For Christmas one of my friends got me the Guinness World Records 2013 book. I love these sorts of books, but I haven't actually looked at a GWR book in about 7 years! So, being the nerd that I am, I pretty much went through the entire book as soon as I got it (which was a couple days before Christmas...the 21st, I think).
Everyone probably knows this already, but there are some really cool records in here, which is great, since when I think of world records being set, I associate it with the Olympics, or these other great events that give inspiration and motivation. However, there are also some of the most ridiculous/stupid/useless records in here too. So, I thought it would be fun to highlight some of them (and see if you guys agree with me).
So, keeping with the random theme of my blog, I'm going to list records in no particular order. Some I think are pretty darn cool, others I've chosen as being quite unnecessary. There's also some random, semi-interesting facts thrown in.
Okay, here we go:
1. Fastest time to wrap a person in newspaper: 3 minutes, 7 seconds.
This was one of the first records in the book where I thought "umm...what?" and "why exactly would I want to do this?". Although, if I think back to some shenanigans that have occurred in the past, then yes...sadly, we attempted to wrap someone up in one of those super long rolls of packing paper. HOWEVER, I can still wonder "why exactly would I want to do this in 3 minutes?"
2. Largest mass wedding ceremony in a prison: 120 inmates at Carandiru Prison in San Paulo, Brazil.
Yet, they don't tell us about the largest non-prison related mass wedding. I guess it would just be silly to want to know about that. Although, maybe I should have said, they don't tell us about the largest non-prison related mass wedding between humans...
3. Largest dog wedding: 178 dog pairs.
I wonder if the bride and groom would be happy with some ripped up newspaper in a card, instead of a cheque.
4. City with the least air pollution: Whitehorse, Yukon in Canada.
They have a population of only about 23,000 people. Makes sense.
5. Heaviest woman to give birth: 532 lbs.
Is this a record someone else is trying to beat?
6. Most kicks to the head in 1 minute (self) - their wording, not mine: 115.
I wonder how one discovers that they have this "talent"? Is it normal for people to do this on a regular basis? Also, how often did this guy have to practice? And is he still coherent?
7. Most watermelons crushed with the head in 1 minute: 43.
See thoughts for number 6.
8. Longest time restraining 2 air crafts: 1 minute, 0.6 seconds.
Okay, so this is a record that I actually find kind of cool. He's actually stopping AIRPLANES from TAKING OFF! Amazing, but also a little "WTF?" In a good way, though.
9. Random fact: 1,600,000,000 cell phones are produced every year.
Also a little "WTF?", but in a bad way this time.
10. Most Sauna World Championships won by one person: 5.
Sauna World Championships, AKA: who can sit in a sauna the longest without dying.
Bad news if you were thinking about entering...they stopped the contest after 2010 when someone actually died in the sauna.
11. Loudest burp: 109.9 decibels.
Apparently this guy burps as loud as a rock concert. Imagine going deaf because he burped next to you in math class or something. I'd be so pissed.
12. Heaviest cabbage: 127 lbs.
Is it just me, or is anyone else thinking about "Little Shop of Horrors" right now?
This equals 83 to 97 guns per 100 people. I guess it's not that surprising a fact with the news we're hearing these days. BUT, "what's the country with the 2nd highest rate?", you ask? It's India, with only 46 million, equaling 3 to 5.6 per 100 people.
14. Fastest bathroom: 68 km/h (42.25 mph).
Umm...really, Guinness World Records? REALLY? Some guy just decided to cover his motorcycle and sidecar with a toilet, tub and sink. I guess that's sorta cool...maybe...?
15. Largest Harry Potter memorabilia collection: 608 individual items.
I just really love Harry Potter and thought this record was fun. I also found this article about the boy who lived...with his massive Harry Potter collection. But, am I a jerk for thinking "Only 608 items?". The answer is: no, I'm not. There's a guy with a Superman collection of 1,253 items. Now that's a REAL collection. LOLz.
16. Country with the fewest smokers: Canada.
Only 17%. Being part of the 83% myself, I just have to say "woot!".
17. Highest grossing horror movie: Twilight: New Moon ($710 million USD).
Okay, to be honest, I only saw the first movie in the series. New Moon is apparently the 2nd movie. But really, GWR? It's considered a HORROR movie? All I gotta say is: things musta got crazy intense after that first film.
18. Biggest diaper sculpture: 16 feet, 10 inches tall; 43 feet, 4 inches diameter.
Are there other diaper sculptures?
19. ONE OF the oddest things sold on Ebay: Corn Flake shaped like Illinois.
So, if that's not odd enough, not only did someone try to sell this Corn Flake on Ebay, someone actually bought the thing. For $1,350!!! Like...real cash money dollars. So, the caption for this picture should be "Crazy guy".
20. First person to vomit in Space: Gherman Titov on the Vostok 2 mission (August 6, 1961).
Yep, here he is. My new hero.
Well, that's all I got, people. Hope you enjoyed :)
Is there a category for longest span of time after a blog about GWR was published to actually read it to the end and comment about the longest span of time after a blog about GWR was published to actually read it to the end and comment about the longest span of time...
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