Most People Singing a National Anthem World Record

Most People Singing a National Anthem Simultaneously Guinness World Record, Israel

Naftali Herz Imber could not have conceived it when in 1878 he wrote the words that eventually became Israel's national anthem.

But if businesswoman Galia Albin has her way next week, "Hatikva" won't just unite world Jewry for a few minutes - it will break a world record.

Albin's "Live 'Hatikva'" initiative will join communities from 38 Israeli towns and Jews in seven foreign countries, including the United States, France and Argentina, for a simultaneous singing of Israel's national anthem that would break a 15-year-old Guinness world record for most people singing a national anthem at one time.

"This is a one-of-a-kind effort," says Albin, the CEO of Almedia Group. "The objective of the project is to make sure that Jews around the world, no matter where or of what denomination, known the words to our anthem, and understand its contents and significance."

The event will begin at 10:50 p.m. Israel time on May 7, and will be broadcast nationally.

Albin first conceived the plan after she witnessed a debate in the Knesset over changing a verse in the anthem, from "Nefesh Yehudi homiyah," or "the Jewish soul yearns," to "Nefesh Yisraeli homiyah," the "Israeli spirit yearns," in an attempt to address non-Jewish minorities. "Hatikva" was not made the official national anthem until 2004.

"When I was exposed to the Diaspora, I realized that the support for Israel as the center of the Jewish people had deteriorated," Albin told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. "That's what was most important to me, as we're approaching the 60th anniversary. I was inspired by the Live Earth concerts [a series in 2007 to combat global warming], and said, 'Let's do Live "Hatikva"!' I was amazed how united the support was."

The idea to enter the Guinness Book of World Records, Albin says, is an effort to appeal more broadly to the younger population.

The Guinness guidelines for what is officially known as the record for "most people singing a national anthem simultaneously" stipulate that participants must sing the entire song, knowing all the words.

"The whole history, the whole meaning of us being back in here, in Zion, are in those eight lines," Albin said.

She hopes to make it an annual tradition.

Israel National Anthem Hatikva - English Lyrics
As long as deep in the heart,
The soul of a Jew yearns,
And forward to the East
To Zion, an eye looks
Our hope will not be lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free nation in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Longest Break Dance Hand Wave World Record

Prescott High School could soon find itself in the Guinness Book of World Records.
According to official judges Prescott Councilwoman Mary Ann Suttles and United Way Executive Director Tammy Linn, the PHS students and staff members successfully completed the longest continuous break-dance hand wave.

The students and staff, including Principal Totsy McCraley and Superintendent Kevin Kapp, gathered on the football field Tuesday in an attempt to set the Guinness World Record.

"What a great thing to do in Prescott in the spring," said Kapp.

English teacher Jennifer Walker said the goal was to break the current record of 795 people.

"Our target is 1,400 to 1,500 people doing the wave," Walker said.

The unofficial count was 1,359 people, a little short of the goal, but still enough to smash the old record by 564.

PHS Sophomore Ashley Heuer, a member of the world record organizing team, said the attempt "is exciting. There are a lot of kids, more than I thought would be here."

Suttles and Linn watched as the break-dance wave made its way through 16 serpentine rows of participants.

The judges kept a close eye as the wave made the turn at the end of each of the rows and made its way to the next turn.

After the wave made its way from beginning to end, Suttles and Linn gave their official ruling: success. None of the 1,359 participants let go of their neighbors' hands.

Suttles said the effort was "wave fun. This is the first time I have been asked to be a judge for an effort to set a Guinness World Record. Everything has to be done correctly."

Linn said the world record attempt was an "exciting event. It shows that when people work together they can break records and do anything."

Walker said the idea to try to break a world record came after one of her English students read the Guinness Book of World Records.

The students talked about what record they could break and eventually decided on the break-dance wave record.

Members of the PHS Parent, Teacher, Student Association helped gather the signatures of every student, adult and staff member on the football field.

"I think this is one of those events that the students will look back on in 20 years and remember," McCraley said. "I am ecstatic to see how many kids and staff members participated."

Walker will submit all the paperwork, including the judges' official letters and the signature sheets, to Guinness World Records. She said the organization takes about six weeks to respond.

With this successful effort, Walker is already looking forward to next year, when "the senior class will try to set a new world record for 'head, shoulders, knees and toes,'" she said.

Source : dcourier.com

GTA-IV Video Game Launches Guinness World Records

As part of its continued interest in chronicling the world of video game achievements and accomplishments, Guinness World Records™ will be closely watching the release of Grand Theft Auto IV as a potential record-breaking phenomenon.

Easily one of the most anticipated games of the year and biggest releases in the entertainment industry, the GTA franchise is no stranger to the famed pages of Guinness World Records. Ever since the franchise released its first third-person game with Grand Theft Auto III, the series has been racking up record after record.

First Full “Sandbox” Action-Adventure- GTA III
Biggest Selling Game of 2001- GTA III
Biggest Selling Game of 2002- GTA: Vice City
Best-selling Playstation 2 game of all time- GTA: Vice City
Best-selling PSP game of all time- GTA: Liberty City Stories
Largest in-game soundtrack- GTA: San Andreas Most Guest Stars In A Video Game Series- Grand Theft Auto Franchise

With fans counting down the hours to GTA IV’s debut, it will only be a matter of time until a new record is added to that impressive list.

Mosaic Picture sets Guinness World Record

A mother passes a huge mosaic featuring nine infants in Shanghai on Sunday, April 27, 2008. Workers pieced together over 100,000 photos of sleeping babies to create a new Guinness World Record.

After 400 hours of hard work, a huge mosaic composed of 105,196 photos of sleeping babies was certified as the world's largest by officials from Guinness World Records on Sunday, Shanghai-based newspaper Oriental Morning Post reported.

The picture, 33 meters long and 20 meters wide, covers an area of 660 square meters.

Viewers gazing at the picture from a distance can make out nine sleeping babies and four Chinese characters which mean "golden sleep."

The mosaic is a call for greater attention to infants' sleep habits and general health, the report said.

The artists used photos culled from the Internet for the project.

Source : china.org.cn

David Blaine World Record Live Video at The Oprah Show

David Blaine World Record Live Video at The Oprah Show - Guinness World Records Attempt.

He spent 44 days suspended from a glass box by the River Thames in London. He was buried alive for a week in a see-through coffin in New York.

Magician David Blaine's latest feat of endurance likely will last less than 17 minutes, but he's planning to do it in front of talk show queen Oprah Winfrey — and her audience of millions.

Blaine on Wednesday will try to break the world record for breath-holding during a live broadcast of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," less than two years after going into convulsions during a similar attempt.

The time he has to beat is 16 minutes and 32 seconds, a record set Feb. 10 by Switzerland's Peter Colat, according to Guinness World Records.

Even though Blaine has sometimes attracted thousands of spectators to what he likes to think of as his "performance pieces," he told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it will be a challenge to break a record requiring him to remain still and calm amid the hubbub of a live studio audience.

Still, he said, the crowds have always contributed to his success.

"When you commit to it and there's people watching, you kind of have to stick to it. You can't back out, you can't fade away and you can't cheat," he said.

"If I was doing it alone, I'd probably be off sneaking out of the box in London or grabbing some food," he said with a laugh, speaking in a conference room in a Harpo Productions building a couple blocks from Winfrey's television studio.

Blaine, 35, will be attempting his latest stunt in a water-filled sphere, dubbed a "human aquarium" by his team, that's 8 feet in diameter. He'll try to remain perfectly still, relax and lower his heart rate to minimize oxygen consumption.

But before he enters the sphere, he plans to spend about 23 minutes breathing pure oxygen through a mask to saturate his blood with oxygen and flush out carbon dioxide. Up to 30 minutes of so-called "oxygen hyperventilation" is allowed under Guinness guidelines, according to company spokeswoman Laura Plunkett.

