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-·--- --




A casino chip designed 

by Gerald N Lewy 

(CAN) was valued 

at CAN$450,000 

(£287,000) on 30 May 

2013. The 22-carat 

pink gold chip is 

set with 173 rou nd 

brilliant-cut diamonds 

- 17 of them around 

This scintillating Snoopy 

also features 783 black 

diamonds and a collar 

made from 415 red ruby 

gemstones! 

Most valuable 

materials in 

a work of art 

For the Love of God by 

Damien Hirst (UK) is a 

human skull encrusted with 

8,601 flawless diamonds, 

including a 52.4-carat pink 

diamond in the forehead. 

The total 1,106.18 carats of 

diamonds were reported to 

cost a dazzling £12 m ($23.7 m).


Most valuable necklace 

-t; · 

"The Incomparable" contains a 407.48-carat i ,;· 

flawless diamond and 102 "satellite" 

diamonds. Manufactured by the jewellers 

, . Mouawad, based in Switzerland, it 

was valued on 13 Feb 2013 at £35 m 

($55 m). The flawless diamond was 

discovered in the Congo some 

30 years ago in a pile of 

· · kimberlite, a by-product 

of diamond mining, , 

. 

. ..,f . 

The Incomparable 

appeared on eBay 

in 2002 with a 

starting price of 

£15 m but failed 

to sell. 

The largest ever single rough uncut diamond 

was the "Cullinan", which 

weighed 3,106.75 carats when 

found in 1905 in South Africa. It 

was cut into nine smaller diamonds, 

the largest of which, the "Great Star of 

Africa", weighs 530.2 carats and tops 

the royal sceptre (left) wielded by the 

UK's Queen Elizabeth II. The next largest 

fragment - the "Second Star of Africa" - 

sits in the Queen's Imperial State Crown. 

On 8 Mar 2012, 

Shawish Jewellery 

(CHE) unveiled 

the first ring to be 

made entirely from 

a diamond. The 

150-carat creation 

is reportedly worth 

£43.5 m ($70 m). 

Rock stars: 

diamonds defined 

Diamond - the world's hardest natural 

substance - is a mineral formed 

140-200 km down in the Earth's 

mantle. It is a form (allotrope) of the 

chemical element carbon (C) in 

which the atoms are arranged 

in a tetrahedral crystalline 

formation. Diamonds are 

measured in carats, with 

one carat equal to 200 mg. 

For each carat of 

diamond mined, 

250 tonnes of earth 

Largest heist: the 90-second break-in 

At lunchtime on 28 Jul 2013, an armed 

man entered the Carlton International 

hotel (right) in Cannes, France. His 

target: jewellery worth 103 m euros 

(£89 m). He single-handedly pulled off 

the biggest diamond heist ever, in just 

one-and-a-half minutes. The diamondencrusted 

watches, rings and earrings 

he stole (left) belonged to Lev Leviev 

) - a Soviet-born Israeli diamond and 

property mogul -and had been on 

display in an exhibition at the hotel.

British Library 

Cataloguing-in-publication 

data: a catalogue record for 

this book is available from 

the British Library 

ISBN: 978-1-908843-62-3 

This book is dedicated to 

Chris Bernstein 

For a complete list of credits 

and acknowledgements, 

turn to p.252. 

Records are made to be 

broken - indeed, it is one of 

the key criteria for a record 

category - so if you find a 

record that you think you can 

beat, tell us about it by making 

a record claim. Find out 

how on p.5. Always contact 

us before making a record 

attempt. 


© 2014 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS LIMITED 

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, chemical, mechanical, including photography, 

or used in any information storage or retrieval system without a licence or other permission in writing from the copyright owners. 

Editor-in-Chief 

Craig Glenday 

Senior Managing Editor 

Stephen Fall 

Layout Editors 

lan Cranna, 

Rob Dimery, 

Lucian Randall 

Assistant Editor 

Roxanne Mackey 

Editorial Team 

Theresa Bebbington (Americanization), 

Marie Lorimer (indexing), 

Matthew White (proofreading) 

Picture Editor 

Michael Whitty 

Deputy Picture Editor 

Fran Morales 

Talent/Picture Researcher 

Jenny Langridge 

Picture Researcher 

Laura Nieberg 

VP Publishing 

Jenny Heller 

Director of Procurement 

Patricia Magill 

Publishing Manager 

Jane Boatfield 

Publishing Executives 

Ebyan Egal, 

Charlie Peacock 

Production Consultants 

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Cover Production 

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Augmented Reality 

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modelling and texturing) 

Design 

Paul Wylie-Deacon, Richard Page, 

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Original Photography 

Richard Bradbury, Anne Garoline, 

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White, World Sailing Speed Record 

Council, Stephen Wrigley, Robert Young 

Check the official website - 

www.guinnessworldrecords. 

com - regularly for recordbreaking 

news, plus video 

footage of record attempts. 

You can also join and interact 

with the Guinness World 

Records online community. 

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edition is manufactured by 

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UPM Papers are true Biofore 

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President: Alistair Richards 

SVP Americas: Peter Harper 

President (Greater China): Rowan Simons 

VP Japan: Erika Ogawa 

Country Manager, UAE: Talal Omar 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES 

EVP Finance, Legal, HR & IT: 

Alison Ozanne 

Financial Controller: Scott Paterson 

Management Accountants: Daniel Ralph, 

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Assistant Accountant: Kimberley Dennis 

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Office Assistant (Greater China): 

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TELEVISION 

Director of TV Content & Sales: 

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TV Distribution Manager: 

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GLOBAL MARKETING 

SVP Global Marketing: Samantha Fay 

Marketing Director (Americas): 

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Senior PR Manager (Americas): 

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PR & Marketing Executive (Americas): 

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Marketing Managers: Justine Tommey (UK), 

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Marketing Executives: Aurora Bellingham 

(UK), Christelle BeTrong (UK), Asumi Funatsu 

(Japan), Mayo Ma (Greater China) 

PR Director (UK): Amarilis Whitty 

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Kazami Kamioka 

PR Managers (UK): Tandice Abed ian, 

Damian Field 

PR Executive (UK): Jamie Clarke 

PR Assistant (Greater China): Leila Wang 

Director of Digital Content & Marketing: 

Katie Forde 

Digital Manager: Kirsty Brown 

Digital Video Producer: Adam Moore 

Community Manager: Dan Thorne 

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Design Executive: Jon Addison 

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Content Manager (Americas): Mike Janela 

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(Japan): Takafumi Suzuki 

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Jacky Yuan 

GWR CREATIVE 

VP Creative: Paul O'Neill 

Programme Manager, Attractions: 

Louise Toms 

COMMERCIAL SALES 

SVP Sales UK & EMEA: Nadine Causey 

VP Commercial: Andrew Brown 

Publishing, Sales & Product Director 

(Americas): Jennifer Gilmour 

Content Director (Greater China): 

AngelaWu 

Head of Publishing Sales (EL): 

John Pilley 

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international): Richard Stenning 

Head of Commercial Accounts & 

Licensing (UK): Samantha Prosser 

Licensing Manager, Publishing: 

Emma Davies 

Commercial Director (Greater China): 

Blythe Fitzwiliam 

Business Development Manager 

(Americas): Amanda Meehan 

Head of Commercial Sales & Marketing 

(Japan): Kaoru Ishikawa 

Senior Account Manager: 

Vihag Kulshrestha 

Account Managers: 

Dong Cheng (China), Ralph Hannah (UK/ 

Paraguay), Annabel Lawday (UK), Takuro 

Maruyama (Japan), Nicole Pando (USA), 

Lucie Pessereau (UK), Terje Purga (UK), 

Nikhil Shukla (India), Seyda Subasi-Gemici 

(Turkey), Charlie Weisman (USA) 

Commercial Assistant (Greater China): 

Catherine Gao 

RECORDS MANAGEMENT 

SVP Records: Marco Frigatti 

Director of RMT: Turath Alsaraf 

Head of Records Management: 

Carlos Martinez (Japan), Kimberly Partrick 

(Americas), Charles Wharton (Greater China) 

Database Manager: Carim Valerio 

Adjudications Manager: Benjamin Backhouse 

Team Leader, RMT (UK): Jacqueline Fitt 

Specialist Records Managers (UK): 

Anatole Baboukhian, Louise Mclaren, 

Elizabeth Smith 

Records Managers (Americas): 

Alex Angert, Evelyn Carrera, Michael 

Empric, Johanna Hessling, Annie Nguyen, 

Philip Robertson 

Records Managers (Greater China): 

John Garland, Lisa Hoffman 

Records Managers (Japan): 

Mariko Koike, Aya McMillan, Mai McMillan, 

Justin Patterson, Gulnaz Ukassova 

Records Managers (UK): 

Jack Brockbank, Fortuna Burke, Tom lbison, 

Sam Mason, Mark McKinley, Eva Norroy, Anna 

Orford, Pravin Patel, Glenn Pollard, Chris Sheedy, 

Lucia Sinigagliesi, Victoria Tweedy, 

Lorenzo Veltri, Aleksandr Vypirailenko 

Senior Project Manager (UK): Alan Pixsley 

Project Managers: Samer Khallouf (UAE), 

Paulina Sapinska (UK) 

Project Co-ordinator (UK): Shantha Chinniah 

OFFICIALLY 

AMAZING 

Guinness World Records Limited has a very thorough accreditation system for records verification. However, while every effort is made to 

ensure accuracy, Guinness World Records Limited cannot be held responsible for any errors contained in this work. Feedback from our readers 

on any point of accuracy is always welcomed. 

