Solar Cell Sets World Efficiency Record At 40.8 Percent

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have set a world record in solar cell efficiency with a photovoltaic device that converts 40.8 percent of the light that hits it into electricity. This is the highest confirmed efficiency of any photovoltaic device to date.

The inverted metamorphic triple-junction solar cell was designed, fabricated and independently measured at NREL. The 40.8 percent efficiency was measured under concentrated light of 326 suns. One sun is about the amount of light that typically hits Earth on a sunny day. The new cell is a natural candidate for the space satellite market and for terrestrial concentrated photovoltaic arrays, which use lenses or mirrors to focus sunlight onto the solar cells.

The new solar cell differs significantly from the previous record holder – also based on a NREL design. Instead of using a germanium wafer as the bottom junction of the device, the new design uses compositions of gallium indium phosphide and gallium indium arsenide to split the solar spectrum into three equal parts that are absorbed by each of the cell's three junctions for higher potential efficiencies. This is accomplished by growing the solar cell on a gallium arsenide wafer, flipping it over, then removing the wafer.

The resulting device is extremely thin and light and represents a new class of solar cells with advantages in performance, design, operation and cost.

NREL's Mark Wanlass invented the original inverted cell, which recently won a R&D 100 award. His design was modified by a team led by John Geisz that further optimized the junction energies by making the middle junction metamorphic as well as the bottom junction. Metamorphic junctions are lattice mismatched – their atoms don't line up. The material properties of the mismatched semiconductors allows for greater potential conversion of sunlight.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle.

Latest Solar Guinness World Records 2008

CLAAS LEXION 580 is the new world champion in combine harvesting

British farmer Keith Challen recently demonstrated just how much he identifies with ”his“ brand of combine harvester, the CLAAS LEXION 580: Under the watchful eye of an invited Guinness Book of Records official, the LEXION 580 harvested 532 tons of wheat in eight hours. That’s 18 percent better than the previous world record.
The LEXION 580, loaded with high-tech equipment including GPS steering, a 10.50 m wide cutterbar and tracked running gear, set the new world record on the farm of Kevin Yates at Sleaford near Nottingham.

The harvesting conditions in Britain this year were not ideal on account of the bad summer weather. Finally, on Tuesday, 16th September, the skies over the eastern English county cleared, and Challen was able to launch his record-breaking bid under the supervision of Guinness Book of Records’ official Carlos Martinez.

The LEXION 580 was sent on its way at 12.02 pm. By the half-way mark, at 16.02 pm, the high-tech combine harvester had already harvested 270 tons of wheat. The old record of 451 tons, established only weeks previously, was surpassed after 6 hours 45 minutes. After exactly eight hours, at 20.02 pm, the weigh gauge registered 532.14 tons.

The parameters – grain moisture content, grain quality, loss ratio and stubble height – were constantly monitored throughout in accordance with the rules of the Guinness Book of Records. The harvested straw was chopped and spread over the full cutting width of the combine harvester.

The average hourly yield was 66.51 tons, and only 1.35 litres of diesel were consumed per ton. An average grain moisture content of 16.2% made harvesting more difficult, but it also proves the capability of the hybrid system. The fact that the harvesting was done on six different fields shows that the performance was achieved under practical conditions.

The world record can also be attributed to the latest CLAAS Management Systems. As the LEXION 580 is equipped with GPS steering, the driver activated the automatic steering on the onboard computer during harvesting operations, and the combine harvester maintained a straight path controlled by satellite. Furthermore, all farm employees were able to track the combine harvester’s record breaking harvest on the Internet via the CLAAS TELEMATICS Information System.

Latest Guinness World Records 2008

Lowest Fuel Consumption Volkswagen's Car Set World Record

The world's most fuel efficient couple, John and Helen Taylor, have broken the current world record for lowest fuel consumption across the 48 contiguous United States averaging 58.82 miles to the gallon. They ended their 20 day trip in West Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008. To help them break the world record, they drove the all-new, 50-state-compliant clean diesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI, fueled by Shell Ultra Low Sulfur diesel fuel under real world driving conditions, simply applying easy to use fuel saving tips and the latest efficient engine technology available for good clean diesel fun.

"We are very excited and grateful to have broken the current Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption across the 48 contiguous United States," said Helen Taylor. "We would like to thank Volkswagen for providing us their new clean diesel Jetta that helped us get another World Record and to Shell for supplying the diesel fuel."

The previous Guinness World Record for the lowest fuel consumption on a nationwide drive was 51.58 miles per gallon and the Taylors broke it by setting a new record of 58.82 miles per gallon, a whopping 14 percent improvement. In 20 days, driving across 48 states the Taylors drove 9,419 miles, exceeding 60 mpg on several legs of the record-setting run, spending only 6.9 cents per mile (total was $653).

"The terrain was very diverse, the weather less than ideal, and the traffic heavy at rush hour and the VW Jetta TDI handled it all beautifully, showing its fuel efficiency and its fun-to-drive dynamic capability, just two of this vehicle's many attributes," said John Taylor. "The car efficiently helped us to drive to a fuel economy world record."

People were encouraged to e-mail the Taylors along the way at: fuelacademy @ gmail.com with any questions they may have about the tour, the vehicle or about fuel economy tips and join their "Fan" page on Facebook.com. As of the end of the trip, more than 2,000 people have e-mailed the Taylors.

Approximately 12 official check-in and refueling stops across the country were included throughout the duration of the drive. The couple drove on a counter-clockwise route passing through: Washington D.C.; New York City, Rutland, Vermont; Toledo, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Spearfish, S.D.; Missoula, Mont.; Winnemucca, Nev.; Santa Monica, Calif.; Durango, Colo.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Mount Vernon, Ill.; Ponchatoula, La.; and, Beckley, W.V. Some of the fuel saving tips the Taylors advocate include: avoiding idling and higher speeds, minimizing vehicle drag and performing regular vehicle maintenance.

The Taylors have made a 26-year career out of driving economically and conducting workshops globally on fuel-efficient driving techniques. They have collected 82 world fuel economy and vehicle-related records from drives around the globe in Australia, Asia, South Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America.

Largest Jigsaw Puzzle Guinness World Record 2008

Some 15,000 enthusiasts have assembled the world's largest jigsaw puzzle in the southern German town of Ravensburg, Europe's biggest puzzle maker said.

Puzzle maker Ravensburger AG said 1,141,800 pieces were put together in only five hours on Sunday, forming a nearly 6,500-square foot (600-square meter) puzzle that nearly covered the town square.

