Sweden strums its way to ukulele world record

Thousands gathered in Helsingborg, Sweden at the weekend to set a new world record for the largest ukulele ensemble.

On a sunny day in the city, 1,547 keen four-string strummers played along to the popular Swedish song Leende Guldbruna Ögon ('Smiling Gold brown Eyes'), made famous by the band Vikingarna.

The day started with musicians and stand-up comedians before the successful attempt kicked off at 6.30 pm.

The record attempt was part of an event organised by ABF, Folkuniversitetet and Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan, three educational institutions in Sweden, and took place in the city's main park where people gathered with picnics in the sunshine.

Procter & Gamble roll away with toilet paper record

It was National Toilet Paper Day in the United States on Friday, and to mark the event, Procter & Gamble's Charmin brand decided to celebrate by attempting the Guinness World Records title for largest toilet paper roll.

To be eligible for the record, the roll had to be outsized to scale and constructed from the same material used for a regular commercially available toilet roll, with the record determined by measuring the diameter of the final product.

The Charmin team polled their manufacturing plants to see the capacity and ability of their machines to see exactly how big they could push the size limit. After searching, the P&G Paper Products Company located outside of Cape Girardeau, Missouri was chosen to manufacture the oversized toilet paper roll; made entirely out of Charmin toilet paper product.

The roll was transported to Cincinnati, Ohio where it was wrapped with Charmin branded appropriate casing and stored at a secret facility. The large toilet roll was then transported to the P&G Headquarters on Friday morning to be unveiled for National Toilet Paper Day.

I flew to Cincinnati a few days before the unveiling to meet the Charmin team and see the toilet paper roll in person. The toilet roll's measurements were taken by a certified surveyor to ensure the precise diameter was recorded. After careful calculations, the final diameter measured 9.73 feet (the height measuring 8.49 feet). With the previous record measuring in at 5 feet 6.9 inches in diameter, Charmin had set a new record.

A large crowd gathered around the huge toilet paper roll, displayed outside the P&G headquarters for pictures and celebration. The famous Charmin Bear was also present for some laughs and great photo opportunities.

Congratulations to Charmin, and thanks to the team for their passion and precise planning to make this attempt worthy of a Guinness World Records title.

Most people bouncing tennis balls record broken ahead of US Open

While it's anybody's guess who will win this year's tennis US Open in New York, it's now a certainty that 2011's tournament will go down as a record-breaker.


Led by top-ranked American tennis pro Mardy Fish and top-ranked German female Andrea Petkovic, Wilson Racquet Sports organized an attempt at the world-famous USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in the Flushing section of New York City for the most people bouncing tennis balls on tennis rackets.


The record had stood for nearly five years at 383, but the combination of two tennis stars and the backdrop of a tennis major drew 658 participants of all ages to set a new Guinness World Records standard.


Interestingly, this record had been set three times before - twice in the UK and once in Australia. So it was only fitting that the first time it was set on U.S. soil was in celebration of the country's biggest tennis event, which began on Sunday.


What surprised me most adjudicating the attempt was the passion that the whole group - mostly children under the age of 12 - showed for the attempt. Obviously, any attempt at a place in history like this will draw a feverish commitment from participants.

But, despite gates opening at 7:30 a.m. and with a massive hurricane moving toward the city, hundreds of people were still in line and at the ready when doors opened.


Needing to keep their tennis balls bouncing for at least 10 seconds, there were a number of participants who were deducted from the total group after it was found they could not keep up for the entire time (Fish and Petkovic, for what it's worth, had no trouble).


But for all others, the chance to add their fabric to one of the sports marquee events is a record they can now proudly call their own.

Beyonce pregnancy announcement at MTV VMA's sparks Twitter world record

News of pop singer Beyonce's pregnancy set a new Guinness World Records ™ record for most Tweets per second at the weekend.

The star announced that she was expecting her first child with rapper husband Jay-Z before a live performance at the MTV VMA Awards on Sunday.

The 29-year-old rubbed her five-month baby bump, before declaring: "I want you to feel the love that's growing inside me."

According to Twitter's official global PR feed, @TwitterComms, the news created a bump in traffic that saw 8,868 Tweets being sent per second.

