Australians were among thousands of people across the globe who attempted to break curious world records by stripping down to bikinis, cuddling strangers in railway stations and dragging buses with their hair.
From Down Under to China, Britain, Egypt, Lebanon and Tennessee, people put their scalps, stomachs and reputations on the line.
The antics were all in the name of the fifth annual Guinness World Records Day, with hopefuls trying to secure a spot in the next edition of their famous Guinness World Records book.
"It's a wonderful feeling knowing that so many hundreds of thousands of people around the world are taking in part in fun, inspirational, courageous and awe-inspiring record attempts," said editor-in-chief Craig Glenday.
"Ironman" Manjit Singh set a record by dragging an 8.5-tonne bus some 21.2 metres with his hair in London.
It was something of a comeback for the 59-year-old, who failed to break the record for pulling a bus with his ears two years ago.
"I will never be discouraged by defeat because I know that success can be waiting around the next corner," he said.
Meanwhile 112 people, including total strangers commuting to work, set a record at London's St Pancras station as they hugged for a minute.
Outside the Sydney Opera House, 235 people stripped down to their bikinis and swimming trunks but they were 47 people short of setting a new swimwear parade record.
New Zealand's Alistair Galpin set three records: spitting a champagne cork five metres, blowing a Malteser lolly 11.295 metres with a straw and blowing a coin 37.6 centimetres.
In China, Tao Yongming drove his motorcycle up a sand dune in six minutes and two seconds while in Beirut, Toufic Daher made the tallest matchstick model.
Hesham Nessim got his vehicle across the Egyptian western desert in 13 hours and 33 minutes while in Helsinki people from 76 nationalities squeezed into a sauna.
The largest gingerbread man (651 kilograms) was baked in Oslo, while in Denmark, Jim Lyngvild peeled and ate three lemons in 28.5 seconds.
In Milan, the record for the largest pizza base stretch in one minute was set at 42 centimetres, while Ernesto Cesario wolfed down a bowl of past in 90 seconds.
In the United States, 23 people in Fort Worth, Texas, broke the record for lassoing simultaneously, while in Memphis, 297 people set the benchmark for the largest cheerleading dance.
In New York, the largest cup of hot chocolate record hit four gallons (15 litres) and 1,817 lipstick prints were collected in 12 hours across the city.
Nine-year-old from Gurgaon wins nationwide contest to design search engine's homepage logo for November 14It took 90 days, over 4,000 entries and 60,000 votes for India to get its first local doodle, which will be displayed on Google's homepage on November 14, to mark Children's Day.
The peacock in my artwork describes the vibrant Indian culture. With 'O' I have tried to represent the country's success in discovering water on Moon.""In the other 'g' I have depicted Kashmir, the crown of India. 'I' shows the Amar Jawan Jyoti that reminds us of the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers. And we cannot think of India without Mahatma Gandhi so I have dedicated 'E' to him," Puru said.Puru gives the credit of his win to his mother Arti. "We are proud his creation has been selected and will be on Google's homepage for a day," said Puru's parents Navin Pratap Singh and Arti. Puru has also been awarded a laptop, a t-shirt with his doodle and Rs 1,00,000 as technology grant for his school.What's it all aboutA Google doodle is a creative logo that appears on special days, to commemorate scientific and artistic achievements or historic or seasonal events.Doodles for all In August this year, Google India launched a doodling competition called Doodle4Google. Open to students from Class 1 to X, the contest was judged by a panel comprising renowned cartoonist N Ponnappa, artist Raghava KK and the faculty of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
This preschooler has abs - and skills - that even men three times his age can't beat.
Giuliano Stroe, a 5-year-old boy from Romania, has gotten himself into the Guinness World Records. His feat? Hand walking. Giuliano performed the fastest-ever 10m (33 feet) hand walk with a weight ball between his legs, the Daily Mail reports.
The boy, who showcased his skills on an Italian TV show, has become a YouTube sensation.
Giuliano has been training since he was 2 in the town in Italy where his family lives.
"He has been going to the gym with me ever since he was born. I always took him with me when I went training," the boy's father, Iulian Stroe, 33, told the paper.
Stroe insists his son's workout schedule isn't excessive.
"He is never allowed to practice on his own. He is only a child, and if he gets tired, we go and play."
Giuliano says his newfound celebrity has not gone to his head. He adds that he still does normal five-year-old activities like watching cartoons and painting.
A violinist from south China's city of Guangzhou expects to break current Guinness World Records with his 1cm mini violin he made after seven years of hard work, the Guanghzou Daily reports.
The mini violin made by 66-year-old senior violinist Chen Lianzhi, has got a 1-centimeter-long body, which is much smaller than the current Guinness record holder whose violin was about 2.2-cenitmeter size.
Born into a family of musicians, Chen began playing music at age nine and is especially skilled at violin. He had already made a 3.55-centimeter violin seven years ago.
"Compared with the common violins of 35.5-centimeter-long bodies, these mini violins, called ant's violins, are so small, but they consist of all the over thirty components of common violins," Chen told the Guangzhou Daily.
Chen used a 0.1-milimeter drill point to shape a piece of maple the size of a thumbnail, and finally joined all the components together with glue.
"Anyhow, the strings of the mini violin are so thin and it is not easy to play sound music." Chen admitted.
Richard “Hyker” LaRiviere claims to have the largest movie camera collection in the world and on the weekend of November 6 he’s going to prove it.
He’s hoping to get into the Guinness World Book of Records with his collection when it is counted and certified at the new Beaux Arts, a former antique shop, at 709 S. Missouri Ave. in Clearwater. The three-day event will also include an 18-hour video marathon with projectors showing short films produced by area film groups and other sources.
Friday and Saturday (November 6-7) events start at 6 p.m., Sunday (November 8) at noon to 6 p.m. for the public to view the mammoth camera collection, set pieces and props on display from such films as Cleopatra, Corpse Bride, Gangs of New York and the Tarzan series. The camera count will be Friday (November 6) at 8 p.m. A single price of $10 gets you into all three days.
LaRiviere says the purpose of the celebration is to provide a venue and forum for the challenge, as well as to promote film and television groups and production in the Tampa Bay area, and promote networking of industry related groups. Monies raised will be used as a fundraiser for the Museum of Motion Pictures and Television.
An added attraction will be the opening of the latest revival of one of St. Pete’s most famous watering holes for the area’s artist fringe. The Beaux Arts was once the home-away-from-home of such stars as Jim Morrison, Jack Kerouac, and occasionally even Marilyn Monroe. The new facilities, like its famed predecessor, will be open to artists, photographers, filmmakers, musician and performers of any and all art forms who will be able to exhibit their work in the new contemporary exhibition space and cultural events center.
The owners, Jay “Hunter” Loiselle and Chris Skillman say that the new Beaux Arts will exist “to foster an inclusive art culture that incorporates a cross-pollination of art, music, film, writing, sound and performance. In providing a platform for these different media to co-exist in dialogue and without hierarchy, Beaux Arts encourages experimentation and risk-taking in the pursuit of excellence in contemporary art practice.”
For more info on Beaux Arts, call Loiselle at 813-251-6444 or Skillman at 727-520-4102. For more on the film fest, email Richard “Hyker” LaRiviere at luvfilms[at]gmail.com or visit www.MoMPT.com.
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