In May 2006 as a finale to a week spent in the aquarium with an oxygen mask at New York's Lincoln Center Blaine tried to set a new breath-holding record. Without breathing pure oxygen beforehand, he tried to break the existing record of 8 minutes, 58 seconds for an attempt of that type.

But he had to be rescued shortly after 7 minutes when he was unconscious and having convulsions.

When he decided to try a version of the stunt again, he began training in pools and the ocean with experts in free diving.

Through nutrition, light cardio workouts and cutting out alcohol and caffeine Blaine said he's been able to lower his resting heart rate to about 38 beats per minute, similar to that seen in highly conditioned endurance-trained athletes.

Demonstrating his focus on Wednesday's challenge, Blaine showed off the screensaver on his iPhone: It's a chart listing how long various types of mammals can hold their breath, on average.

For humans it's 1 minute. Platypuses can hold their breath for 10 minutes, hippos for 15 minutes, beavers 20 minutes, and bottlenose whales 120 minutes.

"I think my real competition is the beaver," Blaine said, smiling, "not the bottlenose whales."

On the Net:
"The Oprah Winfrey Show": http://www.harpo.com/
David Blaine: http://www.davidblaine.com/
Source : AP

Fashion Guinness World Records 2008

We have found some of Exclusive Fashion Guinness World Records 2008

Most designers reperesented at one fashion show
Eighty-nine different fashion designers from around the world were represented in Paris Fashion Week, France, 1999. The event as a whole, which averages 11 catwalk shows per day, outstrips all other international fashion showings and attracts the biggest following. Christian Dior, Vivienne Westwood and Yves Saint Laurent are just a few of the names to regularly top the exclusive fashion line-up each year.

Longest catwalk (structure)
A group of 111 fashion models walked the entire length of a 1.111km (3,645 ft) catwalk, built in the parking lot of Seacon Square shopping center, Sri Nakarin Road, Thailand, May 27-30, 1998.

Youngest haute couture designer
The French fashion designer Yves (-Mathieu) Saint-Laurent (b.1936), who became Christian Dior’s assistant at the age of 17, was named head of the House of Dior at Dior’s death in 1957. In 1962, he opened his own fashion house and in the 1970s expanded into ready-to-wear lines, household linens and fragrances.

Most expensive dress sold at auction
A flesh-coloured beaded Jean Louis gown worn by the actress Marilyn Monroe (USA) when she sang Happy Birthday to US President Kennedy on 19 May 1962, was sold at auction on 27 October 1999, for US$1,267,000 (£767,042) at Christie's, New York, USA to New York dealers Robert Schagrin and Peter Siegel of Gotta Have It! Collectibles.

Longest fashion shoes
The pointed-toe shoe, first introduced in the late 11th Century, reached excessive lengths in the 14th & 15th Centuries. These piked shoes - also known as poulaines or crakowes, were as long as 45cm 18in.

30 Hours Joking Limca Book of Record

There are as many people waiting for their calls to get connected as those on the waiting list for telephone connection. This was the joke making the rounds in the past and before technology improved a lot, said BSNL general manager P. Nagaraju aptly at a function on Thursday evening when Nanduri Prabhakar completed his 30 hours and 10 minutes non-stop rendering of jokes in his bid to enter the Limca Book of Records.

Incidentally Mr. Prabhakar is working for BSNL and this might have stopped him cracking jokes on his own organisation, quipped some one in the audience.

Mr. Nagaraju, film actor "Kallu" Chidambaram, stage personality Kasi Viswanadham, writer and film actor Raavi Kondala Rao and others warmly congratulated Mr. Prabhakar.

Mr. Prabhakar, secretary of the Visakha Humour Club, broke the record of 25 hours set by Sankara Narayana of Hyderabad in 2004. His record has to be ratified by the Limca Book of Records. All the details of the show, certified by prominent personalities of the city will be sent to the publishers. A beaming Prabhakar said he wants to make an attempt enter the Guinness Book of Records.

"The Guinness Book has not yet opened a category for a feat like this but they will examine my application and frame some rules if they are to accept my entry" he said.

Mr. Prabhakar decided to break the Hyderabad man's record and started his efforts in the right earnest said club president Raavi Gopikrishna. He practiced for an hour every day for the last two months by speaking aloud.

A bank of jokes is available as the club members can remember all the jokes heard during the monthly programme held since 2004. The record-breaking attempt was named Hasya Dhaaramrutam and was organised to raise funds for Sishu Vikas, a school run for slum children.
This also met the condition of Limca Book of Records that donations collected during a record-breaking attempt must go to an organisation like Sishu Vikas.

Mr. Prabhakar was allowed a break of 10 minutes for every hour. He took only liquid food during the feat. Many volunteered to record Prabhakar's feat for the record book. Retired chief general manager of BSNL J. Ramachandra Rao was there when Prabhakar started the attempt at 12.10 p.m. on Wednesday. Kallu Chidambaram, Kasi Viswanadham, SBI employees' union leader J.P. Sharma, "F.M. Babai" and others recorded the feat.

For Further Details and Show Please contact
Mr. Nanduri Prabhakar
enpeekar @ yahoo.com
(Mobile) 91-9440012002

Most Mentos and Soda Fountains World Record

Mentos^® and the performance artists of Eepybird have made Mentos Geyser history in Cincinnati with a big splash. Eepybird, with the help of about 500 Greater Cincinnatians equipped with the new "Mentos Geyser Loading Tube," launched the largest number of Mentos Geysers ever to be set off all at once in one location, setting a world record. The new world record set was 504 Mentos Geysers. Hundreds of other Mentos fans watched the amazing event at Cincinnati's landmark Fountain Square.

Eepybird became famous in Summer 2006 with their Mentos Geyser video, "Experiment #137," a quirky homage to the "Bellagio Fountain" in Las Vegas. (You can see the video at www.eepybird.com.) The Eepybird performers lead the crowd in creating 504 synchronized Mentos Geysers, creating the first-ever Guinness World Record for "Most Mentos and Soda Fountains."

"What could be fresher than setting a new world record?" said Pete Healy, Vice President Marketing at Perfetti Van Melle USA, distributor of Mentos. "We were thrilled to see so many Mentos fans turn out for the bubbly fun!"

Perfetti Van Melle USA is headquartered in Erlanger, Kentucky, where it produces and distributes AirHeads bars, AirHeads Xtremes, and Mentos. The company is part of Perfetti Van Melle, a privately-owned company that produces and distributes candies and chewing gums in more than 130 countries around the world, including Mentos, Frisk mints, and Fruittella soft-chew candies.

Guinness World Record for Hug

The east-end’s St. Matthew High School, Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School and St. Peter High School will participate in the Friday, April 25 initiative, which will see staff and students from the Ottawa Catholic School Board share the love around a 4.4-kilometre stretch of the canal, while raising money for cancer research via the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, the CHEO Foundation and the Ottawa Senators Foundation.

St. Matt’s initially set a bear hug record noted in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2004, explains teacher and organizer Peter Lamothe, an honour that was later topped by a group of residents in New Mexico, U.S. That first hug initiative also acted as a fundraiser for cancer research, he continues, setting another global record for the most money collected by a high school to support such research (with $108,000), bested two years ago by a Peterborough school. Now, St. Matt’s is looking to reclaim both records, Lamothe adds, and are well on their way to success.

With a fundraising goal for all participant schools of $150,000, St. Matt’s students have been gathering pledges and donations from family, friends and neighbours for the past two weeks, Lamothe says, with some classrooms already raising as much as several thousand dollars.