The previous top five spikes in Twitter posts are as follows:

• 7,196 tweets were sent per second during the Women's World Cup final between Japan and the United States in July.

• 7,166 tweets per second were sent when Brazil lost to Paraguay in the Copa America.

• 6,939 tweets per second when Tokyo rang in the New Year.

• 5,530 tweets per second were sent after the March 11th earthquake that rocked Japan.

• More than 5,000 tweets per second were sent after Osama Bin Laden's death.

World’s Oldest Living Person Besse Cooper turns 115

Guinness World Records presented a plaque to Besse Cooper, the 'World's Oldest Living Person' to mark her 115 th birthday last Friday at her residence in Monroe, Georgia.

Senior Gerontology Consultant, Robert Young was on site to re-issue the official title and certificate formally, as Besse had briefly lost the designation to Brazilian Maria Gomes Valentim on May 18 th.

After Valentim's passing on June 21 st, Besse was reinstated as the 'World's Oldest Living Person' at 114-years-old.

Born in Tennessee in 1896, Besse Cooper moved to Monroe, Georgia during World WarOnein search of work as a teacher.

She married her husband Luther in 1924, and they had four children. Today, she has 12 grandchildren and more than a dozen great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

Her secret to longevity? "I mind my own business," Cooper says. "And I don't eat junk food."

A small birthday celebration was held on Friday where fifteen to twenty close friends gathered to enjoy cake while musician Mike Cronic serenaded the partygoers with "Tennessee Waltz."

Besse Cooper is now in a very elite group of super centenarians who have reached the age of 115. Senior Gerontology Consultant Robert Young noted, "Only 22 persons have indisputably turned 115 in the past. More than 75 have reached 114, so "115" is the real marquis milestone."

Grandfather becomes oldest man to swim English Channel at 70

Roger Allsopp has succeeded in becoming the world's oldest man to swim the English Channel.

Aged 70 years and 4 months, the retired breast cancer surgeon, completed the 21-nautical mile swim in 17 hours and 51 minutes and 19 seconds.

Roger beat the current Guinness World Record held by American George Brunstad who made the swim aged 70 years and 4 days on 29 August 2004.

Roger said: "I feel an immense sense of achievement and relief that I have been successful."

Anna Orford, Official Guinness World Records Adjudicator said: 'To swim the English Channel is a great challenge and to do it at the mature age of 70 years is astounding! We are very pleased to congratulate Roger on this achievement and in doing so setting a new Guinness World Record."

Supported by nutritional and wellbeing supplement company, Healthspan whose founder/CEO Derek Coates himself suffered cancer 30 years ago, Roger is hoping to raise £750,000 that will purchase this state-of-the art technology outright needed for cancer research.

Sonim XP3300 Force handset sets new toughest phone record after surviving 25 metre fall

Sonim technologies new XP3300 Force handset has achieved a Guinness World Record for being the World's Toughest Mobile Phone.

The device managed to survive a fall of 25.29 meters (82 ft 11.67 in) onto concrete with no operational damage during a demonstration in The Netherlands on Saturday.

The record attempt, which took place in Epe, was organised by the mobile phones manufacturer to show off the durability of its latest rugged handset. The firm specialises in phones that are designed for workers in demanding and hazardous environments, including construction and defence.

The equipment used to confirm the altitude had been certified as accurately calibrated by an appropriate expert before the attempt, while two engineers from the Dutch Metrology institute were also present to verify the exact measurements of the drop.

Also on hand was Ron Smeets, founder of the tech blog Mobile Cowboys  to act as an independent witness to the attempt.

While the phone managed to remain in working order after drops of 10 and 25 meters, a height of 30 metres proved too much for the device.

Following the successful attempt, Guinness World Records Adjudicator Lucia Sinigagliesi presented a GWR certificate to Sonim's managing director for Benelux Roy Vervenne to mark the company's achievement.

The previous record was held by the JCB tough phone, which managed to survive a fall of just 3.25 meters.

Farthest Distance for a Human Cannonball

This week's explosive video of the week sees American daredevil David Marvin Jr set a new record for the farthest distance for a human fired from a cannon is

Fearless David managed to reach 59.05 m (193 ft 8.8 in) during the attempt on the set of Lo Show Dei Record, in Milan, Italy, which was recorded on 10 March 2011.

