anyone else (14) it was gone.  Next, eggs over-easy with sausage and toast.  Wolf!  Gone.  Next?  Blueberry pancakes and more coffee and juice.  Oh my God I was in Aspen heaven!Blueberry pancakes.  Why is it that when anyone says ‘blueberry pancakes’ it sounds so damn good?Anyway, properly fortified I headed off to meet my colleague Laura and to check the venue out.  After picking up my credential and scouting the place out we were ready for our first competition of the day.  On the Snowskate Park presented by Guinness World Records we teed up the challenge to see who could limbo the lowest on a snowskate board.  About a dozen youngsters all lined up for their chance at glory and to win a Guinness World Records book.The bar started at 36 inches and…well…inched its way down.  34…32…30…28…25…The bar kept getting lower as the kids gradually thinned out to four last champions.  In the process eliminated was a six year old as well as one of the dads who thought he’d have a go and promptly fell on his behind.  Not as easy as it looks!The bar kept getting lower and finally reached 22 and a half inches.  One lad was eliminated, then another, and another until yes!  Finally a winner was crowned!  Young Kurtis Lash from Ontario, New York crouched under the bar and in to Guinness World Records lore.  Good on ya my friend! [image]Earlier in the day we had heard that a woman called Dagny McKinley was trying to break the record for the most hugs in 24 hours (currently held by Siobhan O’Connor from Ireland since Feb 2009 at 5,000 hugs…gulp).  We weren’t sure whether to believe this story but when we arrived there she was, with a banner and yes, giving hugs to any passerby that would receive them.  As the day wore on we checked up on her regularly to see how she was doing.  She started at 8:30am and by noon had about 1000 hugs so it was going to be touch and go.  When we left at around 9pm she was half way to the magic number so we are giddy with anticipation to find out if she broke the record or not. Stay tuned!  In the meantime here’s a photo of yours truly giving her a squeeze (not counted, I must remain impartial) and giving her a Guinness World Records 2010 book.  Well deserved I say![image]In other news Wisconsin-born Justin  Hoyer won his first gold in the Snowmobile Freestyle Final which consists of 12 riders competing over a gap of about 100 ft and doing tricks scored by the judges.  Oh and they do this while riding snowmobiles weighing 500 lb.  Hoyer won his gold by completing a Superman flip, backflip no-hander to a backflip heel-clicker and a kiss-of-death in his final run.  Yeah that sounds about right.Earlier in the day In the Women’s Slopestyle Skiing Final, Kaya Turski from Montreal won the very first Winter X Games 14 gold medal.  By doing so she fulfilled her promise of getting a better result after she took home the bronze in 2009.  Slopestyle skiing allows skiers to showcase the freestyle skills on a variety of obstacles including rails, kickers, jumps and grabs. Keep checking back for more news and updates from Guinness World Records at Winter X Games 14!     A bright snowy crisp day greeted us as we arrived at Buttermilk Mountain.  Already the crowds had gathered and were lining up for the best spots from which to see all the heats and elimination rounds due to take place that day.  Apparently Aspen grows from a population of 6,000 people to 40,000 when the X Games are in town…holy moly!I started the day off in style with complimentary breakfast in my hotel.  As I knew we were going to be out for a while and as the food at these events is sometimes not so good my tactic was to load up as much as possible in the morning.  Check this out; after ordering the obligatory orange juice and coffee, a small bowl of fruit was placed before me and before you could say Shaun White has won more Winter X Games medals than anyone else (14) it was gone.  Next, eggs over-easy with sausage and toast.  Wolf!  Gone.  Next?  Blueberry pancakes and more coffee and juice.  Oh my God I was in Aspen heaven!Blueberry pancakes.  Why is it that when anyone says ‘blueberry pancakes’ it sounds so damn good?Anyway, properly fortified I headed off to meet my colleague Laura and to check the venue out.  After picking up my credential and scouting the place out we were ready for our first competition of the day.  On the Snowskate Park presented by Guinness World Records we teed up the challenge to see who could limbo the lowest on a snowskate board.  About a dozen youngsters all lined up for their chance at glory and to win a Guinness World Records book.The bar started at 36 inches and…well…inched its way down.  34…32…30…28…25…The bar kept getting lower as the kids gradually thinned out to four last champions.  In the process eliminated was a six year old as well as one of the dads who thought he’d have a go and promptly fell on his behind.  Not as easy as it looks!The bar kept getting lower and finally reached 22 and a half inches.  One lad was eliminated, then another, and another until yes!  Finally a winner was crowned!  Young Kurtis Lash from Ontario, New York crouched under the bar and in to Guinness World Records lore.  Good on ya my friend! [image]Earlier in the day we had heard that a woman called Dagny McKinley was trying to break the record for the most hugs in 24 hours (currently held by Siobhan O’Connor from Ireland since Feb 2009 at 5,000 hugs…gulp).  We weren’t sure whether to believe this story but when we arrived there she was, with a banner and yes, giving hugs to any passerby that would receive them.  As the day wore on we checked up on her regularly to see how she was doing.  She started at 8:30am and by noon had about 1000 hugs so it was going to be touch and go.  When we left at around 9pm she was half way to the magic number so we are giddy with anticipation to find out if she broke the record or not. Stay tuned!  In the meantime here’s a photo of yours truly giving her a squeeze (not counted, I must remain impartial) and giving her a Guinness World Records 2010 book.  Well deserved I say![image]In other news Wisconsin-born Justin  Hoyer won his first gold in the Snowmobile Freestyle Final which consists of 12 riders competing over a gap of about 100 ft and doing tricks scored by the judges.  Oh and they do this while riding snowmobiles weighing 500 lb.  Hoyer won his gold by completing a Superman flip, backflip no-hander to a backflip heel-clicker and a kiss-of-death in his final run.  Yeah that sounds about right.Earlier in the day In the Women’s Slopestyle Skiing Final, Kaya Turski from Montreal won the very first Winter X Games 14 gold medal.  By doing so she fulfilled her promise of getting a better result after she took home the bronze in 2009.  Slopestyle skiing allows skiers to showcase the freestyle skills on a variety of obstacles including rails, kickers, jumps and grabs. Keep checking back for more news and updates from Guinness World Records at Winter X Games 14!     Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:19:40 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Hugs-and-Limbo-Record-Attempt-At-Winter-X-Games-14/BLOG/1778523/7691.html sclaxton 2010-01-29T19:19:40Z Guinness World Records A bright snowy crisp day greeted us as we arrived at Buttermilk Mountain.  Already the crowds had gathered and were lining up for the best spots from which to see all the heats and elimination rounds due to take place that day.  Apparently Aspen grows from a population of 6,000 people to 40,000 when the X Games are in town…holy moly!I started the day off in style with complimentary breakfast in my hotel.  As I knew we were going to be out for a while and as the food at these events is sometimes not so good my tactic was to load up as much as possible in the morning.  Check this out; after ordering the obligatory orange juice and coffee, a small bowl of fruit was placed before me and before you could say Shaun White has won more Winter X Games medals than anyone else (14) it was gone.  Next, eggs over-easy with sausage and toast.  Wolf!  Gone.  Next?  Blueberry pancakes and more coffee and juice.  Oh my God I was in Aspen heaven!Blueberry pancakes.  Why is it that when anyone says ‘blueberry pancakes’ it sounds so damn good?Anyway, properly fortified I headed off to meet my colleague Laura and to check the venue out.  After picking up my credential and scouting the place out we were ready for our first competition of the day.  On the Snowskate Park presented by Guinness World Records we teed up the challenge to see who could limbo the lowest on a snowskate board.  About a dozen youngsters all lined up for their chance at glory and to win a Guinness World Records book.The bar started at 36 inches and…well…inched its way down.  34…32…30…28…25…The bar kept getting lower as the kids gradually thinned out to four last champions.  In the process eliminated was a six year old as well as one of the dads who thought he’d have a go and promptly fell on his behind.  Not as easy as it looks!The bar kept getting lower and finally reached 22 and a half inches.  One lad was eliminated, then another, and another until yes!  Finally a winner was crowned!  Young Kurtis Lash from Ontario, New York crouched under the bar and in to Guinness World Records lore.  Good on ya my friend! [image]Earlier in the day we had heard that a woman called Dagny McKinley was trying to break the record for the most hugs in 24 hours (currently held by Siobhan O’Connor from Ireland since Feb 2009 at 5,000 hugs…gulp).  We weren’t sure whether to believe this story but when we arrived there she was, with a banner and yes, giving hugs to any passerby that would receive them.  As the day wore on we checked up on her regularly to see how she was doing.  She started at 8:30am and by noon had about 1000 hugs so it was going to be touch and go.  When we left at around 9pm she was half way to the magic number so we are giddy with anticipation to find out if she broke the record or not. Stay tuned!  In the meantime here’s a photo of yours truly giving her a squeeze (not counted, I must remain impartial) and giving her a Guinness World Records 2010 book.  Well deserved I say![image]In other news Wisconsin-born Justin  Hoyer won his first gold in the Snowmobile Freestyle Final which consists of 12 riders competing over a gap of about 100 ft and doing tricks scored by the judges.  Oh and they do this while riding snowmobiles weighing 500 lb.  Hoyer won his gold by completing a Superman flip, backflip no-hander to a backflip heel-clicker and a kiss-of-death in his final run.  Yeah that sounds about right.Earlier in the day In the Women’s Slopestyle Skiing Final, Kaya Turski from Montreal won the very first Winter X Games 14 gold medal.  By doing so she fulfilled her promise of getting a better result after she took home the bronze in 2009.  Slopestyle skiing allows skiers to showcase the freestyle skills on a variety of obstacles including rails, kickers, jumps and grabs. Keep checking back for more news and updates from Guinness World Records at Winter X Games 14!     winterxgames14 nonadult false Hugs and Limbo Record Attempt At Winter X Games 14? text blog winterxgames14 288 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New York 10036 0 0 1778523 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Guinness-World-Records-has-Landed-at-Winter-X-Games-14/BLOG/1776279/7691.html Well…almost… Turns out one of our colleagues is stuck in Denver as it seems the weather over there has caused havoc and all the flights to Aspen have been cancelled!  Fortunately it looks like tomorrow he should be here safe and sound. Was lucky to get in myself actually, flight was delayed and then while we were in the air it seemed we wouldn’t be able to land due to bad visibility and we’d be rerouted to Denver – lucky we weren’t! Anyway, once on solid ground I made my way to my hotel in a cab.  On the way there we passed by an impressive sight.  There, on the side of Buttermilk Mountain, was the Winter X Games 14 site under the floodlights.  It looked AWESOME. In the middle is a HUGE 22 ft wide super pipe, on the left a MASSIVE freestyle and snocross area and on the right a GIANT X race course and Big Air ramp – spectacular.  The X Games site is situated in one of the four ski zones established in the area.  Aspen itself is pretty small with around 6,000 inhabitants and covering 3.6 sq miles.  With an elevation of about 8,000 ft it’s quite a spectacle and the upscale resort is transformed when X Games comes to town bringing in thousands of extra people. So much so in fact that for example we are all in different hotels as rooms are at premium during the event.  I managed to get a room at the Hotel Lenado, a nice modern-style lodge.  I’ve got a small fire place in my room and my tub has a Jacuzzi!  Not quite sure if I’ll be using that but you never know… Anyway, down to business and a bright and early start tomorrow with a 7am breakfast and then to the venue to pick up credentials and get the lay of the land.  The Guinness World Records Break Fest, located at the Snowskate Park at the foot of the super pipe is going to be held daily so you should definitely stop by if you’re around.  Who knows?  Maybe you’ll walk away with your name in the Guinness World Records book. Big competition day too.  The site opens at 8am for practice and heats before two big finals in the afternoon and evening.  Skiing Slopestyle Women’s Final is from 1-2:30pm, testing athlete’s ability down a course covered with different features such as rails, tabletops and hips.  Then later from 7-9pm under the lights is the Snomobile Freestyle Final – yikes!  Twelve riders go head-to-head to see who can pull off the best trick with jumps ranging from 65 ft to more than 100 ft.  Last year Levi LaVallee became the first person to double back flip a snowmobile.  He fell off upon landing unfortunately but still made X Games history by becoming the first person to attempt such a feat.  Will he go for it again??? Stay tuned as we cover all this and more with photos, stories and videos of Winter X Games 14, right here on www.guinnessworldrecords.com! Well…almost… Turns out one of our colleagues is stuck in Denver as it seems the weather over there has caused havoc and all the flights to Aspen have been cancelled!  Fortunately it looks like tomorrow he should be here safe and sound. Was lucky to get in myself actually, flight was delayed and then while we were in the air it seemed we wouldn’t be able to land due to bad visibility and we’d be rerouted to Denver – lucky we weren’t! Anyway, once on solid ground I made my way to my hotel in a cab.  On the way there we passed by an impressive sight.  There, on the side of Buttermilk Mountain, was the Winter X Games 14 site under the floodlights.  It looked AWESOME. In the middle is a HUGE 22 ft wide super pipe, on the left a MASSIVE freestyle and snocross area and on the right a GIANT X race course and Big Air ramp – spectacular.  The X Games site is situated in one of the four ski zones established in the area.  Aspen itself is pretty small with around 6,000 inhabitants and covering 3.6 sq miles.  With an elevation of about 8,000 ft it’s quite a spectacle and the upscale resort is transformed when X Games comes to town bringing in thousands of extra people. So much so in fact that for example we are all in different hotels as rooms are at premium during the event.  I managed to get a room at the Hotel Lenado, a nice modern-style lodge.  I’ve got a small fire place in my room and my tub has a Jacuzzi!  Not quite sure if I’ll be using that but you never know… Anyway, down to business and a bright and early start tomorrow with a 7am breakfast and then to the venue to pick up credentials and get the lay of the land.  The Guinness World Records Break Fest, located at the Snowskate Park at the foot of the super pipe is going to be held daily so you should definitely stop by if you’re around.  Who knows?  Maybe you’ll walk away with your name in the Guinness World Records book. Big competition day too.  The site opens at 8am for practice and heats before two big finals in the afternoon and evening.  Skiing Slopestyle Women’s Final is from 1-2:30pm, testing athlete’s ability down a course covered with different features such as rails, tabletops and hips.  Then later from 7-9pm under the lights is the Snomobile Freestyle Final – yikes!  Twelve riders go head-to-head to see who can pull off the best trick with jumps ranging from 65 ft to more than 100 ft.  Last year Levi LaVallee became the first person to double back flip a snowmobile.  He fell off upon landing unfortunately but still made X Games history by becoming the first person to attempt such a feat.  Will he go for it again??? Stay tuned as we cover all this and more with photos, stories and videos of Winter X Games 14, right here on www.guinnessworldrecords.com! Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:14:28 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Guinness-World-Records-has-Landed-at-Winter-X-Games-14/BLOG/1776279/7691.html sclaxton 2010-01-28T19:14:28Z Winter X Games 14 Guinness World Records Well…almost… Turns out one of our colleagues is stuck in Denver as it seems the weather over there has caused havoc and all the flights to Aspen have been cancelled!  Fortunately it looks like tomorrow he should be here safe and sound. Was lucky to get in myself actually, flight was delayed and then while we were in the air it seemed we wouldn’t be able to land due to bad visibility and we’d be rerouted to Denver – lucky we weren’t! Anyway, once on solid ground I made my way to my hotel in a cab.  On the way there we passed by an impressive sight.  There, on the side of Buttermilk Mountain, was the Winter X Games 14 site under the floodlights.  It looked AWESOME. In the middle is a HUGE 22 ft wide super pipe, on the left a MASSIVE freestyle and snocross area and on the right a GIANT X race course and Big Air ramp – spectacular.  The X Games site is situated in one of the four ski zones established in the area.  Aspen itself is pretty small with around 6,000 inhabitants and covering 3.6 sq miles.  With an elevation of about 8,000 ft it’s quite a spectacle and the upscale resort is transformed when X Games comes to town bringing in thousands of extra people. So much so in fact that for example we are all in different hotels as rooms are at premium during the event.  I managed to get a room at the Hotel Lenado, a nice modern-style lodge.  I’ve got a small fire place in my room and my tub has a Jacuzzi!  Not quite sure if I’ll be using that but you never know… Anyway, down to business and a bright and early start tomorrow with a 7am breakfast and then to the venue to pick up credentials and get the lay of the land.  The Guinness World Records Break Fest, located at the Snowskate Park at the foot of the super pipe is going to be held daily so you should definitely stop by if you’re around.  Who knows?  Maybe you’ll walk away with your name in the Guinness World Records book. Big competition day too.  The site opens at 8am for practice and heats before two big finals in the afternoon and evening.  Skiing Slopestyle Women’s Final is from 1-2:30pm, testing athlete’s ability down a course covered with different features such as rails, tabletops and hips.  Then later from 7-9pm under the lights is the Snomobile Freestyle Final – yikes!  Twelve riders go head-to-head to see who can pull off the best trick with jumps ranging from 65 ft to more than 100 ft.  Last year Levi LaVallee became the first person to double back flip a snowmobile.  He fell off upon landing unfortunately but still made X Games history by becoming the first person to attempt such a feat.  Will he go for it again??? Stay tuned as we cover all this and more with photos, stories and videos of Winter X Games 14, right here on www.guinnessworldrecords.com! winter x games 14 nonadult false Guinness World Records has Landed at Winter X Games 14! text blog winter x games 14 172 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 1776279 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_20-Years-of-The-Simpsons/BLOG/1711773/7691.html One of my favorite The Simpsons episodes has to be Sweet and Sour Marge which aired in 2002 in the series’ thirteenth season.  The reason it’s one of my favorites is because part of the episode parodies Guinness World Records.  It starts when Homer buys a book on world records published by Duff at a library sale. After boring everyone with world record trivia, Homer decides to break a record himself. He gathers the whole town to build the world's tallest human pyramid. After Jimbo and Kearney move their hands just before the record is claimed, the pyramid collapses into a giant sphere that rolls through town, taking in Agnes Skinner, Hans Moleman, and a suicidal man about to jump from a ledge onto the street. The entire town rolls to a truck weighing station and the Duff record book officials say that Springfield is the world's fattest town, ahead of Milwaukee.  At the time of the original airing the fattest city in the US was in fact Chicago, Illinois - hilarious!  The episode also featured Ben Stiller as special guest voice of a character called Garth Motherloving. [image]  There are two factual references to our book in the episode.  1) When Homer looks up the most clothespins stuck to one's face and neck in the Duff Book of World Records, it coincides with information contained in the real Guinness World Records book.  In the Duff book, the person referenced is Kevin Thackwell.  In the 2001 edition of the Guinness World Records book, Kevin Thackwell is listed as the person who held the record at the time.  Homer even gets the number of pins correct (116) found on page 18 of the hardcover edition.  2) Lisa also mentions that the Duff Book of World Records was created to settle disputes in taverns.  This is exactly the same as how the Guinness World Records book started in 1955!  This week we are celebrating in our own way the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons by paying our own humble homage to the global phenomenon.  20 years???  Indeed, 20 years of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and the rest of the population of Springfield.  Amazing.  There will be plenty of trivia associated with the show going around but we felt it was definitely worthwhile to remind ourselves of all the Guinness World Records Matt Groening and company have earned over the last couple of decades.  In fact, not only have we featured The Simpsons in our annual book on several occasions but last year our very own Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday actually presented Mr. Groening with a certificate for all his achievements at ComicCon in San Diego where the creator pronounced to the gathered hordes “There is no end in sight!  Simpsons forever!” [image] Here’s the clip proving that The Simpsons will be around for a long time yet. Since we started monitoring the show it was surprising how quickly the pace gathered once it started to grip everyone’s imagination all over the world.  Young and old alike seemed to be swept along in the yellow tidal wave of popular culture.  Indeed since its inception the show has been recognized in one way or another by Guinness World Records on eight separate occasions.  Check out the show’s prestigious list of superlatives:  LARGEST COLLECTION OF THE SIMPSONS MEMORABILIA The largest collection of The Simpsons (FOX, USA) memorabilia belongs to Cameron Gibbs of Skye, Victoria, Australia, with 2,580 different Simpsons items, as of 20 March 2008. [image] [image] LONGEST RUNNING ANIMATED TV SERIES The first episode of The Simpsons (FOX, USA), created by cartoonist Matt Groening (USA), aired on 17 December 1989. The animated show originally featured as a series of 30-second spots on The Tracey Ullman Show; after 50 cartoons were aired on the show, Groening was offered his own series, which premiered as a half hour Christmas special on 17 December 1989. By February 2008, 19 seasons later, 412 episodes had been screened. LONGEST RUNNING SITCOM (EPISODE COUNT) The longest running sitcom by episode count is The Simpsons (FOX, USA) (443 episodes and counting) which first broadcast on Fox (USA) on 17 December 1989. During its 20th season (2008-09) it finally overtook the 435 episodes of former record holder The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (ABC, USA, 1952-66).   MOST EMMY AWARDS WON BY AN INDIVIDUAL James L Brooks (USA) a writer, producer and director best known for his work on The Simpsons (FOX, USA) acquired his 19th Emmy award in August 2006, more than any other individual. Brooks's nearest rival is Dwight Hemion (USA), a variety show producer/director, with 18 wins from the 1960s to the 1990s.  MOST EMMY AWARDS WON FOR AN ANIMATED TV SERIES The record for the most Emmy Awards won by an animated TV series is 20, achieved by The Simpsons (FOX, USA) as of September 2003. [image] MOST GUEST STARS FEATURED IN A TV SERIES The world record for the most guest stars featured in a TV series belongs to The Simpsons (FOX, USA). Since first appearing in April 1987 as a series of 30 second spots produced by Matt Groening for FOX's The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons have featured 337 guest stars as of episode 352 which marked the end of the 16th season, aired in the USA on 15 May 2005.  MOST SEARCHED-FOR TV SHOW ON THE INTERNET The most searched-for TV show on the internet for the December 2001-July 2003 period, was The Simpsons (FOX, USA), according to the world's largest search engine, Google. TALLEST STACK OF DOUGHNUTS The tallest stack of doughnuts measured 110.5 cm (43.5 in) and was built by members of 20th Century Fox and Capital Radio to celebrate the premier of The Simpsons Movie (USA, 2007), at the offices of Capital Radio in Leicester Square, London, UK on 25 July 2007. Not bad for a show that started as 30-second interstitials on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987.  Congratulations to all at FOX and The Simpsons series for giving us 20 years of laughs and a naked skateboarding Bart!  There’s just one last thing to add… SIMPSONS FOREVER!!! One of my favorite The Simpsons episodes has to be Sweet and Sour Marge which aired in 2002 in the series’ thirteenth season.  The reason it’s one of my favorites is because part of the episode parodies Guinness World Records.  It starts when Homer buys a book on world records published by Duff at a library sale. After boring everyone with world record trivia, Homer decides to break a record himself. He gathers the whole town to build the world's tallest human pyramid. After Jimbo and Kearney move their hands just before the record is claimed, the pyramid collapses into a giant sphere that rolls through town, taking in Agnes Skinner, Hans Moleman, and a suicidal man about to jump from a ledge onto the street. The entire town rolls to a truck weighing station and the Duff record book officials say that Springfield is the world's fattest town, ahead of Milwaukee.  At the time of the original airing the fattest city in the US was in fact Chicago, Illinois - hilarious!  The episode also featured Ben Stiller as special guest voice of a character called Garth Motherloving. [image]  There are two factual references to our book in the episode.  1) When Homer looks up the most clothespins stuck to one's face and neck in the Duff Book of World Records, it coincides with information contained in the real Guinness World Records book.  In the Duff book, the person referenced is Kevin Thackwell.  In the 2001 edition of the Guinness World Records book, Kevin Thackwell is listed as the person who held the record at the time.  Homer even gets the number of pins correct (116) found on page 18 of the hardcover edition.  2) Lisa also mentions that the Duff Book of World Records was created to settle disputes in taverns.  This is exactly the same as how the Guinness World Records book started in 1955!  This week we are celebrating in our own way the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons by paying our own humble homage to the global phenomenon.  20 years???  Indeed, 20 years of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and the rest of the population of Springfield.  Amazing.  There will be plenty of trivia associated with the show going around but we felt it was definitely worthwhile to remind ourselves of all the Guinness World Records Matt Groening and company have earned over the last couple of decades.  In fact, not only have we featured The Simpsons in our annual book on several occasions but last year our very own Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday actually presented Mr. Groening with a certificate for all his achievements at ComicCon in San Diego where the creator pronounced to the gathered hordes “There is no end in sight!  Simpsons forever!” [image] Here’s the clip proving that The Simpsons will be around for a long time yet. Since we started monitoring the show it was surprising how quickly the pace gathered once it started to grip everyone’s imagination all over the world.  Young and old alike seemed to be swept along in the yellow tidal wave of popular culture.  Indeed since its inception the show has been recognized in one way or another by Guinness World Records on eight separate occasions.  Check out the show’s prestigious list of superlatives:  LARGEST COLLECTION OF THE SIMPSONS MEMORABILIA The largest collection of The Simpsons (FOX, USA) memorabilia belongs to Cameron Gibbs of Skye, Victoria, Australia, with 2,580 different Simpsons items, as of 20 March 2008. [image] [image] LONGEST RUNNING ANIMATED TV SERIES The first episode of The Simpsons (FOX, USA), created by cartoonist Matt Groening (USA), aired on 17 December 1989. The animated show originally featured as a series of 30-second spots on The Tracey Ullman Show; after 50 cartoons were aired on the show, Groening was offered his own series, which premiered as a half hour Christmas special on 17 December 1989. By February 2008, 19 seasons later, 412 episodes had been screened. LONGEST RUNNING SITCOM (EPISODE COUNT) The longest running sitcom by episode count is The Simpsons (FOX, USA) (443 episodes and counting) which first broadcast on Fox (USA) on 17 December 1989. During its 20th season (2008-09) it finally overtook the 435 episodes of former record holder The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (ABC, USA, 1952-66).   