When you think about world records, you consider some of the most important stuff. However, there are many records that can be broken that are not really notable. The world’s faster clapper, for instance. Some records like that are even hard to prove, but on the “scientific” side of things, there are many incredible world records that actually mean something worth highlighting. Whether it is a body image, impressive performance, etc. There are great world records all around there.<\/p>\n
At the same time, there are many great records involving abstract material as well as animals. Regardless of what it is, we felt like the best world records (in our view) needed to be highlighted here. We will be using the most respected world record counter for this article, the Guinness World Records team. We will be taking all our records as they stand currently from their most recent record book release. If needed, as time goes on, we will update any newly broken record should it happen.<\/p>\n
We feel the need to start off with a slight joke. While not officially recognized as a world record, this would have been a record among tribes centuries ago. Where the youngest person would be treated as a special case until a new child was born. Today, there is no fanfare for the record. Mostly because it is set and then reset every single day of a given year. Of all world records in known human history, it is by far the easiest to break<\/a><\/strong>. Obviously, we hope that continues to be the case.<\/p>\n
Jeanne Calment<\/a><\/strong> was like any other young woman in the late 1800s. She wanted to survive into adulthood and have children, which was the aspiration most women had then. Born February 21, 1875, she managed to do just that. But then she somehow continued to keep going. She eventually passed the assumed record for the oldest non-biblical person in world history in January of 1988. It was uncertain, but this would eventually be verified. Yet she lived until August 4, 1997, and aged to a record 122 years, 164 days. A record many still believe no one will pass. Although there are some living people still capable.<\/p>\n
While adaptation is often referred to by scientists as evolution, this is not the case for the Tardigrade<\/a><\/strong>. This microscopic species has never once had to really change what it is. Scientists have put the species through literally any test you can think of. They put them into super hot and super cold environments, took away all oxygen by submerging them for extended periods underwater, and we even took them to space. They survived everything. It’s uncertain if they can be killed and many seem to live an extremely long time. The species is simply the most adaptable known to mankind, far surpassing human ability.<\/p>\n
It used to be that some of the most prominent mathematicians and scientists of their time back in the 15th to 18th century would try to calculate the measure of Pi. For many years, we had to do the math on this in the hardest way. But that changed and records for Pi were just represented by memory. Eventually, calculations were made using it. That was what Timothy Mullican<\/a><\/strong> managed to do in 2020. He surpassed Emma Haruka Iwao’s 2019 world record for the most accurate value of Pi, which used 31.4 trillion digits. Timothy managed to calculate 50 trillion digits! 2020 was a weird year for all of us.<\/p>\n
While it might seem odd, the record for the largest, biggest, or tallest sandcastle is quite a popular record for people. Many world records are incredibly hard, and this one is no different. The Guinness World Records team was on hand in June 2019 to measure the world’s largest sandcastle<\/a><\/strong>. It was developed by an international team of 12 sculptors that spent three and a half weeks on it. The sandcastle stands 57 feet, 11 inches, and is 85 feet wide. It also weighs an estimated 24,2450lbs or around 11 metric tons. Thomas van den Dungen led the team and had been trying to break the old record for a few years by this point.<\/p>\n
While this might seem like an obscure record, less than 5% of the human population are even capable of attempting it. Much less setting an impressive time moving in any way. Yet Chinese contortionist Liu Teng<\/a><\/strong> managed to set the record for the fastest time to travel in a contortion roll at the age of 25 on November 6, 2017. She traveled 65 feet in 15.54 seconds, which actually beat the previous record, 17.47, which Teng had also set. This record kinda makes us feel like getting into yoga might be a good idea.<\/p>\n
Cosmetic surgeries might be needed medically for numerous reasons. Like correcting some random defect based on society’s assumption of what is normal. Fixing one or two things makes sense, but Cindy Jackson<\/a><\/strong> took it to the extreme. As of this writing, she has spent a total of $99,600 on 47 different cosmetic procedures. That includes 9 full-scale surgical operations! She began her cosmetic journey in 1988 and has had three full facelifts, two nose jobs, two eye lifts, liposuction, jawline surgery, lip & cheek implants, chin bone reduction, and much more. Her record was officially set on February 7, 2005.<\/p>\n
Ekaterina Lisina, the Russian model and former Basketball star for the Russian National Team was known for having the longest legs of any woman. Yet this would be passed by a 17-year-old from Texas in 2021 named Maci Currin<\/a><\/strong>. She stands at 6’10 with her left leg measuring in at 53.255 inches and her right leg measuring 52.874 inches. For comparison, Lisina’s legs were 52 inches and 52.2 inches respectively. While there are many tall women today and in history, leg height is not going to make up most of their height. However, in Mia’s case, they actually do as her legs are 60% of her 6’10 frame.<\/p>\n