David was launched by a 8 m (26 ft 2.95 in) long cannon and was estimated to have travelled at an incredible speed of 120 km/h (74.56 mph), reaching a max altitude of 23 m (75 ft 5.51 in) from the ground.

Several members of David's family are human cannonballs and perform stunts worldwide, while the pneumatic cannon mechanism is a trade secret that belongs to the family.

World’s largest doner gets roasted in Dubai

Last week saw a successful attempt for the largest doner meat in Dubai - a first for food related record breaking, which I was fortunate enough to attend.


Although Guinness World Records™ holds records for the largest kebab and longest skewers of kebabs, this was the first attempt at the largest ever doner verified by GWR.


This record attempt was no easy feat from the onset, with months spent in preparation at the Doner Restaurant on Jumeirah Beach Road in order to produce a spit roast able to facilitate the meat that could weigh up to 600kg.


My mind boggled at the thought of what such a device would firstly look like and secondly how it could cook such a large piece of meat. To add to this already incredible feat, Dr Mohd Alsyoufi, who initiated the attempt for the restaurant, was also battling temperatures of up to 48 degrees. Never the less; he remained confident and undeterred with his team of staff having come too far to turn back.


Despite the unbearable heat, the attempt began on Friday 26 th August 2011 at 3pm. With chefs, volunteers and restaurant manager Noor Ghannam preparing the meat to be assembled onto the skewer for the spit roast, the anticipation was high to maintain a high standard throughout the attempt.


Both Mr Noor and Dr. Mohammed were cautious that this was a record attempt whereby no mistakes could be made as, with all food records, GWR encourages record breakers to distribute the food to limit the wastage. This being an important factor meant that the standard in which the meat was handled, cooked and distributed had to be high as well as ensuring real doner kebabs could be made using the meat from the record attempt


I was pleased to learn that the reason the restaurant's attempt came into fruition was due to the need to supply less fortunate individuals and families within Dubai with a decent meal after the breaking of fasting during Ramadan. With a touching ambition acting as the driving force behind this record attempt, it was clear to see why this record attempt held such importance amongst everyone involved in making it a success.

With a representative present from the Dubai Municipality for health and safety present, the meat was finally taken from the fridge and freezers where it had been left to marinate and then onto the skewer for the spit roast. I was on hand to ensure that the meat was being placed onto the skewer as it would ordinarily be placed on a standard sized doner spit roast, as well as witnessing the measurement of the skewer itself which was lifted using an industrial sized measuring crane. With this number noted down I could then subtract this amount from the total weight of the skewer and meat, enabling me to distinguish the total weight of the doner meat itself.


As the evening drew to a close and the final measurements were taken, the relief was noticeable as the temperatures had not let up and it was clear that the entire team was elated to have finally finished the unenviable task of assembling 468 kg of doner meat onto the skewer!


I was pleased to finally confirm and announce that the largest doner was 468kg in weight, 2.95 metres in height and 60 cm in width.


Congratulations to the entire team at the Doner Restaurant in Dubai for the hard work and success in achieving this brand new Guinness World Records title!

Largest can pyramid built in Kansas City

An engineering firm in Missouri (USA) has stacked its way into the record books by building the world's largest can pyramid.


Local company BRR Architecture Inc were contacted by the Worlds of Fun amusement centre in Kansas City to carry out what was to prove a successful record attempt at the park last month.


Guinness World Records guidelines for the record required the team to build the construction from a minimum of 15,000 cans.

Grocery store Country Mart stepped up to the plate and offered to donate the identical food cans needed. This donation came close to 18,000 canned food items, a remarkable contribution.


To ensure the food was used and did not go to waste, Harvesters- The Community Food Network joined the project to contribute to the record building pyramid and then walk away with a grand donation and contribution for their food warehouse.

Ahead of the attempt, the amusement park, was bustling with excitement. A large area was barricaded off where large pallets holding thousands of canned food items were stacked. The cans were taken out of the plastic wrapping and carried over to the BRR Architecture team, who then strategically placing the cans in a formation.


The group plugged away building the free-standing structure for over 7 hours with only an hour break for lunch.