"We really like puzzling," Ravensburg resident Sonja Haussner said at the event.

A notary has submitted the result to the Guinness Book of World Records. The current record is a 212,323-piece puzzle measuring some 35 feet by 38 feet (10.8 meters by 11.68 meters) put together in Singapore in 2002.

A Guinness Book spokeswoman said Monday that the Ravensburg claim had been submitted but was not yet approved.

The participants assembled more-than 4,000 smaller jigsaw puzzles, each with 252 pieces and standard puzzle motifs like animals, maps and landscapes.

The rectangles were then taken to the nearby town square and put together into the single massive 65-foot by 98-foot (20-meter by 30-meter) puzzle.

"We tried and we succeeded," said Heinrich Huntelmann, a spokesman for Ravensburger AG.

Ravensburger AG is celebrating its 125th anniversary of operation in the town.

Source : AP

Longest Hot Dog Guinness World Records 2008

Danny Girton Jr., adjudication executive for North America for Guinness World Records, measures a hot dog during an attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the largest hot dog, in Monterrey, northern Mexico September 27, 2008. The event was organized by local businesses with the support of the Monterrey city hall.

The hot dog measured 76.23 meters (250 feet) and broke the previous record of 61 meters (200 feet) set in Japan.

Ferrari 250 GTO - World Most Expensive Car World Record

1961 Model Ferrari 250 GTO becomes world’s most expensive car after being sold for 20 million euros at auction A car widely renowned as the most beautiful of all time is also now officially the most expensive after a model sold for €20 million at an auction.

Only 39 models of the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO model were ever built, from 1962 to 1964. It was already considered one of the most valuable cars in the world, previously thought to have been worth approximately €14 million. But with the recent record-breaking sale, it seems the Ferrari 250 GTO is even more valuable than had been thought.

Ferrari 250 GTO becomes world’s most expensive car after being sold for 20 million euros at auction

Bowling Marathon Guinness World Records 2008

A group of avid bowlers will be attempting to bowl themselves into the Guinness World Records Books in Chorlton next month.

The Lloyd Hotel Bowling Club from Chorlton will at 6.00pm on Saturday 25th October at South West Manchester Cricket Club on Ellesmere Road in Chorlton commence what will hopefully be a successful attempt to break the Guinness World Record Outdoor Bowls Marathon record.

The Lloyds are attempting to become the 1st team in history to hold the record 3 times. Their last successful attempt was in October 2006 when they played for 105 hours.

Commencing on Saturday October 25th and finishing at 5.00pm on November 1st, two teams of six players will bowl continuously throughout the week to try and set a new record of 168hours.

An invitation 8 bowling competition involving some of the games best players in the crown green bowling world will be played throughout the week, which should ensure a bumper crowd every night. On the Friday evening the games No1 player and current Waterloo Champion Gary Ellis will be playing in a pro-am match starting at 7.00pm.

The semi-final and final of the invitation competition will be start at 1.00pm on Saturday 1st November.

Organiser Steven Ridley said: "We’re very excited about our third world record attempt. We had a great time setting our previous records in 2003 & 2006, but we’re really challenging ourselves this year to make sure we well and truly smash it by over 50 hours. It’s going to be hard work, but good fun, and we hope the local community will really get behind us and support what we’re doing."

Members of the club are also using the event as a way to raise funds for local charities including the Christie Hospital and Francis House Children’s Hospice. Throughout the week there will be raffles and other fundraising activities.

Admission to the event is by donation whether it is large or small it just doesn’t matter.
Marco Frigatti, Director of Records at Guinness World Records will be present on the final day (Saturday 1 November) of the marathon to all being well officially confirm the clubs claim to be the new Guinness Book of Records holders of the world record for the longest game of outdoor bowls.

Future Predictions 2008 to 2026 by Juseleeno

Mr. Juseleeno, born in 1960 (reportedly still alive in 2008), is a Brazilian who has made many predictions, and MOST have come to pass, including Princess Diana's death by car accident (which is instigated by someone near her and will probably unfortunately be written off as a car accident), 911 and the 2004 Indonesian tsunami. He sees the future in his dreams, and has an average of 3 to 9 such predictions per day. When he wakes up, he will write them down, and send warnings to those concerned. If it concerns only a normal individual, he will write a letter to warn him/her. If it is a famous person(celebrity, politician etc.), or matters concerning the public, he will not only send it to the individual himself/herself, but also related agencies, government, and media. He urged the media to publicise these predictions, but the reply always we! nt along the lines of rejection for fear of arousing public panic.

Future predictions:
2008, July: There will be an earthquake in Japan , which will cause a tsunami of 30 plus metres high to occur as well.

2008, 18th September: An earthquake with magnitude of approximately 9.1 will rock China , simultaneously causing a tsunami of more than 30 metres to occur, resulting in the deaths of more than 1 million people. Although this huge earthquake will happen after the Olympics have ended, there will be a series of relatively smaller earthquakes occurring in China before the huge earthquake. The China government, which is more concerned with the success of the Olympics, will most likely neglect to employ appropriate cautionary measures, thus the high casualty rate. If the China government does not publicise the occurrence of these minor earthquakes and evacuate people, the number of deaths will be as predicted.

2008, 17th December: terrorist attack in America 2010: The temperatures in some countries of Africa could be as high as 58 degrees Celsius, and there will be a serious shortage of water.

2010, 15th June: The New York Stock Exchange market will fail, causing an international financial crisis.

2011: The research on the treatment of some cancers will be completed, but a new life-threatening virus will appear. People who are infected will die after only approx. 4 hours of coming into contact with the virus.

2013, 1st – 25th November: Research on treatment of cancers, except for brain tumors, will be completed. An earthquake, caused by volcanic eruptions, will happen on Bahama Island of the Canary Islands . A gigantic tsunami of roughly 150 metres will result. America mainlands, Brazil etc. will be affected, with the tsunami pushing into the land as far as 15 to 20 kilometres. Before the occurrence of this gigantic tsunami, the sea/ocean water levels will sink by about 6 metres, and large flocks of birds will start to migrate.

2014: A small planet that has been gradually closing in on Earth might eventually collide with Earth, and this collision, if come to pass, will affect the survival of humans as a whole.

2015: By the mid of November, the average temperature of Earth could be as high as 59 degrees Celsius. Many people will die from the overheat, and international confusion and terror ensues.

2016, April: A huge typhoon will invade China , causing massive damage. The 43rd USA president, George Walker Bush, will enter the hospital, and faces a life or death situation.

