Record Breakers

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Meet the Midnight Rider - the world's biggest limo with room for 40 guests... and even pole dancing
13th January 2011

Any hens or stags planning on hiring a limousine to celebrate their nuptials should feast their eyes on this souped up mega monster... complete with pole for would-be dancers. The Midnight Rider is officially the world's heaviest limo according to the 2011 Guinness Book of Records and could also be the biggest. At 70ft long, the 13ft high behemoth has 22 wheels and weighs a hefty 22.7 tons. Boasting room for 40 hard-partying revellers, the Midnight Rider has also popped the champagne cork for being the tallest as well as the largest limousine for hire.

Owner Pamela Bartholomew Machado, from California, said: 'It's the world's grandest limousine, boasting 460sq ft of pure luxury, and is the only one of its kind. It's more like a travelling nightclub, even though it's classified as a limo.'

Those lucky enough to afford the £650-an-hour rental fees can expect to be served by a 'crew' of five. The interior includes three lounges, a bathroom, a full sized and fully stocked bar, sliding doors, air conditioning, heating, surround sound for its five televisions and even a laser guided satellite receiver with internet capability. But despite its modern-day amenities, Mrs Machado said the gargantuan vehicle is a homage to a generation long gone.

'The Midnight Rider was built to bring back the feel of the days of luxury railroad travel,' she said. 'With all the furnishings inside hand-picked to resemble the luxurious train travel of years ago, the Midnight Rider's attention to detail is one of the biggest draws for its customers.'

Husband Michael Machado and his wife staretd production of their dream project in 1997 and began renting out the vehicle in 2004. Refuelling the limo costs around £450 for a full tank and a full oil change is around £650. The team of five includes two drivers, a hostess, an operations specialist and a bartender.

The couple now plan to build another four of the vehicles. 'Each one will have a different theme, and we need coverage for the entire U.S. so we need more like the Midnight Rider,' Mrs Machado said.

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That's not tacky at all...

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Hot solar car fastest in the world at 54mph
15th January 2011

A car that runs on the same power used by a toaster has broken the world record for the fastest solar-powered motor. Guinness Book of Records adjudicators were on hand to witness the £175,000 vehicle race to glory on an Australian navy base airstrip in Nowra, New South Wales.

Sunswift Ivy, driven by professional racers Barton Mawer and Craig Davis of electric car firm Tesla, took the 23-year-old record by 5mph. The car - built by students at the state university - is about the same size as an average family saloon but is a tenth of the weight because of its carbon fibre frame. Four hundred silicon cells power a 55lb battery which is removed when the car is fully charged. It has the potential to hit a top speed of 75mph.

Project manager Daniel Friedman told the Sun: 'We hope this will spur a lot more interest in solar energy and the debate about renewable energy technology.' The old record of 49 mph was set in 1988 by General Motors Sunraycer.

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Couple break world record for longest ever kiss
Exhausted, but unbowed, this couple are pictured having just emerged from the longest kiss the world has ever seen.

Akekachai Tiranarat, 42, and his wife Raksana Taranarat, 31, locked lips for 46 hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds - a new Guinness World Record. The World's Longest Continuous Kiss event, which was organized to celebrate Valentine's Day in Thailand, started out with 14 couples on Sunday. The couples were given a space of one square metre and had to lock lips at all times. They were not allowed to sit, sleep or leave the venue, or they would be disqualified.

One woman fainted after 34 minutes of kissing. Others gave up after a few hours. But seven couples managed to last it out to break the previous record of 32 hours.

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The world's smallest aquarium

It can only hold two teaspoons of water, it can sit in the palm of your hands, and there's only room for the smallest of fish in it - it's the world's smallest aquarium. It might not be the most spacious environment but the baby fish still have all the regular aquarium home comforts of multi-coloured stones, sand and seaweed.

Measuring just 30 x 24 x14mm, the 10ml glass tank was created by Russian artist and designer Anatoly Konenko – who still found space for a water filter. Konenko has specialised in miniatures for 30 years, and has previously mastered the art of writing on rice, poppy seeds and even human hair.