The eventual base for the pyramid measured 37 x 37 cans with each successive layer subtracting one can. The final construction equaled a grand total of 17, 575 cans, surpassing the minimum requirement for a new record by a huge margin.


Congratulations to Worlds of Fun for this successful record attempt, and a special thank you to BRR Architecture, Inc, Country Mart and Harvesters for their support and hard work.

Meet Harbor - The new dog with the longest ears in the world

A Black and Tan Coonhound named 'Harbor', aged 8, from Boulder, Colorado, USA, has earned a spot in the upcoming Guinness World Records 2012 Edition for having the Longest Ears on a Living Dog.


Owned by Jennifer Wert, Harbor's left and right ears measure 12.25 inches and 13.5 inches respectively.


As a puppy Harbor would struggle with his colossal ears; frequently causing him to trip over them and roll down stairs.


Now at the age of 8 the purebred has grown into his ears (only occasionally tripping over!), the only trouble being caused by the attention he receives from members of the public.

Jennifer explains: "Cars will literally stop in the street to take a closer look and get a picture. Often strangers will tug his ears which he really doesn't enjoy!"


Contrary to popular belief, this particular breed's long ears are for smelling and not enhanced hearing. When moving around Harbor's ears will fall into a rhythm that helps sweep scents into his nose.

Jennifer goes on to say: "Most days I forget how oddly long his ears are. He's a phenomenon in the world and he creates smiles wherever we go."


Harbor takes the new title from Tigger (13.5 inch ears), a bloodhound from Illinois, who sadly passed away of old age two year ago.


Harbor's ear-span is greater than the height of the world's shortest man - Junrey Balawing (PHL) is 23.5 in!

Harbor's ear-span is wider than the smallest road-legal car - Perry Watkin's 'Wind Up' (UK) is 26 inches wide!


You could fit the world's shortest dog (Brandy (US), 6in long) comfortably on each of Harbor's ear twice!


For more amazing record breaking animals plus the latest records in science, nature, sport, entertainment and everything else, check out the upcoming Guinness World Records 2012 Edition on the 15th of September.

Your questions answered about this year’s edition

With the release of our latest and greatest annual book, "Guinness World Records ™2012", barely a week away, we thought it the ideal time to answer some of your questions about the year's edition.


Here's what you told us you wanted to know through our Facebook page and Twitter feed:


"Are there any new records?"

Nadia Kajee asked this, and Laura Castro similarly wanted to know how many records the book contains in total. Well - the book contains over 4000 records, of which over half are either new categories, or new record holders.


The book also contains over 900 brand new photos, and hundreds of facts about what the average person eats, drinks, and does in a lifetime. Did you know you'll eat 53kg of insects accidentally during your life?


"Am I in it?"

Many of you (including: Stephen Kish, Mason Pye, Nishant Choudry, Mike White, Peter Barlow, Thanesh Gurgain, and Zach Wong, to name just a few) wanted to know if the records they hold appear in this edition of the book.


While I do know for certain (I have a copy open on my desk right now!), I'm afraid you're going to have to just wait and see for yourselves!


Note that while we couldn't possibly fit every record into the book each year, all current records are considered for inclusion, and we try to mix things up each year, such that as many different record holders as possible get the chance to see their names in print.


"What's the weirdest record in the book?"

An interesting question from Haley Anderson, here. I'm afraid I can't give you any details just yet, but you will shortly be hearing about a brand new record holder with something of a penchant for piercings, who is certainly one of the more unusual characters in this edition…


"Can I have a copy for free?"

A cheeky question from both Kole Townsend and Kevin Garcia! While we certainly can't give a copy away to everyone who asks us for one, we will be running book giveaways on Facebook, Twitter, and here on our website in due course, so there will be opportunities for some of you to win a copy.


"When is the Gamer's Edition book coming out?"

Another question from Mason Pye - our other annual book, one focussing on record-breaking achievements in the world of video games, will be released in January 2012. Closer to the time we'll announce an exact date, and give you more of a taste of what to expect.


"When is the book released in my country?"