2026, July: A super earthquake will occur in Sans Francisco, and it will be named 'The Big One'. Huge damage to surrounding areas. Many volcanoes will re-activate, and the height of resulting tsunami will be more than 150 metres.

Mr. Juseleeno made known his predictions in hopes that people will take heed of his warnings, so that these disasters may be avoided. He hopes there will be a major change in the thinking of people's mindsets in the time period 2007 – 2008. One factor will be the environmental issue of global warming, which is more serious than what some meteorologists assume.

World's Smallest 5000 Years Calendar on a Key Chain

Mr Ajay Kumar Khaitan, an Electronics Engineer from India has developed the world's smallest "5000 Years Calendar on a Key Chain". It looks like a Pencil Battery & its so simple, even a child can use it without any help. It doesn't require any lens and takes just 5-6 seconds to use it.

The record is self explanatory, its unique, wonderful & amazing. Everybody wonders as to how the 5000 Yrs Calendar can be incorporated on a tiny Key Ring, but after years of R&D works and with the Blessings of Almighty God Mr Khaitan could develop it. You can search "5000 Years Calendar on a Key Ring" through the Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, Altavista etc and you will find 100s of leads starting from the very first page.

It can be made in different shapes & designs such as key chains, pen stands, paper weights etc in different materials such as plastics, woods, glass & metals to fascinate the world. The micro calendar covers all catagories like - corporate gifts, promotion gifts, ad gifts, giftwares, office stationary, calendars, pen stands, metalwares, brasswares, novelty, souvenirs, handicrafts, paper weights, keychains, key rings, free gifts, toys etc to make it the most versatile gift of the world.

The Inventor is also ready to sell the Copyright & Formula of the 5000 Years Wonder Calendar to the interested parties at very nominal fee to enable them to grab the global market with these Wonder Promotions Gifts

Longest Time Breath Held Voluntarily World Record

World champion freediver Tom Sietas endured a nail-biting 17 minutes and 19 seconds underwater on "Live with Regis and Kelly" to set a new Guinness World Record for the Longest Time Breath Held Voluntarily. The German national beat David Blaine's previous record of 17 minutes 4 seconds that was set on The Oprah Winfrey Show in April. By breaking the record, Sietas reclaimed his title as Guinness World Record holder and his position at the top of competitive freediving. The record was part of an international week-long celebration commemorating the launch of the new Guinness World Records book.

Sietas' attempt brought an end to an amazing week of record-breaking on "Live with Regis and Kelly," which included Canadian strongman Kevin Fast setting the record for the Heaviest Vehicle Pulled Over 100 feet with 126,200 lbs, Andrew Dahl blowing away the record for the Most Balloons Inflated By Nose In One Hour with 308 and a presentation to Regis Philbin for the Most Hours on Camera with 16,100 hours. In an inspirational attempt at a record, ultra marathoner and best-selling author, Dean Karnazes, ran for a mind-blowing 211 miles on a treadmill in a 48 hour period falling less than 30 miles short of the current mark of 240.11.

"Working with Guinness World Records I'm used to seeing amazing feats on a regular basis," said Stuart Claxton of Guinness World Records. "But this week, with its non-stop world-class record breaking, from Kevin Fast pulling two semi trucks through the streets of Manhattan to Tom Sietas holding his breath for over a quarter of an hour, these events set a new standard of excellence for Guinness World Records!"

Other records announced with the launch of Guinness World Records 2009 edition, included the crowning of super couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as the World's Most Powerful Actor and Actress, respectively and Britney Spears' title as the Most Searched Person on the Internet. A new World's Shortest Living Man was also revealed. He Pingping, 20, stands at an unbelievable 2 feet 5.37 inches. Pingping traveled to both London and New York to promote the new book.

Calgary Food Bank sets world record

The Calgary Food Bank collected a whale of an amount of food in one day. The food drive yesterday took in more than 200 tonnes of food, or the weight of a blue whale, the heaviest animal on Earth. Food bank spokesman April Cruz said that amount of chow set a new record for the most amount of food collected in a single day.

More than 7,000 volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spent the week distributing bags to nearly 360,000 homes and businesses in Calgary and then returning to pick them up.

Six drop-off locations were also set up throughout the city and donations could be made at most grocery stores.

Volunteer scrutineers were on hand to verify each trailer filled with food brought to the food bank warehouse.

The results will be sent to Guinness World Records' head office in London. The old record of 90 tonnes was held by Regina.

Last year, the food bank serviced 87,202 people and Cruz said that number has gone up slightly this year.

World's Most Expensive Mobile Phone Number

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

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

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

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

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

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

Guinness Book of World Records 2009 Launches

Guinness World Records Book Launches 2009 edition the global Best Seller Returns with Remarkable New Records, All Exclusive Photography and a 3D Perspective!

On 17th September 2008, Guinness World Records releases the 2009 edition of the internationally revered bestseller in the first-ever worldwide launch.

54 years and counting, the globally acclaimed book surpassed Jamie Oliver and Russell Brand during nine consecutive weeks at # 1 on the UK best-seller list in 2007. This year, Guinness World Records 2009 hits the scene even bigger and better than its predecessor with thousands of new and updated records, unique photography and - for the first time ever - 3D special features. In an eclectic mix of content, the upcoming edition remains loyal to old favourites Tallest Living Man, epic journeys such as Fastest Round the World Cycle and record-breaking athleticism The Men’s 100 m, while introducing eye-catching new features such as life-size gatefolds of the new Shortest Man, 3D dinosaurs and pictures, and record sections devoted solely to Harry Potter and celebrities in the “Hollywood Hall of Fame”.

Among pages of brand new achievements, Guinness World Records presents updates on many of its classic records. The 2009 edition reveals Edna Parker (US) as the Oldest Living Person (114 years and 115 days); 105-year old Edith Gulliford (UK) as the Oldest Bridesmaid; and for canine lovers, the Longest Dog, Irish Wolfhound Mon Ami von der Oelmühle, with an impressive nose-to-tail-tip length of 232 cm (91.3 in).

In the cinematic arena, a number of high calibre stars achieved amazing feats. Samuel LJackson set the record for the Highest Grossing Actor with a whopping 68 movies at a totalgross of $7.42 billion (£3.94 billion). Fans of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp (both USA) cancelebrate that the actor/director union between the two became the Most Lucrative Movie Partnership ever formed, as their five blockbuster films netted an amazing £287m ($570.6million). Angelina Jolie seizes last year’s shared record from Jennifer Aniston and goessolo as Most Powerful Actress.

