World's Largest Cup of Soft Drink Guinness World Record

The Chick-fil-A(R) restaurant at Eastside Market has found a bigger-than-life way to commemorate a relatively little-known holiday, raising eyebrows and thousands of dollars in charitable donations in the process. In recognition of "National Lemonade Day" (Aug. 20), Chick-fil-A franchise Operator Arthur Greeno and his restaurant team members set a new Guinness World Record earlier today by creating an 839-gallon cup of lemonade.

The colossal concoction, created using the recipe for the chain's popular freshly squeezed Chick-fil-A(R) Lemonade, was officially certified late this morning by Guinness Book of World Records representative Danny Girton Jr. during an event held at the restaurant. The record-setting refreshment was mixed in a nearly 1,100-gallon fiberglass cup designed to resemble Chick-fil-A's signature foam cup and contained 1,050 lbs. (2,175 cups) of sugar, 580 gallons of water, 250 lbs. of ice and 11,730 Sunkist(R) lemons that yielded 145 gallons of lemon juice. The beverage was officially recognized as setting a Guinness World Record for the Largest Cup of Soft Drink, eclipsing the previous record held by Rob Greenlee of the Florida Department of Citrus who concocted a 611.18 gallon cup of orange juice on April 22, 1998.

"I'm extremely proud of my team members for all of their hard work, and I owe a debt of gratitude to those local businesses and individuals responsible for helping me achieve this ambitious goal," said Greeno of his Guinness Record-setting feat. "The community truly came together and helped in countless ways to achieve this record, as well as to raise money for a worthwhile local cause."

After official measurements were taken, the record-setting lemonade supplied several "Sunkist Take a Stand" lemonade stands set up outside the restaurant as a way to collect charitable donations to benefit Little Light House, a Tulsa-based developmental center serving young children with special needs, from birth through six years old. The lemonade stand fundraising goal of $10,000 was achieved on event day, with additional funds still coming in.

"When Arthur approached us with the idea to pursue the Guinness World Record for the largest glass of lemonade, we were quickly won over by his enthusiasm and commitment to achieving this ambitious goal," said Sunkist representative Sarah Matejowsky. "We quickly coordinated the delivery of 108 complimentary crates of lemons [approximately 12,400 lemons] and helped spearhead Arthur's charitable efforts as part of our 'Take a Stand' initiative. We couldn't be prouder to be part of such a fun and worthwhile endeavor."

Greeno and his restaurant team members are no strangers to larger-than-life exploits. Last year, Greeno and his team created a 130-gallon Hand-Spun Milkshake -- while the feat did not achieve a Guinness World Record, it certainly turned heads in Tulsa.

With several freshly prepared items to choose from on Chick-fil-A's menu, Greeno shouldn't run out of ideas for record-setting attempts any time soon. When asked if he planned to follow up this latest feat with a future attempt, Greeno responded, "I wouldn't rule it out."

Source :

www.sunkist.com

www.chick-fil-a.com

Fastest Hair Cutting World Record set by Buffalo Grove

After watching the Olympics, Ivan Zoot of Buffalo Grove no longer could sit on the sidelines.

He was determined to reclaim his own world records. So he grabbed his clippers and started cutting.

Ten years ago, Zoot broke the Guinness Record for fastest haircut ­- 2 minutes and 9 seconds - as well as giving the most haircuts in one hour, 22. In 2000, he went on to establish the world record in giving the most haircuts in a nonstop, 24-hour period: 144.

He adopted the nickname, Clipper Guy, and has drawn interest in his blogs and books on the subject.

However, in recent years, he has seen all three records broken.

On Aug. 23, Zoot attempted to set new Guinness Records in professional hair cutting, in a marathon that took place at Roosters Men's Grooming Center in Austin, Texas, which hosted the event.

"I was determined to reclaim the records that I held," Zoot says. "I want to be able to say that I am the world authority on hair cutting productivity."

Zoot now is in the process of providing Guinness Record officials with all the supporting evidence to back up his record attempts, including eye witness accounts and video footage of the events.

