Guinness World Records That Will Probably Never Be Broken, And Some That You Could Do On Your Lunch Break
Having a place in the Guinness Book of World Records is an incredible feat. For some records, like the world's strongest man or world's largest elastic band ball, holding the record is something to be proud of. Other records...not so much.
Some records you wouldn't even want to break. Seriously, who would actually try to hold the record for the most broken bones? Other ones are so silly that you could easily become the record holder on your lunch break.
Most Jelly Donuts Eaten In One Minute
This world record sounds the easiest to beat. The only rules for this one are that you have to eat them entirely, and can't stop at any point to lick your lips. So, 100% of the jelly has to get in your mouth or you lose.
The record right now is only three donuts. Three! Most people can eat three donuts for breakfast so bring a dozen into work and have at it.
Furthest Distance Thrown By A Tornado And Surviving
Matt Suter has the unfortunate honor of being awarded the world record for surviving the longest distance after being thrown by a tornado. On March 12, 2006, he was minding his own business inside his mobile home in Fordland, Missouri, when a tornado picked him up.
Suter landed 398 meters away from his location and, most importantly, he survived with only minor injuries. Unless another unlucky soul ends up in this situation, Suter will (I guess hopefully) hold this record for a long time.
Most Jell-O Eaten With Chopsticks In One Minute
The rules to defeat this world record are pretty simple, but honestly, it actually sounds difficult. The current record is a mere 3.2 ounces of Jell-O in one minute. You can use any flavor of Jell-O, but only one hand can be used and the other must be behind your back.
If you think this is a quick record to break, think again. It's one thing to eat Jell-O with a spoo but using chopsticks sounds like a slippery disaster.
Most Sticky Notes On The Face In One Minute
This is another one of those seems-too-easy-to-be-true records. The current world record holder for this is 58 sticky notes. The rules say the notes have to be a minimum of 73 mm on each side, the person has to stick them on themselves, and they have to remain for least 10 seconds after.
It seems like an easy record to break — just open the supply closet and go at it — but when you break it down that's almost one sticky note per second. If you want to win this one make sure you have a big face.
Most Snails On Face
Yes, this world record sounds pretty gross and creepy, but it's easy to beat. The current record holder had 43 snails on their face for a total of 10 seconds. The reason this one is so easy to beat is there aren't many strict rules.
You don't have to get the snails on your face in a certain amount of time, and there are no real limits to size. If you can stomach having slime all over your face and happen to have more than 43 snails on hand, this one should be simple.
Most Leapfrog Jumps In 30 Seconds
Take a trip back to public school and choose a partner to go into this leapfrog battle with. You have 30 seconds to make more than 32 leapfrog jumps. You have to take turn being the frogs and the person crouching down must have both hands on the ground.
This one might take a little practice but if you have your favorite coworker and time to spare, you can easily get down to less than one jump per second.
Most Number Of Lightning Strikes Survived
Roy Sullivan was an innocent park ranger in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, who happened to hold the record for most number of lightning strikes survived in one lifetime. He was hit not once, not twice, but seven times by lightning in his life.
In one incident in 1973, Sullivan was hit directly by a lightning bolt which caused his hair to catch on fire. Before losing consciousness, he managed to put out the fire with a cup of water.
Most Olympic Gold Medals
Americans are proud to say that their swimmer, Michael Phelps, holds the record for the most Olympic medals ever won. Phelps has 23 gold medals, 3 silver, and 2 bronze.
While anyone with a strong work ethic and natural talent might be able to break this record, it requires a very specific situation. You must be able to compete in multiple events within your sport so you can win more than one medal at the tournament. Unless you're in swimming, gymnastics, or track, you might be out of luck.
Farthest Distance To Blow A Pea
If you've got lungs of steel then this is the world record for you. Andre Ortolf from Germany holds this record currently at a whopping 24 feet and 7.66 inches. There are no strict rules other than the fact you can't come in contact with the pea, and it has to be inside without any wind or other air blowing.
If you've got serious lung power or maybe are the lead singer in a band, then get to blowing.
