Worlds largest kazoo band set Guinness record

Musician Barbara Stewart has performed at New York City's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. She has appeared on television with Conan O'Brien and Martha Stewart. She has studied at Columbia and Yale.

She literally has written the book in her field, of which she is the foremost authority.
"It's hard to find real experts on the kazoo," Stewart said, " 'cause I might be it."


For most people, the kazoo -- a buzzing, cigar-shaped instrument -- is merely a toy. That's not so for Stewart, who on Sunday will preside over an attempt by hordes of fun-loving retirees to break the Guinness World Record for the world's largest band to play the instrument.


The attempt to break the current record of 2,679 kazooists, set last New Year's Eve in Rochester, N.Y., comes on the heels of last year's Guinness record Villagers set for the world's largest golf-cart parade. The 3,321-cart showing nearly tripled the previous record.

If Sunday's performance doesn't go down in Guinness lore, too, it at least will be remembered for its sound -- something like the din of a million humongous bumblebees.

"It has been said that the kazoo is to music what the full-body cast is to ballet," Stewart said. "But in the hands of an expert, it's at its best."

Stewart, 66, began playing the kazoo after she finished flute studies at the Eastman School of Music in her hometown of Rochester, N.Y. An instructor told her everyone should be an expert at something, so, stuck in a crowded field of flutists, Stewart set out to master something else.
"I turned immediately to kazooing," Stewart said, "where the field was wide open."

Former former health-club owner David Izzo admits that playing a kazoo is a departure from managing a staff of 180. But Izzo, 59, said he's no different than most of the retirees who will join him Sunday.

"The people in The Villages are just reliving their teenage years," he said. "They had to be a certain kind of person because they had family to provide for and so forth. Now, they're out here and they want to have fun."

Izzo said he thought of using kazoos for a fundraiser as he listened to the radio about three months ago. The disc jockey played a jazzy tune, and Izzo heard the buzz of a kazoo in the background.

"I start humming to myself, and one thing led to the other and I said, 'OK, well, how 'bout a kazoo?' " Izzo recalled. "If you can breathe, you can play the kazoo."

It is indeed a simple instrument. The kazoo has no finger holes or moving parts, and a slight hum is all it takes to get going.

Originally, a related instrument was used in Africa to communicate with the spirit world, said Karen Smith, curator of the Kazoo Museum in Eden, N.Y. But the kazoo itself was invented in Macon, Ga., in 1840, when Alabama Vest and Thaddeus Von Clegg constructed the instrument.
By the early 1900s, a metal kazoo was being produced in the same factory that now houses the Kazoo Museum. Today, Smith sells kazoos shaped like French horns, trumpets and trombones.
"It looks cool, but it doesn't change the sound," she said. "What you get out of it is, most times, what you put in."

Information thanks from : Adrian G. Uribarri can be reached at auribarri@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5926.

Guinness World Record - Leaves Man with Sore Knees

A man attempting to break a Guinness World Record of most distance crawled had to stop after a few hours due to bleeding knees and sore knuckles.

Forty-eight year-old shipping and receiving clerk Tim James explained that the feat was intended for him to be able to leave "a nice little legacy for my ancestors to come across."
His track was laid out as mats around the inside of his office building, the Buford Lewis Printing Co. To reach the record, James needed to do 700 laps.

The crawl was intended for 35 miles, in 45 hours. The starting time was 5:30 pm Friday, and James expected to finish at around mid-Sunday.

At around 10:30 p.m. Friday, Tim's wife spotted the injuries that James had sustained, and insisted that he stop.

"I realized I hadn't gained very much ground in five hours, and I realized it was going to take ma a lot longer than I thought," Political Gateway quoted James.

The idea of breaking that particular record came to the aspiring clerk by recalling that as a former plumber, he spent a considerable amount of time crawling on all fours.

"I said, 'That's something I could probably actually do'," The Tennessean quoted James.
James had previously attempted to break the record, as he tried crawling on the corner of Harding Place and Nolensenville road. He stopped after 14 miles, as it began to rain and he had started to slip.

The record is currently held by two Colorado college students, whose 44-hour, 32.26-mile crawl put them through torrential rain, lightning and hail. Their crawl was in order to raise money for pediatric AIDS research.

Israeli Flag Breaks World Record

An Aerial view of a large Israeli flag after it was laid on the ground at the Masada airfield near the Dead Sea, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2007.The massive blue and white flag, measuring 18,847 square meters - the size of two soccer fields - and weighing 5.2 metric tons, broke the record for the world's largest. It was measured by representatives for the Guinness Book of Records.