MOST EMMY AWARDS WON BY AN INDIVIDUAL James L Brooks (USA) a writer, producer and director best known for his work on The Simpsons (FOX, USA) acquired his 19th Emmy award in August 2006, more than any other individual. Brooks's nearest rival is Dwight Hemion (USA), a variety show producer/director, with 18 wins from the 1960s to the 1990s.  MOST EMMY AWARDS WON FOR AN ANIMATED TV SERIES The record for the most Emmy Awards won by an animated TV series is 20, achieved by The Simpsons (FOX, USA) as of September 2003. [image] MOST GUEST STARS FEATURED IN A TV SERIES The world record for the most guest stars featured in a TV series belongs to The Simpsons (FOX, USA). Since first appearing in April 1987 as a series of 30 second spots produced by Matt Groening for FOX's The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons have featured 337 guest stars as of episode 352 which marked the end of the 16th season, aired in the USA on 15 May 2005.  MOST SEARCHED-FOR TV SHOW ON THE INTERNET The most searched-for TV show on the internet for the December 2001-July 2003 period, was The Simpsons (FOX, USA), according to the world's largest search engine, Google. TALLEST STACK OF DOUGHNUTS The tallest stack of doughnuts measured 110.5 cm (43.5 in) and was built by members of 20th Century Fox and Capital Radio to celebrate the premier of The Simpsons Movie (USA, 2007), at the offices of Capital Radio in Leicester Square, London, UK on 25 July 2007. Not bad for a show that started as 30-second interstitials on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987.  Congratulations to all at FOX and The Simpsons series for giving us 20 years of laughs and a naked skateboarding Bart!  There’s just one last thing to add… SIMPSONS FOREVER!!! Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:30:17 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_20-Years-of-The-Simpsons/BLOG/1711773/7691.html sclaxton 2010-01-11T15:30:17Z Guinness World Records One of my favorite The Simpsons episodes has to be Sweet and Sour Marge which aired in 2002 in the series’ thirteenth season.  The reason it’s one of my favorites is because part of the episode parodies Guinness World Records.  It starts when Homer buys a book on world records published by Duff at a library sale. After boring everyone with world record trivia, Homer decides to break a record himself. He gathers the whole town to build the world's tallest human pyramid. After Jimbo and Kearney move their hands just before the record is claimed, the pyramid collapses into a giant sphere that rolls through town, taking in Agnes Skinner, Hans Moleman, and a suicidal man about to jump from a ledge onto the street. The entire town rolls to a truck weighing station and the Duff record book officials say that Springfield is the world's fattest town, ahead of Milwaukee.  At the time of the original airing the fattest city in the US was in fact Chicago, Illinois - hilarious!  The episode also featured Ben Stiller as special guest voice of a character called Garth Motherloving. [image]  There are two factual references to our book in the episode.  1) When Homer looks up the most clothespins stuck to one's face and neck in the Duff Book of World Records, it coincides with information contained in the real Guinness World Records book.  In the Duff book, the person referenced is Kevin Thackwell.  In the 2001 edition of the Guinness World Records book, Kevin Thackwell is listed as the person who held the record at the time.  Homer even gets the number of pins correct (116) found on page 18 of the hardcover edition.  2) Lisa also mentions that the Duff Book of World Records was created to settle disputes in taverns.  This is exactly the same as how the Guinness World Records book started in 1955!  This week we are celebrating in our own way the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons by paying our own humble homage to the global phenomenon.  20 years???  Indeed, 20 years of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and the rest of the population of Springfield.  Amazing.  There will be plenty of trivia associated with the show going around but we felt it was definitely worthwhile to remind ourselves of all the Guinness World Records Matt Groening and company have earned over the last couple of decades.  In fact, not only have we featured The Simpsons in our annual book on several occasions but last year our very own Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday actually presented Mr. Groening with a certificate for all his achievements at ComicCon in San Diego where the creator pronounced to the gathered hordes “There is no end in sight!  Simpsons forever!” [image] Here’s the clip proving that The Simpsons will be around for a long time yet. Since we started monitoring the show it was surprising how quickly the pace gathered once it started to grip everyone’s imagination all over the world.  Young and old alike seemed to be swept along in the yellow tidal wave of popular culture.  Indeed since its inception the show has been recognized in one way or another by Guinness World Records on eight separate occasions.  Check out the show’s prestigious list of superlatives:  LARGEST COLLECTION OF THE SIMPSONS MEMORABILIA The largest collection of The Simpsons (FOX, USA) memorabilia belongs to Cameron Gibbs of Skye, Victoria, Australia, with 2,580 different Simpsons items, as of 20 March 2008. [image] [image] LONGEST RUNNING ANIMATED TV SERIES The first episode of The Simpsons (FOX, USA), created by cartoonist Matt Groening (USA), aired on 17 December 1989. The animated show originally featured as a series of 30-second spots on The Tracey Ullman Show; after 50 cartoons were aired on the show, Groening was offered his own series, which premiered as a half hour Christmas special on 17 December 1989. By February 2008, 19 seasons later, 412 episodes had been screened. LONGEST RUNNING SITCOM (EPISODE COUNT) The longest running sitcom by episode count is The Simpsons (FOX, USA) (443 episodes and counting) which first broadcast on Fox (USA) on 17 December 1989. During its 20th season (2008-09) it finally overtook the 435 episodes of former record holder The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (ABC, USA, 1952-66).   MOST EMMY AWARDS WON BY AN INDIVIDUAL James L Brooks (USA) a writer, producer and director best known for his work on The Simpsons (FOX, USA) acquired his 19th Emmy award in August 2006, more than any other individual. Brooks's nearest rival is Dwight Hemion (USA), a variety show producer/director, with 18 wins from the 1960s to the 1990s.  MOST EMMY AWARDS WON FOR AN ANIMATED TV SERIES The record for the most Emmy Awards won by an animated TV series is 20, achieved by The Simpsons (FOX, USA) as of September 2003. [image] MOST GUEST STARS FEATURED IN A TV SERIES The world record for the most guest stars featured in a TV series belongs to The Simpsons (FOX, USA). Since first appearing in April 1987 as a series of 30 second spots produced by Matt Groening for FOX's The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons have featured 337 guest stars as of episode 352 which marked the end of the 16th season, aired in the USA on 15 May 2005.  MOST SEARCHED-FOR TV SHOW ON THE INTERNET The most searched-for TV show on the internet for the December 2001-July 2003 period, was The Simpsons (FOX, USA), according to the world's largest search engine, Google. TALLEST STACK OF DOUGHNUTS The tallest stack of doughnuts measured 110.5 cm (43.5 in) and was built by members of 20th Century Fox and Capital Radio to celebrate the premier of The Simpsons Movie (USA, 2007), at the offices of Capital Radio in Leicester Square, London, UK on 25 July 2007. Not bad for a show that started as 30-second interstitials on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987.  Congratulations to all at FOX and The Simpsons series for giving us 20 years of laughs and a naked skateboarding Bart!  There’s just one last thing to add… SIMPSONS FOREVER!!! nonadult false 20 Years of The Simpsons! text blog 1910 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New York 10036 0 0 1711773 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_A-Look-Back-at-2009Part-Two/BLOG/1686674/7691.html Now into the second half of 2009 the mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world of Guinness World Records continued...off we go! JULY The month of July found us congregating in California for X Games 15 where we sponsor the BMX and Skate Parks.  In a world of ollies, backside grinds, heelflips and shove-its there's truly nothing better than being there in person and watching it all happen.  Every dog has its day and that is truly the case when it comes to Tillman, an English bulldog who on July 30th set the Guinness World Record for the fastest 100 m by a dog on skateboard in an amazing 19.67 sec.  Talk about mad dogs and Englishmen out in the midday sun - superb!  And while we're on the subject of sport how could we not mention the most expensive soccer player transfer fee?  On July 1st Cristiano Ronaldo was transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid for a reported 80 million Euros ($131.86 millon)...un-be-liev-a-ble.  To put that in perspective, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Madrid paid for Ronaldo 57 times his weight in gold!  I wonder how much I'm worth in gold?  Now there's a thought...or not. [image] But when it comes to athleticism, please stand aside for Diesel, a London-based guinea pig who broke the record for the longest jump by a guinea pig.  On July 27th Diesel (by name and by nature!) cleared a gap of 20.5 cm (8.07 in) crowning himself champion guinea pig jumper in the process.  Apparently Diesel is worth around $20...no interest from Real Madrid so far! AUGUST In August after experiencing the wonder of watching Usain Bolt break the world records for the 100 and 200 meters what was left we asked ourselves?  [image] Well we have our very own not-so-secret weapon at Guinness World Records and he goes by the name of Ashrita Furman.  Furman holds more Guinness World Records than any other human being with over 100 to his name.  He added to his tally on August 22nd though when he broke the record for the fastest time to peel and eat a lemon which he did in 9.84 seconds at the Panorama Cafe in New York! [image] In Mexico, not to be outdone by Furman's prodigious peeling-and-eating, they set about trying to break the record for the most mariachis playing simultaneously.  Ay mama!  Indeed, on the appointed day (August 29th) 549 mariacheros gathered in Guadalajara and played for the regulation 10 minutes.  Viva Mexico! [image] A classic record which we hadn't seen for some time was the timeless most straws in the mouth.  Indeed.  On August 6th Simon Elmore from Germany held 400 straws in his mouth for 10 seconds and forever placed his name in the annals of Guinness World Records! SEPTEMBER As the days got shorter and evenings darkened usually outdoor activity slackens off but it didn't seem so at Guinness World Records headquarters as this was in fact our most important month.  On September 17th we launched our wonderful new Guinness World Records book put together by our most diligent and unstoppable editorial team - salud![image] A colder month than previous it was time to put the gloves on perhaps and take care of keeping oneself warm.  Someone who took this to extremes was 10-year-old Tiano Walton who on September 13th thought one glove wasn't enough.  No.  In fact she need 27 of them.  On one hand.  But why?  Because she clutched herself into the Guinness World Records book for the most gloves worn on one hand.  I wonder what she would do with the most socks on one foot record? [image] You know that thing some people do with their pen?  You know, spin it on their hand, sometimes annoyingly?  Well, there's even a Guinness World Record for that.  On September 12th Daniel Muß decided to go for it.  A member of the pen-spinning community in his native Germany (really) he broke the record for the most pen spinning fingerpasses with 66 completed spins.  I don't know what to say other than than that's brilliant. [image] I found myself on Jimmy Kimmel in September as ol' Kimmel wanted to break the record for the largest meatball.  I mean, why not??  Yes, on a warm Californian night on September 24th two men lifted a large round meaty object into the record book.  How meaty?  198 lb meaty, that's how much.  Congratulations to Jimmy Kimmel and his crew, you're in the book!  Again! OCTOBER From the large and meaty to the light and delicate and to Japan we go again.  A marvelous thing happened on October 10th in Uruma when 1,808 butterflies were released simultaneously in a successful attempt to break the record for largest butterfly release.  Almost one thousand people stood in a single line with a butterfly in each hand and released them simultaneously at a given signal.  Aaaaaahhhh... [image] As the MLB entered its post season and the Yankees took the championship what better way to celebrate their achievement than by playing that longest baseball game ever.  That's exactly what happened in Missouri from October 9-11 when the Jonny G Foundation Cardinals played against the Edward Jones Browns for a ridiculous 48 hr 9 min 27 sec.  What??? The victors presumably must have celebrated in style and for sure there must have been alot of high fives and chest bumps.  But not as many as there were on October 27 in Australia when there was an attempt on the record for the most people doing chest bumps with a heart thumping 446 people completing 223 chestbumps - oh yeah! NOVEMBER November is another special month for us as we celebrate Guinness World Records Day all over the world.  This year was bigger than ever with over 40 record attempts in over 20 countries - many thanks once again to all who participated! [image] My personal favorites from the day as well as the rest of the month include the fastest time to eat a bowl of pasta achieved by Ernesto Cesario (Italy) in 1 minute 30 seconds in Milan on November 12th (bon apetito!), the largest finger painting in Hong Kong measuring 2101.43 sq m (22,619.51 sq ft) achieved by 3,242 students on November 26th, the longest hand-rolled cigar measuring 196 ft 3 in which I went to judge in Florida on November 21st and the tallest dog which as of November 12th is Titan owned by Diane Taylor who stands 42.25 inches tall - congratulations to the big man and to all our November record-breakers! [image] DECEMBER And so the year drew to a close and what a year it was.  Here we are a day away from the end of a momentous 120 months and the record-breaking still does not stop. December 5th saw us recognize the largest Christmas tree structure in Mexico City measuring 110 m 35 cm (362 ft tall) with a diameter of 35 m (114 ft 9 in), with a star which was 32.5 m tall.  It weighed 330 tonnes and was adorned with 1,200,000 lights.  I wonder what Father Christmas would think of that? [image] It is at this time of year that if you're not like me you actually send some letters out in the form of Chrsitmas cards.  Sometimes these make it, sometimes they're a little late but the one letter you would want to make sure did arrive was one which was auctioned in New York and sold for $3,200,000 (£1,900,000) on December 5th.  The letter itself was written by George Washington in 1787 to his nephew Bushrod Washington, urging adoption of the country's new constitution.  Little did he know that would also be the most expensive single letter sold at auction over 200 years later! As social media took a grip on the world in the late 2000s it invariably led to some Guinness World Records and so what better way to end the year than on this note.  On December 1st via Twitter the Guinness World Record was established for the Largest Tweetup with 1,149 people who all congregated in one place via a message on Twitter in Los Angeles, California.  From the old to the new in one single month...pretty much sums up Guinness World Records! I hope you've enjoyed this little retrospective of 2009 and some of my own personal favorites.  It was quite a year and I'm sure I've left some gems out but they will be written about at another time.  They all provided me with some great memories for sure.  Many thanks to all who took part in 2009 and made the world of superlatives grow a little bit bigger.  Keep coming back to this blog and our website for all your record-breaking news and updates - we wouldn't be here without you! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Now into the second half of 2009 the mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world of Guinness World Records continued...off we go! JULY The month of July found us congregating in California for X Games 15 where we sponsor the BMX and Skate Parks.  In a world of ollies, backside grinds, heelflips and shove-its there's truly nothing better than being there in person and watching it all happen.  Every dog has its day and that is truly the case when it comes to Tillman, an English bulldog who on July 30th set the Guinness World Record for the fastest 100 m by a dog on skateboard in an amazing 19.67 sec.  Talk about mad dogs and Englishmen out in the midday sun - superb!  And while we're on the subject of sport how could we not mention the most expensive soccer player transfer fee?  On July 1st Cristiano Ronaldo was transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid for a reported 80 million Euros ($131.86 millon)...un-be-liev-a-ble.  To put that in perspective, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Madrid paid for Ronaldo 57 times his weight in gold!  I wonder how much I'm worth in gold?  Now there's a thought...or not. [image] But when it comes to athleticism, please stand aside for Diesel, a London-based guinea pig who broke the record for the longest jump by a guinea pig.  On July 27th Diesel (by name and by nature!) cleared a gap of 20.5 cm (8.07 in) crowning himself champion guinea pig jumper in the process.  Apparently Diesel is worth around $20...no interest from Real Madrid so far! AUGUST In August after experiencing the wonder of watching Usain Bolt break the world records for the 100 and 200 meters what was left we asked ourselves?  [image] Well we have our very own not-so-secret weapon at Guinness World Records and he goes by the name of Ashrita Furman.  Furman holds more Guinness World Records than any other human being with over 100 to his name.  He added to his tally on August 22nd though when he broke the record for the fastest time to peel and eat a lemon which he did in 9.84 seconds at the Panorama Cafe in New York! [image] In Mexico, not to be outdone by Furman's prodigious peeling-and-eating, they set about trying to break the record for the most mariachis playing simultaneously.  Ay mama!  Indeed, on the appointed day (August 29th) 549 mariacheros gathered in Guadalajara and played for the regulation 10 minutes.  Viva Mexico! [image] A classic record which we hadn't seen for some time was the timeless most straws in the mouth.  Indeed.  On August 6th Simon Elmore from Germany held 400 straws in his mouth for 10 seconds and forever placed his name in the annals of Guinness World Records! SEPTEMBER As the days got shorter and evenings darkened usually outdoor activity slackens off but it didn't seem so at Guinness World Records headquarters as this was in fact our most important month.  On September 17th we launched our wonderful new Guinness World Records book put together by our most diligent and unstoppable editorial team - salud![image] A colder month than previous it was time to put the gloves on perhaps and take care of keeping oneself warm.  Someone who took this to extremes was 10-year-old Tiano Walton who on September 13th thought one glove wasn't enough.  No.  In fact she need 27 of them.  On one hand.  But why?  Because she clutched herself into the Guinness World Records book for the most gloves worn on one hand.  I wonder what she would do with the most socks on one foot record? [image] You know that thing some people do with their pen?  You know, spin it on their hand, sometimes annoyingly?  Well, there's even a Guinness World Record for that.  On September 12th Daniel Muß decided to go for it.  A member of the pen-spinning community in his native Germany (really) he broke the record for the most pen spinning fingerpasses with 66 completed spins.  I don't know what to say other than than that's brilliant. [image] I found myself on Jimmy Kimmel in September as ol' Kimmel wanted to break the record for the largest meatball.  I mean, why not??  Yes, on a warm Californian night on September 24th two men lifted a large round meaty object into the record book.  How meaty?  198 lb meaty, that's how much.  Congratulations to Jimmy Kimmel and his crew, you're in the book!  Again! OCTOBER From the large and meaty to the light and delicate and to Japan we go again.  A marvelous thing happened on October 10th in Uruma when 1,808 butterflies were released simultaneously in a successful attempt to break the record for largest butterfly release.  Almost one thousand people stood in a single line with a butterfly in each hand and released them simultaneously at a given signal.  Aaaaaahhhh... [image] As the MLB entered its post season and the Yankees took the championship what better way to celebrate their achievement than by playing that longest baseball game ever.  That's exactly what happened in Missouri from October 9-11 when the Jonny G Foundation Cardinals played against the Edward Jones Browns for a ridiculous 48 hr 9 min 27 sec.  What??? The victors presumably must have celebrated in style and for sure there must have been alot of high fives and chest bumps.  But not as many as there were on October 27 in Australia when there was an attempt on the record for the most people doing chest bumps with a heart thumping 446 people completing 223 chestbumps - oh yeah! NOVEMBER November is another special month for us as we celebrate Guinness World Records Day all over the world.  This year was bigger than ever with over 40 record attempts in over 20 countries - many thanks once again to all who participated! [image] My personal favorites from the day as well as the rest of the month include the fastest time to eat a bowl of pasta achieved by Ernesto Cesario (Italy) in 1 minute 30 seconds in Milan on November 12th (bon apetito!), the largest finger painting in Hong Kong measuring 2101.43 sq m (22,619.51 sq ft) achieved by 3,242 students on November 26th, the longest hand-rolled cigar measuring 196 ft 3 in which I went to judge in Florida on November 21st and the tallest dog which as of November 12th is Titan owned by Diane Taylor who stands 42.25 inches tall - congratulations to the big man and to all our November record-breakers! [image] DECEMBER And so the year drew to a close and what a year it was.  Here we are a day away from the end of a momentous 120 months and the record-breaking still does not stop. December 5th saw us recognize the largest Christmas tree structure in Mexico City measuring 110 m 35 cm (362 ft tall) with a diameter of 35 m (114 ft 9 in), with a star which was 32.5 m tall.  It weighed 330 tonnes and was adorned with 1,200,000 lights.  I wonder what Father Christmas would think of that? [image] It is at this time of year that if you're not like me you actually send some letters out in the form of Chrsitmas cards.  Sometimes these make it, sometimes they're a little late but the one letter you would want to make sure did arrive was one which was auctioned in New York and sold for $3,200,000 (£1,900,000) on December 5th.  The letter itself was written by George Washington in 1787 to his nephew Bushrod Washington, urging adoption of the country's new constitution.  Little did he know that would also be the most expensive single letter sold at auction over 200 years later! As social media took a grip on the world in the late 2000s it invariably led to some Guinness World Records and so what better way to end the year than on this note.  On December 1st via Twitter the Guinness World Record was established for the Largest Tweetup with 1,149 people who all congregated in one place via a message on Twitter in Los Angeles, California.  From the old to the new in one single month...pretty much sums up Guinness World Records! I hope you've enjoyed this little retrospective of 2009 and some of my own personal favorites.  It was quite a year and I'm sure I've left some gems out but they will be written about at another time.  They all provided me with some great memories for sure.  Many thanks to all who took part in 2009 and made the world of superlatives grow a little bit bigger.  Keep coming back to this blog and our website for all your record-breaking news and updates - we wouldn't be here without you! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:15:08 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_A-Look-Back-at-2009Part-Two/BLOG/1686674/7691.html sclaxton 2010-01-01T20:15:08Z Guinness World Records Now into the second half of 2009 the mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world of Guinness World Records continued...off we go! JULY The month of July found us congregating in California for X Games 15 where we sponsor the BMX and Skate Parks.  In a world of ollies, backside grinds, heelflips and shove-its there's truly nothing better than being there in person and watching it all happen.  Every dog has its day and that is truly the case when it comes to Tillman, an English bulldog who on July 30th set the Guinness World Record for the fastest 100 m by a dog on skateboard in an amazing 19.67 sec.  Talk about mad dogs and Englishmen out in the midday sun - superb!  And while we're on the subject of sport how could we not mention the most expensive soccer player transfer fee?  On July 1st Cristiano Ronaldo was transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid for a reported 80 million Euros ($131.86 millon)...un-be-liev-a-ble.  To put that in perspective, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Madrid paid for Ronaldo 57 times his weight in gold!  I wonder how much I'm worth in gold?  Now there's a thought...or not. [image] But when it comes to athleticism, please stand aside for Diesel, a London-based guinea pig who broke the record for the longest jump by a guinea pig.  On July 27th Diesel (by name and by nature!) cleared a gap of 20.5 cm (8.07 in) crowning himself champion guinea pig jumper in the process.  Apparently Diesel is worth around $20...no interest from Real Madrid so far! AUGUST In August after experiencing the wonder of watching Usain Bolt break the world records for the 100 and 200 meters what was left we asked ourselves?  [image] Well we have our very own not-so-secret weapon at Guinness World Records and he goes by the name of Ashrita Furman.  Furman holds more Guinness World Records than any other human being with over 100 to his name.  He added to his tally on August 22nd though when he broke the record for the fastest time to peel and eat a lemon which he did in 9.84 seconds at the Panorama Cafe in New York! [image] In Mexico, not to be outdone by Furman's prodigious peeling-and-eating, they set about trying to break the record for the most mariachis playing simultaneously.  Ay mama!  Indeed, on the appointed day (August 29th) 549 mariacheros gathered in Guadalajara and played for the regulation 10 minutes.  Viva Mexico! [image] A classic record which we hadn't seen for some time was the timeless most straws in the mouth.  Indeed.  On August 6th Simon Elmore from Germany held 400 straws in his mouth for 10 seconds and forever placed his name in the annals of Guinness World Records! SEPTEMBER As the days got shorter and evenings darkened usually outdoor activity slackens off but it didn't seem so at Guinness World Records headquarters as this was in fact our most important month.  On September 17th we launched our wonderful new Guinness World Records book put together by our most diligent and unstoppable editorial team - salud![image] A colder month than previous it was time to put the gloves on perhaps and take care of keeping oneself warm.  Someone who took this to extremes was 10-year-old Tiano Walton who on September 13th thought one glove wasn't enough.  No.  In fact she need 27 of them.  On one hand.  But why?  Because she clutched herself into the Guinness World Records book for the most gloves worn on one hand.  I wonder what she would do with the most socks on one foot record? [image] You know that thing some people do with their pen?  You know, spin it on their hand, sometimes annoyingly?  Well, there's even a Guinness World Record for that.  On September 12th Daniel Muß decided to go for it.  A member of the pen-spinning community in his native Germany (really) he broke the record for the most pen spinning fingerpasses with 66 completed spins.  I don't know what to say other than than that's brilliant. [image] I found myself on Jimmy Kimmel in September as ol' Kimmel wanted to break the record for the largest meatball.  I mean, why not??  Yes, on a warm Californian night on September 24th two men lifted a large round meaty object into the record book.  How meaty?  198 lb meaty, that's how much.  Congratulations to Jimmy Kimmel and his crew, you're in the book!  Again! OCTOBER From the large and meaty to the light and delicate and to Japan we go again.  A marvelous thing happened on October 10th in Uruma when 1,808 butterflies were released simultaneously in a successful attempt to break the record for largest butterfly release.  