Chandra Bahadur Dangi<\/a><\/strong> is an interesting case. There are many short people in the world today and in history, but his look was quite different compared to most. Dangi was a primordial dwarf, meaning he will have a smaller body size in all facets of his life, unlike a normal dwarf that could grow more in some stages. He measured in at 54.6cm or 1 foot, 9 and a half inches in height. This beat the previous record held by Gul Muhammad who was 57cm tall. We are also pretty sure Dangi is the shortest person to have ever lived as well. Unlike other smaller people, Dangi also lived for a long time. He passed in 2015, at age 76.<\/p>\n
There are quite a lot of world records broken in Asia and Africa when it comes to people of shorter stature. So it is not shocking to see Jyoti Amge<\/a><\/strong> on the list. As of this writing, she is is the shortest woman still living (mobile). She was previously the shortest teenage female. But when she turned 18, she took the shortest woman title overall. She stands at 62.8cm or 24.7 inches tall. She sees the title as something that makes her stand out and feel better about herself. Amge claimed it helped her “feel popular, special, and important.”<\/em> It allowed her to get into acting, having roles in things like American Horror Story<\/em> alone!<\/p>\n
Being the shortest horse in recorded history is a major honor. Mostly because world records like this have to be traced back heavily for researchers. Officially, we now know the record for the shortest male horse in recorded history is a miniature horse named Bombel<\/a><\/strong> from Poland. His name translates to “Bubble” and he stands 56.7cm or 1 foot, 10 inches tall when measured from his hoofs to shoulder blades. He was officially included in the Guinness World Records in their 2020 run of records.<\/p>\n
Many religions and mythologies speak of giants, with some offering vague descriptions and others offering very specific measurements. The Holy Bible referenced Goliah’s height, six cubits, but since he comes from a period where science cannot document his existence, others get more attention. The real-life Goliath happens to be the tallest man in recorded history as well as the tallest person overall. His name was Robert Pershing Wadlow<\/a><\/strong>. He never stopped growing in his sadly short life, allowing him to reach the height of 8 feet, 11 inches. It is impossible for anyone will ever reach this type of height ever again.<\/p>\n
While this specific record might seem like one of those obscure world records most would laugh about, it’s actually one of the most incredible. While building stuff is not exactly record-worthy, usually people use materials like wood, stone, cement, or something in this family. But not Canadian artist, Von Wong. He used 168,037 straws to create a 10-foot tall structure<\/a><\/strong> in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He was moved to do this as a way of raising awareness about single-use plastics. Yet it landed him in the Guinness World Records. We appreciate the decision to raise a very real environmental issue. Respect, Mr. Wong.<\/p>\n
If you want to feel like an absolute loser, we must introduce you to George Hood. He served the United States as a member of the Armed Forces, Marine division. The Ex-Marine wanted to keep in shape after his days in the service so he decided to keep himself in the gym and eventually he wanted to go for world records. So at the age of 62, he managed to set the world record for the longest-held abdominal plank<\/a><\/strong>. He managed to hold it for 8 hours, 15 minutes, and 15 seconds. It beat the previous record by about 14 minutes. In contrast, this writer was able to hold his plank for 15 minutes before buckling and dropping.<\/p>\n
Kevin Fast is a strong guy. He managed to prove this when he broke several weight-pulling records in his life. But one stands out above most others. Fast was able to pull an entire 416,299-pound CC-177 Globemaster III Airplane. Pulling a plane<\/a><\/strong> like that even an inch is enough for someone to sing his praises. But Kevin pulled this airplane a full 28 feet! The big Canadian likely won’t see anyone break his record for a while, but if someone does, Fast has promised to come back and pull even further.<\/p>\n
Back in 2012, German freediver Tom Sietas managed to set the world record in this category. He managed to hold his breath underwater for a little over 22 minutes. But in 2021, his record was topped by Budimir Šobat<\/a><\/strong>. The Croatian managed to hold his breath for over 2 minutes longer than Sietas. Officially, he held for 24 minutes & 37.36 seconds. He actually set the record in Sisak, which he did to promote them after they were hit by a bad earthquake in December 2020. Good for Budimir to do such a thing for a city drastically affected by such a tragedy.<\/p>\n
While there are some mythical creatures that have been claimed to be heavier, they are not connected to the world records in most places due to the inability to properly record their size. In the case of a Blue Whale<\/a><\/strong> though, we DO have accurate records of their size. This is why we can assure you that they are the official largest creature that has ever existed on Earth. The largest ever recorded weighed in at 190 tons and was 27 meters long. One of our world’s Ice Ages actually allowed for Blue Whales to grow in size, allowing their evolutionary growth to explode. They still remain quite large even today!<\/p>\n
While it might seem dumb, people are so set on breaking world records that they will even try to land on one that could cause them to die young. While the Guinness World Records people have removed the “heaviest person” category to prevent people from ever attempting it today, the last man Guinness documented as the heaviest was Jon Brower Minnoch<\/a><\/strong>. He managed to reach 1,400lbs. Thankfully, he went into treatment for his weight and lost over 400lbs. But he fell off track and sadly died young in 1983. Others have been close to his record but no one has reached it. We hope no one ever tries.<\/p>\n