The record for the world's largest flag now belongs to an Israeli banner produced by a Filipino evangelical Christian.

The huge blue and white flag, measuring 2,165 feet long and 330 feet wide and weighing 5.7 tons, breaks the record for the world's largest, according to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.

The flag was unfurled Sunday beneath the ancient Jewish desert fortress of Masada.

Representatives of the Guinness Book of Records measured the flag and later confirmed the record.

Filipino entrepreneur Grace Galindez-Gupana said she decided two years ago to produce a giant Israeli flag as a testament to her love for Israel and the Jewish people and as a celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Israel.

"God spoke to me in thunder and lightning," Galindez-Gupana said. "The Lord said, 'Make the flag of Israel, the standard of my people.'"

"This is a tall order," she said, breaking down in tears.

The Israeli flag was accompanied by a giant Philippines flag — huge, but not quite as big. It weighed about 4.2 tons.

Large stones anchored both flags as they billowed in the desert winds.

There are about 31,000 Filipinos in Israel, most of whom are foreign workers, said Gilberto Asuque, consul general of the Philippine Embassy in Israel.

"This flag expresses the friendship between the Philippines and the state of Israel, and also the friendship between Jewish and Christian communities," said Shaul Zemach, director of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.

Source : Associated Press & Photos by Sebastian Scheiner

Brush Up Challenge in India New Guinness World Record

Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, the market leader in oral care, in association with the Indian Dental Association (IDA) today announced that it is attempting to break a Guinness World Record™ in India of the most people brushing their teeth (multiple venue). The current record is 41,038, which is held by the Philippines. At a special ‘Brush-Up Challenge’, over 150,000 students from over 350 schools in 23 cities across India will attempt to create this Guinness World Record™.

The World Record attempt will see a centralized mass brushing mega event in Delhi where over 5,000 students from 7 schools will assemble and simultaneously brush their teeth as they attempt to break the world record. Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, brand ambassador for Colgate MaxFresh, will flag off the event and encourage the children in their record-breaking attempt.
Organised as part of the 4th edition of Oral Health Month (OHM), http://www.oralhealthmonth.co.in/, this world record attempt is aimed at boosting and spreading greater awareness about oral health in India, while teaching school children the right way to brush.

In addition to the centralized mass brushing event in Delhi, over 145,000 students from over 350 schools across 23 cities in India will also participate in satellite brushing events being held at various school venues. In Delhi, over 15,000 students from 31 schools are taking part in this world record attempt.

Dental health packs will be provided to each student taking part in the attempt, which will include a toothbrush, toothpaste, bottled water and a suitable container for rinsing. Students will be guided by dental professionals associated with IDA on the right way to brush. To qualify for the record, different schools from across the country will brush within the given time period.
Prabha Parameswaran, Vice President - Marketing, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited said, “In India, Colgate has been working towards better oral health awareness and promoting good oral hygiene for years. That is why, in 2004, we introduced the month-long Oral Health Month program in India with the aim of educating people on the importance of good oral health practices. This year, we are seeking to go a step further by attempting to break a Guinness World Record™ through an innovative effort – the mega brushing event - ‘Brush-Up Challenge’. This program is not only ambitious, but is truly a pan-India effort with children from across the country participating in this world-record attempt. Through this initiative, we hope to succeed in our endeavor to draw people’s attention to the importance of oral hygiene and the importance of brushing right.”

October 2007 is being observed as Oral Health Month. Now in its fourth year, the event conducted in association with the Indian Dental Association (IDA) is an intensive month-long oral health awareness campaign in India to establish and promote the importance of good oral health habits for all ages. ‘Mission Zero Tooth Decay’ is the theme of the Oral Health Month 2007. Over 8,000 dentists are expected to participate in OHM 2007. For more details on Oral Health Month 2007, please visit http://www.oralhealthmonth.co.in/

Thanks from http://www.colgate.co.in/

Indian guitarists set to break world record

More than 1,700 guitarists in India's remote northeast played a Bob Dylan classic on Friday in an effort destined to break a world record for the largest ever guitar ensemble.

The guitarists of all ages and skills performed Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" in the hill state of Meghalaya to start a month-long Autumn Festival in state capital Shillong.

The world record will be declared after officials nominated by the Guinness World Records submit their report, Robert G. Lyngdoh, chairman of the local tourism development forum told the gathering, which included a four-year-old guitarist.