“I’ve been going door-to-door almost every night,” explains Grade 8 student Simon Tomlinson, who has collected over $1,000 and currently sits as the school’s biggest fundraiser. “I’ve reached my goal, but I want to keep going.”

Using the bear hug project as the launching point for such a massive fundraising effort is “a neat way” of collecting money, continues Grade 8 student Andrew Van der Hoeven, St. Matt’s second-biggest fundraiser, calling the potential record grab a big motivator.

The chance to promote the spirit of co-operation and harmony amongst board schools is another bonus of the upcoming event, adds Lamothe, especially in such a literally touching way.

“I grew up in a hugging family,” he recounts. “(A hug is) an awesome way to start the day.”

Any members of the public eager to join the fun can sign up the day of the event at the Government Conference Centre, continue Lamothe, who stresses that approximately 2,000 extra participants will be needed to ensure their goal of 12,000 huggers is met. An Ottawa Police Service aircraft will be at 5,000 feet to officially document the event for Guinness, he adds.

“We’re calling on the community to help out,” Lamothe says. “Throughout Ottawa, cancer has touched so many lives … it’s extra stimulus to do (the project). We just hope Ottawa’s going to be as excited as we are.”

To sign up for Bear Hug II, go to the Government Conference Centre – across from the Chateau Laurier – at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 25. For more information on the initiative, contact any of the participating schools, or Peter Lamothe at (613) 837-3161.

McDonald's cheering team sets Guinness record

McDonald's, a worldwide Olympic partner for the Beijing Olympics, mobilized the world's largest cheering team for the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday.

Chanting the slogan "Wo jiu xihuan Zhongguo ying," which roughly translates to "I love it when China wins," over 1,200 young people selected from a nationwide campaign danced in unison for five minutes at the National Olympic Sports Center, setting a Guinness world record. The activity was intended to boost pre-Games enthusiasm.

The company said the slogan has become popular among its 50,000 employees in China, and that will be helpful in spreading Olympic passion to more customers.

Over one million people have responded to McDonald's campaign to cheer for the Beijing Olympics since December 2007. Five were chosen as leading members of the cheering team.
The director of BOCOG's Marketing Department, Yuan Bin, and a number of famous Chinese athletes, including Gao Min, Hu Jia, Yang Ling and Mo Huilan, took part in the activity. Yuan said it is evident that more people are emulating McDonald's efforts to root for the success of the Olympics.

Most Successful Piles Surgeries World Record

Dr. Sudershan Chugh MBBS MS Gen Surgeon operated 137 cases of piles in one day on oct 28 2007 in a free piles surgery camp, setting the world record for the most successful piles surgeries in one day Dr. Sudershan Chugh has developed a special technique for treatment of piles which he has named as M.I.S.P(.minimal invasive surgery for piles ).

The free camp was organised by all india sangmeshwar dal Pehowa HARYANA INDIA. Piles surgery camp went smoothly and there was not a single case of complication on day of surgery.

This technique is effective in all stagesof piles whether these are external,internal or internoexternal and all grades of piles from grade 1 to 4 This technique is also very help ful in management of anal fissure and anal fistula also. Patient does not need any spinal anaesthesia , no need of admission, only day care surgery , no pain, no post operative dressings.

There are other benefits of this special technique as patient can go to work after 2-3 days of operation where as with conventional surgery patient can go to work after 10-34 days after surgery.

Patient satisfaction rate after conventional surgery is 80% where as with MISP it is around 96% As for as long term results are concerned MISP by dr chugh offers very good results there is hardely 3-4% recurrence rate.

Rate of complication after conventional surgery is very high where as complication with dr chugh tachnique is very less This technique hardly takes 5 minutes to perform where as with conventional surgery it takes 30 -40 minutes.

An indian doctor performed 27 minimal invasive procedure in one day on may 22, 2005 which is published in limica book of records and this record has been broken by dr sudershan chugh of india by operating 137 surgeries in one day.

Follow up of patients was done on 4 november 2007 .

Following were highlights of the camp by Dr. Sudershan Chugh:

# 136 Piles surgery were done in 15 hours camp started at 8:52 AM on 28th october and finished at 11:53:24 PM on 28th october successfully. Only one patient had severe bleading during surgery which was immidietely managed

# Follow up of patient was done on 4th november 2007 and all patients were fine and did not have any problem success rate of surgery was 96% and satisfaction rate was 94% while with conventional surgery satisfaction rate is 80% all over the world .

"Our patient reported to work with in one day while with conventional surgery it is 10-34 days reporting time to work."

Source : Worldrecordacedamy.com

Worlds Largest Marriage Vow Renewal Ceremony

On 20 April 2008, 338 married couples were in attendance at Can Jonc Restaurant, in Alella, Barcelona, Spain, to break the Guinness World Record for the largest marriage vow renewal ceremony.

During a less than perfect spring day, 338 couples presented themselves in their original wedding attire to take part in what was to be an unforgettable day.

After an exhaustive registration, all the couples congregated to give way to the marriage vow renewal ceremony which was presided by a Justice of the Peace, followed by a performance by a gospel group and the official announcement by the Guinness World Records Adjudicator that the previous record had been surpassed.

From that moment onwards, the celebration began: gifts, music, surprise guests, all accompanied by an exquisite feast and the best wines and cavas produced in the Maresme region by the Marfil Alella wine cellar.

Despite the cold and rain, as in all good movies, love triumphed in the end, and the memory of having participated in a Guinness World Record will remain in the memory of these 338 couples, as they lived happily ever after!

Worlds Longest Barbecue Guinness Record

Montevideo, Uruguay. Ambition, organization, creativity – and of course, lots of red meat – were the perfect ingredients in Uruguay's recipe for achieving a Guinness World Record.

The longest barbecue in the world, or as the Uruguayans call it, "El Asado Mas Grande Del Mundo," spread an astonishing 1493.2 metres. Creatively designed in the shape of a star, the asado was constructed in the "Rural del Prado," a rodeo located in the middle of one of the city's public parks.

Event producer Alvaro Kemper collaborated with organizers from INAC, the National Institute of Meat, to produce the important event which helped to create global awareness for the small, but ambitious country of Uruguay.

Mr. Kemper stated that the amazing record was a result of the creative cooking skills of 1250 asadores - barbecue cooks – as they cooked approximately 12000 kilograms of South American red meat.

Meat well done…job well done…perfect Sunday barbecue to enjoy!
News Source by : http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com

Most Boules Lyonnaise Hits in 12 hours

Last 5 April, not one but three Guinness World Records were broken in the Sport of Boules Lyonnaise. Boules Lyonnaise is a sport discipline born in France, which requires a high level of physical condition as well as an important amount of precision.

Christophe Jumel, the already Guinness World Record holder for the most Boules Lyonnaise hits in 12 hours in the modality of Tir a Cadence came back to the Villers St Paul Boulodrome to, under the watchful eye of the President of the Federation Française Du Sport-Boules, Mr. Jean-Claude Poyot and the Guinness World Records Adjudicator coming specially from London, to try to set the new Guinness World Records in three modalities of the game:

Tir Progressif
Tir en Navette
Tir Cadencé

Playing for 11 hours Mr. Jumel set the new Guinness World Records for the most hits in 1 hour in each of these 3 modalities.

For the first great achievement, the most boules Lyonnaise hit in 1 hour - Tir progressif, Christophe placed the white ball to be hit at 12.5 meters. In a 5 metres tapestry he hit the astonishing amount of 298 boules of 315 throws.

For the second Guinness World Records, in the modality of Tir en Navette, the boules to be touched were located at 13 metres distance from Christophe Jumel and 172 boules of 197 throws were touched in one hour time, setting a new Guinness World Records.