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Steve Stevens breaks disco world record dancing 131 hours straight

Nightclub owner Steve Stevens is nursing tired limbs after breaking a disco world record by dancing non-stop for more than five days. Steve strained his right knee but managed to keep moving for 131 hours. The 35-year-old set off on Tuesday last week and ended on Sunday at his club Angelik in Worthing, West Sussex. Under rules set by Guinness World Records he was allowed a rest of five minutes every hour.

The former Ironman triathlete kept up his energy levels with a diet consisting of protein shakes, fruit, porridge, jacket potatoes, chips and lasagne, but still managed to lose a quarter of a stone over the five-day period. Steve, who spent his time throwing shapes to dance music played by a team of 30 DJs, said: 'The hardest times were between 4am and 6am, when people were shouting at me to wake up. But as soon as the sun came up it got me going again.'

He beat the previous world record, 123 hours and 15 minutes, and raised £3,200 for hospices in Sheffield and Angmering, West Sussex.

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The idea sounds good, but that has to be one of the most boring world-records ever!

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Eighteen-year-old Junrey Balawing receives a certificate proclaiming him as the world's shortest man from the Guinness Book of World Records, in the rural southern Philippine township of Sindangan, Zamboanga Del Norte. Balawing, who measured 59.93 centimetres or 23.5 inches, was officially declared the world's shortest man as he celebrates his 18th birthday, stripping Nepal's Khagendra Thapa Magar of the title...

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Skinny-dippers brave the cold to set new nude world record

400 skinny-dippers stripped off naked and plunged into the sea at Rhissili Beach in Wales to set a new nude world record. They braved the cold and tore off their clothes shortly before 8am today, and ran into the water shrieking and whooping with delight – but their cries of joy were shortly replaced by 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' because of the icy sea temperature. The existing record is believed to stand at 250 naked bathers in one location, and organisers plan to submit today's event to adjudicators at Guinness World Records in an attempt to claim the title.

Skinny dipper Lizzy White, 25, said: 'I have flown in from Australia to take part – what was I thinking of? But it was great fun and very exhilarating to strip off and dive into the waves, even if they are a lot colder than what I’m used to.' Shivering Steve Absalom, 29, said: 'I’m quite shy and I have never swum naked before so to do it in front of 400 people was a bit of an eye-opener. But there was no embarrassment - it was just great fun.'

Organisers hope the sponsored event, which was organised to raise money for the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity and the National Trust, will bring in more than £5,000. Organiser Alison Powell said: 'It was great fun – I have never seen so many happy smiling faces. We hoped for 300 people but in the end we got a lot more - I’m delighted with the turn out.'

Many of the nudists posed to have their photographs taken in the shallows to prove to their sponsors that they took part in the event. Naked Sue Jones, 39, of Carmarthen, said: 'I’m putting my picture on Facebook for all to see. I’ve skinny-dipped before in Greece and Spain. This was the first time in Wales ... and the last!'

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That one flew from Australia to take part in a charity event? That makes perfect sense eh? Still, it looks a larff...

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Japan tests world's fastest train
The latest magnetically levitated Maglev train has a record speed of 581kph.

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Samsam Bubbleman breaks another world record for the most bubbles in a bubble
Pamela Owen
3rd July 2011

No matter how hard you huffed and puffed you probably wouldn't be able to blow this many bubbles. But Samsam Bubbleman is a professional bubble-maker and quite used to blowing bubbles and breaking records. The self-dubbed Bubbleologist, whose real name is Sam Heath, has broken his seventh Guinness World Record - this time for the most amount of bubbles in a bubble.

The latest achievement means he has broken one of his own records yet again but this time he managed to fit 56 bubbles into a bubble. In 2006 he first broke the record by getting 49 bubbles into a bubble. He has also holds the record for the most people in a bubble and managed to cram 19 into a bubble in 2006. More than a year later he smashed the same record but this time squeezed a staggering 50 people into a bubble while at London's Science Museum.