Meanwhile, Jolie’s husband (and Aniston’s ex) Brad Pitttopples Tom Cruise as Most Powerful Actor, clearly crowning “Brangelina” Hollywood’s mostpowerful couple. Other record-breakers include the 21 Bond movies and Transformers (USA, 2007) which mark the Highest Grossing Movie Series and Most Downloaded Movie respectively.

From the world of television, the new edition recognizes Lost (ABC) as the Most Downloaded Show of all time, however, in a bizarre record twist it loses its title for Most Popular TV Show to hospital drama House (Fox), starring Hugh Laurie (UK) as theunconventional maverick Dr Gregory.

In the world of music, fallen pop princess Britney Spears once again creates headlines asshe beats party pal Paris Hilton as the Most Searched Person on the Internet. The UK canalso pride itself on an impressive line-up of British music record-breakers in the upcoming book.

The Sugababes’ single ‘About You Now’ became the First Track by a British Pop Actto Top the Singles Chart solely on the strength of download sales and broke long standing record Biggest Chart Mover to the No.1 Position in the UK jumping from No. 35 to top spotbeating previous record Captian Sensible’s ‘Happy Talk’ from 1982. X Factor winner Leona Lewis seized the spot for Best Selling Debut Album in the UK in One Week by a Female with her debut album Spirit, also creating another new record for Fastest Selling Album to Reach 1 Million Copies in the UK by a Female Artist.

Singer and tabloid favourite Amy Winehouse made it into Guinness World Records 2009 through her achievement for the Most Grammy Awards Won by a British female Act as she took home five of the six awardsthat she was nominated for at the annual LA Grammy Awards show in 2008. However, it’snot just the rising stars of the UK who receive accolades in this year’s edition; Led Zeppelinbroke the world record for the Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert when 20million requests came through the 02 Arena for the one-time reunion show in December2007.

Sir Paul McCartney became the Most Successful Songwriter who has written/cowritten 188 charted records, of which 91 reached the Top 10 and 33 made it to No.1 totalling 1,662 weeks on the chart (up to the beginning of 2008)

Those who count on Guinness World Records to deliver the wacky, weird and bizarre willnot be disappointed! This year’s edition includes the world record for the Youngest Club DJ(7 years and 98 days) the Most Breast Milk Donated by 1 Person (135.5 litres), the Largest Underwater Press Conference (61 journalists) and the Most Dangerous Cheeseto human health, Casu Marzu (''rotten cheese'').

The 2009 Edition also presents a special feature devoted solely to the international phenomenon known as Guinness World Records Day. This day celebrates theanniversary of Guinness World Records officially becoming the biggest best selling copyright book of all time. Last year more than 100,000 people united across the globe to break records and make their mark in Guinness World Records history. This section of the book highlights all of the new achievements recorded on this day in 2007 and providesinformation on how to get involved with Guinness World Records Day 2008 on 13th November.

About Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records is the universally recognized authority on record-breaking achievement. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records book is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages and is one of the highest selling books under copyright of all time with more than 3 million copies sold annually across the globe. Guinness World Records celebrated its 50th anniversary edition in 2004, a year after the sale of its 100 millionth copy. Guinness WorldRecords also annually publishes the Gamer’s Edition; a records book devoted solely to the world of computer gaming and high score record achievements.

The Guinness World Records website (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/) receives more than 11 million visitors a year. Guinness World Records is part of the Jim Pattison Group, one of Canada’s largest privately owned companies whichis a conglomerate of interests, including advertising, broadcasting, grocery stores and automotiveretailing. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PICTURES PLEASE CONTACT: Karolina Thelin or Amarilis Espinoza via email: press@guinnessworldrecords.com Phone: + 44 (0) 207 891 4584/+ 44 (0) 207 891 4516

Worlds Smallest Man meet Longest Legs Women

Standing at just 2ft 5in high, He Pingping, from China, has been officially named the smallest man in the world.

Svetlana Pankratova, meanwhile, owns the longest legs in the world, which stretch to 132cm.

Mr Pingping barely came up to Ms Pankratova's knees at a bizarre photoshoot held to mark the launch of the new Guinness Book of World Records.

But the pair seemed rather happy in each other's company as they posed for photos on Trafalgar Square's steps in central London.

In January 2007, Mr Pingping was invited to take part on a television programme in Tokyo, and has since become somewhat of an icon.

It is rumoured he is now so protective of his image, he refuses to have his photo taken unless he is paid a substantial fee.

While Ms Pankratova might have the longest legs in the world, she is not the tallest. Last month, Sandy Allen, at 7ft 7in, recognized as the world's tallest woman, died aged 53. In July 2007, Pingping, an internet phenomenon, met with the world's tallest man Bao Xishun. Earlier this month, it was revealed the midget who shot to fame as the world's smallest body builder had been snapped up by a leading US talent agent and was bound for Hollywood.

Chuck Harris, who represents over 10,000 of the world's most unusual acts, is convinced Aditya "Romeo" Dev is capable of becoming one Tinseltown's biggest stars.

Worlds Largest Burger Guinness World Record 2008

A Downriver bar has beaten it's own world record for creating the world's largest commercially available hamburger.

Crews from the Guinness World Records were at Mallie's Sports Grill & Bar, 19400 Northline, recently shooting pictures and video at the bar. The bar broke the world's record in February by cooking up a 134-pound hamburger with all the fixings. During the Guinness visit, bar personnel readied another burger -- and this one topped the scale at 164.5 pounds, according to Mike Matkin, manager and the bar and grill.

Because Guinness officials were on hand to witness the event, the new size is officially recognized. The 2009 world's record book is due out Sept. 17.

"We are on page 125," Matkin said. "But with this recent photo shoot we are being told that in the next issue due out early next year we will have a full two-page layout."
The hamburger retails for $350. Orders must be filled 24 hours in advance.

Most Connected Living Hollywood Actor World Record

British actors Hugh Laurie and Christopher Lee have had their status as top Hollywood stars confirmed with entries in the Guinness World Records 2009.

The latest list of record-breaking achievements, which goes on sale on Wednesday, will see 86-year-old acting veteran Lee crowned Most Connected Living Actor.

A database created by the University of Virginia mapped the working relationships between more than a million actors and actresses, and identified Lee as living "in the centre of the Hollywood universe".

London-born Lee, who has been made a CBE, was listed in the 2001 record book as the star with the most screen appearances to his name - after playing about 300 film and TV roles.