The last modality to be attempted was the Tir Cadencé, the modality in which Christophe was already the Guinness World Records holder in the 12 hours time. From a 14 metres distance in a continuous run he hit 257 boules of 271 throws to set an impressive new Guinness World Record.
During the whole records day, Christophe threw 1,895 balls hitting 1,746 (an amazing 92.21% of precision) and ran more than 42 Km!

Source : http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

2008 Pakistan Guinness World Records

At 52nd anniversary of Pakistan its become the first Islamic republic in the world. At the Celebration of National day - Pakistan Sets some of Guinness World Records. Check herewith Listing.

Fastest bowl of a cricket ball
The highest electronically measured speed for a ball bowled by any bowler is 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) by Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan) against England on 22 February 2003 in a World Cup match at Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa.

Largest collection of dummies (pacifiers)
Since 1995, Dr. Muhammad Mustansar of the Children's Hospital and Institute of Child Health in Lahore, Pakistan has been collecting dummies as an educational movement against them. The collection now amounts to 1,994 dummies of different colors and shapes, each obtained from individual mothers.

Largest tea bag
The largest tea bag was made by Lipton Yellow Label of Lever Brothers, Pakistan Ltd weighing 8.9 kg (19.62 lb) and was displayed at the Avari Towers Hotel, Karachi, Pakistan on 22 June 2002.

Tallest cake
Network Television Marketing Ltd. created a cake measuring 32 m (105 ft) tall with 105 tiers in Faisalabad, Pakistan, on 16 August 1997.

Youngest civil judge
Muhammad Ilyas passed the examination enabling him to become a Civil Judge in July 1952 at the age of 20 years 9 months, although formalities such as medicals meant that it was not until eight months later that he started work as a Civil Judge in Lahore, Pakistan.

Information by Guinness World Records.

Flora London Marathon 2008 - World Record Attempt

An exciting but exhausting day was had on Sunday by Guinness World Records’ very own 'Team Marathon'. The Flora London Marathon was enormous for us with over 30 record attempts among the 30,000+ runners. From clowns to superheroes, from stilt walkers to Maasai warriors, everyone was up for some marathon record breaking.

We began with an 8am start in Blackheath. The GWR team were there with all of our record attempters at the celebrity start. Some reasonably organised chaos ensued with all of us rushing getting everyone signed up and photographed. We met the team of Maasai warriors who were wedged into the celeb pen with Gordon Ramsay, James Cracknell etc.

Before you could shout 'Get ready, Set…' they were off - with our amazing stilt walking lady right at the back. All of our stars were packed into the field - including soldiers, policemen, a scarf knitting lady, one Darth Maul, one Bananaman, one Buzz Lightyear and a chain gang. There was even a young man dribbling a basketball around the whole of the marathon course. The whole scene was very inspirational.

To see them all come through at the end was incredible - whether a record was broken or not. We fully hope that we helped everyone who attempted or was awarded a Guinness World Record to receive as many donations as possible to all the wonderful causes that they were all making such a momentous effort for.

These were the Guinness World Records broken:

Fastest marathon as a film character: James McComish (Darth Maul) 3 hr 55 min 22 sec
Most linked runners to complete a marathon: Richard Kirk captained a team of 24 Metropolitan Police Officers

Fastest marathon by a linked team: Oliver Holland, James Kennedy, James Wrighton, Eoghan Murray and Nathan Jones: 3 hr 38 min 24 sec

Fastest marathon dressed as Santa: Ian Sharman: 3 hr 12 min 27 sec

Fastest marathon in a military uniform: 5 hr 11 min 42 sec

Fastest marathon on stilts: Michelle Frost: 8 hr 25 min

Fastest clown: Jason Westermoreland: 3 hr 24 min 04 sec

Fastest marathon dribbling a basketball: Jean-Yves Kanyamibwa: 4 hr 30 min 29 sec

Longest scarf knitted whilst running a marathon: Susie Hewer: 1 m 62 cm

Fastest marathon dressed as a superheroine: Christina Tomlinson: 3 hr 13 min 33 sec

Fastest marathon in a fireman’s uniform: Mark Rogers and Paul Bartlett: 5 hr 36 min 12 sec

Fastest group of Maasai Warriors to complete a marathon: 5 hr 24 min 47 sec

We would like to congratulate the new record breakers and welcome them to the family of Guinness World Records. See you at the next 2009 Flora London Marathon!
For More Details.
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2008/04/080414.aspx

Guinness World Record of the Week 14th – 18th April 2008

Guinness World Record of the Week 14th – 18th April 2008
Largest dome igloo
The largest traditional self-supporting domed igloo with an internal diameter of 7.85m (25 ft 9 in) and an internal height of 4.17 m (13 ft 8 in) was constructed by 72 employees of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick (APEGNB) at the Centennial Park, Grand Falls, Canada, and was completed on 17 February 2008.

Largest tea bag
The largest tea bag was made by Celestial Seasonings Tea weighing 48 kg (106 lb) and was displayed at the Celestial Seasonings Tea Party, Toronto, Canada on 15 December 2007.

Longest journey by car using alternative fuel
The record for longest journey by car using alternative fuel is 38137 km (23697.19 miles) and was achieved by Rainer Zietlow, Florian Hilpert, Falk Gunold, Franz Janusiewicz (all Germany) with a Volkswagen Caddy EcoFuel using natural gas. The journey started in Cologne, Germany on 15 October 2006 and finished in Leipzig, Germany on 13 April 2007.

Most hours of live television by a host in one week
The record for most live hours on TV in a week by a host is held by Monta Mino (Japan) who is the regular host of a total of 11 live-broadcast programs every week. He appears on on TV as host for a combined total of 22 hours and 15 seconds every week.

Most people wearing Groucho Marx glasses
The most people wearing Groucho Marx glasses was 4,077 for an event organized by the Leukemia and Lymphoma society of Springfield, Missouri, United States, on 9 July 2007
Most siblings to reach pension ageThe 14 children of Nicholas and Gertruida Van Schie, Oud Ade, (Netherlands) had all reached pension age on 16 May 2005. Their ages ranged from 65 to 83.

Narrowest J-Turn
The narrowest J-Turn was performed in a Renault Twingo, with a difference of 32 cm (1 ft) between the car length 343 cm (11 ft 3 in) and the space between two barriers 375 cm; (12 ft 3 in) by Terry Grant (UK) at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham, UK, on 10 January 2008.

Oldest ballet dancer (male)
The oldest male ballet dancer is Frank Russell Galey (USA) who was born in 7 September 1932 and his latest performance was at the age of 74 in The Nutcracker with Mendocino Ballet, Ukiah, California on 17 December 2006.

Oldest couple to run a marathon
The oldest couple to run a marathon were Shigetsugu Anan (Japan) aged 83 yr 11 days and his wife Miyoko Anan (Japan) 78 yr 71 days at the Ibusuki Nanohana Marathon, Japan on 13 January 2008.

Youngest hole-in-one golfer (female)
The youngest female golfer to score a hole-in-one is Mary Janiga (USA), aged 8 years 211 days at the par 3 5th at Boca Raton Municipal Golf Club, Florida, USA, on 18 November 2005.

Source Thanks from http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

First Crossing of Cook Strait Amphibious Vehicle

It was third time lucky for Sealegs this morning when it successfully completed the first crossing of Cook Strait by an amphibious vehicle.

After setting off from Arapawa Island in the Marlborough Sounds at 7.23am Sealegs CEO David McKee-Wright powered the 6.1m Sealegs RIB onto the beach at Owhiro Bay at Wellington in 47minutes and said it was a “faultless crossing.” Late last year heavy seas forced Sealegs to abandon its initial crossing plans while last Friday (January 25) McKee Wright was within 300m of the finish at Owhiro Bay when outboard failure further frustrated his record attempt.