Nathan’s Hotdog Eating competition every 4th of July amuses most of us but real competitive eaters treat that event among others as a major sport. A Japanese man named Takeru Kobayashi won that competition among others for years, but Joey Chestnut emerged on the scene and changed everything. He has managed to win Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Competition 13 times as of this writing. His hotdog consumption has also landed him in the record books. He set the record for the most hotdogs eaten in 10 minutes in 2018 with 74. Then he consumed 75 in 2020 to beat his own record<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
There is a medical condition known as Pica. It is a disease that makes people crave things that are not truly food-related. It can be something as simple as your coffee table… or a sheet of metal. At least, this sort of thing was what Michel Lotito<\/a><\/strong> found tasty due to his Pica ordeal. The Guinness World Records followed and checked in on Lotito over the years to get an accurate number, and they believe Lotito was able to eat 9 tons of metal. That also includes an entire Cessna 150 airplane! He sadly passed away in 2007 at age 57. The fact he lasted that long without tearing up his insides is record-worthy alone.<\/p>\n
Michael Phelps<\/a><\/strong> set out to do the impossible in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He claimed he wanted to win 8 Gold Medals, which would break fellow American Swimmer, Mark Spitz’s record of 7 Gold Medals. Phelps managed to achieve his goal in some amazingly dramatic racing events. Phelps continued to return to the Olympics until the 2016 Summer Games, which would be his last. He essentially “retired” with 28 Medals overall, 23 of them being gold. This accounts for 3 Olympic Medalist records, which most feel will never be broken.<\/p>\n
Reaching land speed records used to be commonplace, making world records in this area seem easy to break. But this changed with Andy Green who, in October 1997, broke the official land speed record<\/a><\/strong> when he went 763.035 mph in Black Rock Desert, Nevada. For some time before this, the speed of Mach 1.0106 was just not recognized by the USAF, and radars were not calibrated to catch it. To measure Green’s speed, they had to aim a dish using a TV screen. It happened to be powered by two Rolls-Royce Spey 202 jet engines, which generate 50,000lbs of thrust.<\/p>\n
The story of Douglas Wilson is truly remarkable and worthy of a movie in our view. The Aussie nearly died after he found out he had a brain tumor in October of 2013. He had to undergo life-threatening surgery to remove the very large tumor. It then left him with serious medical complications including meningitis, facial paralysis, loss of hearing in one ear, and the loss of the right balance nerve with it. Yet in spite of all of this, he returned to running a few months after. In spite of this, he decided to break a record. He ran a marathon<\/a><\/strong> in Chile, Spain, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Antarctica, and the United States in just 6 days, 18 hours, 2 minutes, and 11 seconds. This is is one of those world records that’ll be hard to break.<\/p>\n
When it comes to the world of track or running records at all, most people expect a person from Kenya to be among the best. They seem to produce some of the best runners in the world. It should, obviously, not shock you to find out that a fellow Kenyan has the fastest completion time for a marathon (roughly 26.2 miles). Eliud Kipchoge set the world record at the 2018 Berlin Marathon with an official time of 2 hours, 1 minute, & 39 seconds. Eliud amazingly beat his own record in 2019 with a time of 1:59:40, but it will not be recognized<\/a><\/strong> as a new world record for dumb reasons. He still has the two best times though.<\/p>\n
Usain Bolt<\/a><\/strong> has numerous world records to his credit and is the undisputed short race king. He is the only sprinter to win the 100m & 200m race at three Olympics consecutively. Bolt set the records for both races in 2009 with the 100m record being set at 9.58 seconds and 200m being set at 19.19 seconds. Bolt also led Jamaica to a world record in the 4 x 100-meter relay, helping set the record at 36.84 in 2012. He has a total of 8 Olympic Gold Medals & 11 World Championship and is considered the greatest sprinter to ever live. Bolt also has the highest top speed for a human being, as he can reach 27.7 mph.<\/p>\n
We’re not really the type to care if someone “believes” in evolution or not. Considering this is a “science” website, we’re going with the facts of the matter. However, sometimes evolution itself does not explain the black magic seen in some animal species around the world. Take the Tuatara<\/a><\/strong>, a species of reptile. Normally, animals evolve over hundreds to thousands of years through various cycles where small changes occur over long periods. The average reptile makes 0.2 substitutions every million years or so. However, the Tuatara makes 1.37 substitutions, which is the fastest evolving creature in existence.<\/p>\n
It is not shocking to see the bovine community of animals show some type of horn. Usually, though, you expect to see something like a rhino with the largest horn. Yet there is a longhorn in Alabama that happens to have the world record<\/a><\/strong> for the largest horns ever. They measure out at a length of 10 feet, 7.4 inches. Of course, world records like these have to be authenticated and proven as real. This is why the Guinness World Records team themselves looked at the longhorn, named Poncho Via, themselves. They found the steer has not only the largest horns but the largest of any steer dead or alive.<\/p>\n