He is best-known for playing monstrous roles opposite Peter Cushing in the Hammer horror films, but more recently gained a new generation of fans with roles as wizard Saruman in the Lord Of The Rings films, and Star Wars' Count Dooku.

Hugh Laurie has seen his American hospital drama series House shoot to the top of the ratings and take the crown of Most Popular TV Show from last year's title-holder Lost.

The 49-year-old star has recently signed a new four-year deal to play grumpy doctor Gregory House, which has made him one of the highest paid actors in America - earning more than £220,000 per episode.

Samuel L Jackson has set a new world record for the Highest Grossing Actor with 68 movies earning nearly £4 billion.

The 21 Bond films earned the Highest Grossing Movie Series title, and last years Transformers film is revealed to be the Most Downloaded Movie.

According to the record book Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have become the Most Lucrative Movie Partnership ever formed, with five blockbuster hits netting £287 million.

Most Powerful Hollywood Actor and Actress World Record

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Britney Spears Make Guinness World Records History in New Book 'Brangelina' Named Most Powerful Actors In Hollywood While Britney Takes Record As The Most Searched Person On The Internet In Guinness World Records 2009 Edition

The spotlight is on Hollywood this year as Guinness World Records reveals some record-breaking news about some of the biggest players in "Tinseltown" with the latest installment of its bestselling book -- Guinness World Records 2009 Edition. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Britney Spears lead the pack of superstar celebs honored with some eye-popping accolades that are sure to get people talking.

Never far from a headline, the "Brangelina" duo are best known for their growing brood of children, box office stardom and humanitarian efforts. Angelina Jolie, who jointly held the title with Jennifer Aniston last year, has been crowned the Most Powerful Actress while her husband, Pitt, ended Tom Cruise's four-year reign as the Most Powerful Actor. Guinness World Records new proprietary rating system is calculated based on a 12-month matrix of Google, Yahoo and Factiva searches; IMDBPro news stories and "Star Meter" readings, as well as Forbes earnings and Celebdaq share price, at the time of press.

"In previous editions, we've bestowed celebrity records based on rankings from websites such as Forbes," said Craig Glenday, Editor-In-Chief, Guinness World Records. "Given the obvious interest in entertainment categories we decided to establish our own rating system comprising data from multiple trusted sources for Guinness World Records 2009 to use going forward."

Also in the new edition, Britney Spears continues her current comeback by replacing Paris Hilton as the Most Searched Person on the Internet in 2007. Other entertainment achievements in TV, film and music include: tween sensation Miley Cyrus shattering box office records with the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour earning a record for the Highest Grossing Movie of a Music Tour with $53.4 million in just two weeks. Oprah Winfrey can add Guinness World Record-holder to her impressive portfolio as the award-winning actress, producer and publisher set the world record for the Highest Annual Earnings by a TV Talk Show Host taking in $225 million. The smash reality competition American Idol also claimed top honors for the Most Watched Current TV Show in the USA and the award-winning drama series Heroes set the record for the Most Downloaded TV Show with 2,439,154 downloads.

This world renowned and celebrated annual, Guinness World Records 2009, contains the most comprehensive collection of the greatest and most amazing accomplishments from around the world and beyond. A "must-have" for both knowledge-seekers and aspiring record-breakers of all ages, Guinness World Records 2009 is available September 17th for the suggested retail price of $28.95. For more information about Guinness World Records 2009 or to find out how you can participate in Guinness World Records Day 2008.

Most Participants in a Tetris Tournament set Record

To celebrate its third anniversary, The Personal Computer Museum in Brantford, Ontario has been given the go ahead by the London, England-based Guinness World Records™ corporation and the Tetris® Company, LLC to attempt to establish a new record for the most participants in a Tetris Tournament on September 13, 2008. The event will also feature hands-on stereoscopic 3D (S-3D) gaming demonstrations by Meant to be Seen, the foremost authority group on consumer S-3D technology.

"Tetris" is one of the leading video game brands and franchises in the world. Loved globally by people of all ages and all cultures, "Tetris" continues to be one of the most widely recognized video games of all time.

Over the course of four rounds of competition, participants will attempt the challenge between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. with the top eight contestants being eliminated to a final "face-off" between the top two players. These players will challenge each other in a head-to-head Tetris competition until a final victor is declared.

"'Tetris' is becoming more of a spectator and competitive game than ever before. However, this tournament isn't about how

good you are. We want as many participants as possible, and of course, as much fun as possible," said Syd Bolton, Curator of the Personal Computer Museum.

While "Tetris" is a two dimension game, it is going to be a truly three dimension event. Meant to be Seen will also be demonstrating modern S-3D gaming solutions. Similar to the experience movie goers get in 3D theaters, consumer gamers use S-3D technology at home for superior game immersion, visual beauty and game enjoyment. Explosions flying out of the screen and depth that makes the screen look like a window rather than a flat projection are samples of S-3D gaming. Available hardware includes iZ3D 3D monitors, TDVision head mounted displays, and a growing selection of 3D HDTVs by Samsung, SpectronIQ, and more.

"There is a lot of excitement around these new 3D gaming technologies, and this will add a lot of fun to the event," said Neil Schneider, President & CEO of Meant to be Seen.

The Tetris Company's licensing agent Blue Planet Software, Inc. will also be working with the Personal Computer Museum to make the event an energy neutral one because the Tetris® brand is a proud supporter of clean energy initiatives.

Special displays including a children's area, a unique "Tetris® Video Wall" and video documentaries as well as free tours of the museum will ensure a fun day for the whole family. The personal computer museum has over 300 functioning computers and gaming systems dating back to 1976.

Interested parties can register the day of the competition, or to save time early registration is available on the web at http://www.tetristournament.ca/. A $5 registration fee is required for all participants, and all registrants will receive an official participation certificate after the event.

To learn more about the Personal Computer Museum, visit http://www.pcmuseum.ca/ or call (519) 753-8825.

Tetris Holding, LLC is the owner of, and The Tetris Company, LLC is the exclusive licensor of Tetris worldwide. The Tetris Company, through its agent Blue Planet Software, Inc., licenses and manages the Tetris intellectual property and franchise worldwide. Blue Planet Software works with licensees to deliver top quality products that are relevant, fun and challenging. For the latest information about "Tetris" and Tetris products, please visit http://www.tetris.com/.

Meant to be Seen is made possible by unrestricted education grants from iZ3D LLC (http://www.iz3d.com/) and TDVision Corp (http://www.tdvisioncorp.com/). iZ3D LLC manufactures the leading stereoscopic 3D gaming monitor, and develop popular S-3D software driver solutions. TDVision Corp. makes TDVisor head mounted displays, and are the creators of TDVCodec, an S-3D encoding system used in 3D film distribution.