“Even though we had larger swells to deal with out in Cook Strait this morning than on Wednesday, everything went like clockwork, and we managed speeds of up to 50knots,” he says. “We’ve had a lot of messages of support from a number of New Zealanders and I’d like to thank all those people as well as the many who helped us on our crossing, especially Evinrude and the Wellington Coastguard”.

"I’m pleased it is finally over and now we can think about our next big event.”

Back in 2005, a Sealegs 5.6m RIB driven by company founder Maurice Bryham staked its place in the Guinness Book of Records when it shattered the English Channel record mark for an amphibious vehicle completing the 21 nautical miles from Dover to Calais in 43mins 12secs. This halved the previous record of 1hr 40mins 6secs set a year earlier by UK entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.

Helicopter Pilot To Set Guinness World Record

Dane Larsen, a 16-year-old Canyon Lake resident, just broke the world speed record for making a coast to coast round trip in a Robinson R44 Raven helicopter. Dane and the three other members of his team, Chief Pilot Johan Nurmi, Charles Martin and Travis Reid, also 16, left Brown Field, just south of San Diego, on April 5 at 5 p.m.

According to Dane’s parents, Doug and Karma Larsen, the four-man crew made the trip in 70 hours, breaking the old record set by Canyon Laker Paul Chennette by over 18 hours. The trip included 20 fuel/food stops and several unexpected delays.

Following Interstate Hwy 8, it was dark by the time they made their first fuel stop in Arizona, according to Karma. They proceeded across Arizona and New Mexico to the middle of Texas before it was light again. They were forced to follow the freeways, as they navigated by sight.

“Once it was light again, they were able to enjoy the incredible views of the varied countryside from Texas to Alabama, and seeing all the animals and their activities was like watching the Discovery Channel,” says Karma. “Dane says he was able to see alligators and water moccasins when they flew over the Mississippi River. The phrase ‘flying Vietnam style’ was mentioned at this point.”

Reaching Columbus, Georgia after nightfall, the team was forced to follow the freeway north to Atlanta before continuing back south and east to Savannah.

Visibility during this part of their trip became more and more diminished. Once landed in Savannah Hilton Head Airport 29 hours into their journey, they were forced to wait out the low clouds.

After wandering around the airport looking for shelter, the team stumbled across an armed and jumpy soldier in a military section they had accidentally entered, according to Karma. Dane says that, when he stuck out his hand to thank the soldier who had given them directions, the soldier stepped back and drew his gun on him. Dane told his parents this was a little unsettling since the soldier was barely 5-ft. tall and stumbled backwards under the weight of the gigantic AR15 gun with its grenade launcher. Later, finding an area with recliner chairs, the team was able to get some much-needed rest.

Twelve hours later they were back in the air, commencing their return flight. Making a straight shot across Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, they again had views of the countryside. Around dusk, Dane’s mother sent him a text, concerned for his welfare, as the GPS tracking system connected to his cell phone showed that they were set down beside the freeway near Minden, Louisiana.

Dane responded that they had stopped at a truck stop “to check oil” and were eating Subway sandwiches, compliments of the truckers. He mentioned that in Louisiana they had first-hand experience of “Cajun” communications, where people would only say the first half of a word.

Flying through Texas in the dark, they got a thrill in Abilene when the tower asked them to “follow the three F16s” onto the runway. They were given a warm welcome and free pizza and drinks by this partially military airport. This was a pleasant contrast to the other airports where food was only available from vending machines, Dane told his parents.

They continued through the night across Texas, encountering a slight delay in Big Spring when the gas service they had prearranged to open for them could not be contacted. By the time they reached the border of Texas and New Mexico it was light again. The trip across New Mexico and Arizona went quickly, with moderate tail winds. By early afternoon, however, the winds were picking up and they faced strong headwinds coming across California.

The team’s landing at Brown Field was heralded by banners, balloons and cheers by friends and family. San Diego’s KUSI Channel 9 was there to interview them (see the news feature at http://www.kusi.com/news/local/17406594.html). CBS Channel 8 showed up as well for some video clips. A similar fanfare of family, friends and media welcomed the team back to French Valley Airport from which they are based.

Family and friends had been able to view the team’s progress through a tracking system connected to Dane’s cell phone. Their position, altitude, speed and heading were posted every few minutes on a tracking website. This showed their path on a hybrid (satellite/street) style map (Google Earth), which could be viewed from far away to very close-up. The team’s path was monitored by people around the world, from Dane’s father working in Hong Kong to friends in Europe.

“The feeling of being right there with the team provided reassurance for and camaraderie between all those who supported the team,” says Karma.

The weather throughout the trip was fairly accommodating. Avoiding the tornados from the prior week and a weather system that closed in behind them, they had good luck along with their careful planning.

Dane and Travis kept spirits lifted with their “captain’s chatter,” referencing flight attendants, tray tables, seatbacks, the use or misuse of the onboard lavatories and penalties for tampering with the smoking devices. Their humor was an excellent antidote to the extremely cramped quarters, it was later learned.

Dane is known by many of his peers through his involvement with Canyon Lake Little League, as well as high school football and golf. He is also a member of the Canyon Lake Police Explorers. He attended Canyon Lake Middle School and Temescal Canyon High School until transferring this year as an 11th grader to a home school program, from which he expects to graduate in the next few months.

He started flying helicopters on his 15th birthday a year and a half ago, and his passion to fly has grown along with his skills, says his mom. Dane and Reid are student pilots at the USA Academy of Aviation owned by Nurmi and his wife, Monica Bergenstrom, at French Valley Airport.

As a supplement to his flight lessons, Dane volunteers at the Wings and Rotors Museum in French Valley, where he has gained in-depth knowledge of helicopter mechanics. He must wait until his 17th birthday this summer to get his private pilot’s license, but he is ultimately focused on getting his commercial pilot’s license. He eventually hopes to fly for the Riverside County Sheriffs; but in the meantime, he is getting as much flying experience as he can.

Currently, Dane is looking for sponsors to support him on another record flight attempt. The World Record Helicopter Team, which was founded by Nurmi, is planning to circumnavigate the world in a helicopter. They hope to break the speed record and at the same time draw attention to the Christian Foundation for Starving Children. Further information on this trip can be found at http://www.worldrecordhelicopterteam.com/news.php.

Next month Dane plans on participating in the “Flying Thunder Flight to the Wall,” a trip planned by the Wings and Rotors Museum in conjunction with the Rolling Thunder, the museum’s four combat-certified, Vietnam era helicopters. The trip is a parade of motorcycles and Huey helicopters, which will be traveling from California to Washington DC in honor of the American War Veterans. Participants have been given permission to make a fly-by of the Vietnam Wall on May 25. More information on this trip can be found at http://www.flyingthunder.org/.

Igloo Building Guinness World Records 2008

The Northwestern Branch of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick (APEGNB) has been notified by Guinness World Records that they have officially established a new world record for the largest self-supporting dome igloo.

The ice igloo, which was built for the second annual APEGNB Igloo Building Competition in Grand Falls, NB (February 15 to 17, 2008) measured 7.9 m (25 ft 9 in) in diameter and 4.2 m (13 ft 8 in) high. The previous world record was held by Hydro Quebec. Their 2005 igloo had an internal diameter of 7.36 m (24 ft 2 in) and an internal height of 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in). Event organizer Eric Ouellette, P.Eng., says the igloo took 70 volunteers, 2000 blocks of ice and 50 hours to build.