Almost one thousand people stood in a single line with a butterfly in each hand and released them simultaneously at a given signal.  Aaaaaahhhh... [image] As the MLB entered its post season and the Yankees took the championship what better way to celebrate their achievement than by playing that longest baseball game ever.  That's exactly what happened in Missouri from October 9-11 when the Jonny G Foundation Cardinals played against the Edward Jones Browns for a ridiculous 48 hr 9 min 27 sec.  What??? The victors presumably must have celebrated in style and for sure there must have been alot of high fives and chest bumps.  But not as many as there were on October 27 in Australia when there was an attempt on the record for the most people doing chest bumps with a heart thumping 446 people completing 223 chestbumps - oh yeah! NOVEMBER November is another special month for us as we celebrate Guinness World Records Day all over the world.  This year was bigger than ever with over 40 record attempts in over 20 countries - many thanks once again to all who participated! [image] My personal favorites from the day as well as the rest of the month include the fastest time to eat a bowl of pasta achieved by Ernesto Cesario (Italy) in 1 minute 30 seconds in Milan on November 12th (bon apetito!), the largest finger painting in Hong Kong measuring 2101.43 sq m (22,619.51 sq ft) achieved by 3,242 students on November 26th, the longest hand-rolled cigar measuring 196 ft 3 in which I went to judge in Florida on November 21st and the tallest dog which as of November 12th is Titan owned by Diane Taylor who stands 42.25 inches tall - congratulations to the big man and to all our November record-breakers! [image] DECEMBER And so the year drew to a close and what a year it was.  Here we are a day away from the end of a momentous 120 months and the record-breaking still does not stop. December 5th saw us recognize the largest Christmas tree structure in Mexico City measuring 110 m 35 cm (362 ft tall) with a diameter of 35 m (114 ft 9 in), with a star which was 32.5 m tall.  It weighed 330 tonnes and was adorned with 1,200,000 lights.  I wonder what Father Christmas would think of that? [image] It is at this time of year that if you're not like me you actually send some letters out in the form of Chrsitmas cards.  Sometimes these make it, sometimes they're a little late but the one letter you would want to make sure did arrive was one which was auctioned in New York and sold for $3,200,000 (£1,900,000) on December 5th.  The letter itself was written by George Washington in 1787 to his nephew Bushrod Washington, urging adoption of the country's new constitution.  Little did he know that would also be the most expensive single letter sold at auction over 200 years later! As social media took a grip on the world in the late 2000s it invariably led to some Guinness World Records and so what better way to end the year than on this note.  On December 1st via Twitter the Guinness World Record was established for the Largest Tweetup with 1,149 people who all congregated in one place via a message on Twitter in Los Angeles, California.  From the old to the new in one single month...pretty much sums up Guinness World Records! I hope you've enjoyed this little retrospective of 2009 and some of my own personal favorites.  It was quite a year and I'm sure I've left some gems out but they will be written about at another time.  They all provided me with some great memories for sure.  Many thanks to all who took part in 2009 and made the world of superlatives grow a little bit bigger.  Keep coming back to this blog and our website for all your record-breaking news and updates - we wouldn't be here without you! HAPPY NEW YEAR! nonadult false A Look Back at 2009...Part Two text blog 594 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 1686674 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_A-Look-Back-at-2009Part-One/BLOG/1686672/7691.html And so the festive season marches on to the end of the decade... The presents have been opened, the Christmas tree taken down and grandpa's teeth have been found under the cat.  Well, well, well, what a year it has been.  Not only do we march on relentlessly to the end of 2009 but to the end of the 21st century's first decade.  What will it bring we wonder?  How many records will be broken in 2010?  Will we discover an even taller man than the world's tallest man?  Will the shortest man be pipped at the post?  How old will the oldest person be at the end of 2010?  Lots of questions indeed but what better way to prepare for the next 365 days than by looking back over the last year and remembering all those record breakers and record-breaking moments that stood out and forced us to recognize the best of the best.  So here you are, a few of my own personal favourites of 2009 as we hop, skip and jump through the last 12 months. Let's go! JANUARY As the winter months of 2008 drew to a close and new year opened who would have known that it would be with a bang with the fastest shot in National Hockey League (NHL) being recorded.  Slovakian Zdeno Chara hit a 105.4 mph (169.7 km/h) slap shot during the All-Star Game's Skills Competition in Montreal, Canada, on January 25th blasting his way into the record books.  [image] The winter theme continued it seemed when Canadians Ray Zahab, Kevin Vallely and Richard Weber travelled from the Hercules Inlet to the South Pole in just 33 days 23 hr 30 min arriving on January 7th recording the fastest unsupported and unassisted journey to the Pole by a team - ridiculous!  These are epic journeys by far and we salute all who venture out into the unknown for the sake of pushing the limits. And one man who really knows a thing or two about pushing the limits is 10-year-old Luke G. Cimino who on January 16th found himself in the book for wearing the most socks on one foot - and he didn't even travel to the South Pole!  At Lionville Elementary School, Downingtown, Pennsylvania, USA young Luke put on 102 socks on a single foot!  Are you kidding me?? [image] Zdeno, Ray, Kevin, Richard and Luke - thank you for kicking off the year in style! FEBRUARY The pace didn't slacken in February and with the second month of the year came the NBA All-Star Game and that means...more records being broken. [image] Chauncey Billups knows a thing or two about this as he equalled the record for the most blinded free throws in one minute in Phoenix, Arizona.  As blind as a bat Billups put four through the hoop but not after that biggest of big men Shaquille O'Neal made his own attempt.  Sadly he only made one...or was it two?  Better luck next time Mr. O'Neal...see you in Dallas! February saw the launch of our Gamer's Edition, a book collating all videogame records and what better way to do this than by setting a record.  Enter Danny Johnson, Guitar Hero extraordinaire.  Young Danny broke the record for highest score on a single song of Guitar Hero earning 973,954 points while playing 'Through the Fire and Flames'.  I was there.  I watched him do it and BOY can that kid play! [image] From the young to the old and we gladly, but also with a little sadness recognized a new oldest person in the world.  It's always a little sad because you know it means someone has passed away ...R.I.P....but nevertheless on February 27th we notified Gertrude Baines (b. 6 April 1894, USA) she was the oldest person in the world at 114 years 327 days old.  Wow.  And I'm feeling my age at 38 - yikes! [image] MARCH One thing you won't find Gertrude doing is diving into very shallow puddles of water from great heights but that is exactly what a gentleman who calls himself Professor Splash does.  Indeed PS also known as...er...Darren Taylor...dove 10.87 m (35 ft 8 in) into six inches of water on March 20 breaking the record for the highest shallow dive as we call it.  Catch me doing that?  Not on your nelly! [image] [image] After that you really would need a stiff drink.  Or two.  Or maybe even three.  At least go drinking with a few mates for a while.  Perhaps even a pub crawl.  But wait.  Not any ordinary pub crawl.  How about the largest pub crawl in the world?  On March 14 3,163 people set a new record for the most people on a pub crawl during the SaintPattys.com 11th Annual Luck of The Irish St Patricks Pub Crawl 2009 in New York.  Good Lord!!  What a craic! [image] After that much drinking I would definitely do something silly.  But not as silly as what Kevin Velaiden did on March 27 which was jump into a pair of underpants in one hour as many times as he could.  234 times!!!  And not only that but on our TV show in the UK Guinness World Records Smashed.  Kevin!  Have you no pride man??  Just joking my friend.  You are a star in the Guinness World Records constellation - bravo! APRIL Oh April!  Oh April!  Whatever will you bring?  I think after March we really need a bit of divine intervention and what better place to get that than in London on April 9th when in a very Monty Python way there gathered the most people dressed as nuns - 250 people!  Fortes fortuna iuvat! [image] And as we reach for the heavens let us not forget our friends the spacemen who live up there in the sky!  I really didn't know how to link this bit together as you can see.  But we had people exploring the South Pole and we had people visiting space...for the second time!  While people were dressing up as nuns in London Hungarian-born US-software billionaire Charles Simonyi was returning from space. Simonyi paid $25m (then £12.5 million) for his first trip on a Russian Soyuz rocket on 7 April 2007, the first stage of a 12-day visit to the International Space Station (ISS). Two years later, at the age of 60, Simonyi paid $35m (£24m) for a second voyage, also to the ISS, departing on 26 March 2009, returning to Earth on April 9 2009.  Mr. Simonyi sir you are the recipient of the Guinness World Record for most visits into space by a tourist...wanna do it again? [image] Someone who knows a thing or two about flight is Takuo Toda, the chairman of the Japan Origami Airplane Association.  Takuo Toda San is responsible for the longest flight duration record for a hand-launched paper aircraft, launching his plane for 27.9 sec on April 11th.  Isn't that cool?  I love the 'simple' ones...they're the best. MAY May means it's the fifth month of the year and we're close to half way through.  I hope you'll agree, so far the year was pretty wild.  Whatever next?  The largest hamburger in the world?  The thickest book?  The highest pancake toss? Yes! Yes! Yes! The largest commercially available hamburger is 84.14 kg (185.8 lbs) and is available for US$499 (£302.84) on the menu at Mallie's Sports Grill & Bar in Southgate, Michigan, USA, as of May 30 2009. [image] The thickest book measures 322 mm (12.67 in) in width and was unveiled by HarperCollins in London, UK, on May 20 2009. All Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories - 12 novels and 20 short stories - are collected and published in this volume. [image] The highest pancake toss measured 7.77 m (25 ft 6 in) and was achieved by both Brent Bush and Gregg Zimmerman (both USA) outside Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Kansas, USA on May 20 2009. It took them three hours before they reached the record breaking height surpassing the record several times in the process. JUNE Halfway through and the Guinness World Records world just keeps on going.  I mean people were really letting their hair down and we were only six months in.  Someone who most definitely was not letting their hair down was Stefan Srocka from Germany who we checked out on June 2nd when he submitted himself as a contender for the tallest mohican.  He came.  He submitted.  He conquered...with a mohawk measuring 80 cm (31.5 in).  Hair-raising.  Congrats Stefan! [image] If that wasn't something to sing about, Karen Davy from New Zealand certainly had a reason to.  The lass from Auckland raised $27,000 for a children's charity by breaking the Guinness World Record for marathon karaoke singing.  A ear-splitting 48 hrs! Not really Karen, we're sure you sounded lovely...gulp! [image] Stop what you're doing right now!  Why?  Because you are about to be informed of a most intimidating record.  In the huge state of Texas everything is big.  And that includes horses.  In fact, the tallest living horse in the world is Remington, a Clydesdale horse, who on June 6th measured 20 hands (203.2 cm, 80 in) without shoes.  Giddy up I say!  Remington is owned by Cheryl Davis who I hope is also a very tall woman.  Well done Cheryl and well done Remington ya big fella! Half way through the year and halfway through this wrap-up of my most memorable Guinness World Records of 2009...Part Two coming up!  And so the festive season marches on to the end of the decade... The presents have been opened, the Christmas tree taken down and grandpa's teeth have been found under the cat.  Well, well, well, what a year it has been.  Not only do we march on relentlessly to the end of 2009 but to the end of the 21st century's first decade.  What will it bring we wonder?  How many records will be broken in 2010?  Will we discover an even taller man than the world's tallest man?  Will the shortest man be pipped at the post?  How old will the oldest person be at the end of 2010?  Lots of questions indeed but what better way to prepare for the next 365 days than by looking back over the last year and remembering all those record breakers and record-breaking moments that stood out and forced us to recognize the best of the best.  So here you are, a few of my own personal favourites of 2009 as we hop, skip and jump through the last 12 months. Let's go! JANUARY As the winter months of 2008 drew to a close and new year opened who would have known that it would be with a bang with the fastest shot in National Hockey League (NHL) being recorded.  Slovakian Zdeno Chara hit a 105.4 mph (169.7 km/h) slap shot during the All-Star Game's Skills Competition in Montreal, Canada, on January 25th blasting his way into the record books.  [image] The winter theme continued it seemed when Canadians Ray Zahab, Kevin Vallely and Richard Weber travelled from the Hercules Inlet to the South Pole in just 33 days 23 hr 30 min arriving on January 7th recording the fastest unsupported and unassisted journey to the Pole by a team - ridiculous!  These are epic journeys by far and we salute all who venture out into the unknown for the sake of pushing the limits. And one man who really knows a thing or two about pushing the limits is 10-year-old Luke G. Cimino who on January 16th found himself in the book for wearing the most socks on one foot - and he didn't even travel to the South Pole!  At Lionville Elementary School, Downingtown, Pennsylvania, USA young Luke put on 102 socks on a single foot!  Are you kidding me?? [image] Zdeno, Ray, Kevin, Richard and Luke - thank you for kicking off the year in style! FEBRUARY The pace didn't slacken in February and with the second month of the year came the NBA All-Star Game and that means...more records being broken. [image] Chauncey Billups knows a thing or two about this as he equalled the record for the most blinded free throws in one minute in Phoenix, Arizona.  As blind as a bat Billups put four through the hoop but not after that biggest of big men Shaquille O'Neal made his own attempt.  Sadly he only made one...or was it two?  Better luck next time Mr. O'Neal...see you in Dallas! February saw the launch of our Gamer's Edition, a book collating all videogame records and what better way to do this than by setting a record.  Enter Danny Johnson, Guitar Hero extraordinaire.  Young Danny broke the record for highest score on a single song of Guitar Hero earning 973,954 points while playing 'Through the Fire and Flames'.  I was there.  I watched him do it and BOY can that kid play! [image] From the young to the old and we gladly, but also with a little sadness recognized a new oldest person in the world.  It's always a little sad because you know it means someone has passed away ...R.I.P....but nevertheless on February 27th we notified Gertrude Baines (b. 6 April 1894, USA) she was the oldest person in the world at 114 years 327 days old.  Wow.  And I'm feeling my age at 38 - yikes! [image] MARCH One thing you won't find Gertrude doing is diving into very shallow puddles of water from great heights but that is exactly what a gentleman who calls himself Professor Splash does.  Indeed PS also known as...er...Darren Taylor...dove 10.87 m (35 ft 8 in) into six inches of water on March 20 breaking the record for the highest shallow dive as we call it.  Catch me doing that?  Not on your nelly! [image] [image] After that you really would need a stiff drink.  Or two.  Or maybe even three.  At least go drinking with a few mates for a while.  Perhaps even a pub crawl.  But wait.  Not any ordinary pub crawl.  How about the largest pub crawl in the world?  On March 14 3,163 people set a new record for the most people on a pub crawl during the SaintPattys.com 11th Annual Luck of The Irish St Patricks Pub Crawl 2009 in New York.  Good Lord!!  What a craic! [image] After that much drinking I would definitely do something silly.  But not as silly as what Kevin Velaiden did on March 27 which was jump into a pair of underpants in one hour as many times as he could.  234 times!!!  And not only that but on our TV show in the UK Guinness World Records Smashed.  Kevin!  Have you no pride man??  Just joking my friend.  You are a star in the Guinness World Records constellation - bravo! APRIL Oh April!  Oh April!  Whatever will you bring?  I think after March we really need a bit of divine intervention and what better place to get that than in London on April 9th when in a very Monty Python way there gathered the most people dressed as nuns - 250 people!  Fortes fortuna iuvat! [image] And as we reach for the heavens let us not forget our friends the spacemen who live up there in the sky!  I really didn't know how to link this bit together as you can see.  But we had people exploring the South Pole and we had people visiting space...for the second time!  While people were dressing up as nuns in London Hungarian-born US-software billionaire Charles Simonyi was returning from space. Simonyi paid $25m (then £12.5 million) for his first trip on a Russian Soyuz rocket on 7 April 2007, the first stage of a 12-day visit to the International Space Station (ISS). Two years later, at the age of 60, Simonyi paid $35m (£24m) for a second voyage, also to the ISS, departing on 26 March 2009, returning to Earth on April 9 2009.  Mr. Simonyi sir you are the recipient of the Guinness World Record for most visits into space by a tourist...wanna do it again? [image] Someone who knows a thing or two about flight is Takuo Toda, the chairman of the Japan Origami Airplane Association.  Takuo Toda San is responsible for the longest flight duration record for a hand-launched paper aircraft, launching his plane for 27.9 sec on April 11th.  Isn't that cool?  I love the 'simple' ones...they're the best. MAY May means it's the fifth month of the year and we're close to half way through.  I hope you'll agree, so far the year was pretty wild.  Whatever next?  The largest hamburger in the world?  The thickest book?  The highest pancake toss? Yes! Yes! Yes! The largest commercially available hamburger is 84.14 kg (185.8 lbs) and is available for US$499 (£302.84) on the menu at Mallie's Sports Grill & Bar in Southgate, Michigan, USA, as of May 30 2009. [image] The thickest book measures 322 mm (12.67 in) in width and was unveiled by HarperCollins in London, UK, on May 20 2009. All Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories - 12 novels and 20 short stories - are collected and published in this volume. [image] The highest pancake toss measured 7.77 m (25 ft 6 in) and was achieved by both Brent Bush and Gregg Zimmerman (both USA) outside Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Kansas, USA on May 20 2009. It took them three hours before they reached the record breaking height surpassing the record several times in the process. JUNE Halfway through and the Guinness World Records world just keeps on going.  I mean people were really letting their hair down and we were only six months in.  Someone who most definitely was not letting their hair down was Stefan Srocka from Germany who we checked out on June 2nd when he submitted himself as a contender for the tallest mohican.  He came.  He submitted.  He conquered...with a mohawk measuring 80 cm (31.5 in).  Hair-raising.  Congrats Stefan! [image] If that wasn't something to sing about, Karen Davy from New Zealand certainly had a reason to.  The lass from Auckland raised $27,000 for a children's charity by breaking the Guinness World Record for marathon karaoke singing.  A ear-splitting 48 hrs! Not really Karen, we're sure you sounded lovely...gulp! [image] Stop what you're doing right now!  Why?  Because you are about to be informed of a most intimidating record.  In the huge state of Texas everything is big.  And that includes horses.  In fact, the tallest living horse in the world is Remington, a Clydesdale horse, who on June 6th measured 20 hands (203.2 cm, 80 in) without shoes.  Giddy up I say!  Remington is owned by Cheryl Davis who I hope is also a very tall woman.  Well done Cheryl and well done Remington ya big fella! Half way through the year and halfway through this wrap-up of my most memorable Guinness World Records of 2009...Part Two coming up!  Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:12:32 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_A-Look-Back-at-2009Part-One/BLOG/1686672/7691.html sclaxton 2010-01-01T20:12:32Z Guinness World Records And so the festive season marches on to the end of the decade... The presents have been opened, the Christmas tree taken down and grandpa's teeth have been found under the cat.  Well, well, well, what a year it has been.  Not only do we march on relentlessly to the end of 2009 but to the end of the 21st century's first decade.  What will it bring we wonder?  How many records will be broken in 2010?  Will we discover an even taller man than the world's tallest man?  Will the shortest man be pipped at the post?  How old will the oldest person be at the end of 2010?  Lots of questions indeed but what better way to prepare for the next 365 days than by looking back over the last year and remembering all those record breakers and record-breaking moments that stood out and forced us to recognize the best of the best.  So here you are, a few of my own personal favourites of 2009 as we hop, skip and jump through the last 12 months. Let's go! JANUARY As the winter months of 2008 drew to a close and new year opened who would have known that it would be with a bang with the fastest shot in National Hockey League (NHL) being recorded.  Slovakian Zdeno Chara hit a 105.4 mph (169.7 km/h) slap shot during the All-Star Game's Skills Competition in Montreal, Canada, on January 25th blasting his way into the record books.  [image] The winter theme continued it seemed when Canadians Ray Zahab, Kevin Vallely and Richard Weber travelled from the Hercules Inlet to the South Pole in just 33 days 23 hr 30 min arriving on January 7th recording the fastest unsupported and unassisted journey to the Pole by a team - ridiculous!  These are epic journeys by far and we salute all who venture out into the unknown for the sake of pushing the limits. And one man who really knows a thing or two about pushing the limits is 10-year-old Luke G. Cimino who on January 16th found himself in the book for wearing the most socks on one foot - and he didn't even travel to the South Pole!  At Lionville Elementary School, Downingtown, Pennsylvania, USA young Luke put on 102 socks on a single foot!  Are you kidding me?? [image] Zdeno, Ray, Kevin, Richard and Luke - thank you for kicking off the year in style! FEBRUARY The pace didn't slacken in February and with the second month of the year came the NBA All-Star Game and that means...more records being broken. [image] Chauncey Billups knows a thing or two about this as he equalled the record for the most blinded free throws in one minute in Phoenix, Arizona.  As blind as a bat Billups put four through the hoop but not after that biggest of big men Shaquille O'Neal made his own attempt.  Sadly he only made one...or was it two?  Better luck next time Mr. O'Neal...see you in Dallas! February saw the launch of our Gamer's Edition, a book collating all videogame records and what better way to do this than by setting a record.  Enter Danny Johnson, Guitar Hero extraordinaire.  Young Danny broke the record for highest score on a single song of Guitar Hero earning 973,954 points while playing 'Through the Fire and Flames'.  I was there.  I watched him do it and BOY can that kid play! [image] From the young to the old and we gladly, but also with a little sadness recognized a new oldest person in the world.  It's always a little sad because you know it means someone has passed away ...R.I.P....but nevertheless on February 27th we notified Gertrude Baines (b. 6 April 1894, USA) she was the oldest person in the world at 114 years 327 days old.  Wow.  And I'm feeling my age at 38 - yikes! [image] MARCH One thing you won't find Gertrude doing is diving into very shallow puddles of water from great heights but that is exactly what a gentleman who calls himself Professor Splash does.  Indeed PS also known as...er...Darren Taylor...dove 10.87 m (35 ft 8 in) into six inches of water on March 20 breaking the record for the highest shallow dive as we call it.  Catch me doing that?  Not on your nelly! [image] [image] After that you really would need a stiff drink.  Or two.  Or maybe even three.  At least go drinking with a few mates for a while.  Perhaps even a pub crawl.  But wait.  Not any ordinary pub crawl.  How about the largest pub crawl in the world?  On March 14 3,163 people set a new record for the most people on a pub crawl during the SaintPattys.com 11th Annual Luck of The Irish St Patricks Pub Crawl 2009 in New York.  Good Lord!!  What a craic! [image] After that much drinking I would definitely do something silly.  But not as silly as what Kevin Velaiden did on March 27 which was jump into a pair of underpants in one hour as many times as he could.  234 times!!!  And not only that but on our TV show in the UK Guinness World Records Smashed.  Kevin!  Have you no pride man??  Just joking my friend.  You are a star in the Guinness World Records constellation - bravo! APRIL Oh April!  Oh April!  Whatever will you bring?  I think after March we really need a bit of divine intervention and what better place to get that than in London on April 9th when in a very Monty Python way there gathered the most people dressed as nuns - 250 people!  Fortes fortuna iuvat! [image] And as we reach for the heavens let us not forget our friends the spacemen who live up there in the sky!  I really didn't know how to link this bit together as you can see.  But we had people exploring the South Pole and we had people visiting space...for the second time!  While people were dressing up as nuns in London Hungarian-born US-software billionaire Charles Simonyi was returning from space. Simonyi paid $25m (then £12.5 million) for his first trip on a Russian Soyuz rocket on 7 April 2007, the first stage of a 12-day visit to the International Space Station (ISS). Two years later, at the age of 60, Simonyi paid $35m (£24m) for a second voyage, also to the ISS, departing on 26 March 2009, returning to Earth on April 9 2009.  Mr. Simonyi sir you are the recipient of the Guinness World Record for most visits into space by a tourist...wanna do it again? [image] Someone who knows a thing or two about flight is Takuo Toda, the chairman of the Japan Origami Airplane Association.  Takuo Toda San is responsible for the longest flight duration record for a hand-launched paper aircraft, launching his plane for 27.9 sec on April 11th.  Isn't that cool?  I love the 'simple' ones...they're the best. MAY May means it's the fifth month of the year and we're close to half way through.  I hope you'll agree, so far the year was pretty wild.  Whatever next?  The largest hamburger in the world?  The thickest book?  The highest pancake toss? Yes! Yes! Yes! The largest commercially available hamburger is 84.14 kg (185.8 lbs) and is available for US$499 (£302.84) on the menu at Mallie's Sports Grill & Bar in Southgate, Michigan, USA, as of May 30 2009. [image] The thickest book measures 322 mm (12.67 in) in width and was unveiled by HarperCollins in London, UK, on May 20 2009. All Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories - 12 novels and 20 short stories - are collected and published in this volume. [image] The highest pancake toss measured 7.77 m (25 ft 6 in) and was achieved by both Brent Bush and Gregg Zimmerman (both USA) outside Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Kansas, USA on May 20 2009. It took them three hours before they reached the record breaking height surpassing the record several times in the process. JUNE Halfway through and the Guinness World Records world just keeps on going.  I mean people were really letting their hair down and we were only six months in.  Someone who most definitely was not letting their hair down was Stefan Srocka from Germany who we checked out on June 2nd when he submitted himself as a contender for the tallest mohican.  He came.  He submitted.  He conquered...with a mohawk measuring 80 cm (31.5 in).  Hair-raising.  Congrats Stefan! [image] If that wasn't something to sing about, Karen Davy from New Zealand certainly had a reason to.  The lass from Auckland raised $27,000 for a children's charity by breaking the Guinness World Record for marathon karaoke singing.  A ear-splitting 48 hrs! Not really Karen, we're sure you sounded lovely...gulp! [image] Stop what you're doing right now!  Why?  Because you are about to be informed of a most intimidating record.  In the huge state of Texas everything is big.  