Guinness World Records Limited uses both metric and imperial measurements. The sole exceptions are for some scientific data where 

metric measurements only are universally accepted, and for some sports data. Where a specific date is given, the exchange rate is calculated 

according to the currency values that were in operation at the time. Where only a year date is given, the exchange rate is calculated from 

31 Dec of that year. "One billion" is taken to mean one thousand million. 

Appropriate advice should always be taken when attempting to break or set records. Participants undertake records entirely at their own 

risk. Guinness World Records Limited has complete discretion over whether or not to include any particular record attempts in any of its 

publications. Being a Guinness World Records record holder does not guarantee you a place in any Guinness World Records publication. 

004 Introduction


g 8e a record-breaker 

Have you got a record-breaking talent to share? 

Anyone can set a record and there are more ways of doing it 

now than ever before. It's free of charge and you can apply 

right away at www.guinnessworldrecords.com. When we 

started in 1955, record holders could only appear in the book 

- now you can get on TV, appear at live events or get your 

attempt on our website. 

FACT 

Yo u can attempt a 

world record right 

now by visiting www. 

guinnessworldrecords. 

com/challengers and, 

once you get the green 

light, you can upload a 

video of your attempt. 

You'll soon hear- GWR 

adjudicate every week. 

Regla ter online 

Head on over to 

www.gulnnesaworld 

records.com and 

If you think you've got what it takes to tackle 

an existing record, we want to hear from you. 

Want to try something new? We are equally 

click on "Register" at 1 +-- YES excited by new ideas, so let us know right away. NO 

the top of the screen. 

It's a matter of minutes 

to set up your account 

and you're almost 

set. Have you got the 

guidelines yet? 

YES 

Gather your evidence 

and send It to us. 

Depending on 

the record, we'll 

need Independent 

eyewitness 

statements, photos, 

video and other 

proof outlined in the 

guidelines. Now just 

wait to hear ... Did you 

break your record? 

1 1 

NO YES 

j l . 

----+ NO 

I 

l 

If your chosen record 

already exists (or 

we like your idea), 

we'll send you the 

guidelines that 

anyone must follow 

when making an 

attempt. If you've 

submitted an idea 

and we don't accept 

it, we will tell you why. 

Read, watc h, 

browse 

Keep reading the book! 

You'll find ideas there 

and in our TV shows 

and you can check 

out the latest action 

on the website at www. 

guinnessworldrecords. 

com. This will give you 

(, a sense of the records 

- that we usually accept. 

Collect evidence 

Make sure you give 

yourself plenty of time to practise 

your record attempt. When you're 

ready to go, you'll have to be 

careful to collect all the evidence 

we need to ensure your best 

chance of a successful attempt. 

If you've followed the rules and beaten an existing 

record or even set a new one, you'll receive a letter 

of confirmation. You will also be sent your official 

Guinness World Records certificate welcoming you into 

the family of record holders. Congratulations! If you're 

very lucky, you may even make it into next year's book.


g Inside 2015 

What's new in the world's best-selling annual book? 

All-new Augmented Reality! 

Download our FREE "See It 30" app now and see some of 

your favourite record holders come to life. Simply point your 

mobile phone or tablet device at the pages where you see the 

"SEE IT 30" icon and you'll be able to meet a giant, explore 

the depths of the ocean and even battle with cheesy maggots 

in a fun new videogame. 

Augmented Reality (AR) software works by harnessing the camera of your 

tablet device or smartphone and using it to detect elements on the printed 

page. This triggers the device to display 30 images on the screen. Today, 

the technology behind it allows for virtual-reality environments, interactive 

30 animation aod even games, such as the one below ... 

DOWNLOAD THE FREE "SEE IT 3D" APP 

ANDROIO APP ON 

,.... Con8k pl


NAVIGATE the 

Solar System 

Take a trip to Mars, Saturn 

and the rest of the Solar 

System from the comfort 

of your armchair 

1-vn; the 

ocean depths 

Turn your device into a deepsea 

explorer and encounter 

the creatures of the deep 

"' 

ENCOUNTER the 

most venomous spider 

Get dangerously close to the Brazilian 

wandering spider ... without actually 

putting your life at risk! 

MEET the 

performing 

Pomeranian 

Go walkies with Jiff 

the dog and watch 

as the cool canine 

pulls off some of his 

trademark tricks 

160 Athletics 

212 

162 Ball sports 

214 

Music 

Works of art 

Publishing 

TV 

Videogamers 

166 

170 

172 

174 

176 

Baseball 

Basketball 

Combat sports 

Cricket 

Cycling 

216 

218 

220 

222 

224 

Golf 

226 

Ice hockey 

228 

Technology & engineering 178 Marathons 230 

Flashback: 

Motorsports 

232 

Telecoms revolution 180 

Rugby 

234 

Roller-coasters 

182 

Soccer 

236 

Bridges & tunnels 

184 

Tennis & racket sports 240 

Cars 

186 

Water sports 

242 

Urban transport 

188 

Winter sports 

244 

Alternative transport 190 

Sports round-up 

246 

Wacky wheel? 

192 

Military hardware 

194 

Architecture 

19611ode' 

248 

Castles 

198 Acknowledgements, 

Sports architecture 200 picture credits & 

Cutting-edge science 202 country codes 

252 

Robots &AI 

204 Stop press 

Top tech 


Get the exclusive chance to 

meet the most iconic record 

holder of all time. Robert 

Pershing Wadlow stood 2.72 m 

(8ft 11.1 in) tall - how do you 

measure up?


Ed ito r's etter 

Globally, only 7.6% of claims became official world records last year 

Welcome to this special diamond anniversary edition of the world's 

biggest-selling annual book. We may be entering our 60th year, 

but we're not looking to retire and collect our pensions just yet! 

While this year's edjtion looks back over six ever-changing decades of 

record-breaking, we've still squeezed in every major new and updated 

record from the last year, so expect the usual mix of unrivalled sporting 

achievements, talented pets, cutting-edge scientific discoveries and 

the most remarkable human beings on the planet ... 

T:ere's been no let-up 

n the demand for 

record-breaking, with 

around 50,000 new claims, 

enquiries and updates filling 

our inboxes and mail trays 

over the past 12 months. 

We've had correspondence 

and claims from around the 

world, from Afghanistan 

(longest chain of paper 

dolls: a successful attempt, 

at 6.5 km or 40.3 mi) to 

Zimbabwe {longest live DJ 

set: TBC, but the current 

record of 168 hr will be 

hard to beat!), alongside 

enquiries from as far afield 

as East Timor, Tonga 

and Tajikistan. 

Australia and New 

Zealand are major 

contributors to recordbreaking, 

with a 

combined 1,890 claims 

registered in the past 

year, putting them Jusit-':;;;;::::llili!lll 

behind the USA, UK 

and India in the top 10 

table of claimants. 

Of Australia's 1,660 claims, 

a respectable 84 made it 

into our database as official 

Guinness World Records 

titles; New Zealand's 230 

claims turned into 26 

records. So thanks and 

congratulations to everyone 

who received their official 

GWR certificate. 

With the help of our 

chief adjudicator on 

the ground in Australia, 

Chris Sheedy, we've 

ratified an impressive 

variety of recordbreaking 

Down Under. 