“It required a lot of planning and hard work to build a safe and solid structure that ultimately accommodated more than 200 people at one time,” he says. “The igloo was so strong that it stood intact for 59 days until a warm stretch of weather brought it down on April 8.” Ouellette also credits the cold northern New Brunswick weather and the engineering expertise of the team as contributing factors to building the successful world-record igloo. “Many people don’t realize how engineering impacts their everyday life. Without engineers, the roads we drive on, the buildings we work in and the clean water we drink wouldn’t be possible. Engineering improves our quality of life and the safety of our environment. We thought the APEGNB Igloo Building Competition would be a creative way to demonstrate practical engineering principles and pay homage to our ancestral engineers—the Inuit—who invented the igloo.”

addition to hosting the world record attempt, the 2008 APEGNB Igloo Building Competition had 10 teams of igloo builders who competed for the coveted APEGNB igloo trophy. The teams spent the weekend of February 15th building their own igloo using only traditional and environmentally friendly tools like snow spades and saws. Restigouche Construction from Saint-André took home the gold for their whimsical igloo that looked like a seal. The silver medal went to the Falls Construction Team and SNC-Snam received the Bronze medal.

The Guinness criteria defines a world record igloo as a structure that:
Is constructed entirely and solely of blocks of ice (note that this means the structure must be built from the ground up, and may not be carved out of a larger mound of ice or snow, for example).

Is broadly circular in shape.
Has a roof consisting of a dome that is completely self-supporting (thus it must be completely unsupported from either the inside or outside).

Has an arched doorway. Money raised during the 2008 APEGNB Igloo Building Competition was used to fund three engineering scholarships for New Brunswick high school students and provide a donation to Habitat for Humanity’s upcoming projects. For more information on the APEGNB Igloo engineering scholarships, the Igloo Building Competition and the world record igloo, visit the official website at http://www.igloocompetition.ca/

$300,000 1948 Buick Roadmaster Selling World Record

Hot Web, Inc. (Pink Sheets:HWBI) today announced the completed record sale of a 1948 Buick Roadmaster convertible "custom," named "Lowla" to an undisclosed buyer based in the United Arab Emirates capital city of Abu Dhabi. The $300,000 paid for the one-of-a-kind automobile built by Startup, Washington-based Divers Street Rods, is believed to be the highest amount ever paid for the particular make and model. Hot Web shareholders can view detailed pictures of the World Record holding "Lowla" at the following Internet address: http://www.hotautoweb.com/48buickrm.html

A world renowned builder of custom automobiles, Diver's Street Rods currently has two additional automobiles being listed by HotAutoWeb, a 1940 Pontiac named "1-Wicked-1" which can be viewed at www.hotautoweb.com/40pontw.html and a 1937 Ford Minotti which can be viewed at www.hotautoweb.com/37fordmin.html

George Stevens, Chairman of Hot Web, Inc, commented, "Naturally we are pleased with the fact that we could represent the seller of such a world class automobile and secure the seller a record setting purchase price. We continue to attract many high dollar value and award winning cars as reflection of our reputation in the automotive community and interaction with high end automotive owners. We have had several contacts from other participating award winning or "contender" vehicles wanting us to sell their cars." He continued, "We continue to see interest in "big ticket" hot rods, American Muscle Cars and Classic Cars from international clients due in large part to a weak U.S. Dollar relative to other world currencies and a love for classic American cars on an international level."

About Hot Web, Inc.
Hot Web, Inc. is engaged in the business of consigning "big ticket" transportation related items through its diversified presences, both online and offline. The Company's mission is to "change the way the world buys and/or bids online" by harnessing the power of the Internet and coupling it with human interaction and expertise to create a safe, productive, comfortable and 'Fraud Free' way to conduct online/offline commerce. The company utilizes both its internal certified regional representative base in addition to online third-party marketing tools like eBay Motors and others to attract and market vehicle listings The Company's current portfolio of niche-focused online businesses consists of The company is also currently developing other Hot Web branded online business units to complement its current roster.
www.hotautoweb.com

World Record of Detecting 50 Dangerous Bacteria with Single Test

Mobidiag Releases First Microarray Based Rapid Test for Bacterial Detection
Helsinki, Finland, April 19th – the Finnish biotechnology company Mobidiag announced today the Prove-it™ Bacteria test that sets a world record by being able to detect 50 dangerous bacteria simultaneously - including the widespread “superbug” MRSA. This is an important milestone in the battle against infectious diseases, most importantly life-threatening sepsis.

Sepsis is a growing cause of death worldwide - there are around 3 million sepsis cases annually, over 500,000 of them resulting in death. Sepsis is an infection caused by a number of micro-organisms spreading in the bloodstream. The challenge in sepsis treatment is starting adequate treatment with the appropriate antibiotics on time.

Currently, the diagnostics of causative pathogen(s) needed for the antibiotic treatment decision takes 2-5 days based on blood culturing and subsequent pathogen identification. Using Mobidiag’s Prove-it™ Bacteria, the pathogen detection is available 1-3 days earlier compared to current diagnostics. The PCR and microarray-based test takes less than three hours to complete. Achieved time saving rationalizes antibiotic treatment and improves patient outcomes and decreases mortality considerably.

“Our Prove-it™ Bacteria test has all the potential to revolutionize microbial sepsis diagnostics. The test helps clinicians make better and faster decisions and provide sufficient treatment for seriously ill patients. This offers huge savings, as sepsis treatment currently consumes billions of euros annually. Our target is to have a single test that reliably detects the majority of dangerous human disease causing bacteria and Prove-it™ Bacteria test is an important milestone on that road,” says Jaakko Pellosniemi, CEO of Mobidiag. “I strongly believe that Prove-it™ products will rapidly gain foothold on the multibillion microbial diagnostic markets.”

Prove-it™ Bacteria test is initially intended for research purposes. The evaluation aiming for the European CE-IVD status enabling its use in clinical sepsis diagnostics is currently ongoing and will be completed later this year. The test will cover more than 90 % of all sepsis cases.

Founded in 2001, Mobidiag develops rapid diagnostic tests for hospital laboratories. The Prove-it™ Bacteria test is developed in co-operation with Hospital Districts of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Finland.

Mobidiag Ltd is a Finnish biotechnology company developing, producing and marketing rapid diagnostic tests to hospital laboratories. The company focuses on detection of serious infections with DNA-tests. More information on http://www.mobidiag.com/
Additional information: CEO Jaakko Pellosniemi, Mobidiag Ltd, tel. + 358 40 501 1004 Press contact: Ville Lehtovirta, Text 100 Conexio, tel. +358 50 346 6946, ville.lehtovirta@conexio.fi

Worlds Largest Sculpture Made of TV Sets - Europos Parkas

The worlds’ largest artwork made of TV sets LNK Infotree created by Lithuanian artist Gintaras Karosas has been built at Europos Parkas. Guinness World Records acknowledged the record in their official report.

All Lithuania has taken part in the creation of a labyrinth of television sets, titled LNK Infotree. People from various Lithuanian towns donated old TV sets after an appeal from Europos Parkas was broadcast on LNK television.

The sculpture LNK Infotree is made of about 3000 TV sets and spans an area of 3,135 square metres. It is even possible to get lost in the 700-metres maze. It has the shape of a tree when viewed from above. A statue of Lenin lies in the middle of the labyrinth.

The sculpture symbolizes the absurdity of Soviet propaganda that for over half a century had been implanted in people’s minds with the help of senseless TV. The narrow paths that dead TV sets form show its limitation. 6000 square metres of polythene, 700 square metres of bitumen cover and 90 cubic metres of wood were used to create the composition. 500 litres of highest quality Sadolin Pinotex paint were used to paint the wooden part of the sculpture. A support from the LI Sadolin made it possible. The total weight of the TV sets is about 150 tons.