The father-of-two has also broken records for the longest chain of bubbles, the number of bounces a bubble can do and the largest frozen bubble. 'It's all about having the right bubble solution. If you have the right mixture then your tools don't matter. Being a bubbleologist is almost as much about being a wind catcher as it is a bubble maker. You become quite sensitive to changes in direction and you have to move at the right time to keep the bubble together.'

The 39-year-old said he had a 'bubble epiphany' 22-years-ago which made him determined to create the perfect bubble. 'I had a kind of bubble epiphany and was watching a bubble float across a field and there was a gentle breeze pushing it along,' he said. 'I was just mesmerised and then all of a sudden it popped and it was like it was never there.'

Samsam then set about making the perfect solution to create bubbles and has become so successful he was even once dubbed the Willy Wonka of bubbles by BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans. In 2000 he went on to form his own company Bubblinc and now sells mixtures and equipment allowing even the most ordinary person to create the perfect bubble. He works with a team of Bubbleologists who travel the world performing for big corporate companies, including Universal Studios, and famous stars like Paul McCartney and Peter Gabriel.

And his secret to creating the perfect bubble. 'Yeast helps,' he joked.

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World Record Couch!

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Chocoholic's heaven: Thorntons creates world record bar for centenary
Six tonne slab of milk chocolate poured by 50 people will be broken up with axes for sharing out
guardian.co.uk,
12 October 2011

Even the most dedicated chocoholic would struggle to get their teeth into this bar. Weighing almost six tonnes and measuring 4 metres (13ft) square, the giant slab of milk chocolate has broken the record for the world's largest chocolate bar. It has been created by Thorntons to mark the company's 100th birthday and, after months of top-secret cooking, the 5,792.5kg (12,770lb) treat was unveiled to staff and visitors at the confectioner's headquarters in Alfreton, Derbyshire, on Wednesday.

Paul Bell, a stock controller in Thorntons' toffee department, came up with the idea to celebrate the centenary and said creating it was no mean feat. "As you can appreciate, it was a massive task," he said. "On pouring day there were over 50 people involved pouring the chocolate into the mould and it took 10 hours to do, then a further three days to cool off." Bell, 34, from Heanor, was the first person to pour a bucket of chocolate into the stainless steel mould and said the recipe was exactly the same as Thorntons standard milk chocolate. An average bar weighs about 80g (2.8oz).

Guinness World Records adjudicators confirmed Thorntons had created the world's biggest chocolate bar, Bell said. Four weeks ago an American rival threatened to take the title but fell short with a 5,500kg (12,125lb) effort. The bar will not go to waste. Bell said it will be broken up with axes and given to Thorntons staff and customers in shops, as well as helping to raise money for charities.

Being surrounded by chocolate has not put Mr Bell off. "I'm never sick of the sight of chocolate," he said. "That's one of the perks of the job – you can have one every day, as long as you're within reason, of course."

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World Record Diesel Powered Car

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Couple set new world record with 330,000 fairy lights around their home

David and Janean Richards have an incredible 331,038 fairy lights covering their property - smashing the previous world record.
David and Janean Richards -- Guinness World Record most lights on a property David and Janean Richards light up the sky on their property in Australia

The couple, from Forest Act, Australia, have 331,038 lights covering their property. David Richards, a barrister and father of three, has been working for the past four years to bring together all the decorations. The illuminations have helped to raise money for the charity SIDS and Kids - an organisation Mr Richards said helped his family during tough times in 2002.

Although their entry into the Guinness World Records and the money raised for charity have obviously gone down well with the Richards, the household don't plan to do the same thing next year. The couple will be passing the lights on, as a way of encouraging the new owners to raise money for charity.

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Bench Balancing!

Li Hongxiao successfully holds up 23 benches with his teeth for 11 seconds in Chongqing, China. Li broke the previous Guinness World Record of 14 benches. Each bench is one metre long and 45 centimetres high and weighs 3 kilograms.

World's Oldest Art

This picture taken in the caves of Nerja, southern Spain, shows 42,000 year old paintings of seals believed to be the world's oldest works of art. The paintings of seals of the Nerja caves are the only known artistic images created by Neanderthal man