We've approved the 

likes of the most hugs 

given in one minute by 

an individual (77. achieved 

by Carrie Bickmore (AUS) 

Most couples to participate 

in a dating event in 12 hours 

Love - and record-breaking - was in the air 

when 342 couples got together at the Sydney 

Opera House in New South Wales on 21 Feb 

2014. The event was organized by CitySwoon, 

who reported that the average age of the 

684 hopefuls was 33.02. More than a third of 

the matches gave each other the highest rating. 

at the Huggies Hugs 

for Healing event at the 

Sydney Children's Hospital 

in Randwick, New South 

Wales, on 6 May 2014). the 

largest cream tea party 

(536 participants organized 

by Dominique Garrigues 

(AUS) at the Stamford Grand 

Adelaide hotel in Glenelg on 

23 Mar 2014), and the most 

steps climbed by bicycle 

(a muscle-burning 2,755 by 

Krystian Herba (POL), who 

climbed the Eureka Tower in 

Melbourne on 4 Feb 2014). 

Record-breaking was 

also logged this year from 

every corner of Australia 

and New Zealand: 

• Auckland: Peter Wayne 

Botha (NZ, see also p.10) 

ran the greatest distance 

barefoot in 24 hours, 

reaching 211.519 km 

(131.43 mi) in a day at the 

16th annual Sri Chinmoy 

24-Hour Race. 

• Adelaide: we said a fond 

farewell to the oldest 

flamingo, Greater, who 

passed away in Adelaide 

Zoo at the age of 83. 

008 Introduction


Keeping up the watery 

theme, The Edge radio 

station and the BW Summer 

Festival organized the 

largest skinny dip, which 

saw 744 participants take to 

the sea at Midway Beach in 

Gisborne, New Zealand, on 

31 Dec 2013. 

As well as all these 

new records, because 

it's our 60th birthday, 

we've decided to trace the 

evolution of some of your 

favourite record categories. 

You'll find "Flashback" 

chapter. Each 

one explores a 

record-breaking 

topic - such as 

60 years in space (p.16), 

new animal discoveries 

(p.44) and communications 

technology (p.180) - and 

traces how the records have 

evolved since our first book 

in 1955. We've also dipped 

into our earlier editions to 

bring you the occasional 

bite-sized Flashbacks on the 

regular pages, comparing 

records from the past to 

those of today. 

• Brisbane: Cam Wilson 

(AUS) achieved the greatest 

distance by go-kart in 

24 hours indoors, covering 

604.18 km (375.42 mi) 

at Slideways Go Karting 

Brisbane on 4-5 Feb 2014. 

• Perth: Alastair Galpin set 

a new record for the most 

gloves worn on one hand, 

pulling on 65 on 3 Nov 2013. 

ALL AT SEA 

This year, we were also 

pleased to be able to ratify 

two incredible records set in 

the wilds of the Tasman Sea. 

First was Shaun Quincey 

(NZ), who became the first 

person to row across 

the Tasman Sea west to 

east (from the mainland), 

followed by the four-man 

Team Gallagher (all NZ) 

the first team to row the 

Tasman Sea west to east. 

NEW TOPICS 

One of the reasons for 

the success of Guinness 

World Records over the 

past 60 years is that we've 

always tried to embrace 

any new habits, fashions 

or technology. We're not a 

dusty reference book - we 

refiect what's happening 

around us. 

This year is no exception, 

which is why you'll find 

new categories for topics 

such as 3D printing (p.206), 

lnstagram and Twitter 

(p.138), alternative transport 

(p.190) and digital piracy 

(p.174). Look out, too, for 

some 2013 "neologies" 

(newly coined words), 

such as "bitcoin" (p.135) 

"twerking" (p.1 17) and 

"selfies" (p.207). 

We've also refreshed the 

design this year- riffing on 

Most sixes by one 

team in a Test 

match series 

Australia's 5-0 

whitewash against 

England in the 2013-1 4 

Ashes series included 

40 sixes. Brad Haddin 

(9) and George Bailey 

(8) led the way, and 

Australia took the 

record from Pakistan 

when Steve Smith 

(pictured above) hit 

the 38th six in the final 

Test on 3 Jan 201 4. Be 

bowled over by Cricket 

on pp.222-223. 

., 

·• 

Largest orchestra 

Make some noise, Suncorp Stadium! And so 

the Brisbane venue did, with 7,224 musicians 

shaking it to the strains of "Waltzing Matilda", 

"Ode to Joy" and "We Will Rock You" during 

the Queensland Music Festival on 13 Jul 2013. 

We also have outsized instrumentation this 

year: take a look at our Big Orchestra gallery 

on pp.96-7, where you'll find everything 

from an enormous electric guitar to a 

supersized saxophone.


Ed ito r's etter 

the concepts of "diamonds" 

and "tablet typography" - 

courtesy of the creatives 

at 55 Design. To that end, 

we've introduced a new 

element we're calling the 

Control Strip. You'll find 

this design feature along 

the bottom of most of 

the regular spreads. This 

space is dedicated to fact 

boxes, glossaries, the 

aforementioned Flashback 

panels and infographics, 

giving you extra record 

data at a glance. 

Most people wearing 

paper hats 

Yet another new feature 

for this book is the Gallery. 

These spreads showcase 

some of the amazing 

photography that Guinness 

World Records has shot 

over the years. Picture Editor 

Michael Whitty and his 

team have once again been 

travelling the world to bring 

you the best new images, 

so look out for the likes of 

Jiff the dog from the USA 

(fastest 5 metres on front 

paws, p.67), the OTvan from 

the UK (smallest caravan, 

Scouts New Zealand celebrated their 20th annual 

Jamboree with 3,045 people wearing paper hats 

in Manfeild Park, Feilding, New Zealand, on 1 Jan 

2014. The Jamboree takes place every three years 

and includes scouts from New Zealand, Australia, 

the Cook Islands, Korea, Tonga and Samoa. 

Most lights 

on a residential 

property 

The Richards family 

(AUS) celebrated 

Christmas with 

502,165 festive lights 

in Forrest, Australian 

Capital Territory. The 

dazzling display began 

on 21 Nov 2013. More 

eye-catching buildings 

(from the tallest to the 

twistiest) can be found 

in Architecture on 

pp.196-197. 

p.192), the Fisarmonica 

Gigante from Italy (largest 

accordion, p.97) and the 

most dice stacked using 

chopsticks, by the serial 

record-breaker Silvio Sabba 

(ITA), on p.102. 

FREEAPP 

Back by popular demand 

once more is our SEE IT 

3D Augmented Reality (AR) 

feature. Check out how 

to access a wealth of 3D 

and interactive animations 

- and download the free 

app - on pp.6-7. Among 

the amazing visuals on offer 

this year is an actual-size 

render of Robert Pershing 

Wadlow, the world's tallest 

man ever (p.81), giving 

you the unique chance 

to have your photograph 

breath-holding record 

and the longest walk 

on petals, among 

many others. 

taken alongside this classic 

record holder. Many thanks 

to Mustard Design (UK) for 

their cutting-edge work on 

these added extras. 

Staying in the digital 

realm, we were excited to 

welcome our 4-millionth 

Facebook fan in Apr 2014, 

and we've signed up to 

lnstagram and Flickr to 

share some of the hundreds 

of incredible photographs 

and videos that come into 

our offices every week. 

We're also closing in on our 

500,000th follower on the 

GWR You Tube channel, and 

our Twitter following has 

reached 87.2K. Okay, we're 

a long way off Katy Perry 

(most followers on Twitter) 

Shakira (most "liked"


, 

person on Facebook) - 

see p.166 - but our job is 

to monitor and disseminate 

records, not to break them! 

Moving over to 

cyberspace, be sure to 

check out the Challengers 

section of our website. 

This gives wannabe record 

holders fast access to an 

official Guinness World 

Records adjudicator for a 

series of do-try-this-at-home 

record categories such 

as Food & Drink, Sports & 

Fitness and Videogames. 

You'll find out how it works at 

www.guinnessworldrecords. 

com/challengers. 

OFFICIALLY 

AMAZI NG 

The most exciting aspect of 

working at Guinness World 

Records is getting to meet 

our "Officially Amazing" 

record holders face to face, 

and this year we've had 

Most swords 

swallowed underwater 

Of course, we try to answer 

every email and letter, 

although we can't find room 

for every single new record 

approved - our annual book 

features only about 1 0% of 

all the superlatives we have 

on file, and includes those 

classic records that have 

stood the test of time. So if 

you've received your GWR 

certificate but you haven't 

been selected for the book, 

better luck next time ... 

If you haven't yet earned 

The Space Cowboy, aka Chayne Hultgren 

(AUS), is no stranger to Guinness World 

Records. As of May 2014 he holds 15 records, 

and you can read more about his exploits 

on pp.108-1 09. That's where you'll find out 

how many swords he swallowed underwater 

and where you can check out the exploits of 

other performers who have sliced, diced and 

chainsawed their way into the record books. 

some memorable 

encounters. We've 

had the honour of 

presenting certificates to 

some of the sporting world's 

greatest legends, including 

Pele (see p.239) and Haile 

Gebrselassie (p.212), as well 

as welcoming adventurers 

and pioneers to our offices 

(turn to pp.142-57). 