Non-proprietary in nature, MTBS welcomes additional industry involvement to help grow the popularity and effective use of consumer stereoscopic 3D technologies.

All interested stereoscopic 3D consumers (e.g. gamers, 3D movie goers), game developers, and gaming media are encouraged to learn more about MTBS and what stereoscopic 3D has to offer by visiting www.mtbs3d.com

Large Hadron Collider - Worlds Biggest Physics Experiment

International scientists celebrated the successful start of a huge particle-smashing machine on Wednesday aiming to recreate the conditions of the "Big Bang" that created the universe.

Experiments using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the biggest and most complex machine ever made, could revamp modern physics and unlock secrets about the universe and its origins.

The project has had to work hard to deny suggestions by some critics that the experiment could create tiny black holes of intense gravity that could suck in the whole planet.

Such fears, fanned by doomsday writers, have spurred huge interest in particle physics before the machine's start-up. Leading scientists have dismissed such concerns as "nonsense."

The debut of the machine that cost 10 billion Swiss francs ($9 billion) registered as a blip on a control room screen at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, at about 9:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. EDT).

"We've got a beam on the LHC," project leader Lyn Evans told his colleagues, who burst into applause at the news.

The physicists and technicians huddled in the control room cheered loudly again an hour later when the particle beam completed a clockwise trajectory of the accelerator, successfully completing the machine's first major task.

Eventually, the scientists want to send beams in both directions to create tiny collisions at nearly the speed of light, an attempt to recreate on a miniature scale the heat and energy of the Big Bang, a concept of the origin of the universe that dominates scientific thinking.

The Big Bang is thought to have occurred 15 billion years ago when an unimaginably dense and hot object the size of a small coin exploded in a void, spewing out matter that expanded rapidly to create stars, planets and eventually life on Earth.

SLIGHT HICCUP
Problems with the LHC's magnets caused its temperature -- which is kept at minus 271.3 degrees Celsius (minus 456.3 degrees Fahrenheit) -- to fluctuate slightly, delaying efforts to send a particle beam in the counter-clockwise direction. The beam started its progression and then was halted.

"This is a hiccup, not a major thing," Rudiger Schmidt, CERN's head of hardware commissioning, told reporters, adding the second rotation should be completed on Wednesday afternoon.

Evans, who wore jeans and running shoes to the start-up, declined to say when those high-energy clashes would begin.

"I don't know how long it will take," he said. "I think what has happened this morning bodes very well that it will go quickly ... This is a machine of enormous complexity. Things can go wrong at any time. But this morning we had a great start."

Once the particle-smashing experiment gets to full speed, data measuring the location of particles to a few millionths of a meter, and the passage of time to billionths of a second, will show how the particles come together, fly apart, or dissolve.

It is in these conditions that scientists hope to find fairly quickly a theoretical particle known as the Higgs Boson, named after Scottish scientist Peter Higgs who first proposed it in 1964, as the answer to the mystery of how matter gains mass.

Large Hadron Collider - LHC Interesting Facts

Roger Highfield draws together a range of interesting facts about the Large Hadron Collider atom smasher at CERN

* The £4.5 billion machine has a circumference of 27 km (17 miles) and lies an average of 100 metres (330 feet) under the ground, straddling French and Swiss territory. advertisement

* At full power, trillions of protons - subatomic particles - will race around the LHC accelerator ring 11,245 times a second. It is capable of achieving 600 million collisions every second.

* The machine counts as the world's largest fridge. All the magnets will be pre-cooled to -193.2°C (80 K) using 10,080 tons of liquid nitrogen, before they are filled with nearly 60 tons of liquid helium to bring them down to -271.3°C (1.9 K).

* The LHC is the emptiest place in the Solar System too. To avoid colliding with gas molecules inside the accelerator, the beams of particles travel in an ultra-high vacuum - the internal pressure of the LHC is 10-13 atmospheres, ten times less than the pressure on the Moon.

* When two beams of protons collide, they will generate temperatures more than 100,000 times hotter than the heart of the sun, concentrated within a miniscule space.

* When the experiments get running at the LHC, the four great "eyes" of the machine start observing collisions, they will generate 15 million gigabytes of data every year, that is equivalent to one thousand times the information printed in the form of books annually.

* A network of around 80,000 computers worldwide is being readied for a deluge of data that could fill a stack of CDs more than 12 miles (20 kilometres) tall.

School Girl has set Snail Balancing Guinness World Record

A SCHOOLGIRL has set a new world record - by having 25 slimy snails slither over her eyes, nose and mouth.

Tiana Walton, 9, of Pye Corner Farm, Alvanley, is awaiting official confirmation that she is a record breaker for keeping snails on her face.

Guinness Book of Records rules state that the competitor has just one minute to put the snails on their face before tipping their heads forward for 10 seconds.

On Thursday 25 garden snails clung to Tiana’s face, smashing Australian Liam Kenny’s record of 15. Tiana’s previous personal best was nine.

Animal loving Tiana, who next week starts year five at Abbey Gate School, said: "I am not squeamish. It is relaxing but it feels a bit cold. They are quite smelly and you can see their big long eyes facing you. I think my friends at school will say "urgh".

"I might try a different one now, or I would like to go the Olympics and be a gymnast."

Asked whether she thought her new record would be beaten, Tiana added: "I don’t think many people will be bothered about putting snails on their face!"

Setting records runs in the family as Tiana’s mother, Tommy, herself appeared in the Guinness Book Of World Records for growing the largest lemon in the world.

Tommy said: "When I was her age in 1980 I was on the front cover for growing a lemon weighing 3Ib 14oz.

"She was always interested in the book. This was the only record she thought she could break."

Tiana’s dad Simon helped Tommy put the snails on their daughter’s face.

Frodsham solicitor Mike Daly and Alvanley vet Ken Robinson witnessed the attempt and ensured no snails were harmed.

Mr Robinson, who is donating his payment to Guide Dogs for the Blind, said: "It is a superb achievement and all the snails have been treated to a gourmet meal."

Worlds Longest Cucumber Guinness World Record

The 36.1in cucumber was grown by Alf Cobb who beat his own record of 35.1in at the National Amateur Gardening Show at the Bath and West Showground in south-west England.

Farmer Ken Dade's marrow tipped the scales at 143lb (65kg) – more than 30 times heavier than the 4.4lb variety found in supermarkets and almost 7lb heavier than the previous world record, set by a fellow British grower, Mark Baggs, at the same event in 2005.