"Meghalaya has once again broken a world record with the 1,730-strong guitar ensemble which played for a continuous five minutes in perfect rhythm," said Lyngdoh.

The current Guinness record -- 1,683 guitarists -- for the largest ensemble performance, of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," was set on June 3, 2007 at Kansas city in the United States.

The annual Indian festival, aimed at promoting Meghalaya and seven northeast sister states, created a new world record last year for the largest drum ensemble, comprising 7,951 people.

worlds largest poster in $1m charity programme launches by sorouh

The poster which is 20,000 square meters in size and measures 200 by 100 metres has been certified by the Guinness Book of World Records.

At the press conference held today at the Hyatt Regency Hotel which overlooks the poster, Sorouh announced the record along with the launch of its Sorouh Faces campaign.
Through this initiative, Sorouh launched a corporate citizenship campaign that will, in the coming months, collect one million faces to place on the poster. For every photo gathered, Sorouh will donate $1 to the UAE Red Crescent, totaling a donation of $1m.

To gather the 1 million photos, Sorouh has launched a dedicated website, http://www.sorouhfaces.com/, where anyone can upload their pictures at no cost.

'Innovation, creativity and responsibility to society are inherent to Sorouh's business ethics and corporate culture. Today, in addition to unveiling a world first with a creative approach, we are also proclaiming our adherence to supporting the welfare of others who are not always fortunate enough to have a roof over their heads and who strive for a better life,' said Mr. Masood Al Awar, Special Advisor to the Chairman of Sorouh and Executive Director Sales and Marketing
After calling upon all present to donate their pictures for this noble cause, Mr. Al Awar explained how the donation would be used.

'Sorouh is committed to bringing communities together in perfect balance. Our $1m donation will help fund a new Red Crescent programme which will repair and reconstruct the homes of the underprivileged, here in the UAE, who cannot afford to carry out this essential work themselves. This programme is close to our hearts as housing is one of our main areas of activity and I am pleased that Sorouh can be a founding donor,' continued Mr. Al Awar.

The poster site is another first for the UAE. Clearly visible on the flight path to Dubai International Airport, the poster is part of a new advertising medium which was launched in Dubai and will be followed by further sites around the world in the coming months. The World Record certification was announced by Ms. Kaoru Ishikawa on behalf of the Guinness Book of World Records.

See website http://www.sorouhfaces.com/ for World Largest Poster

Johnny Rabb - Worlds Fastest Drum Player on Guinness Book 2007

Johnny Rabb - Worlds Fastest Drum Player on Guinness Book 2007



Click here on above video of Johnny Rabb.

Big Soup World Record - guinness world record 2007

Venezuelan officials claimed a world record Saturday for making the largest pot of soup, a giant cauldron of stew prepared by President Hugo Chavez's government.

The hulking stainless steel cooking pot, set up outdoors in downtown Caracas, contained about 3,960 gallons of "sancocho" stew, Food Minister Rafael Oropeza said. That would dwarf the current record-holder listed on the Guinness World Records Web site, a pot of 1,413 gallons of spicy soup prepared in Durango, Mexico, in July.


Oropeza called it "Bolivarian stew" -- a play on the name of Chavez's socialist movement, named in honor of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar. He said it was enough to feed 60,000 to 70,000 people.

Government workers stand on a platform as they stir a soup in Caracas, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007. Venezuelan officials claimed a world record Saturday for the world's largest pot of soup, a giant cauldron of stew prepared by President Hugo Chavez's government. (AP Photo/Howard Yanes)

Workers stood on raised platforms stirring the soup with poles, and then dished out servings to a crowd at a state-run market.

It contained 6,600 pounds of chicken, 4,400 pounds of beef and tons of vegetables.
Addressing reporters next to the pot, Oropeza said the government is solving supply problems that have made it difficult for Venezuelans to find staples like milk and eggs in recent months. He said the state-run market had ample reserves of all products.

With price controls in place, rising demand has outstripped domestic production of some foods, prompting an increase in imports. Oropeza said the only product that remains in short supply is milk, a situation he blamed on a "world problem" of unusual cold snaps and dry spells hurting milk production.

As for the soup, he introduced a representative of Guinness World Records who he said was on hand to certify the record.

The 5,413-gallon pot was about three-quarters full. "We didn't add more for security reasons," Oropeza said. "There's plenty for second helpings."