An important question, Ahnaf Nizar! Seeing as we have to translate the book into numerous different languages, then print and send out millions of copies across the globe, the release date is not the same in every country. Here are the current scheduled release dates for GWR 2012 (note these may be subject to change):
USA & Canada - September 13 th
UK - September 15 th
Australia - September 15 th
Germany - September 15 th
Norway - September 15 th
The Netherlands - September 15 th
Belgium - September 15 th
Turkey - September 15 th
Hungary - September 15 th
Portugal - September 15 th
Russia - September 15 th
Czech Republic - September 15 th
Slovenia - September 15 th
Croatia - September 16 th
Finland - September 16 th
Sweden - September 20 th
Brazil - October 1 st
Denmark - October 2 nd
Italy - October 4 th
France - October 5 th
Greece - October 7 th
Spain - October 13 th
Argentina - October TBC
Colombia - November 15 th
Israel - TBC
Japan - TBC
South Africa - TBC

Mexican dancers set new world record in Guadalajara

Hundreds of dancers took to the floor in Guadalajara at the weekend to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest Mexican folk dance.

The attempt took place on Saturday in the Plaza Liberacion in front of the famous/old Teatro Degollado in the western state of Jalisco as part of the 18th annual Mariachi and Charreria Festival.

The soundtrack to the folk ball was provided by over 300 mariachis from Mexico, Argentina and Colombia.

While a minimum requirement of 250 participants wearing tradition costumes were required for a new record to be set, an impressive 457 dancers took part.

While the dancers were only required to perform for five minutes, they continued for a further five to traditional Mexican songs like 'Guadalajara', 'El Jarabe Tapatio' (The Guadalajara Jarabe Dance), and 'El Son de la Negra' (The Dark Girl's Music)

The event was organised by the city's chamber of commerce to promote Mexican culture, and marks the third time that the department has broken a record, following successful attempts at the most people twirling lassos and the largest gathering of mariachis.

Miguel Alfaro Aranguren, board president said : "It's the way for the world to get to know our traditions - mariachi music, tequila and our folklore".

Alfaro says plans are now afoot for a record attempt at the greatest number of people drinking tequila simultaneously for the next festival.

Record-breaking lantern sculpture lights up Hong Kong

Hong Kong's signature glow may well be neon, but a different type of light illuminated the city's Victoria Park at the weekend during a successful attempt at building the largest ever sculpture made from lanterns.

The record-breaking fish-shape construction was made from 2,360 traditional Chinese lanterns, and took 35 people 13 days to build.

Measuring 36.52 x 9.63 x 13.20m ( 119.82 x 31.59 x 43.31 ft), the sculpture formed the centrepiece of the Lee Kum Kee Lantern Wonderland carnival in the park marking Hong Kong's Mid-Autumn Festival.

Created by local designer William Lim, the sculpture was built using a traditional bamboo scaffolding technique.

This massive lantern was the result of a local design competition, organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and supported by the Ambassadors of Design (AoD), Hong Kong Designers Association (HKDA) and the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA), with sponsors Lee Kum Kee covering the sculpture's production costs.

Is this monster crocodile the biggest of all time?

Hunters claim to have captured a record-breaking 21-foot monster crocodile in the Philippines.

The saltwater beast was caught by a team of 30 men on Saturday in the town of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur province on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao following a marathon three-week hunt.

Snared using meat bait and a metal cable, if the measurements are validated the reported 600kg croc would be the largest of its kind in captivity.

The massive reptile has been transferred to a nature park close to where it was caught, where it is now said to be the star attraction.

Guinness World Records™ officials are currently awaiting further evidence in order to verify if a record has been broken.

The current record for the largest crocodile in captivity was set by Cassius in 2008, an Australian saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), measuring 5.48 m (17 ft 11.75 in).

The largest croc of all time is Sarcosuchus imperator, a prehistoric species which lived around 110 million years ago.

Recent fossilised remains found in the Sahara Desert suggest that this creature took around 50-60 years to grow to its full length of around 11-12 metres (37-40 ft) with its maximum weight of around 8 tonnes.

New record set for most teleportation illusions in one minute

Magician Lee Hang Chai has set a new Guinness World Records™ record for the most teleportation illusions performed in one minute.

Lee, who is also a Hong Kong police man as well a magician, had originally set a record of five illusions in 60 seconds during an attempt in June at Tai Po Mega Mall in Hong Kong.