And that includes horses.  In fact, the tallest living horse in the world is Remington, a Clydesdale horse, who on June 6th measured 20 hands (203.2 cm, 80 in) without shoes.  Giddy up I say!  Remington is owned by Cheryl Davis who I hope is also a very tall woman.  Well done Cheryl and well done Remington ya big fella! Half way through the year and halfway through this wrap-up of my most memorable Guinness World Records of 2009...Part Two coming up!  nonadult false A Look Back at 2009...Part One text blog 666 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 1686672 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_World-Cup-2010-England-v-USA/BLOG/1544359/7691.html It's hard to let the draw for what will be the premier sports occasion of 2010 go by without writing about it in some shape or form.  Before, during and after the World Cup 2010 in South Africa we will no doubt be posting Guinness World Records related to the event as well as featuring images of some of the best players that will grace this momentous global occasion.  But as a starter I felt it was worthwhile at least picking up on one part of the draw which has created some excitement.  As an Englishman in New York I certainly cannot be alone in marking June 12 on my calendar with a big red cross.  I bet my bottom dollar that all must be thrilled at the mouthwatering prospect of England v USA in Rustenberg in the opening game of Group C.  Just check out the reaction of Sky News after the draw, Indeed, the USA v anyone is always interesting (who doesn't love the Ryder Cup?) but when these two teams kick off the whole world will really be watching wondering what's next for that 'special relationship'.  As Terry Venables says, this will not an easy game! The only time the USA has actually beaten England was almost 60 years to the day when they'll play in South Africa, on 29 June 1950 in the World Cup in Brazil at Belo Horizonte at the Estadio Independencia.   It was a shock defeat as England were considered the kings of football at the time and the US team had little chance of getting anything past them.  Indeed, by the 12th minute of the match, England had had six shots on goal to the USA's zero.  But in the 38th minute American Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal of the match.  Hilariously, only one English paper printed anything about it and even then people thought it was a misprint believing the score was 10-0 to England. We salute you 1950 US soccer team!! Have times changed?  Who can say.  England are 5-1 favourites to win with the USA right now at 65-1 after the draw.  In terms of performance at World Cups, the USA are 3-12-3 while this is England's 13th World Cup and they are Europe's top scorer's with 34 goals.  Good luck to them and indeed all the teams heading to South Africa next year! And what has this got to do with Guinness World Records? Well, this wonderful match-up helped spark World Cup fever at Guinness World Records so we thought we'd make note of this special game and provide you with a few superlative teasers to give you a flavor of what's to come.  Our sports man Ralph Hannah will be on the case providing his usual great updates so stay tuned and let's hope more records fall in June! Two players share the record for playing in the most World Cups; Mexico's Antonio Carbajal and Germany's Lothar Matthäus both played in five tournaments. Matthäus has played the most World Cup matches overall, with 25 appearances.   Brazil's Pelé is the only player to have won three World Cup winners' medals, with 20 other players who have won two World Cup medals. The overall leading goalscorer in World Cups is Brazil's Ronaldo, scorer of 15 goals in three tournaments. West Germany's Gerd Müller is second, with 14 goals in two tournaments. The third placed goalscorer, France's Just Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup. All his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament. Brazil's Mário Zagallo and West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer are the only people to date to win the World Cup as both player and head coach. Zagallo won in 1958 and 1962 as a player and in 1970 as head coach. Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in 1990 as head coach. Italy's Vittorio Pozzo is the only head coach to ever win two World Cups. All World Cup winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to victory. As of the end of the 2006 tournament, Brazil and Germany have both played 92 matches, the most by any nation, with Brazil scoring the most goals, 201. It's hard to let the draw for what will be the premier sports occasion of 2010 go by without writing about it in some shape or form.  Before, during and after the World Cup 2010 in South Africa we will no doubt be posting Guinness World Records related to the event as well as featuring images of some of the best players that will grace this momentous global occasion.  But as a starter I felt it was worthwhile at least picking up on one part of the draw which has created some excitement.  As an Englishman in New York I certainly cannot be alone in marking June 12 on my calendar with a big red cross.  I bet my bottom dollar that all must be thrilled at the mouthwatering prospect of England v USA in Rustenberg in the opening game of Group C.  Just check out the reaction of Sky News after the draw, Indeed, the USA v anyone is always interesting (who doesn't love the Ryder Cup?) but when these two teams kick off the whole world will really be watching wondering what's next for that 'special relationship'.  As Terry Venables says, this will not an easy game! The only time the USA has actually beaten England was almost 60 years to the day when they'll play in South Africa, on 29 June 1950 in the World Cup in Brazil at Belo Horizonte at the Estadio Independencia.   It was a shock defeat as England were considered the kings of football at the time and the US team had little chance of getting anything past them.  Indeed, by the 12th minute of the match, England had had six shots on goal to the USA's zero.  But in the 38th minute American Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal of the match.  Hilariously, only one English paper printed anything about it and even then people thought it was a misprint believing the score was 10-0 to England. We salute you 1950 US soccer team!! Have times changed?  Who can say.  England are 5-1 favourites to win with the USA right now at 65-1 after the draw.  In terms of performance at World Cups, the USA are 3-12-3 while this is England's 13th World Cup and they are Europe's top scorer's with 34 goals.  Good luck to them and indeed all the teams heading to South Africa next year! And what has this got to do with Guinness World Records? Well, this wonderful match-up helped spark World Cup fever at Guinness World Records so we thought we'd make note of this special game and provide you with a few superlative teasers to give you a flavor of what's to come.  Our sports man Ralph Hannah will be on the case providing his usual great updates so stay tuned and let's hope more records fall in June! Two players share the record for playing in the most World Cups; Mexico's Antonio Carbajal and Germany's Lothar Matthäus both played in five tournaments. Matthäus has played the most World Cup matches overall, with 25 appearances.   Brazil's Pelé is the only player to have won three World Cup winners' medals, with 20 other players who have won two World Cup medals. The overall leading goalscorer in World Cups is Brazil's Ronaldo, scorer of 15 goals in three tournaments. West Germany's Gerd Müller is second, with 14 goals in two tournaments. The third placed goalscorer, France's Just Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup. All his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament. Brazil's Mário Zagallo and West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer are the only people to date to win the World Cup as both player and head coach. Zagallo won in 1958 and 1962 as a player and in 1970 as head coach. Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in 1990 as head coach. Italy's Vittorio Pozzo is the only head coach to ever win two World Cups. All World Cup winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to victory. As of the end of the 2006 tournament, Brazil and Germany have both played 92 matches, the most by any nation, with Brazil scoring the most goals, 201. Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:39:35 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_World-Cup-2010-England-v-USA/BLOG/1544359/7691.html sclaxton 2009-12-06T03:39:35Z Guinness World Records It's hard to let the draw for what will be the premier sports occasion of 2010 go by without writing about it in some shape or form.  Before, during and after the World Cup 2010 in South Africa we will no doubt be posting Guinness World Records related to the event as well as featuring images of some of the best players that will grace this momentous global occasion.  But as a starter I felt it was worthwhile at least picking up on one part of the draw which has created some excitement.  As an Englishman in New York I certainly cannot be alone in marking June 12 on my calendar with a big red cross.  I bet my bottom dollar that all must be thrilled at the mouthwatering prospect of England v USA in Rustenberg in the opening game of Group C.  Just check out the reaction of Sky News after the draw, Indeed, the USA v anyone is always interesting (who doesn't love the Ryder Cup?) but when these two teams kick off the whole world will really be watching wondering what's next for that 'special relationship'.  As Terry Venables says, this will not an easy game! The only time the USA has actually beaten England was almost 60 years to the day when they'll play in South Africa, on 29 June 1950 in the World Cup in Brazil at Belo Horizonte at the Estadio Independencia.   It was a shock defeat as England were considered the kings of football at the time and the US team had little chance of getting anything past them.  Indeed, by the 12th minute of the match, England had had six shots on goal to the USA's zero.  But in the 38th minute American Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal of the match.  Hilariously, only one English paper printed anything about it and even then people thought it was a misprint believing the score was 10-0 to England. We salute you 1950 US soccer team!! Have times changed?  Who can say.  England are 5-1 favourites to win with the USA right now at 65-1 after the draw.  In terms of performance at World Cups, the USA are 3-12-3 while this is England's 13th World Cup and they are Europe's top scorer's with 34 goals.  Good luck to them and indeed all the teams heading to South Africa next year! And what has this got to do with Guinness World Records? Well, this wonderful match-up helped spark World Cup fever at Guinness World Records so we thought we'd make note of this special game and provide you with a few superlative teasers to give you a flavor of what's to come.  Our sports man Ralph Hannah will be on the case providing his usual great updates so stay tuned and let's hope more records fall in June! Two players share the record for playing in the most World Cups; Mexico's Antonio Carbajal and Germany's Lothar Matthäus both played in five tournaments. Matthäus has played the most World Cup matches overall, with 25 appearances.   Brazil's Pelé is the only player to have won three World Cup winners' medals, with 20 other players who have won two World Cup medals. The overall leading goalscorer in World Cups is Brazil's Ronaldo, scorer of 15 goals in three tournaments. West Germany's Gerd Müller is second, with 14 goals in two tournaments. The third placed goalscorer, France's Just Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup. All his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament. Brazil's Mário Zagallo and West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer are the only people to date to win the World Cup as both player and head coach. Zagallo won in 1958 and 1962 as a player and in 1970 as head coach. Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in 1990 as head coach. Italy's Vittorio Pozzo is the only head coach to ever win two World Cups. All World Cup winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to victory. As of the end of the 2006 tournament, Brazil and Germany have both played 92 matches, the most by any nation, with Brazil scoring the most goals, 201. nonadult false World Cup 2010: England v USA text blog 970 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 1544359 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_The-Longest-Cigar-in-the-World/BLOG/1530667/7691.html The smell of a freshly rolled cigar is unmistakable.  Those fine, dark, leafy odors seem to permeate your every pore whenever you step into a cigar store.  Cigar smoking is almost like a rite of passage.  It's like getting your first car, going to your first concert, or having your first beer.  It's something you remember for years. And so it should be.  There's nothing more grown up than unwrapping a cigar, smelling it, listening to it as you roll it between your fingers and then lighting it up carefully for a precise, even burn.  Cigars make you feel like a big shot, like you're not to be messed with.  From Groucho Marx to Tony Montana, if you smoke a cigar you're making a statement.  And that's cool. [image] [image][image] [image] It was with this image that I arrived early one afternoon in Ybor City, Tampa Bay, Florida for the beginning of what turned out to be my own initiation in cigar rolling, selecting and smoking.  Up until now I'd only smoked occasionally and then without confidence, always nervous about doing the wrong thing and well, quite honestly, looking like a prat.  But on this occasion I had to step up my game.  Because on this occasion...these guys [image] had invited me to this: [image] Yes...the rolling of the LONGEST CIGAR IN THE WORLD.  This was actually something I'd been wanting to judge for years, ever since in 2001 I had accepted a claim from Cuba for it.  And here I was, eight years later, precisely where I wanted to be.  Wallace and Margarita Reyes have been rolling cigars for many, many years.  Wallace is actually a Grand Master cigar roller of which only three exist in the world.  He's been rolling cigars since he was 12 when he was taught by his father.  I was lucky enough to be shown how to roll a cigar by Wallace himself when he took me into his workshop where he had instruments that were over 100 years old.  If you want to roll a cigar you need three things... 1) Some cigar leaves [image]  2) Some Iranian tree resin for glue [image]  3) A chabeta or sharp-piece-of-metal-for-cutting-leaves [image][image] As a Grand Master, Wallace can roll a cigar ridiculously quickly and makes what is actually very skillful look very easy.  Here I am paying close attention to his royal Grand Masterness...IT WAS AWESOME! [image] With the help of Ybor City ambassador Rosemary these guys even showed me how to light one up! [image] In 2001 Wallace and Margarita had actually rolled a cigar that was 101 feet long and so he was already prepared for the stresses and strains of what lay ahead.  But first a brief congratulations of his aforementioned past record: [image] [image] The Guinness World Record for hand-rolling the longest cigar in the world has been held by individuals or teams in only three places: Cuba, Puerto Rico and the United States.  At the time of my trip the record Wallace and Margarita aimed to break was held by Cuban Jose Castelar Cairo who in May 2008 in Havana had rolled a cigar 148 ft 11 in long.  WE SALUTE YOU MR. CAIRO! So down to business.  To roll the world's longest cigar Wallace and Margarita had purchased around 140 lb of Ecuadorean tobacco which cost approximately $4,500.  They had pre-rolled the cigar into sections each measuring roughly 10 ft with a 64 ring gauge and this process had taken 104 hours.  The plan was on the day to roll all 18 sections together.  This is what they all looked like packed into a box (which Wallace made, he's also an expert carpenter): [image] At the appointed hour (which for the Reyes was 4 am on Saturday November 21st 2009) they stepped into a tent which was built to act as a giant humidor and started rolling.  Now to roll a cigar of these proportions you need help.  A lot of help.  Meaning about 50 people to help roll, and move the thing around.  Here are some shots so you can see what I mean: [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] And on it went, minute by minute, hour after hour, the rolling of the longest cigar in the world was a total labor of love for these guys.  I think they could have rolled all through the night into the early hours of the morning - amazing!  But the time came when the rolling had to stop.  Now Wallace and Margarita had aimed for about 180 feet but in their passion for posterity they actually ended up with a cigar measuring 196 feet 3 3/8 inches!!!  WHAT???? [image] Say hello to my little friend! [image] Indeed, the Reyes had almost doubled what they rolled in 2006 and added an extra 50 ft to the current record!  A few ammendments had to be made to the celebratory banners but no one noticed... [image] [image] Congratulations to Wallace and Margarita Reyes for setting a new Guinness World Record!!!  Ybor City is back in the Guinness World Records book!! www.worldslongestcigar.com The smell of a freshly rolled cigar is unmistakable.  Those fine, dark, leafy odors seem to permeate your every pore whenever you step into a cigar store.  Cigar smoking is almost like a rite of passage.  It's like getting your first car, going to your first concert, or having your first beer.  It's something you remember for years. And so it should be.  There's nothing more grown up than unwrapping a cigar, smelling it, listening to it as you roll it between your fingers and then lighting it up carefully for a precise, even burn.  Cigars make you feel like a big shot, like you're not to be messed with.  From Groucho Marx to Tony Montana, if you smoke a cigar you're making a statement.  And that's cool. [image] [image][image] [image] It was with this image that I arrived early one afternoon in Ybor City, Tampa Bay, Florida for the beginning of what turned out to be my own initiation in cigar rolling, selecting and smoking.  Up until now I'd only smoked occasionally and then without confidence, always nervous about doing the wrong thing and well, quite honestly, looking like a prat.  But on this occasion I had to step up my game.  Because on this occasion...these guys [image] had invited me to this: [image] Yes...the rolling of the LONGEST CIGAR IN THE WORLD.  This was actually something I'd been wanting to judge for years, ever since in 2001 I had accepted a claim from Cuba for it.  And here I was, eight years later, precisely where I wanted to be.  Wallace and Margarita Reyes have been rolling cigars for many, many years.  Wallace is actually a Grand Master cigar roller of which only three exist in the world.  He's been rolling cigars since he was 12 when he was taught by his father.  I was lucky enough to be shown how to roll a cigar by Wallace himself when he took me into his workshop where he had instruments that were over 100 years old.  If you want to roll a cigar you need three things... 1) Some cigar leaves [image]  2) Some Iranian tree resin for glue [image]  3) A chabeta or sharp-piece-of-metal-for-cutting-leaves [image][image] As a Grand Master, Wallace can roll a cigar ridiculously quickly and makes what is actually very skillful look very easy.  Here I am paying close attention to his royal Grand Masterness...IT WAS AWESOME! [image] With the help of Ybor City ambassador Rosemary these guys even showed me how to light one up! [image] In 2001 Wallace and Margarita had actually rolled a cigar that was 101 feet long and so he was already prepared for the stresses and strains of what lay ahead.  But first a brief congratulations of his aforementioned past record: [image] [image] The Guinness World Record for hand-rolling the longest cigar in the world has been held by individuals or teams in only three places: Cuba, Puerto Rico and the United States.  At the time of my trip the record Wallace and Margarita aimed to break was held by Cuban Jose Castelar Cairo who in May 2008 in Havana had rolled a cigar 148 ft 11 in long.  WE SALUTE YOU MR. CAIRO! So down to business.  To roll the world's longest cigar Wallace and Margarita had purchased around 140 lb of Ecuadorean tobacco which cost approximately $4,500.  They had pre-rolled the cigar into sections each measuring roughly 10 ft with a 64 ring gauge and this process had taken 104 hours.  The plan was on the day to roll all 18 sections together.  This is what they all looked like packed into a box (which Wallace made, he's also an expert carpenter): [image] At the appointed hour (which for the Reyes was 4 am on Saturday November 21st 2009) they stepped into a tent which was built to act as a giant humidor and started rolling.  Now to roll a cigar of these proportions you need help.  A lot of help.  Meaning about 50 people to help roll, and move the thing around.  Here are some shots so you can see what I mean: [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] And on it went, minute by minute, hour after hour, the rolling of the longest cigar in the world was a total labor of love for these guys.  I think they could have rolled all through the night into the early hours of the morning - amazing!  But the time came when the rolling had to stop.  Now Wallace and Margarita had aimed for about 180 feet but in their passion for posterity they actually ended up with a cigar measuring 196 feet 3 3/8 inches!!!  WHAT???? [image] Say hello to my little friend! [image] Indeed, the Reyes had almost doubled what they rolled in 2006 and added an extra 50 ft to the current record!  A few ammendments had to be made to the celebratory banners but no one noticed... [image] [image] Congratulations to Wallace and Margarita Reyes for setting a new Guinness World Record!!!  Ybor City is back in the Guinness World Records book!! www.worldslongestcigar.com Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:59:17 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_The-Longest-Cigar-in-the-World/BLOG/1530667/7691.html sclaxton 2009-11-30T18:59:17Z Guinness World Records The smell of a freshly rolled cigar is unmistakable.  Those fine, dark, leafy odors seem to permeate your every pore whenever you step into a cigar store.  Cigar smoking is almost like a rite of passage.  It's like getting your first car, going to your first concert, or having your first beer.  It's something you remember for years. And so it should be.  There's nothing more grown up than unwrapping a cigar, smelling it, listening to it as you roll it between your fingers and then lighting it up carefully for a precise, even burn.  Cigars make you feel like a big shot, like you're not to be messed with.  From Groucho Marx to Tony Montana, if you smoke a cigar you're making a statement.  And that's cool. [image] [image][image] [image] It was with this image that I arrived early one afternoon in Ybor City, Tampa Bay, Florida for the beginning of what turned out to be my own initiation in cigar rolling, selecting and smoking.  Up until now I'd only smoked occasionally and then without confidence, always nervous about doing the wrong thing and well, quite honestly, looking like a prat.  But on this occasion I had to step up my game.  Because on this occasion...these guys [image] had invited me to this: [image] Yes...the rolling of the LONGEST CIGAR IN THE WORLD.  This was actually something I'd been wanting to judge for years, ever since in 2001 I had accepted a claim from Cuba for it.  And here I was, eight years later, precisely where I wanted to be.  Wallace and Margarita Reyes have been rolling cigars for many, many years.  Wallace is actually a Grand Master cigar roller of which only three exist in the world.  He's been rolling cigars since he was 12 when he was taught by his father.  I was lucky enough to be shown how to roll a cigar by Wallace himself when he took me into his workshop where he had instruments that were over 100 years old.  If you want to roll a cigar you need three things... 1) Some cigar leaves [image]  2) Some Iranian tree resin for glue [image]  3) A chabeta or sharp-piece-of-metal-for-cutting-leaves [image][image] As a Grand Master, Wallace can roll a cigar ridiculously quickly and makes what is actually very skillful look very easy.  Here I am paying close attention to his royal Grand Masterness...IT WAS AWESOME! [image] With the help of Ybor City ambassador Rosemary these guys even showed me how to light one up! [image] In 2001 Wallace and Margarita had actually rolled a cigar that was 101 feet long and so he was already prepared for the stresses and strains of what lay ahead.  But first a brief congratulations of his aforementioned past record: [image] [image] The Guinness World Record for hand-rolling the longest cigar in the world has been held by individuals or teams in only three places: Cuba, Puerto Rico and the United States.  At the time of my trip the record Wallace and Margarita aimed to break was held by Cuban Jose Castelar Cairo who in May 2008 in Havana had rolled a cigar 148 ft 11 in long.  WE SALUTE YOU MR. CAIRO! So down to business.  To roll the world's longest cigar Wallace and Margarita had purchased around 140 lb of Ecuadorean tobacco which cost approximately $4,500.  They had pre-rolled the cigar into sections each measuring roughly 10 ft with a 64 ring gauge and this process had taken 104 hours.  The plan was on the day to roll all 18 sections together.  This is what they all looked like packed into a box (which Wallace made, he's also an expert carpenter): [image] At the appointed hour (which for the Reyes was 4 am on Saturday November 21st 2009) they stepped into a tent which was built to act as a giant humidor and started rolling.  Now to roll a cigar of these proportions you need help.  A lot of help.  Meaning about 50 people to help roll, and move the thing around.  Here are some shots so you can see what I mean: [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] And on it went, minute by minute, hour after hour, the rolling of the longest cigar in the world was a total labor of love for these guys.  I think they could have rolled all through the night into the early hours of the morning - amazing!  But the time came when the rolling had to stop.  Now Wallace and Margarita had aimed for about 180 feet but in their passion for posterity they actually ended up with a cigar measuring 196 feet 3 3/8 inches!!!  WHAT???? [image] Say hello to my little friend! [image] Indeed, the Reyes had almost doubled what they rolled in 2006 and added an extra 50 ft to the current record!  A few ammendments had to be made to the celebratory banners but no one noticed... [image] [image] Congratulations to Wallace and Margarita Reyes for setting a new Guinness World Record!!!  Ybor City is back in the Guinness World Records book!! www.worldslongestcigar.com nonadult false The Longest Cigar in the World text blog 6975 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 1530667 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Guinness-World-Records-held-by-Brett-Favre/BLOG/1275336/7691.html MOST CAREER TOUCHDOWNS BY NFL QUARTERBACK AT ONE STADIUM  Brett Favre (USA), playing for the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 2005, has thrown for a career total of 189 touchdowns at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the most touchdown passes ever by a quarterback at one stadium.  MOST CONSECUTIVE NFL PLAYOFF GAMES THROWING A TOUCHDOWN PASS  The record for most consecutive postseason games throwing at least one touchdown pass is 18 by Brett Favre (USA) playing for the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 2007. MOST MATCHES STARTED IN CONSECUTIVE REGULAR SEASONS IN NFL CAREER BY A QUARTERBACK  The most matches started in consecutive regular seasons in an NFL career by a quarterback were achieved by Brett Favre (USA) who set the record by starting in his 275th consecutive regular season game through 2008. This figure includes play-offs; excluding these, the figure is 225.  MOST PASS ATTEMPTS IN NFL CAREER The most pass attempts in an NFL career were achieved by Brett Favre (USA) who set the record at 9,280 between 1991 and 2008  MOST PASS COMPLETIONS IN NFL CAREER BY A QUARTERBACK The most pass completions in an NFL career by a quarterback were set by Brett Favre (USA) for the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets with 5,720 pass completions between 1992 and 2009.  MOST PASSING YARDS IN NFL CAREER The most passing yards in an NFL career were 61,655 set by Brett Favre (USA) between 1992 and his retirement in 2008. MOST SEASONS CONSECUTIVELY PASSING 3,000 YARDS IN NFL CAREER BY A QUARTERBACK Brett Favre (USA) of the Green Bay Packers set the NFL quaterbacking record in 2006 by throwing for at least 3,000 yards in a season for the 15th consecutive year.  MOST TOUCHDOWN PASSES IN NFL CAREER Brett Favre (USA) has thrown for a total of 464 touchdown passes playing for the Atlanta Falcons (USA), Green Bay Packers (USA) and New York Jets (USA) from 1992 to 2008. MOST WINS IN NFL CAREER AS A STARTING QUARTERBACK The most wins in an NFL career as a starting quarterback were achieved by Brett Favre (USA) who has 160 victories between 1992 and 2008. OLDEST PAIR OF STARTING QUARTERBACKS IN NFL HISTORY The oldest starting quarterback match-up in NFL history was formed by 44 year-old Vinny Testaverde of the Carolina Panthers and 38 year-old Brett Favre ( both USA) of the Green Bay Packers, on 18 November 2007. MOST CAREER TOUCHDOWNS BY NFL QUARTERBACK AT ONE STADIUM  Brett Favre (USA), playing for the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 2005, has thrown for a career total of 189 touchdowns at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the most touchdown passes ever by a quarterback at one stadium.  