We're indebted, as 

always, to our countless 

record claimants and fans. 

Most participants 

in a bleep test 

A bleep test is a fitness assessment in which 

participants run 20 m between two markers 

before a prerecorded or computer-timed "bleep" 

is heard. The runners have to cover the same 

distance ever more quickly until they are caught 

by the bleep. Marymede Catholic College 

(AUS) organized a bleep test for 329 people 

in Melbourne, Victoria, on 24 Oct 2013. 

a GWR certificate but made 

it your life's ambition to get 

your name in the record 

books, then what are you 

waiting for? Apply now! 

Record-breaking is free 

and open to absolutely 

everyone -you'll find 

out hqw on p.5. We 

neect you to keep 

those records. Sixty years 

ago, it wasn't possible to 

make a transatlantic phone 

call (p.180), no 

human had set 

foot on the Moon 

(p.16) and no one 

had ever thought 

of twerking! Imagine 

where we might be in 

60 years' time ... 

The Space Cowboy's 

feats include juggling with 

chainsaws while balanced 

on a 4-m unicycle 

and dragging weights 

suspended from hooks 

under his eyes. Never far 

behind is GWR adjudicator 

Chris Sheedy, proving that 

he will go to any depths to 

judge a record! 

Michl and Shannon Bradley, Chelsea Tease 

and Joe Williams, and Liahn Heperi and Wade 

Herewini (all NZ).


Offici a Amazin 

Celebrating the 60-year story of the biggest-selling annual 

"Turn the heat of 

argument into the light of 

knowledge." This was the 

remit of the first ever edition 

of The Guinness Book of 

Records, which itself had 

its origins in an argument. 

On 10 Nov 1951 , during 

a shooting party at North 

Slob, by the River Slaney 

in County Wexford, Ireland, 

Sir Hugh Beaver (1890- 

1967) - MD of the Guinness 

Brewery - and his fellow 

fowl-hunters failed to bag 

some golden plovers flying 

overhead. Could the plover 

be the fastest game bird in 

Europe? A debate ensued, 

but no answer could be 

found, not even in the wellstocked 

library of Sir Hugh's 

host later that evening. 

It occurred to Sir Hugh 

that people across the UK 

and Ireland would be arguing 

over all sorts of topics, and 

that perhaps a book should 

be published to settle those 

In the 1950s, Sir Hugh Beaver (left) - Managing Director 

of the Guinness Brewery - had the idea for a book of world 

records that might help settle arguments in pubs. Sixty 

years on, the idea of superlatives continues to fascinate 

and excite ... and inspires millions of people to strive for 

immortality by becoming record holders themselves. 

debates. If he could 

create such a book, he 

could even give it away 

to some of the 80,000 

or so pubs in the UK 

as part of a promotion 

to sell more Guinness 

stout. To help him with his 

plan, he needed to locate 

a fact-finding agency, and 

luckily an underbrewer at 

the Guinness Brewery in 

Park Royal, London, had the 

answer: the McWhirter twins. 

That underbrewer was 

Chris Chataway (1931-2014), 

an amateur athlete who 

acted as pacemaker for 

Roger Bannister, who on 

1973 Broadcaster David Frost 

(second on left) acquires TV 

rights for GWR specials. The 

Hall of Fame special seen 

above appeared in 1986. 

6 May 1954 had broken the 

four-minute mile-a feat once 

thought to be impossible. The 

timekeeper for the race was 

Norris McWhirter (1925- 

2004), who, along with his 

identical twin Ross (1925-75), 

had recently set up a factfinding 

agency in London. 

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1999 GWR launches its 

first UK TV show, named 

simply Guinness World 

Records, hosted by football 

star lan Wright. 

Sir Hugh commissioned 

the McWhirters to create 

his book of superlatives, 

and in 1954 the twins set 

up an office in a disused 

gym at 107 Fleet Street in 

London. Under the name 

Guinness Superlatives, they 

spent an intense few months 

researching and collating the 

first edition of The Guinness 

Book of Records, which was 

bound on 27 Aug 1955. 

While it was initially 

intended as a promotional 

item, the book had a life 

beyond the bars, and when 

The Guinness Book of 

Records was offered up 

for the public to buy (minus 

the beer-proof coating!) 

in October of that year, it 

became an instant best-seller, 

and has remained at the 

top of the charts ever since. 

Within a year, it had launched 

in the USA - as The Guinness 

Book of World Records - 

and today is available in 

more than 100 countries 

in up to 20 languages. 

In the years since its 

debut, the book has had 

a change of owner - it 

was sold by the Guinness 

Brewery in 1999 - and 

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a change of name to its 

current title Guinness World 

Records, reflecting the fact 

that it's more than just a 

book: it also has TV shows, 

museums, websites, digital 

apps, ebooks and, most 

recently, live events. 

RECORD 

ADJUDICATION 

As the accepted global 

arbiter of record-breaking 

achievement, Guinness 

20011 Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday welcomes the King of 

Pop, Michael Jackson, to the London offices on the eve of the 

2006 World Music Awards, where Jackson's Thriller album is 

acknowledged as the biggest-selling album of all time. 

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World Records now 

processes around 50,000 

claims a year, and has sent 

adjudicators as far afield as 

the bottom of the ocean 

and the top of the Burj 

Khalifa, the world's tallest 

building. We've expanded 

into larger premises in 

London, and opened new 

offices in New York (USA), 

Tokyo (JPN), Beijing (CHN) 

and Dubai (UAE), with more 

record representatives and 

editorial consultants dotted 

all around the world. 

As you'll see in this year's 

edition, we continue to 

evolve and adapt, reflecting 

the ever-shifting modern 

landscape and providing 

a snapshot of the universe 

in which we live. As long 

as humans continue to 

push the limits of what's 

possible, we'll be there 

with our stopwatches and 

counters, documenting and 

ratifying the achievements. 

And the next 60 years 

will undoubtedly be as 

fascinating and recordbreaking 

as the last. 

.s 

013


1. Youngest galaxy 

In Feb 2014, astronomers 

discovered galaxy Abell 2744-Y1 , 

the light from which takes just 

over 13 billion years to reach 

Earth. Around 30 times smaller 

than the Milky Way, it is 

producing 10 times more stars. 

2. Most common 

type of galaxy 

Spiral galaxies such as Messier 

101, pictured here by the Hubble 

space telescope, account for 

77% of all galaxies. Our Milky 

Way is also a spiral galaxy, 

characterized by spiral arms 

wound around a brighter core. 

3. First discovered 

spiral galaxy 

William Parsons, 3rd Earl of 

Rosse (IRL), identified M51 (the 

"Whirlpool Galaxy") as a spiral in 

1845. He used the Leviathan, then 

the world's largest telescope, at 

Birr Castle, County Offaly, Ireland. 

4. Closest galaxy 

to the Milky Way 

The Canis Major dwarf galaxy 

lies an average of 42,000 light 

years from the centre of our 

galaxy. It was only found in 

2003 as it was difficult to detect 

behind the plane of our own 

spiral galaxy as seen from Earth. 

5. Most remote object 

visible to the naked eye 

The Andromeda galaxy, 

known as Messier 31, is about 

2.5 million light years from Earth. 

Runner-up in this category is 

Messier 33, a spiral galaxy that 

can be glimpsed at a distance 

of 2.53 million light years.


Milestones in space 016 

018 

020 

022 

Observatories 

024 

10. Most massive 

galaxy cluster 

"EI Gordo" is the nickname of 

a galaxy cluster 7 billion light 

years away. Discovered via 

a disturbance in the cosmic 

microwave background, El Gordo 

is actually two clusters colliding 

at a rate of several million km/h.


First flight between 

space stations: Mir E0-1 is the 

first expedition to the Soviet Mir 

space station. Its crew, Leonid Kizim 

and Vladimir Solovyov, launch from 

Earth on 13 Mar 1986, reach Mirtwo 

days later and remain docked for six 

weeks. Mir deorbits some 15 years 

later on 23 Mar 2001. More than 

First manned maiden 

space flight: John Young 

and Robert Crippen (both 

USA) launch the inaugural 

orbital mission of the 

Space Shuttle Columbia 

on 12 Apr 1981. It is 

the first time a new 

First men on the Moon: 

Neil Armstrong (USA), 

commander of the Apollo 11 

mission, takes his first small 

step at 2:56 a.m. GMT 

on 21 Jul 1969, followed 

on to the surface of the 

Moon by Edwin "Buzz" 

Aldrin Jr (USA). 