However, Lee went one better by managing to cram in six illusions within the allotted one minute period during a recording of the show CCTV-Guinness World records Special in Beijing, China last month.

Guidelines for the record require that each teleportation illusion performed must be totally different from any of the others in the routine and that they must all take place in a continuous flow.

In the video below we see Lee recreate his original record-breaking five-illusion routine in Hong Kong earlier this year.

Longest singing marathon record attempt hits the right note in Kiev

Guinness World Records has recognised scores of amazing achievements that have a link with individuals and groups based in Ukraine as well as verifying many attempts that have taken place in the region. But for me personally, this was my first visit to the beautiful capital city of Ukraine.

As a huge fan of music that hails from all parts of the world I was particularly keen to discover what I had initially assumed would be the signature Balkan beat, or folk sounds showcased during the record attempt for 'Longest singing marathon by multiple singers'. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a lot more.

The attempt itself was the idea of Yegor Benkendorf, Director General of the National Television Company of Ukraine and Mykhailo Poplavskyi, Rector of the Kiev National University of Culture and Arts.

From the initial idea to the full team effort and what was eventually achieved after 2 months of meticulous planning & preparations was quite impressive to have been a part of adjudicating.

To my delight the music showcased by all the singers involved was a broad and eclectic mix of genres appealing to the wide ranging audience who were tuned in during the live broadcasts, perfectly highlighted the fantastic musical talents emerging from the region. From Rock, to heavy metal, to Pop, to folk, to alternative and the Balkan Beat style I was so looking forward to hearing.

Altogether over 350 bands took part in the marathon concert and well over 1,800 solo singers and musicians performed during the five-day long singathon, with strict guidelines adhered to throughout as verified by the many witnesses and myself.

The purpose of this very well organised and supported record attempt was to unite the nation, celebrate the rich, vibrant Ukrainian culture and to also showcase the wide array of world class musical talents. 'Songs to Unite' was the title given to the event and a new record of 110 hrs 0 mins and 15 seconds was set, with a great finale to close the achievement.

Longest Body Percussion Chain record set in Las Vegas

How do you top off a long week of meetings in Las Vegas? Trying to set a new Guinness World Records achievement is one way!

For Sanofi Renal's annual sales meeting, the theme of "All In" set the tone for the week: teamwork, energy, and giving it everything you've got to win and come out on top. Knowing they needed a killer conclusion to their conference, the management team at Sanofi decided to surprise their staff with a record-breaking challenge.

Walking into what they thought was going to be a normal sales meeting, the sales team at Sanofi Renal were stunned when they learned that instead of a presentation, they were going to attempt to set the record for "Longest Body Percussion Chain." Each participant would quickly learn a series of different rhythms, and then in one long, continuous chain, would play these rhythms on the body of the person in front of them.

Excitement mounted as the group quickly learned and practiced the routine. The nervous tension grew as no one wanted to be the one person to slip up and ruin the record-breaking opportunity. For the next 60 seconds, everyone in the ballroom became fixated on one goal: success.

With only one attempt they succeeded, setting a new Guinness World Records achievement for Longest Body Percussion chain with exactly 200 people.

Bursting into cheers, the team at Sanofi Renal capped off their Las Vegas week in what can only be described as an "Officially Amazing" way.

RECORD - SHORTEST WOMAN - LIVING (MOBILE)

The shortest woman living (mobile) is Jyoti Amge (India, born 16 Dec 1993), who measured 62.8 cm (24.7 in) in Nagpur, India, on 16 December 2011.

Jyoti Amge was measured at the Wockhardt Superspeciality Hospital in Nagpur India on her 18th birthday making her eligible to take over this record from Bridgette Jordan. Jyoti Amge had previously held the title for the shortest teenager (female) living.

"When I was younger I was very afraid to go out, to go to school, or to meet new people," Jyoti told Guinness World Records.

"But, my parents told me I must face the world. After turning 7 I started getting some attention from the press, which helped my confidence a lot to be recognised in a positive way for my size."

"Then since getting the record, it has really become an advantage being my size! The biggest change is that now I can travel the world and see things outside of India. I've been to Japan, Italy, and now London!"