Amazing Eaten Record - 66 Hotdogs in 12 minutes

An American competitive eater devoured a record 66 hotdogs in 12 minutes on Wednesday to win the July 4 annual Coney Island hotdog eating competition, defeating a six-time champion from Japan in a photo finish.

Defending champion Takeru Kobayashi, a 28-year-old from Japan who weighed in at 170 pounds, went into the competition with a jaw injury but still managed to down 63 hotdogs.
But the winner of the "Mustard Belt" prize for the most hotdogs eaten was 23-year-old Joey Chestnut from San Jose, California, who weighed in at 225 pounds.

Chestnut fulfilled his vow to beat the world record he set in qualifying earlier this year of 59 1/2 dogs, and to bring back the prize to America on Independence Day.

The two were neck and neck in the final minute until Kobayashi appeared to suffer what the commentator on sports TV channel ESPN euphemistically called a "reversal."

Judges reviewed the debris of plates and scraps and declared Chestnut the winner with 66. The third place eater trailed way behind with 49.

"For the past six years Kobayashi has dominated. In year seven he just couldn't cut it," Chestnut told Reuters. "It just feels awesome. For a long time the belt has been going away to Japan but this year it's staying here."

Competitive eating is a popular pastime in America, particularly at holidays.

The hotdog eating event is the highlight of July 4 Independence Day celebrations at Coney Island beach in New York. Eaters tend to dunk the bread in water to make swallowing easier and eschew condiments such as ketchup or mustard.

Kobayashi, who was competing despite a jaw injury, said all the eaters were getting better every year. "I lost but this was the most fun I had," he said.

"I didn't feel pain but my jaw wasn't moving part way through," he said of his injury.
Police said as many as 50,000 spectators watched the event, which drew 17 competitors, including two women.

The United States has the highest prevalence of obesity among developed countries, at about one-third of the adult population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 60 million adults are obese.

'Smoke on the Water' 1683 guitar players attempt a world record

More than 1,683 guitar players attempt a world record by playing the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water" in Kansas City, Kansas, on Sunday. Kansas - City radio station hosts effort to break a Guinness world record - "Smoke on the Water" was first song many participants ever learned - Previous record had been 1,323 guitarists in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1994

More than 1,680 guitar players turned out, tuned up and took part in what organizers say was a world record rendition of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" -- a song that was the first many of them ever learned.

Some came from as far away as California and Germany on Sunday to take part in a Kansas City radio station's effort to break a Guinness world record for the most people playing the same song simultaneously. The record had been 1,323 people playing the same song in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1994.

"It was cool to see little kids playing, people who had been playing for their whole lives, like older people, and then I'm sure there were people like me who just picked up the song a couple days before," said Autumn McPherson, of Winfield, a senior at the University of Kansas.

Preliminary numbers show 1,683 people played the popular early '70s guitar riff on Sunday at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

"I thought it was going to be kind of cheesy," said Hannah Koch, of Prairie Village, who came clad in an elf costume. "But after I got here, I got caught up in the excitement of it."

Tanna Guthrie, a morning show host for KYYS (99.7 FM), came up with the idea for the record attempt. She said her station will send participant sign-up lists, photos, videos and copies of media coverage to Guinness seeking official recognition of a record.

Guthrie said she chose "Smoke on the Water," a track off Deep Purple's "Machine Head" album, because it's one of the first songs many guitarists learn.

"You never know if you can pull something like this off," she said.

One of the participants, John Cardona of Hanford, California, said he brought felt-tip pens so he could get others to sign his guitar.

"It was the guitar I learned on," the 41-year-old said. "It was very dispensable on the way here, but very valuable to me now."

Thanks from AP and CNN

World's fastest train on display in Paris

A French high-speed train code-named V150, which broke the world speed record on rail last April by reaching 574.8 km an hour, toured Paris on a barge to the delight of Parisians and tourists.After a cruise on the Seine River, the barge will moor near the Eiffel Tower where tourists and Parisians will have the chance to see the interior of the V150.An exhibition recounting the history of the French TGVs will also be open to visitors until May 20.

A French high-speed train broke the world speed record on rail on Tuesday, reaching 357 miles an hour (574.8 kilometers) in a much publicized test in eastern France, exceeding expectations that it would hit 150 meters a second, or 540 kilometers an hour.

The train, code-named V150, is a research prototype meant to demonstrate the superiority both of the TGV high-speed train and of its probable successor, the AGV, which is also manufactured by the French engineering group Alstom. The performance on Tuesday came close to but did not break the world speed record for any train, set by an electromagnetic train in 2003.