The sculpture at the moment is under reconstruction please visit official website
http://www.europosparkas.lt/
World Largest Artwork Video at Europos Parkas
http://www.europosparkas.lt/Infomedis/InfotreeEn_mj.htm

Rolex $8.5 Million Watch Auction set World Record

Nine world records were set at Antiquorum's massive vintage Rolex auction on April 17, entitled Revolution: The Evolution of the Rolex Sport Watch, commemorating the brand's 100th anniversary. In total, $8,515,260 worth of timepieces were sold to bidders worldwide.

Among the records set was $237,600 each for two highly-prized 1967 Sea-Dweller Submariners, and $166,800 for a 1973 Submariner originally issued to the British military. The most beautiful watch in the sale, the rare "Jean-Claude Killy" Antimagnetic Oyster Chronograph, fetched $155,000, while the highest price was brought in by a 1979 "Comex" model Sea-Dweller, which went for $248,800.

While collectors certainly paid a premium for historical value, not all the most attractive watches hit six figures. The super-stylish version of the Explorer known as the "Straight Hand Steve McQueen" pictured here went for a more modest $40,800, still a significant sum for this model.

Largest Ballet Class Guinness World Record

Dancers of all levels and ages succeeded in breaking the Guinness World Record for the Largest Ballet Class. The Oregon Ballet Foundation beat South African Ballet Theatre's record of 551 by 27 participants at McArthur Court, foundation member Megan Murphy said.

The foundation hosted its first attempt at breaking the record last year during National Dance Week, but it fell short of the record. Prior to the class' start, Mac Court came to life with classical music, 35 bars and 578 thrilled dance students.

Even the Oregon Duck couldn't resist, posing with excited dancers for photos before class. Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy kicked up her foot to reveal a pink ballet slipper while giving the opening statement in support of the arts.

The class started about 15 minutes late because several dancers who were needed to break the record were tardy. Emcee Derek Johnson tried to persuade observers in the stands to become dancers and make the difference in breaking the record.

"I'm looking at people in the stage to come on down and dance," said Johnson. "If you love the arts, you aren't going to see anything better."But cheers burst through Mac Court as dancer number 552 entered the arena, and a scoreboard flashed "World's Largest Ballet Class.

"Aquene Amarys brought her 8-year-old daughter Indigo Amarys to the event after seeing a poster."We thought that it would be cool to be a part of breaking a world record and we had nothing planned for today, so it fit," Amarys said. Amarys' daughter was introduced to ballet when she was five years old and doesn't have much experience.

Source : dailyemerald.com

World's Youngest Professor Record set by Northport Teen

Alia Sabur is accustomed to raising people's eyebrows.The child prodigy from Northport enrolled at Stony Brook University at age 10 and played clarinet with the Rockland Symphony Orchestra at 11.So perhaps it was inevitable that Sabur would wind up in the Guinness Book of World Records.

That happened last month, when the venerable publication named Sabur the world's youngest college professor.

Sabur was three days shy of her 19th birthday in February when she became a professor at Konkuk University, in Seoul. The previous record was held by a student of physicist Isaac Newton, Colin Maclaurin, who set the mark in 1717.

"He's in every calculus textbook there is," she said. "When I found out about it, I thought, 'I can't replace him.' But it's been 300 years and someone had to replace him, so why not me?"

Konkuk University has an academic partnership with Stony Brook University, where Sabur received a bachelor's degree in 2003 -- when she was 14. Sabur starts in Seoul next month.

She will be doing some classroom instruction, but mostly will focus on research into developing nanotubes for use as cellular probes, which could help discover cures for diseases such as cancer, she said.

Down the road, she would like to develop a noninvasive blood-glucose meter for people with diabetes, she said. Her mother, Julia, and her father, Mark, both have diabetes.

Sabur said classroom teaching in Seoul will be challenging because she doesn't speak Korean. "I can speak math and music," she said.

For now, she is teaching math and physics courses at Southern University in New Orleans. The college was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and remains largely housed in trailers, she said.

While there, she is staying at Mt. Carmel Mother House, a convent occupied by relief workers. She said she wanted to teach in New Orleans to help the city recover.

"They consider me a relief worker in a different way," she said.

A fringe benefit of working at Southern has been exposure to New Orleans' legendary music scene. Listening to the city's jazz music has "opened me up a little bit," Sabur said.

But she is looking forward to going to Korea next month, in part because the country is known for appreciating classical music.

Despite her numerous accomplishments -- she started reading at age 2 -- Sabur said she never had earned a Guinness world record before.
"I think one is pretty good," Sabur said.

Source : www.newsday.com

World’s Biggest Scone Guinness World Record

A family of bakers rose to the challenge today by creating the world’s biggest scone - which is 700 times bigger than a standard one and takes 18 hours to cool down.The colossal cake weighs 26kg and measures 2ft in diameter and was baked at temperatures of over 230 degrees C in a mould specially constructed by welders.

The Hallett family’s creation formed the centrepiece of the world’s largest ever cream tea assembled at a tea-themed festival in Torquay, Devon. It was made from a 100-year-old recipe. Guinness World Records confirmed there was no previous record for cream teas - meaning that the Hallett family are assured of their place in the record books. courtest mail

World's oldest person celebrated her 115th birthday

Edna Parker, the Guinness World Record holder as the world's oldest person celebrated her 115th birthday on Sunday.
Born in April 20, 1893, She was recognized as the world's oldest person by the Guinness World Records last August after the death of the Japanese Yone Minagawa at the age of 114, four months her senior.

Surrounded by family, friends and well-wishers, Parker patiently sat in her wheelchair, her legs covered in a blanket, as she received gifts from Franklin College President Jay Moseley and other officials at the town.
Edna Parker is a 1911 graduate of Franklin College. She gave up her teaching career for the life of a farmer's wife.

Two years ago, researchers took a blood sample from Parker for the group's DNA database of about 100 other people who reached the 110-year milestone.

Scientists who study longevity hope that Parker can help unlock the secrets to long life.

According to the Gerontology Research Group, a California-based organization that verifies reports of extreme ages, there are only 75 people alive - 64 women and 11 men - that are 110 or older.

Guinness world Records for World Oldest
Latest Guinness Records 2008

Worlds Biggest Color Painting World Records 2008

Guinness World Records recently approved a new world record for the biggest color painting, done by students in Luoyang, Henan province. Guinness World Records recently approved a new world record for the biggest color painting, done by students in Luoyang, Henan province.

A group of 510 students from the art department of Henan Luoyang Normal University in the central metropolis, which is known for its peonies, painted a mural of the flowers early this month.

The painting, which consists of 170 three-ply boards, is little more than 510 square meters.

It is 20.8 meters long and 24.5 meters wide.


News and Photo Thanks to China Daily & Peoples Daily

World Oldest Tree Record Guinness World Record

Scientists from Umeaa University discovered the spruce on Fulu Mountain in Dalarna province while carrying out a census of tree species there in 2004.

The age of its genetic material was recently calculated using carbon dating at a laboratory in Miami, Florida.

Scientists had believed the world's oldest trees were 4,000-year-old pine trees found in North America.

The oldest, a bristlecone pine named Methuselah located in California's White Mountains, is aged 4,768, according to the Guinness Book of World Record.

Cloning

The new record contender, which would have taken root just after the last ice age, was found among a cluster of around 20 spruces believed to be more than 8,000 years old at an altitude of 910m (2,985ft) on Fulu Mountain.

The visible portion of the spruce was comparatively new, but analysis of four "generations" of remains - cones and wood - found underneath its crown showed its root system had been growing for 9,550 years, Umeaa University said.

Umeaa's professor of physical geography, Leif Kullmann, said the spruce's stems or trunks had a lifespan of around 600 years, but as soon as one died, a cloned stem could emerge from the root system.

The clones take root each winter as snow pushes low-lying branches of the mother tree down to ground level, Mr Kullmann added.

The discovery of the tree has been surprising, because the spruce had until now been regarded as a relative newcomer in the region.