Jamie Panas, of the New York office of Guinness World Records, confirms Zoot's attempts, but she says the records management team still is assessing all of the evidence before declaring them records.

For the fastest hair cut, he completed it in 55 seconds. Moving on to the most haircuts in an hour, Zoot shattered his old record, by cutting 34.

For his 24-hour marathon, Zoot performed a whopping number of 340 haircuts, beating the previous world record of 300, set last year.

Proceeds from the marathon clipping event benefited a nonprofit organization called Children With Hair Loss, which provides hair replacement wigs to children in need, free of charge, as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas.

Regina Villemure, founder and CEO of Children With Hair Loss, swept hair by Zoot's side, for the 24-hour marathon.

"It was mind boggling to watch. He is incredibly fast - and good," Villemure says, who was haircut No. 230. "They were all precision cuts, not buzz cuts."

Zoot comes by his speedy clipping skills after years of working in the industry as a licensed cosmetologist and barber, and a former salon manager and owner.

For the last four years, he has served as the director of education and training at Andis Company, a family owned company in Racine that makes electronic hair cutting tools.

Every week, Zoot travels across the country and around the world demonstrating hair cutting at industry shows. He uses Andis clippers in a method he has designed that incorporates an economy of motion while producing a first-rate cut.

Ironically, Zoot left a job in sales to enter the hair industry. The son of a dentist, who grew up more fascinated with cars than hair, he figured his adeptness at working with his hands and tools would make the transition to hair cutting easily.

While working as a salesman, Zoot realized he never had a haircut he liked. He liked the salon he frequented well enough, as well as his stylist, and all of the amenities, but he figured there was a better way to do things.

"I recognized that the haircutting business was more about sales and knowing people than about hair," Zoot says. "I knew about both, so it seemed like it might be a good fit for me."

He expects to publish his latest book on the subject, appropriately called, "Clipper Guy Says ... Pick Up the Pace," soon.

Lowest Fuel Consumption on a Trip around the U.S World Record

Husband and wife team John and Helen Taylor struck out from Chantilly, Virginia today on a 23-day, 8000 mile loop around the 48 contiguous states in an attempt to break the Guiness World Record for the lowest fuel consumption on a trip around the U.S. The current record stands at 51.8 mpg.

Breaking fuel mileage records is nothing new for the Taylors. The Australian couple has been setting and breaking records around the world for 26 years. They hold 36 world records and have made records in South Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and their native Australia. In 2006, they set a world record driving around the globe in a Volkswagen Golf on only 24 tanks of gas.

This time, their weapon of choice is a brand new 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. The EPA rates the first 50-state-legal clean diesel at 29 mpg city and 40 mpg highway, though third-party tester AMCI was able to do 38 mpg city and 44 mpg highway. The Taylors are confident that their years of experience in frugal driving will help them squeeze a few extra miles out of each gallon and take home the record.

"It will be a great challenge and adventure to drive through the 48 U.S. mainland states," Helen said. "We want to educate the American public that by choosing the right car, using the right fuel and adopting fuel-saving driving techniques, everyone in the U.S. can save money, fuel and reduce carbon emissions."

The journey will take them in a counter-clockwise circle around the U.S., and they'll be required to stop at least 12 times for refueling and official check-ins. The couple left Virginia today and will stop in Vermont, Ohio, Iowa, South Dakota, Montana, Nevada, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Illinois, Louisiana and end in West Virginia on September 26.

"We're thrilled that the Taylors have chosen our all-new clean diesel Jetta TDI in their attempt at setting a new Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption," said Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volkswagen of America. "We believe our Jetta TDIs truly offer a no-compromise alternative fuel driving experience that provides our customers the best of both worlds-excellent fuel efficiency combined with a dynamic driving experience. We're excited to see the tremendous fuel efficiency that the Taylors will get as they set a new world record. We wish the Taylors the best of luck and a safe journey."

Source: Volkswagen

Latest Car Guinness World Records 2008