"Buzz" Aldrin: 

first men on the Moon 

In 2013, Aldrin (USA) 

looked back: "Neil had an 

optimistic way of using 

the word 'beautiful'. But 

when I looked out, it wasn't 

beautiful. It was desolate."



Chris says there 

have been musical 

instruments in 

space since a US 

Project Mercury 

astronaut brought 

a harmonica - and 

the Russians had a 

guitar on a Sa/yut 

space station. 

First Mars rover: 

The 1997 Sojourner (USA) 

vehicle is landed by NASA's 

Mars Pathfinder spacecraft 

on 4 Jul. A small mobile 

laboratory, Sojourner travels 

an approximate total of 

100 m and conducts such 

Largest 

space station: 

The International 

Space Station 

(ISS) is a modular 

structure that launches in 1998. 

On 24 Feb 2011, the STS-133 

Shuttle mission launches to 

dock the Leonardo Permanent 

Multipurpose Module with the 

ISS, bringing it to its current 

mass of 419,454 kg. 

as If the track had soaked up a sense of 

place." Chord changes in zero gravity were a 

challenge because his guitar would float away 

when strummed, when it would sit in his hands 

on Earth. Other tracks were added and the video 

was mixed on Earth. For a father-son project, 

Chris was delighted at the song's success. 

"It bridged science-fiction and science-fact." 

First human-made object 

to travel in interstellar space: 

On 12 Sep 2013, NASA announces 

that Voyager 1 has crossed the 

heliopause, the boundary between the 

Solar System and interstellar space. 

As of 9 Apr 2014, it is 19.06 billion km 

(11.84 billion mi) from the Sun on a 

mission begun in 1977 (see p.25). 

-


Gamma-ray bursts 

are the Universe's 

most powerful 

events and thought 

to be the birth cries 

of black holes, as 

supermassive stars 

exhaust their fuel 

and collapse to a 

singularity. 

Most massive black hole 

On 5 Dec 2011, astronomers using the Gemini 

North, Keck II and Hubble observatories reported 

a supermassive black hole in the centre of 

elliptical galaxy NGC 4889, some 336 million 

light years away. The black hole's mass is 

estimated at 20 billion times that of the Sun. 

"remotest known 

bodies". The record went 

to an "extra-galactic 

nebulae at a distance 

of some 1,000 million 

light-years". In Mar 2014, 

the most distant 

confirmed galaxy 

is zS-GND-5296: 

its light takes some 

13.3 billion years to 

reach us on Earth. 


Most distant black hole 

A supermassive black hole resides in the centre 

of quasar ULAS J112001 .48+064124.3. In terms 

of redshift (a light measurement - higher than 1.4 

means the source is receding at more than the 

speed of light), it measures 7.085. This black hole 

was announced in Jun 2011 and emits radiation 

from superheated matter that surrounded it less 

than 770 million years after the Big Bang. 

An energetic jet of 

matter emitted from 

a supermasslve black 

hole in the centre of 

galaxy CGCG 049-033 

measures 1.5 million 

light years long. Life on 

any planets in the path 

of the jet stream would 

be extinguished. 

Largest structure 

The Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall 

consists of a staggeringly huge cluster of 

galaxies and other normal matter measuring 

10 billion light years across and about 10 billion 

light years from Earth. Superclusters are bound 

by gravity; this one was announced in Nov 2013 

by astronomers who mapped it by charting 

gamma-ray bursts (pictured) in the region. 

Nothing to see here: dark matter 

Astronomers in the 1970s, particularly Vera Rubin 

(right), measured the velocities of stars in other 

galaxies and noticed that the stars at the galaxies' 

edges moved faster than predicted. To reconcile 

the observations with the law of gravity, scientists 

proposed that there is matter we can't see and 

called it "dark matter". This, the most common 

form of matter, neither emits nor absorbs light 

and radiation as stars and planets do. Measuring 

the effect of dark matter in gravitational terms, 

scientists have proposed that together with dark 

energy it makes up 95% of the Universe. 

Nearest distance between 

two black holes: two orbiting 

black holes in quasar SDSS 

J153636.22+044127.0, 

separated by just one-third 

of a light year 

Closest black hole to 

Earth: V4641 Sgr, discovered 

1,600 light years away 

Closest supermassive black 

hole to Earth: Sagittarius 

A*, centre of the Milky Way, 

27,000 light years away 

vOO 

-- -- - - 

- ----- - - - --- ------ --- --- 

www.guinnessworldrecords.com 019


First caves on another planet 

In Mar 2007, images from NASA's Mars Odyssey 

showed the discovery of what appeared to 

be seven circular pits on Mars' surface with 

entrances to underground caverns. In only 

one of the seven pits does a floor appear to be 

visible, at least 130m (426ft} below the surface. 

The fastest time to reach the International Space 

Station (ISS) from launch to dock is 5 hr 39 min, 

achieved on 29 May 2013 UTC by the crew of 

Expedition 36 on board the Soyuz TMA-09M 

(inset). They launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan 

at 8:31 p.m. UTC and docked with the ISS's 

"Rassvet" module at 2:10a.m. UTC on 30 May. 

and Jupiter. At Its 

centre is a peak rising 

a record 20 km (12 mi) 

above the crater floor 

(the central red feature 

seen on the satellite 

image above). 

In our 1955 edition, the most 

remote planet was assumed to 

be Pluto, with a mean distance 

from the Sun of 5.9 x 109 km. 

Pluto was discovered on 18 Feb 

1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, an 

astronomer working at the 

Lowell Observatory in the USA. 

Today, Pluto no longer holds 

the record, as over the years 

astronomers raised doubts 

over its planetary status, citing 

its diminutive size and erratic 

orbit. In 2006, the International 

Astronomical Union offered a 

new definition of a planet; Pluto 

didn't qualify, and its status was 

revised to "dwarf planet". 

Voyager/, the most remote 

man-made object, 

is, as of 15:26 GMT on 

6 Feb 2014, a distance of 

19,034,504,880 km from 

Earth. Having left the Solar 

System in Aug 2012, it is 

now travelling through 

interstellar space.


Saturn has the largest 

ring system: billions of 

tiny, orbiting particles of 

dust and ice, equivalent 

in mass to 30 million 

Mount Everests. 

Our Solar System's 

mightiest body is Jupiter, 

with an equatorial diameter 

of 143,884 km (89,405 mi) 

and a polar diameter of 133,708 km 

(83,082 mi). Its mass and volume are around 

317 and 1,323 times that of Earth respectively. 

Jupiter also has the shortest day of any planet 

in the Solar System, at just 9 hr 55 min 29.69 sec. 

Scaled-up: the Sweden Solar System 

When the Stockholm (now Ericsson) Globe Arena 

opened in Sweden in Feb 1989 as the world's 

largest hemispherical building, it gave two 

Swedish academics an idea: if the 11O-m-wide 

building was considered a scaled-down Sun, how 

far away would the planets lie, and what size would 

they be? Nils Brenning and Gosta Gahm went on 

to champion the largest representation of the 

Solar System - a 1 :20-million-scale "model" that 

stretches 950 km across the country; with planets, 

minor planets and comets represented by scaled 

globes or artworks at their relative distances apart. 

Dwarf planet: a body 

with enough mass to form 

a spherical shape, but 

not enough gravitational 

attraction to clear its orbit 

of debris as it circles the Sun. 

Light year: the distance that 

light travels in one year in a 

vacuum : some 9.46 trillion km 

(9.46 x 1012 km). 

Mass: a measure of the 

quantity of matter in a body 

as well as its inertia. 

Weight: the force of an 

object due to gravity. 

www.guinnesaworldrecords.com 021


Great Comets are those that become extremely 

bright in the night sky. The most recent Great 

Comet was Comet McNaught, first discovered 

by Robert McNaught (AUS) in 2006. At its peak 

brightness, on 12 Jan 2007, its tail measured a 

maximum of 35° long in the sky. 

First cometary soft lander 

Launched on 2 Mar 2004, the European Space 

Agency's (ESA) Rosetta mission will rendezvous with 

comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. The 

spacecraft will study and map the comet then release 

the Philae lander, which will anchor itself to the 

surface of the 4-km-wide (2.4-mi) comet with 

harpoons and will survive for at least a week. 

lon tall IS swept 

back by solar wmd 

Tail points 

away from Sun 

Coma and tail disappear 

as comet gets farther 

from Sun's warmth 

that it was estimated that 

no comet head contains 

"mass in excess of 20 miles 

[30 km] in diameter" and 

that the longest tail "may 

trail out to 200 million miles 

[300 million km]". The 

largest comet now known 

is Chiron, which has a 

diameter of 182 km and a 

tail that has measured up to 

1,273 million km in length. 