"Our results have shown the complete opposite, that the spruce is one of the oldest known trees in the mountain range," Mr Kullmann said.

He explained that 10,000 years ago the spruce would have been extremely rare in the region and that it was conceivable Mesolithic humans might have imported the species as they migrated northwards with the receding ice cap.

The discovery also shows that it was much warmer in the region at the time than had been thought previously, perhaps even warmer than today, he added.

News Source : BBC.Co.uk.

Singapore Flyer - World Largest and Tallest Observation Wheel

Singapore Flyer - World Largest and Tallest Observation Wheel
It’s the world’s largest observation wheel.Standing at stunning 165m, the Flyer is the height of a 42-storey building – that’s some 30 metres taller than the famed London Eye. Taking a flight on this S$240 million dollar wheel is a one-of-a-kind experience you wouldn’t want to miss.

Amazing facts about Singapore Flyer
It’s the only place to see Singapore’s magnificent cityscape.As the wheel turns, you’ll be treated to a visual 360° feast of iconic and historical landmarks and views from the Marina Bay to the Singapore River, Raffles Place, Merlion Park, Empress Place and the Padang. There is no other place in Singapore that offers these breathtaking panoramic views.

You’ll get to feast on famous local dishes. Seafood Paradise @ Flyer, a popular restaurant among locals, serves up signature local dishes such as chilli crab, butter crab, cereal prawns and drunken prawns. Enjoy these authentic local dishes alongside innovative culinary creations by our local chefs.

You’ll get a taste of our gourmet capital.If local food isn’t the fare for you, dine at any of the restaurants at the Flyer. The selection – from Indian fusion to Japanese delicacies and Italian epicurean – gives you a taste of why Singapore is the gourmet capital of Asia.

You’ll get to indulge in Singapore’s national pastime.Food may be our nation’s passion, but it’s shopping that’s our national pastime. At the Flyer, you’ll be able to indulge a little in yourself. Jewellery, luxury watches, exquisitely handmade Japanese accessories and more await the avid shopper.

You’ll experience urban nature.Right in the centre of the atrium, on Level 3, is a lush, tropical rainforest. The cascading water displays, streams, rocky outcrops and pond fuse together naturally to offer a picturesque landscape for photo taking.

You’ll be able to fly – “for real”.If being 165m above ground level in a capsule exhilarates you, fly like a real pilot in a flight simulator that has all the gadgets and gizmos found in real commercial airliners. The simulator isn't a toy, it's been approved by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority for pilot training.

Please visit http://www.singaporeflyer.com for Booking, Download Wallpapers, Videos, Photos and News Articles

Top 10 Weird World Records

Top 10 Weird Guinness World Records

1) Largest collection of traffic cones

David Morgan from Burford, Oxfordshire has collected 137 different types of cone - two-thirds of the designs ever made.

2) Most fingers and toes on a living person

Two Indians share the records with 25 digits each. Both Pranamya Menaria and Devendra Harne have 12 fingers and 13 toes, as a result of rare congenital abnormality.

3) Loudest burp

Paul Hunn of from Enfield, north London, recorded a burp of 104.9 decibels - about as loud as a pneumatic drill - to claim the record in 2004. Mr Hunn said he trained by eating curries and kebabs and drinking fizzy drinks.

4) Most live rattlesnakes held in the mouth
Jackie Bibby, aka The Texas snake Man, held 10 rattlesnakes by their tails in his mouth - without assistance - in New York last year. Bibby also holds three other snake-related records: most snakes sat with in a bathtub (81), most snakes shared a sleeping bag with (109), and fastest person to put 10 snakes in a sack (17.11 secs).

5) Most cockroaches eaten

Ken Edwards of Glossop, Derbyshire, England ate 36 cockroaches in one minute on the set of The Big Breakfast on March 5, 2001. Swallowing cockroaches is "like having an anaesthetic at the back of the throat," because of the scent they emit to ward off predators, he says.

6) Most Ferrero Rocher chocolates eaten in one minute

Reuben Williams unwrapped and ate five Ferrero Rocher chocolates in one minute at De Hems in Soho, London in November 2007.

7) Heaviest car balanced on the head

John Evans balanced a 159.6 kg (352 lb) Mini on his head for 33 seconds at The London Studios on May 24, 1999. Evans is a professional 'head balancer', but until then had tended to stick to lighter loads like people, books and beers. On his website he claims to be the holder of no less than thirty World Records in eleven different categories.

8) Largest disco ball

The largest mirrored disco ball measures 7.35 m (24 ft 1.3 in) in diameter and was made by Raf Frateur of Frateur Events. The ball - which boasts no less than 80.000 small mirrors and is turned by a built-in motor - was displayed during a party at the club "Studio 54" in Antwerp, Belgium, on July 20, 2007.

9) Largest collection of aeroplane sick bags
Niek Vermeulen, a marketing and investment consultant from the Netherlands, has 5,180 sickness bags from 1,003 different airlines. He started his collection in the 1970s.

10) Longest leg hair

Medical student Wesley Pemberton had the world's longest leg hair which measured 5 in (12.7 cm) in Tyler, Texas, United States on August 10, 2007. He now conditions the hair to make sure it stays in good condition.

Blowing up 213 ballons with Nose in 1 Hour Record Set by 13 Years Boy

A 13-year-old American boy is claiming Guinness World Records by blowing up 213 balloons with his nose in an hour, media reported Tuesday.

Andrew Dahl, an eighth-grader at Blaine Middle School, showed his feat in the public library at the town Blaine, Washington, on Friday.

The schoolboy brought one after another balloons to his nose, plugged one side of it, exhaled through the open nostril and quickly tied off the inflated balloons.

His father, Doug Dahl, measured the balloons to make sure each was at least 20 centimeters, the minimum diameter, and his mother, Wendy Dahl, kept the tally.

The 213 record was the boy's second try. In February he sent a videotape of himself inflating 184 balloons, only to be told that it didn't count because he handed them to his father to tie.

This time he tied them off himself. If Guinness World Records certifies the results, Andrew will own the record for the feat.

Source : xinhuanet

Largest Gathering of Plush Toys Guinness World Record

The mountain of 5,657 stuffed animals in the gymnasium at Andover’s Shawsheen School was more than twice the height of a second grader: A 10-foot mound of Beanie Babies, teddy bears, smiley alligators, and puffy dogs. There was a child-sized Winnie the Pooh, a 4-foot penguin, a 5-foot Bugs Bunny, and a stuffed gorilla the size of, well, a gorilla.

No, this was not some type of cathartic group therapy to help purge the tots of their attachment to stuffed toys. The elementary school collected the animals for charity and hoped in the process to set a new Guinness World Record. (The “largest gathering of plush toys” is a real category tracked by the London-based chronicler of all that is inane.)

For 12 years the magnet school has run a stuffed animal drive with its pre-kindergarten through second graders. The toys are given to a program that pairs tutors from Phillips Academy and Andover High School with middle school students from Lawrence. The bounty of stuffed bears and mice is also shared with children in northern Belize at hospitals, libraries, and orphanages.

This year Shawsheen upped the ante after parent- and toy-drive organizer Rachel Combs saw that National Geographic KIDS Magazine had set a record by collecting 2,304 stuffed animals. Andover Police Chief Brian Pattullo and school committee member Deb Silberstein acted as official adjudicators and helped tally the 5,657 toys. The school more than doubled the current mark set in 2006, though it may take Guinness a few weeks to make it official.

The students learned of their feat at an assembly Monday when the cuddly creatures were piled so high they nearly touched the basketball rims in the gymnasium.
"It was like they won the lottery when we announced it," said Mary Kay Poe, an administrative assistant at the school. "They were screaming and yelling. It was hysterical."

Source : boston.com