MOST CONSECUTIVE NFL PLAYOFF GAMES THROWING A TOUCHDOWN PASS  The record for most consecutive postseason games throwing at least one touchdown pass is 18 by Brett Favre (USA) playing for the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 2007. MOST MATCHES STARTED IN CONSECUTIVE REGULAR SEASONS IN NFL CAREER BY A QUARTERBACK  The most matches started in consecutive regular seasons in an NFL career by a quarterback were achieved by Brett Favre (USA) who set the record by starting in his 275th consecutive regular season game through 2008. This figure includes play-offs; excluding these, the figure is 225.  MOST PASS ATTEMPTS IN NFL CAREER The most pass attempts in an NFL career were achieved by Brett Favre (USA) who set the record at 9,280 between 1991 and 2008  MOST PASS COMPLETIONS IN NFL CAREER BY A QUARTERBACK The most pass completions in an NFL career by a quarterback were set by Brett Favre (USA) for the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets with 5,720 pass completions between 1992 and 2009.  MOST PASSING YARDS IN NFL CAREER The most passing yards in an NFL career were 61,655 set by Brett Favre (USA) between 1992 and his retirement in 2008. MOST SEASONS CONSECUTIVELY PASSING 3,000 YARDS IN NFL CAREER BY A QUARTERBACK Brett Favre (USA) of the Green Bay Packers set the NFL quaterbacking record in 2006 by throwing for at least 3,000 yards in a season for the 15th consecutive year.  MOST TOUCHDOWN PASSES IN NFL CAREER Brett Favre (USA) has thrown for a total of 464 touchdown passes playing for the Atlanta Falcons (USA), Green Bay Packers (USA) and New York Jets (USA) from 1992 to 2008. MOST WINS IN NFL CAREER AS A STARTING QUARTERBACK The most wins in an NFL career as a starting quarterback were achieved by Brett Favre (USA) who has 160 victories between 1992 and 2008. OLDEST PAIR OF STARTING QUARTERBACKS IN NFL HISTORY The oldest starting quarterback match-up in NFL history was formed by 44 year-old Vinny Testaverde of the Carolina Panthers and 38 year-old Brett Favre ( both USA) of the Green Bay Packers, on 18 November 2007. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:26:51 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Guinness-World-Records-held-by-Brett-Favre/BLOG/1275336/7691.html sclaxton 2009-10-16T14:26:51Z Guinness World Records MOST CAREER TOUCHDOWNS BY NFL QUARTERBACK AT ONE STADIUM  Brett Favre (USA), playing for the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 2005, has thrown for a career total of 189 touchdowns at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the most touchdown passes ever by a quarterback at one stadium.  MOST CONSECUTIVE NFL PLAYOFF GAMES THROWING A TOUCHDOWN PASS  The record for most consecutive postseason games throwing at least one touchdown pass is 18 by Brett Favre (USA) playing for the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 2007. MOST MATCHES STARTED IN CONSECUTIVE REGULAR SEASONS IN NFL CAREER BY A QUARTERBACK  The most matches started in consecutive regular seasons in an NFL career by a quarterback were achieved by Brett Favre (USA) who set the record by starting in his 275th consecutive regular season game through 2008. This figure includes play-offs; excluding these, the figure is 225.  MOST PASS ATTEMPTS IN NFL CAREER The most pass attempts in an NFL career were achieved by Brett Favre (USA) who set the record at 9,280 between 1991 and 2008  MOST PASS COMPLETIONS IN NFL CAREER BY A QUARTERBACK The most pass completions in an NFL career by a quarterback were set by Brett Favre (USA) for the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets with 5,720 pass completions between 1992 and 2009.  MOST PASSING YARDS IN NFL CAREER The most passing yards in an NFL career were 61,655 set by Brett Favre (USA) between 1992 and his retirement in 2008. MOST SEASONS CONSECUTIVELY PASSING 3,000 YARDS IN NFL CAREER BY A QUARTERBACK Brett Favre (USA) of the Green Bay Packers set the NFL quaterbacking record in 2006 by throwing for at least 3,000 yards in a season for the 15th consecutive year.  MOST TOUCHDOWN PASSES IN NFL CAREER Brett Favre (USA) has thrown for a total of 464 touchdown passes playing for the Atlanta Falcons (USA), Green Bay Packers (USA) and New York Jets (USA) from 1992 to 2008. MOST WINS IN NFL CAREER AS A STARTING QUARTERBACK The most wins in an NFL career as a starting quarterback were achieved by Brett Favre (USA) who has 160 victories between 1992 and 2008. OLDEST PAIR OF STARTING QUARTERBACKS IN NFL HISTORY The oldest starting quarterback match-up in NFL history was formed by 44 year-old Vinny Testaverde of the Carolina Panthers and 38 year-old Brett Favre ( both USA) of the Green Bay Packers, on 18 November 2007. nonadult false Guinness World Records held by Brett Favre text blog 1951 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 1275336 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Brett-Favre-Freak-Out/BLOG/1270485/7691.html And so it was with my heart full of emotion and my head full of cheese that I made my way to the hallowed ground that is Bristol[image], Connecticut and to the ESPN campus.  [image] Was I going to be inducted into the ESPN Hall of Fame? No. Was I going to be interviewed for that evening's SportsCenter? No. Was my name Stuart Claxton and was was I about to judge ANOTHER Guinness World Record? Yes! Indeed, once again I packed my bag of GWR tricks and headed north to judge one of the most singularly single records I'd witnessed in a long time.  SportsNation, that fan-fed festival airing daily on ESPN2 were going to attempt a most judicious record.  In honour of multiple-retiree Brett Favre's appearance in the evening's NFL game in which the Minnesota Vikings were going up against his old team the Green Bay Packers, the hosts Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd were going to try and set the record for the Most Mentions of a Name on a TV Show ever.  And who's name was selected from thousands of others? Brett Favre.  Did I say Brett Favre? Brett Favre?  Anyone here called Brett Favre? The name's Favre.  Brett Favre. You get the idea.  Here's Michelle: [image] This is Colin: [image] Here is Brett: [image] And here are Michelle & Colin with Brett: [image] The whole set was a most glorious celebration of the man and his myth.  It was a Brett Favre-Fest no doubt about it.  Brett Favre manifested himself everywhere I looked: [image] [image] As airtime approached I was shown to my podium.  Right next to the Favre-o-Meter.  Oh yeah.  These guys WERE NOT messing around. [image] And we were off!  The rules stated that each time Brett Favre[image] was mentioned it had to form part of the flow of a complete sentence, no textual references allowed either.  Michelle and Colin were up for the challenge though and raced through the mentions with style[image].  I actually had trouble keeping up with them they were so good at it!  Here I am, sweating my way through 176 Brett Favres! [image] The minutes flew by, as did the Brett Favres.  But wait, what's this?  A video showreel of 23 consecutive Brett Favre mentions!  Hang on.  Quick as a flash I had to check in with Jamie Horowitz, the producer.  "Sorry Jamie, but those 23 don't count". Booooo!  Paper projectiles suddenly rained down all around me!  "Momma's not happy" joked Michelle.  But all was good in the SportsNation camp and they would not be deterred, onwards and upwards!  The end was near...194....195...196...just a few more to reach their self-imposed target of two hundred.  And they're there!  A new Guinness World Record, 203 mentions of the name Brett Favre!! [image] Congratulations to all at SportsNation!  They were all most gracious and we hope to see them again soon.  Unless this little guy has something to say about it... [image] And so it was with my heart full of emotion and my head full of cheese that I made my way to the hallowed ground that is Bristol[image], Connecticut and to the ESPN campus.  [image] Was I going to be inducted into the ESPN Hall of Fame? No. Was I going to be interviewed for that evening's SportsCenter? No. Was my name Stuart Claxton and was was I about to judge ANOTHER Guinness World Record? Yes! Indeed, once again I packed my bag of GWR tricks and headed north to judge one of the most singularly single records I'd witnessed in a long time.  SportsNation, that fan-fed festival airing daily on ESPN2 were going to attempt a most judicious record.  In honour of multiple-retiree Brett Favre's appearance in the evening's NFL game in which the Minnesota Vikings were going up against his old team the Green Bay Packers, the hosts Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd were going to try and set the record for the Most Mentions of a Name on a TV Show ever.  And who's name was selected from thousands of others? Brett Favre.  Did I say Brett Favre? Brett Favre?  Anyone here called Brett Favre? The name's Favre.  Brett Favre. You get the idea.  Here's Michelle: [image] This is Colin: [image] Here is Brett: [image] And here are Michelle & Colin with Brett: [image] The whole set was a most glorious celebration of the man and his myth.  It was a Brett Favre-Fest no doubt about it.  Brett Favre manifested himself everywhere I looked: [image] [image] As airtime approached I was shown to my podium.  Right next to the Favre-o-Meter.  Oh yeah.  These guys WERE NOT messing around. [image] And we were off!  The rules stated that each time Brett Favre[image] was mentioned it had to form part of the flow of a complete sentence, no textual references allowed either.  Michelle and Colin were up for the challenge though and raced through the mentions with style[image].  I actually had trouble keeping up with them they were so good at it!  Here I am, sweating my way through 176 Brett Favres! [image] The minutes flew by, as did the Brett Favres.  But wait, what's this?  A video showreel of 23 consecutive Brett Favre mentions!  Hang on.  Quick as a flash I had to check in with Jamie Horowitz, the producer.  "Sorry Jamie, but those 23 don't count". Booooo!  Paper projectiles suddenly rained down all around me!  "Momma's not happy" joked Michelle.  But all was good in the SportsNation camp and they would not be deterred, onwards and upwards!  The end was near...194....195...196...just a few more to reach their self-imposed target of two hundred.  And they're there!  A new Guinness World Record, 203 mentions of the name Brett Favre!! [image] Congratulations to all at SportsNation!  They were all most gracious and we hope to see them again soon.  Unless this little guy has something to say about it... [image] Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:47:33 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Brett-Favre-Freak-Out/BLOG/1270485/7691.html sclaxton 2009-10-15T20:47:33Z Guinness World Records And so it was with my heart full of emotion and my head full of cheese that I made my way to the hallowed ground that is Bristol[image], Connecticut and to the ESPN campus.  [image] Was I going to be inducted into the ESPN Hall of Fame? No. Was I going to be interviewed for that evening's SportsCenter? No. Was my name Stuart Claxton and was was I about to judge ANOTHER Guinness World Record? Yes! Indeed, once again I packed my bag of GWR tricks and headed north to judge one of the most singularly single records I'd witnessed in a long time.  SportsNation, that fan-fed festival airing daily on ESPN2 were going to attempt a most judicious record.  In honour of multiple-retiree Brett Favre's appearance in the evening's NFL game in which the Minnesota Vikings were going up against his old team the Green Bay Packers, the hosts Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd were going to try and set the record for the Most Mentions of a Name on a TV Show ever.  And who's name was selected from thousands of others? Brett Favre.  Did I say Brett Favre? Brett Favre?  Anyone here called Brett Favre? The name's Favre.  Brett Favre. You get the idea.  Here's Michelle: [image] This is Colin: [image] Here is Brett: [image] And here are Michelle & Colin with Brett: [image] The whole set was a most glorious celebration of the man and his myth.  It was a Brett Favre-Fest no doubt about it.  Brett Favre manifested himself everywhere I looked: [image] [image] As airtime approached I was shown to my podium.  Right next to the Favre-o-Meter.  Oh yeah.  These guys WERE NOT messing around. [image] And we were off!  The rules stated that each time Brett Favre[image] was mentioned it had to form part of the flow of a complete sentence, no textual references allowed either.  Michelle and Colin were up for the challenge though and raced through the mentions with style[image].  I actually had trouble keeping up with them they were so good at it!  Here I am, sweating my way through 176 Brett Favres! [image] The minutes flew by, as did the Brett Favres.  But wait, what's this?  A video showreel of 23 consecutive Brett Favre mentions!  Hang on.  Quick as a flash I had to check in with Jamie Horowitz, the producer.  "Sorry Jamie, but those 23 don't count". Booooo!  Paper projectiles suddenly rained down all around me!  "Momma's not happy" joked Michelle.  But all was good in the SportsNation camp and they would not be deterred, onwards and upwards!  The end was near...194....195...196...just a few more to reach their self-imposed target of two hundred.  And they're there!  A new Guinness World Record, 203 mentions of the name Brett Favre!! [image] Congratulations to all at SportsNation!  They were all most gracious and we hope to see them again soon.  Unless this little guy has something to say about it... [image] nonadult false Brett Favre Freak Out text blog 1318 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 1270485 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Fastest-Baseball-Pitch-Ever/BLOG/1074184/7691.html In honor of the MLB postseason I would like to reference Noam Scheiber's excellent article in Slate called Why can't anyone throw a baseball faster than 100mph? [image] It's a fascinating question, more so because the record for the fastest pitch has stood for over 50 years.  As cited in the article, we have the following listed on our database: Fastest Baseball Pitch The fastest baseball pitch is 162.3km/h (100.9mph) and was achieved by Lynn Nolan Ryan (then of the California Angels) (b. 31 Jan 1947), at Anaheim Stadium, California, USA, on 20 August 1974.  Scheiber actually refutes this saying that he believes Mark Wohlers is the king of the fastball at 103 mph.  We love and accept the information subject to confirmation (!).  We are nothing if not here to stimulate such superlative research which we hope does turn the heat of discussion into light.  So as Scheiber asks, if athletic records have been tumbling in smaller or greater increments what's up with the baseball pitch record?  Being in the world record business it's a source of intrigue for me as it seems to be more and more difficult to tell when and where sports records will be broken.  Before the amazing Usain Bolt, we had no idea the 100 m record was going to be broken.  But it was.  Twice.  But Mr. Bolt and his 9.58 seconds aside, why hasn't anyone thrown a pitch faster than 100 mph?  Scheiber says, the 100-mph ceiling is not an illusion - "it's a basic property of human physiology". Turns out that if a ball were thrown any faster than 100 mph it could literally rip a pitcher's tendons and ligaments from bone and muscle.  He'd throw his arm off!  At the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, biomechanical engineer Glenn Fleisig calculated that when a pitcher throws a fastball it exerts around 80 Newton-meters of torque on the elbow.  Practising with cadavers, Fleisig found that anything greater than that actually caused the ulnar collateral ligament (the bones that meet at the elbow) to snap. OUCH!! I will leave you to enjoy the rest of the article (http://www.slate.com/id/2116402 - it is very good) but in the meantime, what are your thoughts? Will we ever see the Guinness World Record for the fastest pitch broken in our lifetime? In honor of the MLB postseason I would like to reference Noam Scheiber's excellent article in Slate called Why can't anyone throw a baseball faster than 100mph? [image] It's a fascinating question, more so because the record for the fastest pitch has stood for over 50 years.  As cited in the article, we have the following listed on our database: Fastest Baseball Pitch The fastest baseball pitch is 162.3km/h (100.9mph) and was achieved by Lynn Nolan Ryan (then of the California Angels) (b. 31 Jan 1947), at Anaheim Stadium, California, USA, on 20 August 1974.  Scheiber actually refutes this saying that he believes Mark Wohlers is the king of the fastball at 103 mph.  We love and accept the information subject to confirmation (!).  We are nothing if not here to stimulate such superlative research which we hope does turn the heat of discussion into light.  So as Scheiber asks, if athletic records have been tumbling in smaller or greater increments what's up with the baseball pitch record?  Being in the world record business it's a source of intrigue for me as it seems to be more and more difficult to tell when and where sports records will be broken.  Before the amazing Usain Bolt, we had no idea the 100 m record was going to be broken.  But it was.  Twice.  But Mr. Bolt and his 9.58 seconds aside, why hasn't anyone thrown a pitch faster than 100 mph?  Scheiber says, the 100-mph ceiling is not an illusion - "it's a basic property of human physiology". Turns out that if a ball were thrown any faster than 100 mph it could literally rip a pitcher's tendons and ligaments from bone and muscle.  He'd throw his arm off!  At the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, biomechanical engineer Glenn Fleisig calculated that when a pitcher throws a fastball it exerts around 80 Newton-meters of torque on the elbow.  Practising with cadavers, Fleisig found that anything greater than that actually caused the ulnar collateral ligament (the bones that meet at the elbow) to snap. OUCH!! I will leave you to enjoy the rest of the article (http://www.slate.com/id/2116402 - it is very good) but in the meantime, what are your thoughts? Will we ever see the Guinness World Record for the fastest pitch broken in our lifetime? Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:22:52 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Fastest-Baseball-Pitch-Ever/BLOG/1074184/7691.html sclaxton 2009-10-12T16:22:52Z Guinness World Records In honor of the MLB postseason I would like to reference Noam Scheiber's excellent article in Slate called Why can't anyone throw a baseball faster than 100mph? [image] It's a fascinating question, more so because the record for the fastest pitch has stood for over 50 years.  As cited in the article, we have the following listed on our database: Fastest Baseball Pitch The fastest baseball pitch is 162.3km/h (100.9mph) and was achieved by Lynn Nolan Ryan (then of the California Angels) (b. 31 Jan 1947), at Anaheim Stadium, California, USA, on 20 August 1974.  Scheiber actually refutes this saying that he believes Mark Wohlers is the king of the fastball at 103 mph.  We love and accept the information subject to confirmation (!).  We are nothing if not here to stimulate such superlative research which we hope does turn the heat of discussion into light.  So as Scheiber asks, if athletic records have been tumbling in smaller or greater increments what's up with the baseball pitch record?  Being in the world record business it's a source of intrigue for me as it seems to be more and more difficult to tell when and where sports records will be broken.  Before the amazing Usain Bolt, we had no idea the 100 m record was going to be broken.  But it was.  Twice.  But Mr. Bolt and his 9.58 seconds aside, why hasn't anyone thrown a pitch faster than 100 mph?  Scheiber says, the 100-mph ceiling is not an illusion - "it's a basic property of human physiology". Turns out that if a ball were thrown any faster than 100 mph it could literally rip a pitcher's tendons and ligaments from bone and muscle.  He'd throw his arm off!  At the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, biomechanical engineer Glenn Fleisig calculated that when a pitcher throws a fastball it exerts around 80 Newton-meters of torque on the elbow.  Practising with cadavers, Fleisig found that anything greater than that actually caused the ulnar collateral ligament (the bones that meet at the elbow) to snap. OUCH!! I will leave you to enjoy the rest of the article (http://www.slate.com/id/2116402 - it is very good) but in the meantime, what are your thoughts? Will we ever see the Guinness World Record for the fastest pitch broken in our lifetime? nonadult false Fastest Baseball Pitch Ever? text blog 3546 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 1074184 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Superb-GWR-photo-slide-show-on-MSNBC/BLOG/998370/7691.html Check out an excellent 52-photo slide show of some awesome Guinness World Records images at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/  We collaborated with them on this for the launch of the new Guinness World Records 2010 book.  It is sourced from our own photo library plus the MSNBC archive.  Scroll a third of the way down the page and click on the 'Guinness World Records' link: [image] My personal favorite has to be the 35,000+ collection of Lego Star Wars Stormtroopers.  Is it too embarrasing to say it's now my desktop wall paper? ENJOY! Check out an excellent 52-photo slide show of some awesome Guinness World Records images at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/  We collaborated with them on this for the launch of the new Guinness World Records 2010 book.  It is sourced from our own photo library plus the MSNBC archive.  Scroll a third of the way down the page and click on the 'Guinness World Records' link: [image] My personal favorite has to be the 35,000+ collection of Lego Star Wars Stormtroopers.  Is it too embarrasing to say it's now my desktop wall paper? ENJOY! Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:42:41 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Superb-GWR-photo-slide-show-on-MSNBC/BLOG/998370/7691.html sclaxton 2009-10-07T17:42:41Z Guinness World Records Check out an excellent 52-photo slide show of some awesome Guinness World Records images at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/  We collaborated with them on this for the launch of the new Guinness World Records 2010 book.  It is sourced from our own photo library plus the MSNBC archive.  Scroll a third of the way down the page and click on the 'Guinness World Records' link: [image] My personal favorite has to be the 35,000+ collection of Lego Star Wars Stormtroopers.  Is it too embarrasing to say it's now my desktop wall paper? ENJOY! nonadult false Superb GWR photo slide show on MSNBC text blog 1484 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 1 0 998370 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Meatballs-on-Jimmy-Kimmel-Live/BLOG/996028/7691.html After a brief hiatus I resume my correspondence with all the wonderful Guinness World Records fans and it is fitting that I recommence my virtual communication with one of the more memorable records I have seen in quite some time. What's round, made of meat, and goes rather well with some pasta al dente and a bottle of the most readily available Cab? A meatball. That's exactly right.  but not any ordinary meatball, no.  If it's me writing about it and it's on this website you can bet your Valpolicella it's gonna have to be the largest meatball in the world, oh yes. So we received word from Jimmy Kimmel that he was rather incensed at Mexico being awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest meatball (weighing in at the red, white and green corner at 109 lb). "Enough!" said Jimmy and he started his own pet project to make the world's largest meatball himself and bringing it back to Italy.  Well, actually, the Italian American community in Los Angeles, California which looks a little bit like this: [image] What made the ocassion even more historic was that the meatball was to be unveiled in honor of the Festival of San Gennaro, that wonderful celebration of everything Italian.  So the stage was most definitely set to reveal the absolutely-positively-beyond-any-shadow-of-doubt largest meatball ever.  In fact here IS the stage: [image][image] But wait, along the way I had to say hello to a few friends.  There's not many opportunities to meet the guy who has wrestled with Borat in a most unforgettable way so when I spotted him I had to say hello.  Meet Borat Sagdiyev's agent, Azamat Bagatov...better known as actor Ken Davitian: [image] On my way to makeup I had to give my regards to my friend Guillermo.  Not a lot of people know this but I've actually seen Guillermo in his underpants.  Actually in 100 pairs of underpants to be exact when he set the record on the show about two years ago.  He was very impressed with the Guinness World Record logo on my blazer and I had to fight him off with a bread stick or he would have had it for sure.  Hello again fully-clothed Guillermo! [image][image] But enough hobnobbing and let's get down to business.  109 lb was the weight to beat and Jimmy & Team Meatball USA were committed.  Just in case anything went wrong three meatballs were prepared which were closely watched to prevent any interference from potential Mexican spies: [image] Jimmy emerged from the studio with Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda who had been nominated the official taster.  A frenzy ensued, no-one had ever seen such a large meatball before - Dios Mio!  But first Tommy had to taste it to make sure it was edible per the guidelines.  "It's great!" he declared.  The crowd roared its approval. [image] The stomach trembling meatball weighed in at a ridiculous 152 lb, 43 pounds heavier than its Mexican predecessor -  A new Guinness World Record!!  [image] But wait, Jimmy had a surprise. This wasn't the largest meatball. There was another.  The crowd parted as four men brought out the monster meatball and slowly lowered it onto the scales.  No way!  NO WAY!  One-hundred-and-ninety-eight-pounds.  Yes, 100 and 98 pounds of pure Italian meatball...ANOTHER GUINNESS WORLD RECORD!! [image] Good grief, I don't know if this has ever happened to you but I was, to say the least, all...ahem...meatballed out.  There's no way I can look at another meatball ever again in the same way. You can watch the whole segment here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52ilVDDVDUk Many thanks to all at Jimmy Kimmel Live!, always a pleasure to work with those guys, see you soon.  Congratulazioni per il tuo sforzo stupendo!  Mi hai impressionato! After a brief hiatus I resume my correspondence with all the wonderful Guinness World Records fans and it is fitting that I recommence my virtual communication with one of the more memorable records I have seen in quite some time. What's round, made of meat, and goes rather well with some pasta al dente and a bottle of the most readily available Cab? A meatball. That's exactly right.  but not any ordinary meatball, no.  If it's me writing about it and it's on this website you can bet your Valpolicella it's gonna have to be the largest meatball in the world, oh yes. So we received word from Jimmy Kimmel that he was rather incensed at Mexico being awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest meatball (weighing in at the red, white and green corner at 109 lb). "Enough!" said Jimmy and he started his own pet project to make the world's largest meatball himself and bringing it back to Italy.  Well, actually, the Italian American community in Los Angeles, California which looks a little bit like this: [image] What made the ocassion even more historic was that the meatball was to be unveiled in honor of the Festival of San Gennaro, that wonderful celebration of everything Italian.  So the stage was most definitely set to reveal the absolutely-positively-beyond-any-shadow-of-doubt largest meatball ever.  In fact here IS the stage: [image][image] But wait, along the way I had to say hello to a few friends.  There's not many opportunities to meet the guy who has wrestled with Borat in a most unforgettable way so when I spotted him I had to say hello.  Meet Borat Sagdiyev's agent, Azamat Bagatov...better known as actor Ken Davitian: [image] On my way to makeup I had to give my regards to my friend Guillermo.  Not a lot of people know this but I've actually seen Guillermo in his underpants.  Actually in 100 pairs of underpants to be exact when he set the record on the show about two years ago.  He was very impressed with the Guinness World Record logo on my blazer and I had to fight him off with a bread stick or he would have had it for sure.  Hello again fully-clothed Guillermo! [image][image] But enough hobnobbing and let's get down to business.  109 lb was the weight to beat and Jimmy & Team Meatball USA were committed.  Just in case anything went wrong three meatballs were prepared which were closely watched to prevent any interference from potential Mexican spies: [image] Jimmy emerged from the studio with Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda who had been nominated the official taster.  A frenzy ensued, no-one had ever seen such a large meatball before - Dios Mio!  But first Tommy had to taste it to make sure it was edible per the guidelines.  "It's great!" he declared.  The crowd roared its approval. [image] The stomach trembling meatball weighed in at a ridiculous 152 lb, 43 pounds heavier than its Mexican predecessor -  A new Guinness World Record!!  [image] But wait, Jimmy had a surprise. This wasn't the largest meatball. There was another.  The crowd parted as four men brought out the monster meatball and slowly lowered it onto the scales.  