Comet: cluster of ice, 

dust, rock and frozen gas 

left over from the birth of 

the Solar System. When 

it passes near the Sun, a 

coma and tail can often 

be seen (pictured above). 

Meteor: rock that enters 

the Earth's atmosphere 

and burns up into a 

"shooting star". See p.32. 

- - -- - 

022 Space


First comet sample returned 

Encountering the comet Wild 2 {below) in early 

2004, the Stardust spacecraft swept up tiny 

samples of cometary dust in an aerogel collector 

(above) and returned the material to Earth on 

15 Jan 2006. Its ongoing analysis is providing 

insights into the chemical make-up of this icy, 

primordial body. 

On 4 Jul 2005, a 350-kg (770-lb) copper "bullet" 

from NASA's Deep Impact craft hit comet Tempel 1 

at 10.3 km/s (6.4 mils). The impact - equivalent to 

that of 4.7 tonnes (10,360 I b) of TNT - created a 

crater 100 m (330 ft) wide and 30 m (1 00 ft) deep. 

lnCIUCieO the toxic gas 

cyanogen. Needless 

panic-buying of gas 

masks, "anti-comet 

umbrellas" and "anticomet 

pills" followed. 

Ta il end: what happens to comets? 

The "death" of a comet can come about in a variety 

of different ways. Not all comets are tied to an orbit 

Closest comet flyby by 

a spacecraft: Giotto flew 

around the Sun, and some of them simply fly out 

within 200 km of Griggof 

the Solar System. Each time a comet passes 

Skjellerup on 10 Jul 1992. 

the Sun, it loses samples of dust and ice; if all of 

Most comet tails met by 

the ice is lost, the comet can become an inactive, 

a spacecraft: Ulysses flew 

through the tails of Hyakutake 

asteroid-like structure. Alternatively, complete loss 

(1996), McNaught-Hartley 

of ice can result in the comet breaking up into dust 

(2004) and McNaught (2007). 

clouds. Finally, comets can meet a violent end when 

Most comets discovered 

their orbit results in them crashing into a moon or planet. 

by a spacecraft: The SOHO 

(Solar and Heliospheric 

Our own Moon (right) is pockmarked with impact craters 

Observatory) had discovered 

caused by comets and asteroids crashing into its surface. 

2,574 comets by Dec 2013. 

-- - - --- --- - ---- - -- 



On 5 Dec 2011, Kepler-22b was announced 

as the first of more than 700 planets thought 

to reside within the habitable zone of its star, 

some 600 light years away. At 2.4 times the size 

of Earth, the planet orbits its Sun-like star in 

around 290 days. If the planet has an Earth-like 

greenhouse effect, then its surface temperature 

could be 22·c (72.F). 

Oldest 

unexplained 

extrasolar signal 

First digital time capsule 

chosen by public vote 

A radio telescope at Yevpatoria in Ukraine sent a 

radio message on 9 Oct 2008 to the planet Gliese 

581 c, orbiting a star some 20.3 light years from 

Earth. Images of landmarks and celebrities (such as 

singer Cheryl Cole, pictured) were sent, as well as 

501 text messages from Bebo users. The message 

is due to reach Gliese 581c in 2029. 

On 15 Aug 1977, 

astronomer Jerry 

Ehman (USA) detected 

a radio signal using 

the Big Ear radio 

telescope at the Ohio 

State University, 

USA. The signal was 

monitored for 72 sec 

and closely matched 

the expected profile 

of an extraterrestrial 

signal. Ehman circled 

the readout and wrote 

Grey aliens are alleged 

beings of wildly varying 

description, although they are 

often shown with oversized 

heads and black eyes. Lisa 

Vanderperre-Hirsch (USA) 

has the largest collection 

of grey alien memorabilia, 

with 547 individual items as of 

20 Nov 2011 in Florida, USA. 

Lisa's collection includes 

posters, calendars and even 

alien-themed toilet paper. 

The amount of radio 

telescope capacity used 

for SETI is much less than 

is popularly assumed. 

Project Phoenix was given 

the largest allocation for 

a single SETI project at 

Arecibo to analyse patterns 

in radio signals. It used 

about 5% of the total 

observatory time (2,400 hr) 

from Sep 1998 to Mar 2004. 

Worldwide, just 30 or so 

scientists and engineers 

work full-time in SETI.


Most powerful radio 

signal aimed into space 

On 16 Nov 1974, scientists at the Arecibo 

radio telescope in Puerto Rico sent 

a message containing basic data on 

humanity (right}. The binary radio signal 

was broadcast to the M13 globular 

cluster in the constellation of Hercules 

and lasted 169 sec. It will arrive in 

25,000 years at a strength 10 million 

times that of radio signals from our 

Sun. Any reply will take another 

25,000 years to return to Earth. 

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observatories 

An 11,000-year-old site in Tu rkey is thought to have been an early form of observatory 

Largest array of 

radio telescopes 

The VLA (Very Large Array) of the US 

National Science Foundation has 27 mobile 

antennae on rails in a Y-shaped arrangement. 

Each arm of the Y is 21 km (13 mi) long and 

each antenna has a dish that measures 

25 m (82 ft) in diameter. The VLA, 

completed in 1980, is located 

80 km (50 mi) west of 

Socorro in New 

observatory 

The Sudbury Neutrino 

Observatory (SNOLAB) 

is 2,075 m (6,800 ft) 

down a mine in Ontario, 

Canada. There, shielded 

from cosmic rays that 

affect experiments 

into low-energy solar 

neutrinos, it searches for 

cosmic dark matter 

and supernova 

neutrino. 

LARGEST ... 

Primary mirror 

(non-segmented) 

The largest observatory 

mirrors are those in the 

dual-tube Large Binocular 

Telescope (see right), but 

the largest single primary 

mirror forms part of Japan's 

Subaru Telescope on 

Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA. 

The 8.2-m-wide (26-ft 

10-in) mirror is made from 

20-cm-thick (8-in) glass 

weighing 22.8 tonnes 

(50,265 lb). With the 

help of 261 actuators to 

constantly keep the mirror 

focused, warping is limited 

to less than 0.1 microns 

(0.00001 millimetres). 

Cosmic ray telescope 

The Pierre Auger 

Observatory is a vast array 

of 1 ,600 particle detectors 

looking for very high-energy 

supermassive 

black holes. Only 

one high-energy 

particle falls per 1 km2 

(0.39 sq mi) in a century, 

so the observatory is 

arranged over a 3,000-km2 

(1,158-sq-mi) area of 

Argentina - in an area 

largEi than Luxembourg. 

The University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory 

(TAO) was established In Chile at an altitude of 

5,640 m (18,500 ft) - double the height at which 

altitude sickness typically occurs. TAO perches 

on the summit of Cerro Chajnantor in the 

Atacama Desert. The observatory has an infrared 

telescope that was completed in Mar 2009. 

Dish radio telescope 

The Arecibo Observatory 

(see also p.25) was 

considered Impressive 

enough to star in the finale 

to the 1995 James 

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Largest binocular telescope 

The Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona, USA, 

comprises two identical telescopes, each with an 

8.4-m-wide (27-ft 6-in) primary mirror. Working in 

tandem, they have an equivalent light-gathering 

power of a single mirror 11.8 m (38 ft 8 in) in 

diameter and are able to achieve the image 

sharpness of a 22.8-m-wide (74-ft 9-in) aperture. 

distinctive design consists 

of a dish with a diameter of 

305 m (1,000 ft), covering 

7.48 ha (18.5 acres) - about 

the same as 14 American 

football fields. The dish is 

covered by 38,778 aluminium 

panels. A steerable arm 

measuring 100 m (328 ft) 

is above the dish, allowing 

more of the sky to be seen. 

c. 3,200 km (2,000 mi) apart. 

The arms of these facilities 

are each 4 km (2.4 mi) 

long, providing LIGO with 

a high level of sensitivity. 

The detectors are currently 

being upgraded to continue 

the search for gravitational 

waves predicted in Einstein's 

general theory of relativity. 

Liquid mirror 

The Large Zenith Telescope 

(LZT), east of Vancouver 

in Canada, uses a mirror 

made from liquid mercury. 

