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.

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.