The marrow needed two men to carry it on to the display table. Both vegetables will now be added to the Guinness World Records.

Ray Davey, the giant vegetable co-ordinator and steward of the Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Marquee, said: "I know the crowd will enjoy the display. They just gasp when they come in here. It's always full of people."

Growers from around the world visit the annual event, which includes the giant fruit and vegetable competition as its highlight.

Last month organisers were optimistic that the event would set records because this summer's mix of moderate sunshine punctuated by rain showers has provided the perfect conditions for growing marrows, runner beans and cucumbers.

David Thomas's pumpkin weighed 464lb – more than 440lb heavier than those that are commonly grown. Mr Thomas won first place in the show, but failed to snatch a record.

His vegetable was only a quarter of the size of the world record holder and half the size of last year's winner. He said: "It hasn't been the best year for the pumpkin, too much rain and not enough sun.

"I had the seed from last year's winning pumpkin but you can't do anything about the weather."

The giant vegetables will remain on display at the event, in Shepton Mallet, Somerset.

Source : Telegraph

World Longest BLT Sandwich Guinness World Record

WINDSOR – The town that brought us the world’s largest pumpkin pie and the biggest apple pie in America was shooting for the longest BLT sandwich on Sunday.

At the Windsor Farmers Market, students from the Windsor High School Culinary Arts program slathered chewy French bread with mayonnaise and layered the tasty bed with juicy heirloom tomatoes and mixed lettuce greens.

And on top, 120 pounds of sliced, hand-cured, pork belly bacon.

“To me, it’s all about the sweet taste of the tomato and the salty, smoky flavors of the bacon,” said Jeff Mall, chef and owner of Zin restaurant in Healdsburg, who cures his own bacon and donated it to Sunday’s cause. “And good bread and good mayonnaise just make it.”

Marie Ganister, director of the culinary program, said the students will apply to Guinness World Records for the largest BLT ever. Sunday’s was 146 feet.

A check of the record-keepers’ Web site had no listings Sunday for a bacon-based sandwich. A “largest sandwich” entry details a 5,440-pounder made at Wild Woody’s Chill and Grill in Roseville, Mich., in 2005. It gives no indication of what was inside the behemoth.

With a line of hungry Sunday brunchers lined up, Ganister readied her students for the final step, putting both sides of the sandwich together.

“OK everybody,” she said, a length of BLT for as long as she could see to either side. “Close your sandwich!” At $5 a slice, the potential history-maker served as a fund-raiser for the 160-student culinary program.

“How sweet it is,” said Windsor Town Councilman Sam Salmon, tucking into the BLT’s

ceremonial first slice. “I like good bread. I like tomatoes. I like lettuce. Mmm, mmm, mmm.”

Windsor’s BLT record attempt follows on the heels of 2006’s 500-pound apple pie and what was billed as the world’s largest-diameter pumpkin pie in 2003.

The sandwich fest was part of the summertime Windsor Farmers Market, which celebrated the seventh Annual Tomato and Pepper Festival Sunday.

Market attendees also were able to escape the heat — at least in fantasy — with Beach-Boys-style tunes from the California Beach Party band.

Bella - Worlds Oldest Dog Dies at 29

Bella, a Labrador cross, was bought by David Richardson from the RSPCA, 26 years ago when she was three years old.

She had lived with Mr Richardson, 76, and his partner Daisy, 81, since 1982 in Clay Cross, Derbyshire.

But she was put down on Saturday following a heart attack while on holiday with the couple.
Until Bella the record for the oldest dog was held by Butch, a 28-year-old from America who died in 2003, according to the Guinness World Records. Officially, the oldest ever dog was Bluey, a sheepdog from Australia, who lived to 29.

Although Mr Richardson, from Clay Cross, has no official documentation to prove Bella's age, he insists she was 29.

"We had just come up to Mablethorpe – we always go to the same place on holiday because we can take the dogs," said Mr Richardson.

"We had barely been here for an hour when Bella started panting and yelping and collapsed in front of the sofa.

"We took Bella to the vet but she was so ill she had to be put to sleep. It was very upsetting. We will miss her a lot.

"Lots of people came to see us and to wish Bella goodbye. Our friends and neighbours were very fond of her,

The RSPCA does not hold records stretching back to when Mr Richardson bought Bella and the Guinness World Records says Bella could not have been included because their was no documentation.

Source : Telegraph

Releated Animal World Records
Dog Guinness world records
Worlds Biggest Horse Guinness World Records 2008

Worlds Biggest Cork Mosaic Guinness World Records

Albanian artist Saimir Strati glued 229,764 corks of various shapes and colours over a plastic banner measuring 12.94 metres by 7.1 metres to show "Romeo with a crown of grapes playing the guitar while dancing with the sea and the sun".

He worked 14 hours of work a day for 28 days and completed his project.

"It gives me a personal pleasure to declare that Mr. Saimir Strati has set today the new Guinness world record for the largest cork mosaic," Guinness adjudicator Carlos Martinez said.
Albanians have been following Strati's third world record attempt much more closely than his previous two record-breaking pieces of art, a portrait with nails of Leonardo Da Vinci and a galloping horse made with toothpicks.

"I love mosaics, they are a dying genre. I follow the same technique used 3,000 years ago," said Strati. "A mosaic requires you to work for a long time and keep the emotion alive."

"I also wanted to appeal to Mediterranean countries not to create mosaics based on computer pixels, but as our forefathers did. The Mediterranean is the home of the mosaic."

His 25-year-old mosaic collection features one created with fragments of egg shells and a portrait of Elvis Presley, made with compact discs.

The artist did his latest work in a local hotel, where he told visitors: "Drink, because I need the corks."

Worlds Largest Marrow Guinness World Record

Grown by Ken Dade in Norfolk, the 65kg (113lbs) vegetable needed two men to carry it to a stand at the National Amateur Gardening Show in Somerset.

The oversized knobbly-skinned marrow was likened to a Doctor Who monster.

But the voluptuous vegetable has entered the Guinness World Records book, beating the previous world title holder by 3kg.

The vegetable is being exhibited at a giant vegetable contest at the Royal Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet at the weekend. Experts said the marrow had benefited from this year's weather resulting in its mammoth size.

Source : BBC.co.uk

Longest Darts Marathon Guinness World Record

JEFF Garland and three of his mates hit the bullseye on the weekend when they broke the world record for the longest darts marathon.

