'Shahnameh' to enter in the Guinness book of World Records

The Austrian Academy of Science has recommended that Shahnameh, the 11th-century Persian masterpiece be registered on the Guinness World Records list.

As per Press TV, Yasser Movahhedfar, Secretary General of Iran's Ferdowsi Foundation announced the news, adding that the Austrian academy offered the suggestion during a ceremony held in Vienna to commemorate Shahnameh's millennial anniversary.

Movahhedfar stated that the foundation has also produced an animation on the epic masterpiece.

He told Fars News Agency, “Directed by Shahram Salemi, Nature in Shahnameh will take part in the 2011 edition of Eko Film Festival, which will be held in March next year.”

He said, “The animation is an innovative work which is based on manuscripts from the Baysonqori Shahnameh.”

The Baysonqori Shahnameh is an illustrated manuscript of Ferdowsi's masterpiece, which was calligraphed by Maulana Jafar Tabrizi Baysonqori in the Timurid era. The manuscript is registered on UNESCO's Memory of the World list.

The Book of Kings, Shahnameh is a classic among epic Persian poetry and recounts Iran's mythical and historical past. It was written in Persian at a time when Arabic was the main scientific and literary language of Iran.

The romance of Zal and Rudaba, the Seven Stages (or Labors) of Rostam, Rostam and Sohrab, Siavash and Soudabeh, Rostam and Akvan Div, the romance of Bizhan and Manizheh and Rostam and Esfandyar are among the most popular Shahnameh stories.

Movahhedfar also declared that the foundation's other cultural and artistic projects such as holding discussion sessions with Shahnameh experts and organizing Naqqali programs.

Naqqali is an epic narration mostly inspired by Shahnameh stories.

Source - World Records

Austrian Coffin Maker set Guinness World Records

An Austrian carpenter has found a macabre way of getting into the Guinness Book of Records: Over a 30-year career, he's built 707,335 coffins.

Officials in Austria's Salzburg province say Herbert Weber has been honored for constructing more caskets than any other known carpenter.

Weber says he started making coffins in May 1978 at Moser Holzindustrie, a woodworking company in Bischofshofen.

Officials said Tuesday they plan to present the 50-year-old carpenter with a certificate from London-based Guinness World Records Ltd.

They've chosen a fitting backdrop: Weber will be feted at the International Funeral Home and Cemetery Trade Fair, which opens Saturday in Salzburg.

World's Most Expensive Mobile Phone Number

The sale of world's most expensive mobile phone number has earned a Qatar telecom company a place in the new edition of Guinness Book of World Records.

The phone number 6666666 of Qtel, which was sold for $ 2.75 mn (Qatar Riyal 10 mn) to an anonymous buyer in an auction at a charity event last year, will appear in the 2009 edition of the book, it was announced.

The previous record price for a phone number was made in China where the number 8888-8888 sold for $ 480,000, (Qatar Riyal 1.75 mn).

"Qtel has a long track record of innovative campaigns for the local community and we are very proud to have the mobile number auction commemorated this way," Qtel's executive director of group communications Adel Al Mutawa said.

First published in 1955, Guinness Book of World Records is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages every year and sells more than three million copies annually around the world.

The book contains collections of internationally- recognised records, including human achievements and extremes of the natural world.

World Largest Tea Party India World Record

As more than 30,000 people on Sunday (February 24, 2008) raised their designer cups and took a sip of tea, Indore city of Madhya Pradesh set a new record for hosting the largest tea party. Citizens responded with enthusiasm to the novel event and started arriving at a stadium, the venue for the function, well ahead of the scheduled time of 3.30 p.m. and within an hour all seats were taken.

The stadium was divided into four sections and people were given entry only on the basis of their registration passes.

After singers Shreya Ghoshal and Krishna entertained the gathering with their melodious songs, the gates were closed at 4.30 p.m. and volunteers started serving tea to the guests in designer cups - which were later gifted to participants as mementos. Twenty minutes later, a new record was created.

At 6.30 p.m., a Guinness Book of World Record representative announced Indore to be the host of the biggest tea party with over 30,000 people sipping the Brook Bond Red Label tea, breaking the previous record of 14,718 people taking tea in Nishiao city of Japan in 2006.

The event, organised by the Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar, also raised funds to the tune of Rs 5 crore for city development.

Indore mayor Umashashi Sharma and Ramesh Chandra Agarwal of the Dainik Bhaskar group received a certificate for the record from the Guinness Book representative amid an impressive show of fireworks and festivities.

worlds longest snowboard guinness book of records

Everyone's heard of a bicycle built for two, but how about a two-person snowboard? Butch Brady built one and recently teamed up with another snowboarder, Eric Sweet, to make some two-man turns down the Teewinot run at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

They did it for a television crew and the Guinness Book of World Records.

"It seemed initially like going down a mountain in a canoe without a paddle, but after taking a few runs, a light went on," Sweet said. "You're splitting the duties, so it feels like a marriage. You give up half of the control, and if it's a good one you don't crash."

The snowboard, called the "XJ-13," is 9 feet, 7 inches long.

Brady works at a snowboard shop. He and his boss, Brian Wood, linked two snowboards lengthwise, bolting the rear board on top of the front board.

With practice — and cooperative partners — Brady figured out how to ride the thing.

"It's so heavy, you get going pretty quick," Brady said. "On steeper hills you're definitely looking for some drag."

They registered the board on the Guinness Book of World Records Web site and were told they could set a record for the world's longest snowboard. To get the record, Brady needed to turn in a video of two people riding the board for at least five consecutive turns.

The two men are now awaiting confirmation of their record. Sweet already is thinking about marketing the tandem board.

"It could be a teaching tool," he said. "Especially if you constructed a triple, because a person could get in between two instructors."

Information from: Jackson Hole News & Guide, http://www.jhnewsandguide.com

Source : Associated Press.