The French railroad company SNCF and Alstom publicized the event as a test of “French excellence,” building on national pride for the 25-year-old bullet train.

The train reached its maximum speed in about 16 minutes at a site about 125 miles from Paris on a specially chosen sector of tracks of the new Eastern Europe TGV line, which will begin service between Paris and Strasbourg in June. The V150 train, with a reduced number of train cars and larger wheels, incorporates technological elements from the AGV.

SNCF and Alstom insist that the demonstration does not fulfill any immediate commercial purposes, but others say the speed could serve as a selling point in Asia and other markets.
“This world speed record is intended for research, to improve security and performance,” said Anne-Marie Idrac, the head of SNCF upon leaving the train. “And today the train that runs the fastest is the Eastern TGV. We don’t see the market today for such high speed.”

Alstom, the world high-speed train leader, with 21 percent of the market, is hoping it might parlay the record into sales, as its competitors — Siemens of Germany and Hitachi of Japan — have cut into Alstom’s lead in the competition for the market.

But Alstom has 70 percent of the market for trains that reach 270 kilometers (168 miles) an hour or more, Patrick Kron, Alstom’s chief executive, said in an interview.

“There are big developments to come in Europe, but also Latin America where we just announced we are competing for an order in Argentina,” Mr. Kron said.

High-speed trains are a potentially lucrative market in developing countries — China and India are the biggest markets, with China spending about 15 billion euros a year on its rail network, while India is looking at developing a high-speed train system.

Crowds gathered on bridges overlooking the rail tracks to watch the train race by, and national television broadcast live images from the train.

“It’s quite an achievement; I hope it’s going to help us sell a lot of TGV’s,” said Arnaud Delahaye, a 32-year-old technician from nearby Reims as he watched the V150 train from behind fences after its arrival at a purpose-built control center.

The Maglev from Japan holds the world record for a train with a speed of 581 kilometers (361 miles) an hour recorded in 2003; it uses electromagnetic technology, where the train does not actually touch the rail. This technology is more costly, typically runs shorter distances and is less compatible with existing rail networks.

High-speed trains have not caught on in the United States as they have in Europe, where TGV travel is generally considered faster transportation than air travel for distances that the TGV can cover in less than three hours.

France operates 400 TGV trains on about 1,100 miles of track built especially for high speeds.

Worlds Longest Saree in Guinness Book of World Records 2007

A leading garment firm here has claimed to have woven the world's longest saree in a non-stop 18-day effort.

The 2,007 feet saree was made recently for adorning the presiding deity of Parshwa Padmavathi Jain Temple in Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, P R Kumar, managing partner of city-based Kumaran Silks, said.

The 'kumkum' (maroon) coloured saree, handed over free of cost to the temple authorities, has already been draped around the deity.

The Guinness Book of World Records has registered it under the tag 'the Longest Saree, offered to Goddess Padmavathi', he said.

Kumar said it was an onerous task taking up the work considering the challenges that lay ahead.

"We thought about for a while before taking up the order but later took it as a prestige issue and decided to go ahead," he said.

"First of all, members of the Jain community are not supposed to use silk but to give the rich look of silk, we went in for Silkon, a thread closely resembling silk, which is rarely used in weaving sarees," he said.

Kumar said his firm was given a deadline of 21 days to deliver the saree but it was completed in A leading garment firm here has claimed to have woven the world's longest saree in a non-stop 18-day effort.

Three experts were employed and the machine was made to run 24 hours a day, with each of them working in eight hour shifts, Kumar said.

"Even a power fluctuation would result in the thread giving away which means we have to set things again and start all over," Kumar said.

"Lest a power failure should destroy the entire process, we decided to run the machines with the help of generators," he added.

The packaging of the product was important and it was literally 'on a roll' since it started taking shape. "The only way to keep it going was to keep it rolled," he said.

Kumar said he did not wish to reveal how much money was spent on the saree.
He has no qualms that the Guinness record was credited to the temple authorities.
"They perceived the idea, we only produced it," he said with a smile.

"It was a test to our capability and we did not want to sell it for a price since it was meant for a deity," he added.

Weaving long sarees of late has become a prestige issue among leading textile firms in South India. Last year Kochi-based 'Seematti' had come out with a 1,585 ft saree. In 2005, 'Pothys', another firm in Chennai, had woven a 1,276 ft saree.