The group played in a specially constructed tent at Erina Fair for 25 hours and 34 minutes, easily beating the previous mark set in England last year by 90 minutes.

Mr Garland said while the group had sore arms they were happy to hold the record and raise money in the process.

"We battled through the rain and the cold but eventually got there. All the boys enjoyed a round of beers when we got home," Mr Garland said.

So far they have raised $4500 for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter service.

Mr Garland's next world record attempt will be as part of a cricket match between two teams made up of local police officers.

Googlers Gathered in Rhodes to set a Guinness Record

This Sunday, Google turns 10 and thousands of Google employees fled to the island of Rhodes for some kind of gathering. In one of their activities, 2.500 Googlers gathered yesterday at Kallipateira athletic venue, in front of the Guinness Record book representatives, to set a new world record in syrtaki, a traditional Greek dance also known as the Zorba. The previous record was held by 1.608 Australians.

Samsung INNOV8 Mobile Phone Guinness World Record

Samsung INNOV8 or i8510, which comes with 8MP camera has become a part of an amazing Guinness Vietnam Record with Vietnam local photographer, Hoang Trung Thuy. Together they have succeed to capture and print “the biggest photo captured ever by a mobile phone”. The photo itself has been printed on 86 x 115 cm paper and showed off at the Samsung INNOV8 launch event in Vietnam.

CNet Asia’s representatives, which attended that event, even dare to say that the image quality of INNOV8 is comparable to that from a semi-professional photographer. However, they also added that it would even better if Samsung enhance its INNOV8 camera quality so that it can reach a better result than this.

8MP Mobile Carnival

Aside from this Guinness Record creation, I’ve also found something interesting here; the 8MP camera mobile phone carnival is just about to come. The first 8MP camera that has been officially launched in this year is C905 series from Sony Ericsson. Later, Samsung respond its Japanese-Sweden rival by unveiling its INNOV8 not long after that. And of course, yesterday I’ve just published a preview on LG’s 8MP camera, KC910 series.

Actually, other manufacturer like Motorola has also been rumored to launch its own 8MP camera. The giant Motorola itself has a leaked image in blogosphere on its 8MP series, Moto Alexander! BGR got its images on August 5th this year.

Longest Tennis Rally World Record set by Twin Brothers

It took 14 hours and 31 minutes to set a new, official Guinness World Record™ of 25,944 consecutive strokes and to bring the record back to the United States.

NORTH HAVEN, CT - Identical twin brothers and USPTA certified tennis teaching professionals, Angelo A. and Ettore Rossetti broke the Guinness World Record™ for the longest tennis rally and finished early Sunday morning, August 10 at North Haven Health & Racquet.

Last August 18-19, the brothers had set the U.S. record of 19,490 successful rallies over the span of two days, taking 10 hours and 38 minutes. This year the Rossetti Brothers more than doubled the 7 hours it took for the past world record set in 2005, eclipsing the world record by 1,248 strokes. The previous two records were from the UK and Germany.

The rally was part of USPTA's Tennis Across America which included Cardio Tennis, team clinics, private lessons, fast serve contest and open court time. In addition, it was recognized as an official Lessons for Life fund raiser. These activities are part of USPTA's Tennis for the Health of it, it's theme for 2008. "We are so pleased and excited to be a part of this admirable event," stated Stephen Tagliatela, one of the owners of North Haven Health & Racquet.

Tennis teaching pros Steve Rogers, Steve O'Connell, Paul Coorssen, Al "Skip" South, Bryan Adinolfi, Mike McManus, Paul Brower, and Mike Quitko were on hand to teach the clinics and support the attempt. The event an official Rally for the Cure®, a grassroots partnership between Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Conde Naste Publications.

The head counter this year was Tom Ettorre assisted by his two sons and a volunteer crew of clickers. He coordinated the team of counters throughout the day and evening. Given the duration of the attempt, volunteer counters had to rotate shifts.

During the event, there were fund raisers to benefit charity including a car wash, point-of-a-sale tennis ball donations, tennis lessons and a silent auction. A partial list of auction items included: two signed items by Roger Federer, one signed tennis ball by Andre Agassi, JetBlue airline tickets and Prince tennis racquets, a case of Pro Penn tennis balls and Wolf Blass wine and a Connecticut Sun autographed team jersey.

The Rossettis are still counting the money they raised for charity while they continue to raise money toward their new goal of $25,944 to match the number of strokes they hit in the rally through December 31. "We did our part" said Ettore Rossetti, who also works for Save the Children as Associate Director of Internet Communications and Marketing. Contributions are still being accepted online at RossettBrothersTennis.org. The four charity beneficiaries are: ALS Association, Save the Children, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation.

Said Ettore, we realized Christopher Reeve's quote: "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."

Shortly after 12 a.m. midnight, Angelo said to the fans and supporters "You have given us your shoulders to stand on to reach our dreams", paraphrasing Andre Agassi's retirement speech in 2006.

During this feat of skill and endurance, the twins struck one tennis ball, a Penn 4, continuously in play for 14 hours and 31 minutes without breaks for water, food or the restroom. By the conclusion of the rally, the effort took a toll on the ball as well, which by the end was worn down to its dark brown rubber surface.

Not only did the Rossettis have an answer for the world record but they had answers for the two most commonly asked questions over the past year resulting from last year's attempt. The Rossetti Brothers had a plan of not missing and not having to use the bathroom.

The two questions had inevitably been "How did you go to the bathroom?" and "Who missed?" They aired on the side of dehydration and starvation rather than have to succumb mother nature. As far as not missing, they instructed the counters to tell them when they had an even number of strokes just after midnight. So once the clock showed 12:01 a.m. on Sunday August 10, Angelo let the ball pass without even making an attempt at it, thus preserving the fact that neither Rossetti twin missed a shot.

They each struck the identical number of shots, 12,972, which is apropos since they are identical twins. The twins ultimately displayed the epitome of sportsmanship by showing everyone that it was a team effort and had nothing to do with missing or having one person outdo the other.

Sponsors of the event were: USPTA (United States Professional Tennis Association), Prince racquets, Pro Penn tennis balls, North Haven Health & Racquet club, JetBlue airlines, Pilot Pen Tennis and Wolf Blass wine.

The effort is to honor the late USPTA tennis teaching pro Scott B. Wilson who died of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in July 2005 and to Tim Gullikson who died of brain cancer in May 1996. It is dedicated to survivors and victims of ALS, brain cancer and breast cancer along with the up to 26,000 children who die largely from preventable or treatable causes around the world.