By spinning the 3-tonne 

(6,613-lb), 6-m-diameter 

Largest movable motor· 

driven structure on land 

The Robert C Byrd Green Bank Telescope is a 

radio telescope at the National Radio Astronomy 

Observatory in West Virginia, USA. The dish 

measures 100 x 110 m (328 x 360 ft), and its 

highest point stands 146 m (480 ft) above the 

ground. The structure is fully steerable, and 

can observe the whole sky from five degrees 

above the horizon. 

Gravitational 

wave detector 

The Laser Interferometry 

Gravitational Wave 

Observatory (LIGO) consists 

of two similar L-shaped 

structures based in 

Refracting telescopes 

use lenses to gather and 

focus light, as opposed to 

reflecting telescopes that 

use mirrors. The 1897 Yerkes 

Observatory in Wisconsin, 

USA, has a primary lens 

with a diameter of 1.02 m 

_ (3 ft 4 in). 

The H.E.S.S. II is larger 

than many telescopes 

but, as a Cherenkov 

detector, It Is In a 

different category to 

true imaging telescopes. 

The H.E.S.S. II 

telescope - the newest 

part of the High Energy 

Stereoscopic System - 

has a diameter of 28 m 

(91 ft 10 in) and a total 

collecting surface area 

of 614 m2 (6,609 sq ft). 

it detects faint 

Cherenkov radiation, 

which is produced 

by particles travelling 

faster than the speed 

of light. H.E.S.S. II saw 

its first light in Khomas 

Highland, Namibia, 

on 26 Jul 2012. 

The Gran Telescopic Canarias (GTC) is the largest 

land-based optical telescope, boasting a mirror 

with an effective aperture of 10.4 m. This is also 

the world's largest segmented primary mirror, 

consisting of 36 hexagonal pieces, each of which 

can be moved separately to help counter the 

blurring effect of Earth's atmosphere on 

stellar light. The GTC, located at an altitude 

of 2,267 m on La Palma in the Canary 

Islands, has produced images of the Milky 

Way at a resolution 60 million times greater 

than human vision. 


Three big competitors 

in the next generation 

of observatories are 

the Giant Magellan 

Te lescope (La Serena, 

Chile), the Thirty Meter 

Te lescope (Mauna 

Kea, Hawaii) and the 

European Extremely 

Large Telescope (Cerro 

Armazones, Chile). Due 

for completion in the 

next decade or so, their 

budgets will average 

around £700 m.


Earth 

If all the oceans were combined into a single drop of water, it would be 1,371 km wide 

Ta llest illuminated icefalls 

The waterfalls of Eidfjord in Norway plunge 

noisily some 500 m (1,640 ft) in summer. 

In the winter, when temperatures can drop 

to -26°C (-15°F), the water is frozen in its 

tracks. In Jan 2013, climbers Stephan Siegrist 

and Dani Arnold (pictured climbing, with 

Martin Echsner belaying), photographer 

Thomas Senf and sports-equipment 

manufacturer Mammut captured images of 

these "icefalls" at night. Illuminations were 

provided by lamps, torches and flares, and 

involved 700 m (2,300 ft) of cables. 

028 Diamond anniversary edition


Flashback: 

Monitoring Earth 030 

It came from 

outer space 032 

Earth from space 034 

Mountains 036 

Blue planet 038 

The dramatic light 

show was Inspired by 

stories of the Norse 

frost giants - a race 

formed from the drip 

of an icicle as the fires 

of creation met the 

lifeless snows that 

had come before. 



The longest-operating Earthobservation 

satellite was Landsat 5, 

developed by NASA and launched on 

1 Mar 1984 from Vandenberg Air Force 

Base, California, USA. Managed by 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (1984-2000) and 

later the US Geological Survey 

(2001-13), it was decommissioned 

in 2013 after capturing more than 

The first successful 

2.5 million images of Earth's 

weather satellite was the 

surface during its 150,000 orbits. 

USA's T/ROS-1, which was 

launched on 1 Apr 1960. 

"TIROS"- the "Television 

Infra Red Observation 

Satellite" - remained 

operational for 78 days, 

during which time it 

employed its high- and 

low-resolution cameras 

to record images of cloud 

formations (Inset) that were 

used by meteorologists 

worldwide to understand 

weather systems. 

Magnetometers are sensitive 

instruments that measure magnetic 

fields in orbit. On 15 May 1958, the 

first satellite magnetometer was 

launched on board the Soviet Union's 

Sputnik 3- a conical satellite 3.57 m 

(11 ft 8 in) long and 1.73 m (5 It 8 in) wide 

at its base. It weighed 1,327 kg (2,9251b) 

and possessed 12 scientific instruments 

(below). The satellite remained in orbit 

until 6 Apr 1960. 

The first geostationary 

weather satellite - GOES-1 

(Geostationary Operational 

Environmental Satellite) 

was launched from Cape 

Canaveral, Florida, USA, on 

16 Oct 1975. The principal 

instrument on board was 

the Visible Infrared Spin 

Scan Radiometer 

(VISSR), which 

provided day and night 

imagery of cloud conditions 

over the full-disk (inset). The 

satellite had the capability 

to relay meteorological 

data from more than 

10,000 locations into a 

central processing centre 

in order to build weatherprediction 

models. 

monitor global ocean 

current patterns. The 

3,600 free-floating, 

robotic Argo sensors 

(mapped below) drift 

to depths of 2,000 m 

(6,560 ft) and rise 

to transmit data via 

satellites. By Nov 2012, 

Argo had collected 

its millionth profile 

of temperature and 

salinity - twice the 

number obtained by all 

research vessels during 

the 20th century.


On 7 Jul 2005, 

scientists were 

able to perform the 

first accurate sea-level 

monitoring by satellite using 

a number of different instruments 

(such as the Gravity Recovery 

and Climate Experiment - or 

GRACE- satellite, above). Satellite 

data was collected on changes 

in Earth's gravitational field, the 

mass of polar ice caps, and ocean 

topography and circulation (inset). 

Using this data, it was determined 

that . in the last 50 years, the rate 

at which the sea level is rising 

is 1.8 mm per year - although in 

the last 12 years, this rate has 

increased to 3 mm per year. 

- 

The radiometric 

temperature was 

measured by the 

amount of radiation 

(or lack of it) from the 

Antarctic Ridge. 

The lowest 

radiometric Earth 

temperature recorded by 

satellite is -93.2'C, on a high 

ridge in Antarctica, as preliminarily 

announced by NASA in Dec 2013. 

Data was collected by satellites 

including NASA's Terra (right) over 

32 years and it was found that the 

dry and clear air of the Antarctic 

allows heat to be efficiently 

radiated into space. 

monitoring climate change was 

launched on 2 Nov 2009 by the European 

Space Agency (ESA). The Soil Moisture 

and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission surveys 

critical parts of the water cycle between 

oceans, air and land by mapping the saltiness 

of the sea and monitoring water content in the 

planet's soil. The satellite works by measuring 

Earth's natural microwave emissions, which 

alter with the changing moisture levels on 

land or the salinity of the sea. 

The fastest-melting Antarctic 

glacier is Pine Island Glacier, which 

is dropping in height by up to 16 m 

(52 ft) a year. scientists discovered. 

Key data came from Autosub 

(below), an autonomous submarine 

which was sent under the vast 

glacier to reveal it has become 

detached from an undersea ridge, 

allowing warm water to flow under 

it and increase the rate of melt. 

From its launch in 2009 until its 

burn-up in 2013, ESA's Gravity 

Field and Steady-State Ocean 

Circulation Explorer (GOCE, above) 

was the most accurate gravitymapping 

satellite, working to 

1 milliGal (a unit used to measure 

the gravitational field). 

The highest-resolution maps 

of Earth's gravity field, however, 

were created in 2013 by an Australian 

German team using data obtained 

from the US Space Shuttle. The maps 

(right) improved the resolution of 

previous global gravity field maps by 

a factor of 40, and revealed that the 

pull of gravity is at its strongest at the 

North Pole; the lowest is at the top of 

the Huascaran mountain in the Andes.


It came fro m oUter s 

-...-+---- 

Almost 100 tonnes of meteoroid material enters Earth's atmosphere every day 

visible to lucky sky-watchers G reatest im1J8Ct 

· 

between western North on Earth :: 

America and eastern Russia • The most wid acepted 

(then USSR), passing over • theory of how the Moon · 

• 

Arizona, USA, at a rate of came·into 'being is 

2,300 per min foe min that it was part d 

from 5 a.m. -the greatest the Earth until 

meteor shower ever 4.5 billion 

recorded. 

years 

25149 some 1


·!lit ' into rtteteot'tle 

The wOrst effects l'ecOrded were on 15 Feb 2013 

when a meteoroid exploded over Chelyabinsk 

Oblast in the Urals in Russia. Around 1,200 

people were injured, mostly from flying glass 

caused by the shock wave following the fireball. 