No way!  NO WAY!  One-hundred-and-ninety-eight-pounds.  Yes, 100 and 98 pounds of pure Italian meatball...ANOTHER GUINNESS WORLD RECORD!! [image] Good grief, I don't know if this has ever happened to you but I was, to say the least, all...ahem...meatballed out.  There's no way I can look at another meatball ever again in the same way. You can watch the whole segment here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52ilVDDVDUk Many thanks to all at Jimmy Kimmel Live!, always a pleasure to work with those guys, see you soon.  Congratulazioni per il tuo sforzo stupendo!  Mi hai impressionato! Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:27:11 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Meatballs-on-Jimmy-Kimmel-Live/BLOG/996028/7691.html sclaxton 2009-10-06T22:27:11Z Guinness World Records After a brief hiatus I resume my correspondence with all the wonderful Guinness World Records fans and it is fitting that I recommence my virtual communication with one of the more memorable records I have seen in quite some time. What's round, made of meat, and goes rather well with some pasta al dente and a bottle of the most readily available Cab? A meatball. That's exactly right.  but not any ordinary meatball, no.  If it's me writing about it and it's on this website you can bet your Valpolicella it's gonna have to be the largest meatball in the world, oh yes. So we received word from Jimmy Kimmel that he was rather incensed at Mexico being awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest meatball (weighing in at the red, white and green corner at 109 lb). "Enough!" said Jimmy and he started his own pet project to make the world's largest meatball himself and bringing it back to Italy.  Well, actually, the Italian American community in Los Angeles, California which looks a little bit like this: [image] What made the ocassion even more historic was that the meatball was to be unveiled in honor of the Festival of San Gennaro, that wonderful celebration of everything Italian.  So the stage was most definitely set to reveal the absolutely-positively-beyond-any-shadow-of-doubt largest meatball ever.  In fact here IS the stage: [image][image] But wait, along the way I had to say hello to a few friends.  There's not many opportunities to meet the guy who has wrestled with Borat in a most unforgettable way so when I spotted him I had to say hello.  Meet Borat Sagdiyev's agent, Azamat Bagatov...better known as actor Ken Davitian: [image] On my way to makeup I had to give my regards to my friend Guillermo.  Not a lot of people know this but I've actually seen Guillermo in his underpants.  Actually in 100 pairs of underpants to be exact when he set the record on the show about two years ago.  He was very impressed with the Guinness World Record logo on my blazer and I had to fight him off with a bread stick or he would have had it for sure.  Hello again fully-clothed Guillermo! [image][image] But enough hobnobbing and let's get down to business.  109 lb was the weight to beat and Jimmy & Team Meatball USA were committed.  Just in case anything went wrong three meatballs were prepared which were closely watched to prevent any interference from potential Mexican spies: [image] Jimmy emerged from the studio with Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda who had been nominated the official taster.  A frenzy ensued, no-one had ever seen such a large meatball before - Dios Mio!  But first Tommy had to taste it to make sure it was edible per the guidelines.  "It's great!" he declared.  The crowd roared its approval. [image] The stomach trembling meatball weighed in at a ridiculous 152 lb, 43 pounds heavier than its Mexican predecessor -  A new Guinness World Record!!  [image] But wait, Jimmy had a surprise. This wasn't the largest meatball. There was another.  The crowd parted as four men brought out the monster meatball and slowly lowered it onto the scales.  No way!  NO WAY!  One-hundred-and-ninety-eight-pounds.  Yes, 100 and 98 pounds of pure Italian meatball...ANOTHER GUINNESS WORLD RECORD!! [image] Good grief, I don't know if this has ever happened to you but I was, to say the least, all...ahem...meatballed out.  There's no way I can look at another meatball ever again in the same way. You can watch the whole segment here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52ilVDDVDUk Many thanks to all at Jimmy Kimmel Live!, always a pleasure to work with those guys, see you soon.  Congratulazioni per il tuo sforzo stupendo!  Mi hai impressionato! nonadult false Meatballs on Jimmy Kimmel Live! text blog 1088 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 996028 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly-Day-5/BLOG/795511/7691.html [image] And so Day 5 of our record-breaking extravaganza began, sadly the last day of this wonderful week on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly.  And what a week it was!  Pie fights, a man wearing over 100 T-shirts, another packed in ice and a lady who gets herself into a suitcase.  Fantastic. We left it to master-house-of-cards builder Bryan Berg to wrap things up for us.  He set himself the challenge of building the tallest house of cards in one hour.  He reckoned he could do about 8 ft.  Now even though this is no small achievement Bryan has done even grander things before.  Really big things.  In 2007 he built a house of cards over 27 ft tall which is the highest anyone has ever done so. One of Bryan's more modest (but awesome) house of cards: [image]  And one of his utterly unbelievable creations: [image] Yeah.  That's all playing cards.  And none of them are glued together. So with David Duchovny standing in for Regis Philbin, the show began with the lovely Kelly Ripa kicking things off with a look back over the previous day's pie fight and then she cued Bryan.  Off you go Mr. Berg, you've got 60 minutes to show us whatcha got! The minutes passed, and up went each storey of cards.  One foot, two foot, three foot, four foot...Bryan was a man possessed.  Nothing could stop him.  Not even Ricky Gervais who was on the show touting his new movie The Invention of Lying.  I'm not lying. And then the appointed hour came.  The clock wound down.  5...4...3...2...1...time's up! And then something absolutely unreal happened.  When I looked down at my stopwatch the tower was there.  When I looked up...it wasn't.  Duchovny ran.  Kelly gasped.  I, didn't do anything.  After placing the last card and exactly as time ran out, the whole thing had collapsed.  And if you don't believe me check this out: [image][image] And if you still don't believe me, watch this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/18/bryan-berg-man-trying-to_n_291422.html A great shame as Bryan is a great guy but he also has an excellent sense of humour so all is good in the Berg world.  Many thanks for playing Bryan! A HUGE thanks to all at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly...you were all wonderful to work with and once again gave us some fantastic memories for the Guinness World Records archive - see you all next year!!! [image] And so Day 5 of our record-breaking extravaganza began, sadly the last day of this wonderful week on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly.  And what a week it was!  Pie fights, a man wearing over 100 T-shirts, another packed in ice and a lady who gets herself into a suitcase.  Fantastic. We left it to master-house-of-cards builder Bryan Berg to wrap things up for us.  He set himself the challenge of building the tallest house of cards in one hour.  He reckoned he could do about 8 ft.  Now even though this is no small achievement Bryan has done even grander things before.  Really big things.  In 2007 he built a house of cards over 27 ft tall which is the highest anyone has ever done so. One of Bryan's more modest (but awesome) house of cards: [image]  And one of his utterly unbelievable creations: [image] Yeah.  That's all playing cards.  And none of them are glued together. So with David Duchovny standing in for Regis Philbin, the show began with the lovely Kelly Ripa kicking things off with a look back over the previous day's pie fight and then she cued Bryan.  Off you go Mr. Berg, you've got 60 minutes to show us whatcha got! The minutes passed, and up went each storey of cards.  One foot, two foot, three foot, four foot...Bryan was a man possessed.  Nothing could stop him.  Not even Ricky Gervais who was on the show touting his new movie The Invention of Lying.  I'm not lying. And then the appointed hour came.  The clock wound down.  5...4...3...2...1...time's up! And then something absolutely unreal happened.  When I looked down at my stopwatch the tower was there.  When I looked up...it wasn't.  Duchovny ran.  Kelly gasped.  I, didn't do anything.  After placing the last card and exactly as time ran out, the whole thing had collapsed.  And if you don't believe me check this out: [image][image] And if you still don't believe me, watch this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/18/bryan-berg-man-trying-to_n_291422.html A great shame as Bryan is a great guy but he also has an excellent sense of humour so all is good in the Berg world.  Many thanks for playing Bryan! A HUGE thanks to all at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly...you were all wonderful to work with and once again gave us some fantastic memories for the Guinness World Records archive - see you all next year!!! Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:41:37 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly-Day-5/BLOG/795511/7691.html sclaxton 2009-09-22T20:41:37Z Guinness World Records [image] And so Day 5 of our record-breaking extravaganza began, sadly the last day of this wonderful week on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly.  And what a week it was!  Pie fights, a man wearing over 100 T-shirts, another packed in ice and a lady who gets herself into a suitcase.  Fantastic. We left it to master-house-of-cards builder Bryan Berg to wrap things up for us.  He set himself the challenge of building the tallest house of cards in one hour.  He reckoned he could do about 8 ft.  Now even though this is no small achievement Bryan has done even grander things before.  Really big things.  In 2007 he built a house of cards over 27 ft tall which is the highest anyone has ever done so. One of Bryan's more modest (but awesome) house of cards: [image]  And one of his utterly unbelievable creations: [image] Yeah.  That's all playing cards.  And none of them are glued together. So with David Duchovny standing in for Regis Philbin, the show began with the lovely Kelly Ripa kicking things off with a look back over the previous day's pie fight and then she cued Bryan.  Off you go Mr. Berg, you've got 60 minutes to show us whatcha got! The minutes passed, and up went each storey of cards.  One foot, two foot, three foot, four foot...Bryan was a man possessed.  Nothing could stop him.  Not even Ricky Gervais who was on the show touting his new movie The Invention of Lying.  I'm not lying. And then the appointed hour came.  The clock wound down.  5...4...3...2...1...time's up! And then something absolutely unreal happened.  When I looked down at my stopwatch the tower was there.  When I looked up...it wasn't.  Duchovny ran.  Kelly gasped.  I, didn't do anything.  After placing the last card and exactly as time ran out, the whole thing had collapsed.  And if you don't believe me check this out: [image][image] And if you still don't believe me, watch this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/18/bryan-berg-man-trying-to_n_291422.html A great shame as Bryan is a great guy but he also has an excellent sense of humour so all is good in the Berg world.  Many thanks for playing Bryan! A HUGE thanks to all at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly...you were all wonderful to work with and once again gave us some fantastic memories for the Guinness World Records archive - see you all next year!!! nonadult false LIVE! with Regis & Kelly - Day 5 text blog 1299 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 795511 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly-Day-4/BLOG/777352/7691.html [image] Pies glorious pies!  Covered in lovely, sweet coconut custard!  Oh the joy of holding a pie!  Oh the joy of plastering one all over someone's face! What's this?  Has Stuart gone mad??  Not at all my friends.  It is none other than day four of Guinness World Records 2010 book launch on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly.  And what better way to celebrate this launch but with a big pie fight!  Not any ordinary pie fight mind you, but the BIGGEST PIE FIGHT IN THE WORLD. Indeed.  To break the record today the folks at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly had to gather more than 253 people and get them to throw pies at each other for at least one minute.  But first the pies.  You must make sure you have enough pies.  In fact to make sure of this, 1500 pies were brought in and set on tables ready for the plucky few. That's A LOT of pies. [image] [image] And here is a merry band of pie-throwers in full pie-throwing mood ready for battle: [image] At the appointed time, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa came out accompanied by several NASCAR drivers who were in town.  Everyone at the ready?  Three...two...one...GO! [image] If a picture speaks a thousand words, then this must speak a thousand pies.  Oh the humanity!  60 seconds later and the record was broken.  269 people throwing 1500 pies and not a black eye in the house.  A new Guinness World Record! [image] Many thanks to all who participated and all at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly for setting the attempt up.  [image] And we must not forget that at the end of the show we also recognized Regis for breaking his own Guinness World Record again for Most Hours on US Television - a staggering 16,343...equivalent to almost an hour for every day of Regis' life! [image] Congratulations sir you are a legend AND a Guinness World Record holder!! [image] Pies glorious pies!  Covered in lovely, sweet coconut custard!  Oh the joy of holding a pie!  Oh the joy of plastering one all over someone's face! What's this?  Has Stuart gone mad??  Not at all my friends.  It is none other than day four of Guinness World Records 2010 book launch on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly.  And what better way to celebrate this launch but with a big pie fight!  Not any ordinary pie fight mind you, but the BIGGEST PIE FIGHT IN THE WORLD. Indeed.  To break the record today the folks at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly had to gather more than 253 people and get them to throw pies at each other for at least one minute.  But first the pies.  You must make sure you have enough pies.  In fact to make sure of this, 1500 pies were brought in and set on tables ready for the plucky few. That's A LOT of pies. [image] [image] And here is a merry band of pie-throwers in full pie-throwing mood ready for battle: [image] At the appointed time, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa came out accompanied by several NASCAR drivers who were in town.  Everyone at the ready?  Three...two...one...GO! [image] If a picture speaks a thousand words, then this must speak a thousand pies.  Oh the humanity!  60 seconds later and the record was broken.  269 people throwing 1500 pies and not a black eye in the house.  A new Guinness World Record! [image] Many thanks to all who participated and all at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly for setting the attempt up.  [image] And we must not forget that at the end of the show we also recognized Regis for breaking his own Guinness World Record again for Most Hours on US Television - a staggering 16,343...equivalent to almost an hour for every day of Regis' life! [image] Congratulations sir you are a legend AND a Guinness World Record holder!! Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:44:09 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly-Day-4/BLOG/777352/7691.html sclaxton 2009-09-21T19:44:09Z Guinness World Records [image] Pies glorious pies!  Covered in lovely, sweet coconut custard!  Oh the joy of holding a pie!  Oh the joy of plastering one all over someone's face! What's this?  Has Stuart gone mad??  Not at all my friends.  It is none other than day four of Guinness World Records 2010 book launch on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly.  And what better way to celebrate this launch but with a big pie fight!  Not any ordinary pie fight mind you, but the BIGGEST PIE FIGHT IN THE WORLD. Indeed.  To break the record today the folks at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly had to gather more than 253 people and get them to throw pies at each other for at least one minute.  But first the pies.  You must make sure you have enough pies.  In fact to make sure of this, 1500 pies were brought in and set on tables ready for the plucky few. That's A LOT of pies. [image] [image] And here is a merry band of pie-throwers in full pie-throwing mood ready for battle: [image] At the appointed time, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa came out accompanied by several NASCAR drivers who were in town.  Everyone at the ready?  Three...two...one...GO! [image] If a picture speaks a thousand words, then this must speak a thousand pies.  Oh the humanity!  60 seconds later and the record was broken.  269 people throwing 1500 pies and not a black eye in the house.  A new Guinness World Record! [image] Many thanks to all who participated and all at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly for setting the attempt up.  [image] And we must not forget that at the end of the show we also recognized Regis for breaking his own Guinness World Record again for Most Hours on US Television - a staggering 16,343...equivalent to almost an hour for every day of Regis' life! [image] Congratulations sir you are a legend AND a Guinness World Record holder!! nonadult false LIVE! with Regis & Kelly - Day 4 text blog 1263 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 777352 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly-Day-3/BLOG/776957/7691.html [image] It was a particularly breezy cold start to Wednesday morning which was perfect.  Multiple Guinness World Record-holder Wim Hof was going to attempt to break his own record on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly for the Longest Time to Stand in Ice - currently an amazing 1 hour 42 minutes and 22 seconds! Everyone was especially primed for this attempt on set.  Even though Wim is a professional and has done this many times it's always slightly edgy when someone attempts to break a record that is extremely high risk.  An army of production folks checked all morning that everything was ready and Wim was comfortable. A moment of panic briefly ensued when production, prop and set crew had to look for Wim's contact lens: [image] First things first however, and the box in which he had to stand had to be filled with ice.  This is actually quite crucial because as much as he's a bit of a superman, Wim really doesn't want to stand in the ice for any longer than he has to.  And you certainly won't catch me standing anywhere near anything that cold! [image] About seven minutes later, Wim was packed in ice and ready while I looked on with my trusty stopwatch in hand.  Ready...steady...GO! [image] Steadily, slowly but surely, ice man Wim Hof made his way to the hallowed Guinness World Record mark.  Tic-toc, tic-toc... [image] ...and he's there!  A new Guinness World Record achieved...1 hour 43 minutes and .04 seconds! [image] Congratulations Wim!  Another GWR 2010 launch morning on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly and another Guinness World Record! [image] It was a particularly breezy cold start to Wednesday morning which was perfect.  Multiple Guinness World Record-holder Wim Hof was going to attempt to break his own record on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly for the Longest Time to Stand in Ice - currently an amazing 1 hour 42 minutes and 22 seconds! Everyone was especially primed for this attempt on set.  Even though Wim is a professional and has done this many times it's always slightly edgy when someone attempts to break a record that is extremely high risk.  An army of production folks checked all morning that everything was ready and Wim was comfortable. A moment of panic briefly ensued when production, prop and set crew had to look for Wim's contact lens: [image] First things first however, and the box in which he had to stand had to be filled with ice.  This is actually quite crucial because as much as he's a bit of a superman, Wim really doesn't want to stand in the ice for any longer than he has to.  And you certainly won't catch me standing anywhere near anything that cold! [image] About seven minutes later, Wim was packed in ice and ready while I looked on with my trusty stopwatch in hand.  Ready...steady...GO! [image] Steadily, slowly but surely, ice man Wim Hof made his way to the hallowed Guinness World Record mark.  Tic-toc, tic-toc... [image] ...and he's there!  A new Guinness World Record achieved...1 hour 43 minutes and .04 seconds! [image] Congratulations Wim!  Another GWR 2010 launch morning on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly and another Guinness World Record! Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:47:38 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly-Day-3/BLOG/776957/7691.html sclaxton 2009-09-21T14:47:38Z Guinness World Records [image] It was a particularly breezy cold start to Wednesday morning which was perfect.  Multiple Guinness World Record-holder Wim Hof was going to attempt to break his own record on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly for the Longest Time to Stand in Ice - currently an amazing 1 hour 42 minutes and 22 seconds! Everyone was especially primed for this attempt on set.  Even though Wim is a professional and has done this many times it's always slightly edgy when someone attempts to break a record that is extremely high risk.  An army of production folks checked all morning that everything was ready and Wim was comfortable. A moment of panic briefly ensued when production, prop and set crew had to look for Wim's contact lens: [image] First things first however, and the box in which he had to stand had to be filled with ice.  This is actually quite crucial because as much as he's a bit of a superman, Wim really doesn't want to stand in the ice for any longer than he has to.  And you certainly won't catch me standing anywhere near anything that cold! [image] About seven minutes later, Wim was packed in ice and ready while I looked on with my trusty stopwatch in hand.  Ready...steady...GO! [image] Steadily, slowly but surely, ice man Wim Hof made his way to the hallowed Guinness World Record mark.  Tic-toc, tic-toc... [image] ...and he's there!  A new Guinness World Record achieved...1 hour 43 minutes and .04 seconds! [image] Congratulations Wim!  Another GWR 2010 launch morning on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly and another Guinness World Record! nonadult false LIVE! with Regis & Kelly - Day 3 text blog 930 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 1 0 776957 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly-Day-2/BLOG/716126/7691.html [image] Day two of our record-breaking week on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly dawned with an early morning attempt on the record for Most T-shirts Worn at One Time by an individual which had been held by the Belgians since 2008 at 227. Stepping up to the plate was young Matt McAlistair who I had actually met once before on The David Letterman Show (how's that for name-dropping) a few years ago. On this occasion Matt intended to blow the record away, he was going for broke.  He wasn't going to go for 228, or 229 but 240 T-shirts!  And what did that actually mean?  Well, it basically means you're going to place 200 lb of extra weight on your neck and shoulders and smile about it.  200 lb of T-shirts. This is Brian, the producer, before the show asking me where I've hidden all his T-shirts: [image] "Lights! Camera! Action!" but the TV version and off we went at 8am, an hour before the show as it takes about two hours to carry out the record.  All looking good and we're up to about the 170 mark.  On went the small, then the medium, then the large, then the extra large and then the extra extra large.  Here's Matt and his crew in mid-attempt while my trusty sidekick Laura Plunkett and I keep a close eye on things: [image] And then as number 177 went on something happened to big Matt.  The T-shirts started squeezing his neck in a way which wasn't good.  He was a brave fella and kept going for as long as he could but in the end the T-shirts won out.  Matt had to sit down and stop before the attempt went any further.  Quick as a flash he was cut out of his multiple short sleeves and was once again with us, breathing and full of color! Matt being interviewed before the 'incident': [image] Matt being interviewed after the 'incident': [image] Happily, Matt was fine, just caught a little by surprise.  It seems the T-shirts were a little too high at the back of his neck which was causing him some discomfort and so he abandoned the attempt.  In good spirits afterwards, he showed me what the final T-shirt would have looked like, it took both of us to hold it up! [image] No matter Matt, you gave it a great shot and we thank you for stepping up and giving it a go, without you Guinness World Records wouldn't be here so thank you my friend! In honor of Matt back in the office we decided to have a go at seeing if we could fit as many people as we could into one T-shirt.  We didn't get very far... [image] The Guinness World Records 2010 book launch fun continues tomorrow when we meet ice man Wim Hoff who will try and stand in ice for as long as possible - see you there! [image] Day two of our record-breaking week on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly dawned with an early morning attempt on the record for Most T-shirts Worn at One Time by an individual which had been held by the Belgians since 2008 at 227. Stepping up to the plate was young Matt McAlistair who I had actually met once before on The David Letterman Show (how's that for name-dropping) a few years ago. On this occasion Matt intended to blow the record away, he was going for broke.  He wasn't going to go for 228, or 229 but 240 T-shirts!  And what did that actually mean?  Well, it basically means you're going to place 200 lb of extra weight on your neck and shoulders and smile about it.  200 lb of T-shirts. This is Brian, the producer, before the show asking me where I've hidden all his T-shirts: [image] "Lights! Camera! Action!" but the TV version and off we went at 8am, an hour before the show as it takes about two hours to carry out the record.  All looking good and we're up to about the 170 mark.  On went the small, then the medium, then the large, then the extra large and then the extra extra large.  Here's Matt and his crew in mid-attempt while my trusty sidekick Laura Plunkett and I keep a close eye on things: [image] And then as number 177 went on something happened to big Matt.  The T-shirts started squeezing his neck in a way which wasn't good.  He was a brave fella and kept going for as long as he could but in the end the T-shirts won out.  Matt had to sit down and stop before the attempt went any further.  Quick as a flash he was cut out of his multiple short sleeves and was once again with us, breathing and full of color! Matt being interviewed before the 'incident': [image] Matt being interviewed after the 'incident': [image] Happily, Matt was fine, just caught a little by surprise.  It seems the T-shirts were a little too high at the back of his neck which was causing him some discomfort and so he abandoned the attempt.  In good spirits afterwards, he showed me what the final T-shirt would have looked like, it took both of us to hold it up! [image] No matter Matt, you gave it a great shot and we thank you for stepping up and giving it a go, without you Guinness World Records wouldn't be here so thank you my friend! In honor of Matt back in the office we decided to have a go at seeing if we could fit as many people as we could into one T-shirt.  We didn't get very far... [image] The Guinness World Records 2010 book launch fun continues tomorrow when we meet ice man Wim Hoff who will try and stand in ice for as long as possible - see you there! Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:29:44 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly-Day-2/BLOG/716126/7691.html sclaxton 2009-09-15T21:29:44Z Guinness World Records [image] Day two of our record-breaking week on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly dawned with an early morning attempt on the record for Most T-shirts Worn at One Time by an individual which had been held by the Belgians since 2008 at 227. Stepping up to the plate was young Matt McAlistair who I had actually met once before on The David Letterman Show (how's that for name-dropping) a few years ago. On this occasion Matt intended to blow the record away, he was going for broke.  He wasn't going to go for 228, or 229 but 240 T-shirts!  And what did that actually mean?  Well, it basically means you're going to place 200 lb of extra weight on your neck and shoulders and smile about it.  200 lb of T-shirts. This is Brian, the producer, before the show asking me where I've hidden all his T-shirts: [image] "Lights! Camera! Action!" but the TV version and off we went at 8am, an hour before the show as it takes about two hours to carry out the record.  All looking good and we're up to about the 170 mark.  On went the small, then the medium, then the large, then the extra large and then the extra extra large.  