Oldest Person
Jeanne Louise Calment was born in France in 1875 and finally died in 1997 at the ripe age of 122. She outlived both her daughter and her grandchild. The oldest living person right now is Kane Tanaka, and they are only 115 years old. While Tanaka has a chance to overtake Calment's record, it's not likely.
Even though we might never break Calment's record, scientists do believe it will soon be normal for humans to live past 100.
Most Ice Cream Scoops Balanced On A Cone
Every office has that one employee who loves sweets and ice cream, so this would be the perfect useless record for them to try and break. The current record was set in 2015 by an Italian man who balanced 121 scoops on one cone.
All it takes is a tub of your favorite ice cream, a well-watered spoon for scooping, and a cooler climate so the ice cream won't melt. Plus, you get to eat all the ice cream from your practice runs.
Most Atomic Blasts Survived
Tsutomu Yamaguchi had his life threatened by the atomic bomb not once, but twice. He was on a business trip to Hiroshima when the first atomic bomb was dropped by the American army.
Miraculously, he survived and returned to Nagasaki for work three days later where the second atomic bomb was dropped. Yamaguchi survived both blasts and died at the old age of 93 from stomach cancer. We hope no one ever has to break this record.
Most Prolific Parents
If you thought the Duggar family with their 19 kids is impressive (and slightly terrifying) then how does 69 sound? That's how many that Feodor Vassilyev and his first unnamed wife had. She was a peasant from Russia who gave birth 27 times to 69 children. The births included 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets.
That wasn't enough for Vassilyev though as he would later remarry and have another 18 kids with his second wife.
Highest Number Of Aircrafts Flown
Captain Eric Brown holds the record for flying 485 planes over the course of his life and successfully landing each and every one of them. Even the most passionate pilots won't be able to break this record because Brown lived in a very unique time. He was a British Navy test pilot whose job was to fly and land new aircraft models during WW2.
Thanks to all the different designs and tests, Brown is not only the world record holder, but also the most decorated pilot in the Royal Navy.
Fastest Time To Eat A 12-Inch Pizza
If you're a pizza lover who thinks this is an easy record to break, think again. The current world record is 23.62 seconds. Most people can barely finish the crust in that time.
You have to use a knife and fork to eat it but you are allowed a drink so it's not as bad as the saltine crackers. We all love pizza but I don't think anyone loves pizza that much.
Most Expensive Man-Made Object
To date, the most expensive object made by humans is The International Space Station. From start to finish, the ISS cost about $150 billion to make. It was so expensive that multiple countries including the U.S., Russia, Canada, and Japan all had to chip in.
Even running the ISS is expensive. It costs NASA about $3 billion a year to keep it going. Unless there's another joint-nation project, breaking this record isn't going to happen any time soon.
The Most Guinness World Records
There is a chance someone out there could put their mind to it and surpass this record, but it would take years of hard work. Ashrita Furman currently holds the record for the most world records. Furman has proudly set or broken 226 different world records including some that he just made up himself.
Some of those records include "world's largest pencil" and "most watermelons sliced on his stomach in one minute."
Fastest Time To Peel And Eat An Orange
Two men from India currently hold this record for peeling and eating an orange in just 17.15 seconds. For this record, you're allowed to work in a team of two and must be blindfolded.
All this one would take is a good friend and some practice. You could each peel and eat one half or do it the way the current record holders did, and have one person peel while the other eats.
Heaviest Animal
The largest and heaviest animal in the world and in all of history is the blue whale. The biggest one ever found weighed 190 tons and was over 27 meters long. For context, that means one single blue whale was about as long as three school buses and weighed more than 80 cars.
The blue whale didn't go about trying to break this record. An ice age allowed for it to grow to the size we know today. Unless some crazy evolutionary shock happens to a different animal, this record is staying put.
Most Bones Broken
It makes sense that the legendary daredevil Evel Knievel would hold the record for the most bones broken in a lifetime. While he had a pretty good success rate, he still crashed every once in a while that left him battered and bruised. As a result of 18 mistaken jumps, Knievel suffered more than 433 bone fractures.