Here's Matt and his crew in mid-attempt while my trusty sidekick Laura Plunkett and I keep a close eye on things: [image] And then as number 177 went on something happened to big Matt.  The T-shirts started squeezing his neck in a way which wasn't good.  He was a brave fella and kept going for as long as he could but in the end the T-shirts won out.  Matt had to sit down and stop before the attempt went any further.  Quick as a flash he was cut out of his multiple short sleeves and was once again with us, breathing and full of color! Matt being interviewed before the 'incident': [image] Matt being interviewed after the 'incident': [image] Happily, Matt was fine, just caught a little by surprise.  It seems the T-shirts were a little too high at the back of his neck which was causing him some discomfort and so he abandoned the attempt.  In good spirits afterwards, he showed me what the final T-shirt would have looked like, it took both of us to hold it up! [image] No matter Matt, you gave it a great shot and we thank you for stepping up and giving it a go, without you Guinness World Records wouldn't be here so thank you my friend! In honor of Matt back in the office we decided to have a go at seeing if we could fit as many people as we could into one T-shirt.  We didn't get very far... [image] The Guinness World Records 2010 book launch fun continues tomorrow when we meet ice man Wim Hoff who will try and stand in ice for as long as possible - see you there! nonadult false LIVE! with Regis & Kelly - Day 2 text blog 1465 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 716126 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly-Day-1/BLOG/714662/7691.html [image]  And we're off! I arrived bright and early at the studios of LIVE! with Regis & Kelly on the upper west side of Manhattan wondering what on earth was about to happen.  Here I was, spokesperson for Guinness World Records and about to watch a grown woman get into a suitcase to mark the launch of the new Guinness World Records 2010 book. Leslie Tipton, contortionist extraordinaire has held the record since May 2008 when she zipped herself inside a suitcase in 7.08 seconds.   She was now a woman on a mission, not only to break her own record but to do it on live national US television. After the pre-requisite rehearsals and light & sound checks, we were ready.  And so were the five million viewers tuning in.  [image] "Ladies & gentlemen, Leslie Tipton!" And on she walked, suitcase in tow.  A few minutes of limbering up and we were ready. "OK Leslie...ready...set...go!" And a record-breaking 5.43 seconds later it was all over, the lady was in!  Ridiculous!  A new Guinness World Record! And that was that, short and sweet but the job was done.  Another episode of LIVE! with Regis & Kelly...another Guinness World Record! [image] Tomorrow:  Matt McAlistair tries to wear more than 227 T-shirts in one go and set a new Guinness World Record!! [image]  And we're off! I arrived bright and early at the studios of LIVE! with Regis & Kelly on the upper west side of Manhattan wondering what on earth was about to happen.  Here I was, spokesperson for Guinness World Records and about to watch a grown woman get into a suitcase to mark the launch of the new Guinness World Records 2010 book. Leslie Tipton, contortionist extraordinaire has held the record since May 2008 when she zipped herself inside a suitcase in 7.08 seconds.   She was now a woman on a mission, not only to break her own record but to do it on live national US television. After the pre-requisite rehearsals and light & sound checks, we were ready.  And so were the five million viewers tuning in.  [image] "Ladies & gentlemen, Leslie Tipton!" And on she walked, suitcase in tow.  A few minutes of limbering up and we were ready. "OK Leslie...ready...set...go!" And a record-breaking 5.43 seconds later it was all over, the lady was in!  Ridiculous!  A new Guinness World Record! And that was that, short and sweet but the job was done.  Another episode of LIVE! with Regis & Kelly...another Guinness World Record! [image] Tomorrow:  Matt McAlistair tries to wear more than 227 T-shirts in one go and set a new Guinness World Record!! Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:35:28 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly-Day-1/BLOG/714662/7691.html sclaxton 2009-09-14T22:35:28Z Guinness World Records [image]  And we're off! I arrived bright and early at the studios of LIVE! with Regis & Kelly on the upper west side of Manhattan wondering what on earth was about to happen.  Here I was, spokesperson for Guinness World Records and about to watch a grown woman get into a suitcase to mark the launch of the new Guinness World Records 2010 book. Leslie Tipton, contortionist extraordinaire has held the record since May 2008 when she zipped herself inside a suitcase in 7.08 seconds.   She was now a woman on a mission, not only to break her own record but to do it on live national US television. After the pre-requisite rehearsals and light & sound checks, we were ready.  And so were the five million viewers tuning in.  [image] "Ladies & gentlemen, Leslie Tipton!" And on she walked, suitcase in tow.  A few minutes of limbering up and we were ready. "OK Leslie...ready...set...go!" And a record-breaking 5.43 seconds later it was all over, the lady was in!  Ridiculous!  A new Guinness World Record! And that was that, short and sweet but the job was done.  Another episode of LIVE! with Regis & Kelly...another Guinness World Record! [image] Tomorrow:  Matt McAlistair tries to wear more than 227 T-shirts in one go and set a new Guinness World Record!! nonadult false LIVE! with Regis & Kelly - Day 1 text blog 1118 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 714662 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Worlds-Oldest-Person-Dies/BLOG/695998/7691.html It is with much sadness that we have learned that Gertrude Baines, the oldest person in the world, passed away in a Los Angeles hospital today at 7:25am PST. Born on April 6, 1894 Ms Baines became the world's oldest person when Maria de Jesus from Portugal died at the age of 115 in January 2009.  Since 1986 the world's oldest person title has been held by a woman for all but 44 days. She owed her longevity to never drinking or smoking and was reported to be in good health before she died.  Baines worked as a maid in Ohio State University dormitories until her retirement, and lived at a Los Angeles convalescent hospital for over 10 years.  In November 2008 she became the oldest African-American to vote for President Barack Obama and received a letter from him on her 115th birthday. Guinness World Records sends its condolences to the Baines family. It is with much sadness that we have learned that Gertrude Baines, the oldest person in the world, passed away in a Los Angeles hospital today at 7:25am PST. Born on April 6, 1894 Ms Baines became the world's oldest person when Maria de Jesus from Portugal died at the age of 115 in January 2009.  Since 1986 the world's oldest person title has been held by a woman for all but 44 days. She owed her longevity to never drinking or smoking and was reported to be in good health before she died.  Baines worked as a maid in Ohio State University dormitories until her retirement, and lived at a Los Angeles convalescent hospital for over 10 years.  In November 2008 she became the oldest African-American to vote for President Barack Obama and received a letter from him on her 115th birthday. Guinness World Records sends its condolences to the Baines family. Sat, 12 Sep 2009 01:21:48 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Worlds-Oldest-Person-Dies/BLOG/695998/7691.html sclaxton 2009-09-12T01:21:48Z Guinness World Records It is with much sadness that we have learned that Gertrude Baines, the oldest person in the world, passed away in a Los Angeles hospital today at 7:25am PST. Born on April 6, 1894 Ms Baines became the world's oldest person when Maria de Jesus from Portugal died at the age of 115 in January 2009.  Since 1986 the world's oldest person title has been held by a woman for all but 44 days. She owed her longevity to never drinking or smoking and was reported to be in good health before she died.  Baines worked as a maid in Ohio State University dormitories until her retirement, and lived at a Los Angeles convalescent hospital for over 10 years.  In November 2008 she became the oldest African-American to vote for President Barack Obama and received a letter from him on her 115th birthday. Guinness World Records sends its condolences to the Baines family. nonadult false World's Oldest Person Dies text blog 14694 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 1 0 695998 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly/BLOG/695668/7691.html [image] Just dropping a note to say that next week we launch - YES...LAUNCH - our brand new Guinness World Records 2010 book.  Hot off the presses we're coming back for our annual rollercoaster of amazing superlatives! To help us get on our way the nice folks at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly will be touting a Guinness World Record Breaker week during which they will attempt to set or break a new world record every day. The run down is as follows: Monday, Sept 14 - Contortionist Leslie Tipton tries to get into a suitcase in under 7.04 seconds, and zip it closed! Tuesday, Sept 15 - Matt McAllister attempts to wear the most T-shirts at once (current GWR 227) Wednesday, Sept 16 - The Ice Man cometh: Wim Hoff will try to stand in a block of ice for longer than 1 hr 42 min 22 sec and break his own record for ice endurance Thursday, Sept 17 - Members of the audience and fans will all participate in the largest pie fight ever outside the R&K studios.  Number to beat: 253! Friday, Sept 18 - Playing card master Bryan Berg is going to try and build the tallest tower of cards he can in just 60 minutes and set a new GWR Yours truly, AKA Clackers, AKA...er...me will be the judge on hand so if you want to get your fill of GWR in the middle of the morning turn on ABC at 9am and you'll see all of this and much more. [image] A photo of me with Regis and the Mrs (I'm the one on the left). Check us out 9am EST Sept 14-18 on ABC! [image] Just dropping a note to say that next week we launch - YES...LAUNCH - our brand new Guinness World Records 2010 book.  Hot off the presses we're coming back for our annual rollercoaster of amazing superlatives! To help us get on our way the nice folks at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly will be touting a Guinness World Record Breaker week during which they will attempt to set or break a new world record every day. The run down is as follows: Monday, Sept 14 - Contortionist Leslie Tipton tries to get into a suitcase in under 7.04 seconds, and zip it closed! Tuesday, Sept 15 - Matt McAllister attempts to wear the most T-shirts at once (current GWR 227) Wednesday, Sept 16 - The Ice Man cometh: Wim Hoff will try to stand in a block of ice for longer than 1 hr 42 min 22 sec and break his own record for ice endurance Thursday, Sept 17 - Members of the audience and fans will all participate in the largest pie fight ever outside the R&K studios.  Number to beat: 253! Friday, Sept 18 - Playing card master Bryan Berg is going to try and build the tallest tower of cards he can in just 60 minutes and set a new GWR Yours truly, AKA Clackers, AKA...er...me will be the judge on hand so if you want to get your fill of GWR in the middle of the morning turn on ABC at 9am and you'll see all of this and much more. [image] A photo of me with Regis and the Mrs (I'm the one on the left). Check us out 9am EST Sept 14-18 on ABC! Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:11:58 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_LIVE-with-Regis-Kelly/BLOG/695668/7691.html sclaxton 2009-09-11T20:11:58Z Guinness World Records [image] Just dropping a note to say that next week we launch - YES...LAUNCH - our brand new Guinness World Records 2010 book.  Hot off the presses we're coming back for our annual rollercoaster of amazing superlatives! To help us get on our way the nice folks at LIVE! with Regis & Kelly will be touting a Guinness World Record Breaker week during which they will attempt to set or break a new world record every day. The run down is as follows: Monday, Sept 14 - Contortionist Leslie Tipton tries to get into a suitcase in under 7.04 seconds, and zip it closed! Tuesday, Sept 15 - Matt McAllister attempts to wear the most T-shirts at once (current GWR 227) Wednesday, Sept 16 - The Ice Man cometh: Wim Hoff will try to stand in a block of ice for longer than 1 hr 42 min 22 sec and break his own record for ice endurance Thursday, Sept 17 - Members of the audience and fans will all participate in the largest pie fight ever outside the R&K studios.  Number to beat: 253! Friday, Sept 18 - Playing card master Bryan Berg is going to try and build the tallest tower of cards he can in just 60 minutes and set a new GWR Yours truly, AKA Clackers, AKA...er...me will be the judge on hand so if you want to get your fill of GWR in the middle of the morning turn on ABC at 9am and you'll see all of this and much more. [image] A photo of me with Regis and the Mrs (I'm the one on the left). Check us out 9am EST Sept 14-18 on ABC! nonadult false LIVE! with Regis & Kelly text blog 1317 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 695668 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Guinness-World-Records-Mariachi-Locos/BLOG/695433/7691.html ANDALE! ANDALE! AJUUUA!  QUE SE OIGA BONITO!!! [image] I lived in Guadalajara for several years so I feel fairly confident when I say I know a little bit about Mexico.  I had only planned to go down there for two years.  I ended up staying for six and getting married to a Tapatia (as their women are called) in the process.  So if you're ever in Mexico - watch out! I have plenty of great memories about my time down there.  Lots of great friends too.  Guadalajara lends itself to this kind of thing because it's where every classic symbol of Mexico comes from.  The beautiful women, the wonderful and sometimes not-so-wonderful tequila, the fantastic blue maguey...and of course mariachi music. MARIACHI MUSIC... As soon as it starts it is quite unmistakable.  The violins, the trumpets, the guitarron, the charro suits, there's nothing quite like it.  Songs of lost love, of horses, of women, of sorrow and joy, it is THE music to have a drink to.  Now I don't want to encourage anyone but at some point in your life, and only when you are old enough, you have to get drunk listening to mariachi.  It just goes.  Trust me. But thoughts of getting drunk were very far from my mind when I travelled down there.  I had been asked to go judge the WORLD'S LARGEST MARIACHI BAND a record which had stood since 2007 in San Antonio, Texas at 520. Gulp. Just in case you're not familiar, a mariachi band looks like this [image] And like this [image] And like this [image] (Hey, dude on the left!  Stop staring at the camera and point to the certificate like everyone else!) As you can see, the dress code is very strict.  No jeans or sneakers.  No baseball caps either but you can wear these [image] You must wear very tight embroidered trousers and and short jackets which have real silver clasps down the sides, plus very polished boots.  Women can of course wear skirts like this smart little lady [image] As I say, there's nothing like Mexico or mariachi.  It captures the imagination and makes you want to be in those old black-and-white Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete movies falling in love with Maria Felix.  All these folks were actually part of the attempt I was going down to judge.  Young and old were there as well as mariachis that weren't even from Mexico like these guys from Canada! [image][image] Or these little guys from Mexico [image] As well as these young ladies from Houston, Texas [image] Everyone was down there not only as part of the 16th International Festival of Mariachi but also to take part in the Guinness World Record organized by the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce.  [image] They lined up to register for hours [image][image] and hours [image] and hours...no-one wanted to be left out!  [image] As the clock struck six it was time.  To the strumming and sounds of five songs played consecutively (rules state they must play for a minimum of ten minutes) they made the record their own.  To the sounds of La Negra, Cielito Lindo, Fiesta en Jalisco, Mexico Lindo and Guadalajara all 549 musicians played with amazing precision, a true testament to how much they wanted to make this a historic Guinness World Records moment.  [image][image] Congratulations to Guadalajara 'La Perla Tapatia' for their wonderful accomplishment and giving me yet another great memory of my time in that great city! Salud! ANDALE! ANDALE! AJUUUA!  QUE SE OIGA BONITO!!! [image] I lived in Guadalajara for several years so I feel fairly confident when I say I know a little bit about Mexico.  I had only planned to go down there for two years.  I ended up staying for six and getting married to a Tapatia (as their women are called) in the process.  So if you're ever in Mexico - watch out! I have plenty of great memories about my time down there.  Lots of great friends too.  Guadalajara lends itself to this kind of thing because it's where every classic symbol of Mexico comes from.  The beautiful women, the wonderful and sometimes not-so-wonderful tequila, the fantastic blue maguey...and of course mariachi music. MARIACHI MUSIC... As soon as it starts it is quite unmistakable.  The violins, the trumpets, the guitarron, the charro suits, there's nothing quite like it.  Songs of lost love, of horses, of women, of sorrow and joy, it is THE music to have a drink to.  Now I don't want to encourage anyone but at some point in your life, and only when you are old enough, you have to get drunk listening to mariachi.  It just goes.  Trust me. But thoughts of getting drunk were very far from my mind when I travelled down there.  I had been asked to go judge the WORLD'S LARGEST MARIACHI BAND a record which had stood since 2007 in San Antonio, Texas at 520. Gulp. Just in case you're not familiar, a mariachi band looks like this [image] And like this [image] And like this [image] (Hey, dude on the left!  Stop staring at the camera and point to the certificate like everyone else!) As you can see, the dress code is very strict.  No jeans or sneakers.  No baseball caps either but you can wear these [image] You must wear very tight embroidered trousers and and short jackets which have real silver clasps down the sides, plus very polished boots.  Women can of course wear skirts like this smart little lady [image] As I say, there's nothing like Mexico or mariachi.  It captures the imagination and makes you want to be in those old black-and-white Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete movies falling in love with Maria Felix.  All these folks were actually part of the attempt I was going down to judge.  Young and old were there as well as mariachis that weren't even from Mexico like these guys from Canada! [image][image] Or these little guys from Mexico [image] As well as these young ladies from Houston, Texas [image] Everyone was down there not only as part of the 16th International Festival of Mariachi but also to take part in the Guinness World Record organized by the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce.  [image] They lined up to register for hours [image][image] and hours [image] and hours...no-one wanted to be left out!  [image] As the clock struck six it was time.  To the strumming and sounds of five songs played consecutively (rules state they must play for a minimum of ten minutes) they made the record their own.  To the sounds of La Negra, Cielito Lindo, Fiesta en Jalisco, Mexico Lindo and Guadalajara all 549 musicians played with amazing precision, a true testament to how much they wanted to make this a historic Guinness World Records moment.  [image][image] Congratulations to Guadalajara 'La Perla Tapatia' for their wonderful accomplishment and giving me yet another great memory of my time in that great city! Salud! Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:54:31 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Guinness-World-Records-Mariachi-Locos/BLOG/695433/7691.html sclaxton 2009-09-11T16:54:31Z Guinness World Records ANDALE! ANDALE! AJUUUA!  QUE SE OIGA BONITO!!! [image] I lived in Guadalajara for several years so I feel fairly confident when I say I know a little bit about Mexico.  I had only planned to go down there for two years.  I ended up staying for six and getting married to a Tapatia (as their women are called) in the process.  So if you're ever in Mexico - watch out! I have plenty of great memories about my time down there.  Lots of great friends too.  Guadalajara lends itself to this kind of thing because it's where every classic symbol of Mexico comes from.  The beautiful women, the wonderful and sometimes not-so-wonderful tequila, the fantastic blue maguey...and of course mariachi music. MARIACHI MUSIC... As soon as it starts it is quite unmistakable.  The violins, the trumpets, the guitarron, the charro suits, there's nothing quite like it.  Songs of lost love, of horses, of women, of sorrow and joy, it is THE music to have a drink to.  Now I don't want to encourage anyone but at some point in your life, and only when you are old enough, you have to get drunk listening to mariachi.  It just goes.  Trust me. But thoughts of getting drunk were very far from my mind when I travelled down there.  I had been asked to go judge the WORLD'S LARGEST MARIACHI BAND a record which had stood since 2007 in San Antonio, Texas at 520. Gulp. Just in case you're not familiar, a mariachi band looks like this [image] And like this [image] And like this [image] (Hey, dude on the left!  Stop staring at the camera and point to the certificate like everyone else!) As you can see, the dress code is very strict.  No jeans or sneakers.  No baseball caps either but you can wear these [image] You must wear very tight embroidered trousers and and short jackets which have real silver clasps down the sides, plus very polished boots.  Women can of course wear skirts like this smart little lady [image] As I say, there's nothing like Mexico or mariachi.  It captures the imagination and makes you want to be in those old black-and-white Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete movies falling in love with Maria Felix.  All these folks were actually part of the attempt I was going down to judge.  Young and old were there as well as mariachis that weren't even from Mexico like these guys from Canada! [image][image] Or these little guys from Mexico [image] As well as these young ladies from Houston, Texas [image] Everyone was down there not only as part of the 16th International Festival of Mariachi but also to take part in the Guinness World Record organized by the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce.  [image] They lined up to register for hours [image][image] and hours [image] and hours...no-one wanted to be left out!  [image] As the clock struck six it was time.  To the strumming and sounds of five songs played consecutively (rules state they must play for a minimum of ten minutes) they made the record their own.  To the sounds of La Negra, Cielito Lindo, Fiesta en Jalisco, Mexico Lindo and Guadalajara all 549 musicians played with amazing precision, a true testament to how much they wanted to make this a historic Guinness World Records moment.  [image][image] Congratulations to Guadalajara 'La Perla Tapatia' for their wonderful accomplishment and giving me yet another great memory of my time in that great city! Salud! nonadult false Guinness World Records Mariachi Locos! text blog 1297 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 695433 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Guinness-World-Records-2010-book-as-Godzilla/BLOG/669017/7691.html IT'S COMING!  IT'S COMING!!! [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] September 17th, 2009... IT'S COMING!  IT'S COMING!!! [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] September 17th, 2009... Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:15:14 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Guinness-World-Records-2010-book-as-Godzilla/BLOG/669017/7691.html sclaxton 2009-09-09T21:15:14Z Guinness World Records IT'S COMING!  IT'S COMING!!! [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] September 17th, 2009... 2010, gwr nonadult false Guinness World Records 2010 book as Godzilla text blog 2010,gwr 5566 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 669017 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Fast-Furious-at-Bristol-Motor-Speedway/BLOG/593332/7691.html SO HERE'S A SHORT STORY ABOUT A LITTLE PLACE CALLED BRISTOL. Bristol, Tennessee has a population of around 40,000.  Not so big.  But it's a great place.  Tennessee was actually the first state I visited outside New York after moving to the USA.  [image]It's beautiful and very green.  At least when I've been there.  And it's very peaceful.  Except the night of Bristol Motor Speedway's Sharpie 500 NASCAR race.  That's the night Bristol turns into the third largest city in Tennessee and 160,000 people converge to watch one of the most spectacular races in the NASCAR calendar. 43 drivers and cars all line up to race 500 laps at around 125mph around what they call the [image] It was my first NASCAR race so I was totally excited.  NASCAR is a whole new universe which I was eager to find out about.  The passion of the fans, the smell of fuel, the roar of the engines.  I mean, how could I miss this?  I wanted to be one of these guys. [image] GWR Certificate was with me of course and was just as excited.  Addressing a press conference before the record attempt he declared: "Some people may say they have have friends in low places but I'm here on an all-time high.  NASCAR and Bristol get my engines going and I'm prepared to go the distance.  There are no pit stops for me".  [image] I jumped in before he could use any more racing metaphors but there was no stopping him.  But before I could get to him he was off track-side saying hello to some marines who had turned up for the special opening ceremony.  I go toe-to-toe with anyone but marines?  There was no way I was getting GWR Certificate away from these guys!  They're as tough as they come!  I mean how tough do these guys look?? [image] God bless these guys for their service.  I managed to get GWR Certificate away finally and calmed him down enough to take a photo of me.  [image] But of course he was having none of it and had to go one better.  And what's better than getting your photo BESIDE a NASCAR racing car?  Having your photo taken IN a NASCAR racing car: [image] Fortunately before he went roaring off down the race track one of the local officers nabbed him red-handed.  GWR Certificate had learned his lesson.  No more jumping into race cars under the influence of NASCAR.  I really don't want to mess with this guy again. [image] And so with start time approaching rapidly and images of race car movies with Burt Reynolds and Tom Cruise at the wheel it was time to get down to business.  GWR Certificate and I took our places and consulted each other on how  best to judge the record and where we should each stand.  It was decided he would take the nosebleeds, while I would be in the pit. [image] The Guinness World Record I was there for was actually-but-not-exactly-yet-maybe NASCAR-related by the way.  The night of the race 160,000 voices joined together before the race to sing Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks breaking the existing record for Most People Singing Karaoke Simultaneously set in 2006 by 80,000 in Finland.  I have never heard 160,000 people sing before but trust me, it's quite something.  I'll be posting the video separately for you to see but it was AWESOME to watch.  [image] Congratulations to Bristol Motor Speedway for spreading the joy of being a Guinness World Record holder and giving the fans something to sing about! SO HERE'S A SHORT STORY ABOUT A LITTLE PLACE CALLED BRISTOL. Bristol, Tennessee has a population of around 40,000.  Not so big.  But it's a great place.  Tennessee was actually the first state I visited outside New York after moving to the USA.  [image]It's beautiful and very green.  At least when I've been there.  And it's very peaceful.  Except the night of Bristol Motor Speedway's Sharpie 500 NASCAR race.  That's the night Bristol turns into the third largest city in Tennessee and 160,000 people converge to watch one of the most spectacular races in the NASCAR calendar. 43 drivers and cars all line up to race 500 laps at around 125mph around what they call the [image] It was my first NASCAR race so I was totally excited.  NASCAR is a whole new universe which I was eager to find out about.  The passion of the fans, the smell of fuel, the roar of the engines.  I mean, how could I miss this?  I wanted to be one of these guys. [image] GWR Certificate was with me of course and was just as excited.  Addressing a press conference before the record attempt he declared: "Some people may say they have have friends in low places but I'm here on an all-time high.  NASCAR and Bristol get my engines going and I'm prepared to go the distance.  There are no pit stops for me".  [image] I jumped in before he could use any more racing metaphors but there was no stopping him.  But before I could get to him he was off track-side saying hello to some marines who had turned up for the special opening ceremony.  I go toe-to-toe with anyone but marines?  There was no way I was getting GWR Certificate away from these guys!  They're as tough as they come!  I mean how tough do these guys look?? [image] God bless these guys for their service.  I managed to get GWR Certificate away finally and calmed him down enough to take a photo of me.  [image] But of course he was having none of it and had to go one better.  And what's better than getting your photo BESIDE a NASCAR racing car?  Having your photo taken IN a NASCAR racing car: [image] Fortunately before he went roaring off down the race track one of the local officers nabbed him red-handed.  GWR Certificate had learned his lesson.  No more jumping into race cars under the influence of NASCAR.  I really don't want to mess with this guy again. [image] And so with start time approaching rapidly and images of race car movies with Burt Reynolds and Tom Cruise at the wheel it was time to get down to business.  GWR Certificate and I took our places and consulted each other on how  best to judge the record and where we should each stand.  It was decided he would take the nosebleeds, while I would be in the pit. [image] The Guinness World Record I was there for was actually-but-not-exactly-yet-maybe NASCAR-related by the way.  The night of the race 160,000 voices joined together before the race to sing Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks breaking the existing record for Most People Singing Karaoke Simultaneously set in 2006 by 80,000 in Finland.  I have never heard 160,000 people sing before but trust me, it's quite something.  I'll be posting the video separately for you to see but it was AWESOME to watch.  [image] Congratulations to Bristol Motor Speedway for spreading the joy of being a Guinness World Record holder and giving the fans something to sing about! Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:39:56 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Fast-Furious-at-Bristol-Motor-Speedway/BLOG/593332/7691.html sclaxton 2009-08-28T16:39:56Z Guinness World Records SO HERE'S A SHORT STORY ABOUT A LITTLE PLACE CALLED BRISTOL. Bristol, Tennessee has a population of around 40,000.  Not so big.  But it's a great place.  Tennessee was actually the first state I visited outside New York after moving to the USA.  [image]It's beautiful and very green.  At least when I've been there.  And it's very peaceful.  Except the night of Bristol Motor Speedway's Sharpie 500 NASCAR race.  That's the night Bristol turns into the third largest city in Tennessee and 160,000 people converge to watch one of the most spectacular races in the NASCAR calendar. 43 drivers and cars all line up to race 500 laps at around 125mph around what they call the [image] It was my first NASCAR race so I was totally excited.  NASCAR is a whole new universe which I was eager to find out about.  The passion of the fans, the smell of fuel, the roar of the engines.  I mean, how could I miss this?  I wanted to be one of these guys. [image] GWR Certificate was with me of course and was just as excited.  Addressing a press conference before the record attempt he declared: "Some people may say they have have friends in low places but I'm here on an all-time high.  NASCAR and Bristol get my engines going and I'm prepared to go the distance.  There are no pit stops for me".  [image] I jumped in before he could use any more racing metaphors but there was no stopping him.  But before I could get to him he was off track-side saying hello to some marines who had turned up for the special opening ceremony.  I go toe-to-toe with anyone but marines?  There was no way I was getting GWR Certificate away from these guys!  They're as tough as they come!  I mean how tough do these guys look?? [image] God bless these guys for their service.  I managed to get GWR Certificate away finally and calmed him down enough to take a photo of me.  [image] But of course he was having none of it and had to go one better.  And what's better than getting your photo BESIDE a NASCAR racing car?  Having your photo taken IN a NASCAR racing car: [image] Fortunately before he went roaring off down the race track one of the local officers nabbed him red-handed.  GWR Certificate had learned his lesson.  No more jumping into race cars under the influence of NASCAR.  I really don't want to mess with this guy again. [image] And so with start time approaching rapidly and images of race car movies with Burt Reynolds and Tom Cruise at the wheel it was time to get down to business.  GWR Certificate and I took our places and consulted each other on how  best to judge the record and where we should each stand.  It was decided he would take the nosebleeds, while I would be in the pit. [image] The Guinness World Record I was there for was actually-but-not-exactly-yet-maybe NASCAR-related by the way.  The night of the race 160,000 voices joined together before the race to sing Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks breaking the existing record for Most People Singing Karaoke Simultaneously set in 2006 by 80,000 in Finland.  I have never heard 160,000 people sing before but trust me, it's quite something.  I'll be posting the video separately for you to see but it was AWESOME to watch.  [image] Congratulations to Bristol Motor Speedway for spreading the joy of being a Guinness World Record holder and giving the fans something to sing about! nonadult false Fast & Furious at Bristol Motor Speedway text blog 2315 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 1 0 593332 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_ONE-ON-ONE-WITH-GWR-BOOK/BLOG/532774/7691.html It had been sometime since I'd sat down with GWR Book.  The endless travelling, the press junkets, the midnight swims, it had all taken its toll on the big fella and he had been getting some well-earned rest in a tropical resort whose name I don't recall.  But that didn't mean he was slacking off drinking margaritas by the pool though.  Oh no.   GWR Book may not be visible sometimes but rest assured.  He's always there.  Silently watching.  Quietly taking note of all record-breaking activity.  With a few lines of his pen he can preserve your name for posterity.  Or leave you in that deep well of anonimity.  Not that he wants to.  He tries really hard every year to give everyone their moment.  But sometimes it just doesn't work.  It's either too small, or too slow.  Or too few people turned up or you didn't do enough.  But he really gives everyone their shot.  And that can be demanding, so he needs some time to charge his batteries.  I mean, who doesn't right? I hadn't expected to hear from GWR Book until mid-September but out of nowhere I received a text message from him.  He'd obviously been aware of my movements.  I don't know how.  I didn't want to know.  Sometimes it's best not to ask.  But meet him I did.  And I was relieved to see that he was in good shape.  The visits to the gym had obviously had their effect and he was happy to see me too.  GWR Book, why are we sitting in the dark?  I'm not officially supposed to be seen quite yet.  I mean not for a few more weeks, so I think it best to keep myself on the 'DL' right now.  [image] Of course.  From what I can make out, you look great!  Thank you Stuart.  Yes, all is well.  You're looking good too.  I see you have recovered from your travels. You mean the GWR Certificate thing?  We were just hanging out, that's all.  Not a problem at all.  Certificate is a great asset and a solid guy.  I am very happy to see him out and about.  That usually means another Guinness World Record has been broken so we're good. What have you been up to?  Well I took a break there for a while and went travelling for a bit. But mainly I've been lying low in Barcelona, catching up with old friends.  It's always good to take time and get yourself checked out.  When I know I'm the best I can be that makes me happy.  And when GWR Book is happy, everybody's happy.    True, true.  You have a few busy months ahead of you, are you ready?  Yes, I'm looking forward to getting out there.  It's time.  It's GWR Book time.  And I love it.  The fans all over the world love it too, it's a great time of the year.  I'm pretty much gonna be everywhere so I should be hard to miss.  Can you tell us anything about yourself?  I'm a 287-page-2.9-lb-book of superlative love you know what I mean?  I'm going for it this year.  Gonna do the web thing. You mean you're going to be online?  Yep, pretty much.  Not only are you gonna read and feel GWR Book this year,  you're gonna be able to watch him too.  Photos, videos, interviews...'downloadable content'...that's where it's at, ya get me? Love it.  Well I know you're supposed to be resting so I'll let you go.  Many thanks GWR Book, looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.  May I get a picture?  No can-do my friend.  I am under wraps.  In-cog-ni-to.  On the dark side of the moo....hey wait, put that camera away!  NO! [image] I hightailed it outta there.  I think I heard something like "Come back here ya crazy kid!" through the marshes.  But no matter, I had my scoop.  And besides, GWR Book's an old timer, he knows how this works... [image]   Oh Yeah. It had been sometime since I'd sat down with GWR Book.  The endless travelling, the press junkets, the midnight swims, it had all taken its toll on the big fella and he had been getting some well-earned rest in a tropical resort whose name I don't recall.  But that didn't mean he was slacking off drinking margaritas by the pool though.  Oh no.   GWR Book may not be visible sometimes but rest assured.  He's always there.  Silently watching.  Quietly taking note of all record-breaking activity.  With a few lines of his pen he can preserve your name for posterity.  Or leave you in that deep well of anonimity.  Not that he wants to.  He tries really hard every year to give everyone their moment.  But sometimes it just doesn't work.  It's either too small, or too slow.  Or too few people turned up or you didn't do enough.  But he really gives everyone their shot.  And that can be demanding, so he needs some time to charge his batteries.  I mean, who doesn't right? I hadn't expected to hear from GWR Book until mid-September but out of nowhere I received a text message from him.  He'd obviously been aware of my movements.  I don't know how.  I didn't want to know.  Sometimes it's best not to ask.  But meet him I did.  And I was relieved to see that he was in good shape.  The visits to the gym had obviously had their effect and he was happy to see me too.  GWR Book, why are we sitting in the dark?  I'm not officially supposed to be seen quite yet.  I mean not for a few more weeks, so I think it best to keep myself on the 'DL' right now.  [image] Of course.  From what I can make out, you look great!  Thank you Stuart.  Yes, all is well.  You're looking good too.  I see you have recovered from your travels. You mean the GWR Certificate thing?  We were just hanging out, that's all.  Not a problem at all.  Certificate is a great asset and a solid guy.  I am very happy to see him out and about.  That usually means another Guinness World Record has been broken so we're good. What have you been up to?  Well I took a break there for a while and went travelling for a bit. But mainly I've been lying low in Barcelona, catching up with old friends.  It's always good to take time and get yourself checked out.  When I know I'm the best I can be that makes me happy.  And when GWR Book is happy, everybody's happy.    True, true.  You have a few busy months ahead of you, are you ready?  Yes, I'm looking forward to getting out there.  It's time.  It's GWR Book time.  And I love it.  The fans all over the world love it too, it's a great time of the year.  I'm pretty much gonna be everywhere so I should be hard to miss.  Can you tell us anything about yourself?  I'm a 287-page-2.9-lb-book of superlative love you know what I mean?  I'm going for it this year.  Gonna do the web thing. You mean you're going to be online?  Yep, pretty much.  Not only are you gonna read and feel GWR Book this year,  you're gonna be able to watch him too.  Photos, videos, interviews...'downloadable content'...that's where it's at, ya get me? Love it.  Well I know you're supposed to be resting so I'll let you go.  Many thanks GWR Book, looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.  May I get a picture?  No can-do my friend.  I am under wraps.  In-cog-ni-to.  On the dark side of the moo....hey wait, put that camera away!  NO! [image] I hightailed it outta there.  I think I heard something like "Come back here ya crazy kid!" through the marshes.  But no matter, I had my scoop.  And besides, GWR Book's an old timer, he knows how this works... [image]   Oh Yeah. Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:10:33 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_ONE-ON-ONE-WITH-GWR-BOOK/BLOG/532774/7691.html sclaxton 2009-08-21T16:10:33Z Guinness World Records It had been sometime since I'd sat down with GWR Book.  The endless travelling, the press junkets, the midnight swims, it had all taken its toll on the big fella and he had been getting some well-earned rest in a tropical resort whose name I don't recall.  But that didn't mean he was slacking off drinking margaritas by the pool though.  Oh no.   GWR Book may not be visible sometimes but rest assured.  He's always there.  Silently watching.  Quietly taking note of all record-breaking activity.  With a few lines of his pen he can preserve your name for posterity.  Or leave you in that deep well of anonimity.  Not that he wants to.  He tries really hard every year to give everyone their moment.  But sometimes it just doesn't work.  It's either too small, or too slow.  Or too few people turned up or you didn't do enough.  But he really gives everyone their shot.  And that can be demanding, so he needs some time to charge his batteries.  I mean, who doesn't right? I hadn't expected to hear from GWR Book until mid-September but out of nowhere I received a text message from him.  He'd obviously been aware of my movements.  I don't know how.  I didn't want to know.  Sometimes it's best not to ask.  But meet him I did.  And I was relieved to see that he was in good shape.  The visits to the gym had obviously had their effect and he was happy to see me too.  GWR Book, why are we sitting in the dark?  I'm not officially supposed to be seen quite yet.  I mean not for a few more weeks, so I think it best to keep myself on the 'DL' right now.  [image] Of course.  From what I can make out, you look great!  Thank you Stuart.  Yes, all is well.  You're looking good too.  I see you have recovered from your travels. You mean the GWR Certificate thing?  We were just hanging out, that's all.  Not a problem at all.  Certificate is a great asset and a solid guy.  I am very happy to see him out and about.  That usually means another Guinness World Record has been broken so we're good. What have you been up to?  Well I took a break there for a while and went travelling for a bit. But mainly I've been lying low in Barcelona, catching up with old friends.  It's always good to take time and get yourself checked out.  When I know I'm the best I can be that makes me happy.  And when GWR Book is happy, everybody's happy.    True, true.  You have a few busy months ahead of you, are you ready?  Yes, I'm looking forward to getting out there.  It's time.  It's GWR Book time.  And I love it.  The fans all over the world love it too, it's a great time of the year.  I'm pretty much gonna be everywhere so I should be hard to miss.  Can you tell us anything about yourself?  I'm a 287-page-2.9-lb-book of superlative love you know what I mean?  I'm going for it this year.  Gonna do the web thing. You mean you're going to be online?  Yep, pretty much.  Not only are you gonna read and feel GWR Book this year,  you're gonna be able to watch him too.  Photos, videos, interviews...'downloadable content'...that's where it's at, ya get me? Love it.  Well I know you're supposed to be resting so I'll let you go.  Many thanks GWR Book, looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.  May I get a picture?  No can-do my friend.  I am under wraps.  In-cog-ni-to.  On the dark side of the moo....hey wait, put that camera away!  NO! [image] I hightailed it outta there.  I think I heard something like "Come back here ya crazy kid!" through the marshes.  But no matter, I had my scoop.  And besides, GWR Book's an old timer, he knows how this works... [image]   Oh Yeah. nonadult false ONE-ON-ONE WITH GWR BOOK text blog 864 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 532774 3939819 Gold 4283 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_OLDEST-WOMAN-EVER-FOUND/BLOG/526117/7691.html ...IN THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS BOOK! Guinness World Records is all about extremes.  From the highest to the lowest.  From the fastest to the slowest.  We chronicle them all.  50,000 letters a year yield a wonderful world of wanna-be superlatives.  Some get there, some don't.  From the sublime to the ridiculous.  It's a wonder we can keep up.  And yet we do.  We chronicle as many as we can in the book.  The Guinness World Records book. A look through its pages is a veritable feast for stats fans.  And endless source of material for those looking for party pieces.  It's as insane as it is epic.  A universe of names, places, dates and digits.  A true testament to the spontaneity and reinvention of the human race.  I sometimes wonder what would emerge if we could package all the emotions contained in its pages.  A cornucopia of highs and lows?  A pandora's box of thrills and spills?  A shopping bag full of high-end happiest moments ever? Norris McWhirter, one of our founding editors, once said that everything needs a context.  Every high must have its low.  Every top must have its bottom.  Our youngest must have their oldest.  And there is no older...scratch that...there has never been anyone older than Madame Jeanne Louise Calment - the Oldest Human Being Ever.  On August 4 1997, just over 12 years ago, Calment passed away in Arles, France.  Born on February 21 1875, a year before Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone, she was 122 years 164 days old when she died.  That's 44,724 days of living on this little blue planet (which, coincidentally, is over 4.5 billion years old). Wow. Jeanne Louise Calment aged 20 in 1895: [image] Jeanne Louise Calment aged 121 in 1996: [image] Stuart Claxton aged 37 in 2009: [image] I guess you can really say no-one ever lived a fuller life than Jeanne Louise, and if you don't believe me check this out: She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life, and outlived both her daughter and grandson Her older brother, François, lived to the age of 97, her father to 93, and her mother to 86 Her husband died in 1942 after eating a dessert prepared with spoiled cherries She met Vincent Van Gogh in 1888, as a 13-year-old girl in her uncle's fabric shop, where he wanted to buy some canvas, later describing him as "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable", and "very ugly, ungracious, impolite, sick" She watched the Eiffel Tower being built In 1956, Calment appeared in the short promotional film Vincent Van Gogh: Darkness Into Light, produced by MGM to promote Lust for Life. In the short film, Calment talks with star Kirk Douglas about meeting Van Gogh when she was 13 At the age of 114, she appeared briefly in the 1990 film Vincent and Me as herself, making her the oldest actress ever In 1996, to celebrate her 121st birthday, a record company released Time's Mistress, a four-track CD of her speaking over a background of rap and hip hop - how cool is that! She occasionally smoked until the age of 117, only five years before her death, finally giving up at the age of 119 years (blindness made it difficult for her to light a cigarette) When asked for her prescription for a long life, she mentioned garlic, vegetables, cigarettes, and red wine. On another occasion, she said her longevity and relatively youthful appearance for her age was due to olive oil, which she said she poured on all her food and rubbed onto her skin, as well as a diet of port wine, and nearly 1 kilo of chocolate eaten every week Calment is the oldest person known to have survived a hip operation The Guinness World Record for Oldest Man Ever is held by Shigechiyo Izumi (Japan) of Isen on Tokunoshima, an island 1,320 km (820 miles) south-west of Tokyo who lived until he was 120 years 237 days.  He was born at Isen on 29 June 1865 and was recorded as a 6-year-old in Japan's first census of 1871. He died at 12:15 GMT on 21 February 1986 after developing pneumonia. The current Guinness World Record for Oldest Living Woman is held by Gertrude Baines (b. 6 April 1894, Georgia, USA)  who was 114 years 327 days old, as of 27 February 2009.  The current Guinness World Record for Oldest Living Man is held by Walter Breuning, who was born 21 September 1896, he claimed the title on 2 January 2009, aged 112 years 101 days.    God bless them all! ...IN THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS BOOK! Guinness World Records is all about extremes.  From the highest to the lowest.  From the fastest to the slowest.  We chronicle them all.  50,000 letters a year yield a wonderful world of wanna-be superlatives.  Some get there, some don't.  From the sublime to the ridiculous.  It's a wonder we can keep up.  And yet we do.  We chronicle as many as we can in the book.  The Guinness World Records book. A look through its pages is a veritable feast for stats fans.  And endless source of material for those looking for party pieces.  It's as insane as it is epic.  A universe of names, places, dates and digits.  A true testament to the spontaneity and reinvention of the human race.  I sometimes wonder what would emerge if we could package all the emotions contained in its pages.  A cornucopia of highs and lows?  A pandora's box of thrills and spills?  A shopping bag full of high-end happiest moments ever? Norris McWhirter, one of our founding editors, once said that everything needs a context.  Every high must have its low.  Every top must have its bottom.  Our youngest must have their oldest.  And there is no older...scratch that...there has never been anyone older than Madame Jeanne Louise Calment - the Oldest Human Being Ever.  On August 4 1997, just over 12 years ago, Calment passed away in Arles, France.  Born on February 21 1875, a year before Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone, she was 122 years 164 days old when she died.  That's 44,724 days of living on this little blue planet (which, coincidentally, is over 4.5 billion years old). Wow. Jeanne Louise Calment aged 20 in 1895: [image] Jeanne Louise Calment aged 121 in 1996: [image] Stuart Claxton aged 37 in 2009: [image] I guess you can really say no-one ever lived a fuller life than Jeanne Louise, and if you don't believe me check this out: She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life, and outlived both her daughter and grandson Her older brother, François, lived to the age of 97, her father to 93, and her mother to 86 Her husband died in 1942 after eating a dessert prepared with spoiled cherries She met Vincent Van Gogh in 1888, as a 13-year-old girl in her uncle's fabric shop, where he wanted to buy some canvas, later describing him as "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable", and "very ugly, ungracious, impolite, sick" She watched the Eiffel Tower being built In 1956, Calment appeared in the short promotional film Vincent Van Gogh: Darkness Into Light, produced by MGM to promote Lust for Life. In the short film, Calment talks with star Kirk Douglas about meeting Van Gogh when she was 13 At the age of 114, she appeared briefly in the 1990 film Vincent and Me as herself, making her the oldest actress ever In 1996, to celebrate her 121st birthday, a record company released Time's Mistress, a four-track CD of her speaking over a background of rap and hip hop - how cool is that! She occasionally smoked until the age of 117, only five years before her death, finally giving up at the age of 119 years (blindness made it difficult for her to light a cigarette) When asked for her prescription for a long life, she mentioned garlic, vegetables, cigarettes, and red wine. On another occasion, she said her longevity and relatively youthful appearance for her age was due to olive oil, which she said she poured on all her food and rubbed onto her skin, as well as a diet of port wine, and nearly 1 kilo of chocolate eaten every week Calment is the oldest person known to have survived a hip operation The Guinness World Record for Oldest Man Ever is held by Shigechiyo Izumi (Japan) of Isen on Tokunoshima, an island 1,320 km (820 miles) south-west of Tokyo who lived until he was 120 years 237 days.  He was born at Isen on 29 June 1865 and was recorded as a 6-year-old in Japan's first census of 1871. He died at 12:15 GMT on 21 February 1986 after developing pneumonia. The current Guinness World Record for Oldest Living Woman is held by Gertrude Baines (b. 6 April 1894, Georgia, USA)  who was 114 years 327 days old, as of 27 February 2009.  The current Guinness World Record for Oldest Living Man is held by Walter Breuning, who was born 21 September 1896, he claimed the title on 2 January 2009, aged 112 years 101 days.    God bless them all! Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:09:50 GMT http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_OLDEST-WOMAN-EVER-FOUND/BLOG/526117/7691.html sclaxton 2009-08-20T16:09:50Z Guinness World Records ...IN THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS BOOK! Guinness World Records is all about extremes.  From the highest to the lowest.  From the fastest to the slowest.  We chronicle them all.  50,000 letters a year yield a wonderful world of wanna-be superlatives.  Some get there, some don't.  From the sublime to the ridiculous.  It's a wonder we can keep up.  And yet we do.  We chronicle as many as we can in the book.  The Guinness World Records book. A look through its pages is a veritable feast for stats fans.  And endless source of material for those looking for party pieces.  It's as insane as it is epic.  A universe of names, places, dates and digits.  A true testament to the spontaneity and reinvention of the human race.  I sometimes wonder what would emerge if we could package all the emotions contained in its pages.  A cornucopia of highs and lows?  A pandora's box of thrills and spills?  A shopping bag full of high-end happiest moments ever? Norris McWhirter, one of our founding editors, once said that everything needs a context.  Every high must have its low.  Every top must have its bottom.  Our youngest must have their oldest.  And there is no older...scratch that...there has never been anyone older than Madame Jeanne Louise Calment - the Oldest Human Being Ever.  On August 4 1997, just over 12 years ago, Calment passed away in Arles, France.  Born on February 21 1875, a year before Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone, she was 122 years 164 days old when she died.  That's 44,724 days of living on this little blue planet (which, coincidentally, is over 4.5 billion years old). Wow. Jeanne Louise Calment aged 20 in 1895: [image] Jeanne Louise Calment aged 121 in 1996: [image] Stuart Claxton aged 37 in 2009: [image] I guess you can really say no-one ever lived a fuller life than Jeanne Louise, and if you don't believe me check this out: She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life, and outlived both her daughter and grandson Her older brother, François, lived to the age of 97, her father to 93, and her mother to 86 Her husband died in 1942 after eating a dessert prepared with spoiled cherries She met Vincent Van Gogh in 1888, as a 13-year-old girl in her uncle's fabric shop, where he wanted to buy some canvas, later describing him as "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable", and "very ugly, ungracious, impolite, sick" She watched the Eiffel Tower being built In 1956, Calment appeared in the short promotional film Vincent Van Gogh: Darkness Into Light, produced by MGM to promote Lust for Life. In the short film, Calment talks with star Kirk Douglas about meeting Van Gogh when she was 13 At the age of 114, she appeared briefly in the 1990 film Vincent and Me as herself, making her the oldest actress ever In 1996, to celebrate her 121st birthday, a record company released Time's Mistress, a four-track CD of her speaking over a background of rap and hip hop - how cool is that! She occasionally smoked until the age of 117, only five years before her death, finally giving up at the age of 119 years (blindness made it difficult for her to light a cigarette) When asked for her prescription for a long life, she mentioned garlic, vegetables, cigarettes, and red wine. On another occasion, she said her longevity and relatively youthful appearance for her age was due to olive oil, which she said she poured on all her food and rubbed onto her skin, as well as a diet of port wine, and nearly 1 kilo of chocolate eaten every week Calment is the oldest person known to have survived a hip operation The Guinness World Record for Oldest Man Ever is held by Shigechiyo Izumi (Japan) of Isen on Tokunoshima, an island 1,320 km (820 miles) south-west of Tokyo who lived until he was 120 years 237 days.  He was born at Isen on 29 June 1865 and was recorded as a 6-year-old in Japan's first census of 1871. He died at 12:15 GMT on 21 February 1986 after developing pneumonia. The current Guinness World Record for Oldest Living Woman is held by Gertrude Baines (b. 6 April 1894, Georgia, USA)  who was 114 years 327 days old, as of 27 February 2009.  The current Guinness World Record for Oldest Living Man is held by Walter Breuning, who was born 21 September 1896, he claimed the title on 2 January 2009, aged 112 years 101 days.    God bless them all! nonadult false OLDEST WOMAN EVER FOUND text blog 7003 0 0.0 http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3939819&as=7691 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/7691/photos/PHOTO_2596623_7691_3939819_ap_160X120.jpg false United States NY New york 10128 0 0 526117 3939819 Gold 4283