In his lifetime he fractured his skull, nose, jaw, collarbone, both arms, both wrists, every single rib, and his back. This bone-breaking record doesn't sound like a record you want to break.
Fastest Time Drinking Water
Time to rehash those chugging skills you learned in college, but this time for a better cause. The current world record for drinking 500 ml of water is 2.35 seconds. That seems extremely fast to the average person, but anyone who used to chug alcohol probably thinks they can beat this record.
The only rule is that you have to use a standardized clear glass and there's no spilling allowed. Just go into the challenge extra thirsty and you should break the record no problem.
Most Saltine Crackers Eaten In One Minute
The current record is only ten. Yes, you read that right, ten crackers in one minute. You might think this would be easy to break, but don't forget how gross saltine crackers are. You're only allowed to eat one at a time, all must be swallowed by the one minute mark, and no drinks are allowed.
As dangerous as some of these records sound, this one is right up there with the cinnamon challenge that was all the rage when we were kids.
World's Heaviest Man
You might think that the obesity epidemic in the world right now might mean this is an easy record to break, but think again. The heaviest person in history was John Brower Minnoch and he weighed an astonishing 1,400 pounds. That is roughly 640 kilograms or one and a half times as heavy as a grand piano.
Minnoch went into treatment for his weight and lost over 400 pounds before getting off track and dying in 1983. Two people alive today were close to breaking the record, but thankfully, have gotten help and lost weight.
Survived The Fastest Car Crash
On September 16, 1960, Donal Campbell was in a speed race driving a Bluebird CN7 which is a gas-powered aerodynamic vehicle. Campbell reached a speech of 364 mph before he crashed. For context, NASCAR drivers top out at 200 mph. Campbell had a fractured skull and ruptured eardrum, but survived otherwise.
Sadly, he died seven years later driving the same vehicle when he lost control at speeds of 299 mph.
Fastest Time To Put On A Duvet Cover
This is probably the most difficult record on this list to break. The current world record is 26.03 seconds. On an average laundry day, it takes me 26 minutes to mentally prepare myself to put on the duvet cover.
If you want to break this record the duvet must be placed "neatly" in the cover and all four corners have to be set. The only person who could possibly break this record is the office mom.
Most Children Delivered In A Single Birth
You might remember Nadya Suleman A.K.A. Octomom. She became famous in 2009 for successfully delivering octuplets. On January 26, 2009, doctors performed a Caesarean section and Nadya gave birth to six boys and two girls.
While the circumstances surrounding her choice to have kids and that doctor who made them octuplets are controversial, it's nevertheless a record. She's only the second person in history to have octuplets and the first to have every child survive the birth.
Throwing Back-To-Back No-Hitters
One of the most impressive feats in baseball and all of sports is throwing a no-hitter. It's when a pitcher doesn't give up a single hit over the course of nine innings. When it happens today, a pitcher becomes part of an elite club, but it's unlikely anyone will ever throw back-to-back no-hitters like Johnny Vander Meer.
On June 11, 1938, the left-handed pitcher threw his first no-hitter against the Boston Bees, then four days later he accomplished the feat again when facing the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Most CDs Balanced On One Finger
The current official record for this silly Guinness feat is fifty. Considering the fact that A CD is made of a wafer-thin metal, fifty really doesn't seem that hard. The only rule is that you can't poke your finger through any of the holes and that your finger must be flat against the CD.
If your office is transitioning from CD to USB storage then why not gather up 51 of them and practice?
Fastest Time To Place 24 Cans In A Fridge
Attention grocery store workers and stock boys — this is the world record for you. The current record for unloading 24 individual cans of soda into a fridge is a speedy 9.76 seconds. The only problem is that you can't let any cans fall over while you're doing it.
If you're confident holding three or four cans at a time, then this record is definitely achievable after about ten minutes of practice in the office kitchenette.
Most Marshmallows Eaten In One Minute
This could be an easy world record to break but it might kill you, so watch out. The current record is 25 marshmallows. They have to be standard size (not mini or giant) and may only be eaten one at a time.
The problem is that you're not allowed to drink anything during the minute. Be careful trying this record because there have been reports of people choking and dying during marshmallow eating contests.