Astronomer Alan Harris has calculated that 

the odds of being killed by an asteroid are 1 in 

700,000. Scientists have suggested an asteroid 

bigger than 10 km (6.2 mi) across would kill most 

of humanity; fortunately, these only arrive once 

every 100 million years. 

Largest meteorites 

• Overall: Hoba meteorite 

-59 tonnes (130,000 lb), 

found in 1920 at Hoba West 

in Namibia. 

• Exhibited in a museum: 

Cape York meteorite - 

30,883 kg (68,085 lb), found 

in 1897 near Cape York in 

the west of Greenland; now 

at the Hayden Planetarium 

in New York City, USA. 

• From Mars: Zagami 

meteorite - 18 kg (40 lb), 

found on 3 Oct 1962 near 

Zagami, Nigeria. 

Largest tektite 

Tektites are glassy pieces of 

rock formed by the melting 

and cooling of terrestrial 

rocks after meteor impacts. 

A tektite weighing 10.8 kg 

(23 lb 13 oz) was discovered 

in 1971 in Thailand. 

-five times that of all 

explosives used in 

World War II. While 

' ther.e are no eact 

figures on record 

from 1908, there are 

acqurate measurements 

of jhe·recent grelftest 

measured impact 

• on,Earth. This was the 

· Cheabinsk impact of - 

· 15 F"b 2013 (see above) . 

. 

. 

Largest impact c;:rater 

on Earth . 

· T)le Vredefort crater, near 

· Johannesburg in South 

' Africa, may have lost the title 

··of olaest impact crater 

1o Greel)land's Maniitsoq 

crater (see right), but it 

remains the largest crater, 

'lj(ith an estimated diameter 

of around 300 km (186 mi). 

The crater was formed by 

an impact that occurred 

about 2 billion years ago. 

as the Maniitsoq crater, the structure Is around 

100 km (62 mi) across. Much of it has eroded and 

it may once have been much bigger. If such a 

crater was formed in an impact with Earth today, 

most life would be wiped out. 

Crash trash: NASA litter fine 

On 11 Jul 1979, the defunct US space station 

Skylab (left) re-entered Earth's atmosphere 

and disintegrated. Large chunks of the station 

survived to crash in Western Australia, and 

the Australian Shire of Esperance imposed a 

AUS$400 (now £800) fine on NASA for littering, 

which NASA didn't pay. The bill was finally settled 

on their behalf in 2009 by US radio host Scott 

Barley, who raised the money from his audience 

for the 30th anniversary of Skylab's demise. 

Pieces of Skylab are on display in Esperance's 

museum, as is a poster declaring the fine paid. 

Numerous space missions 

have sought to return sample 

material to Earth: 

• Apollo (1 969-72): 2,415 

samples of Moon rock 

weighing a total of 382 kg 

• Luna (1959-76): Soviet 

robotic probe missions that 

collected 326 g of lunar 

samples 

• Orbital Debris Collector on 

Mir (1 996-97) brought back 

interplanetary dust 

• Genesis (2001 -04): NASA 

project to collect solar wind 

molecules (first material 

collected beyond the Moon) 



Earth fro m SQace 

Approximately 2,500 man-made satellites - both working and defunct - orbit Earth 

First image of Earth 

from lunar orbit > 

NASA's Apollo precursor 

Lunar Orbiter 1 snapped 

Earth on 23 Aug 1 966 

while orbiting the Moon 

(original shot, above right). 

Modern technology has 

allowed for the rendering 

of higher resolution images 

from the original sources 

and the result was unveiled 

in 2008 (below right). 

First full-view colour 

photograph of Earth 

On 10 Nov 1967, NASA 

satellite ATS-3 took a 

photograph of Earth while 

in geostationary orbit 

37,000 km (23,000 mi) 

above Brazil. 

A 

First "Earthrise" 

viewed by humans 

Apollo 8 was a manned spacecraft that orbited 

the Moon on 23-24 Dec 1968. On Christmas 

Eve, crew members Frank Borman, Bill Anders 

and Jim Lovell (all USA) captured an iconic 

image of fragile beauty that became known 

as "Earthrise" and is credited with inspiring 

increased environmental awareness. 

< First image of Earth 

and the Moon in a 

single frame from space 

On 18 Sep 1977, NASA's 

Voyager 1 probe was on 

the way to Jupiter when 

it captured the Earth and 

Moon from a distance 

of 11.66 million km 

(7.25 million mi). The image 

of the Moon was far dimmer 

than the Earth and had to Most distant A 

be artificially enhanced by 

a factor of three to be visible. 

image of Earth 

The image called "the pale 

blue dot" was taken by 

Voyager 1 on 14 Feb 1990, 

from almost 6.5 billion km 

(4 billion mi) away, on the 

request of astronomer Carl 

Sagan. "Every 'superstar', 

every 'supreme leader', 

every saint and sinner in the 

history of our species lived 

there," said Sagan, "on a 

mote of dust suspended 

in a sunbeam." 

First image of Earth 

from space 

A 

A former Nazi V-2 rocket 

was launched by the USA 

on 24 Oct 1946 in New 

Mexico, USA, with a camera 

taking a frame every 1.5 sec. 

The rocket soared 104 km 

(65 mi) before crashing, 

with the film preserved in 

a steel enclosure. 

034 Earth


First image from Saturn showing Earth, 

the Moon, Mars and Venus 

On 19 Jul 2013, NASA's Cassini spacecraft slipped into Saturn's shadow, 

where it compiled a panoramic mosaic of the planet, seven of its moons 

and details of the inner rings. The image was taken 1.4 billion km 

(870 million mi) from Earth in a unique viewing geometry that meant 

the Sun's potentially damaging rays were eclipsed by Saturn itself. 

First high-resolution ) 

image of a total solar 

eclipse from lunar orbit 

The Earth looks like a 

diamond ring ifl this full 

solar eclipse series taken 

by Japan's unmanned 

Kaguya, aka the SELENE 

mission, on 10 Feb 2009. 

Largest geological 

structure discovered 

from space 

The "bullseye" of the Richat 

Structure in the Sahara desert 

of Mauritania was discovered 

from orbit by US astronauts Jim 

McDivitt and Ed White during the 

Gemini IV mission in Jun 1965. 

It has a diameter of 50 km (30 mi). 

First Earth image 

from Martian orbit 

On 8 May 2003, NASA's 

Mars Global Surveyor 

spacecraft turned its Mars 

Orbiter Camera back to 

Earth and captured it from 

139 million km (86 million mi) 

away. The inset above shows 

Earth, with North and South 

America visible, and the 

Moon. At the bottom of the 

main picture (left) is Jupiter. 



Mountai ns 

Every rise of 305 m in altitude lowers the boiling point of water by 1°C 

J 

I 

Highest Arctic mountain 

The summit of Gunnbjem Fjeld in Greenland's Watkins Range reaches 3,694 m 

(12,119 ft) above sea level. It is a type of mountain known as a "nunatak", a 

rocky peak poking through a glacier or ice field. On the other side of the 

world, the highest mountain in Antarctica is Vinson Massif, one of the 

Seven Summits, whose peak reaches 4,892 m (1 6,050 ft) above sea level. 

Highest mountain 

The summit of Mount 

Everest, a Himalayan peak 

on the border between Tibet 

and Nepal, is at an altitude 

of 8,848 m (29,029 ft), higher 

than any other mountain. For 

more about the conquests 

of Everest, see p.148. 

Tallest·mountain face 

The Rupal face of Nanga 

Parbat, located in the 

Highest 

mountain tabletop 

Monte Roraima, 

on the border of 

Brazil, Guyana and 

Venezuela, is a 

sandstone plateau 

measuring 2,810 m 

(9,220 ft) in height. 

Its harsh environment 

has deterred human 

presence and 

predators; as a 

result, around 

one-third of its 

western Himalayas, 

Pakistan, is a single rise 

of approximately 5,000 m 

(16,000 ft) from the valley 

floor to the summit. The 

mountain itself, which 

reaches an altitude of 

8,125 m (26,656 ft), is 

the highest mountain in 

Pakistan and the eighth 

highest in the world. 

Largest vertical extent 

Both the highest and the 

lowest points on Earth's 

exposed surface are in the 

continent of Asia. Mount 

Everest, with its peak at 

8,848 m above sea level, 

and the Dead Sea, with its 

surface at 422 m (1 ,384 ft) 

below sea level, make Asia 

the continent with the largest 

difference in vertical extent 

of 9,270 m (30,413 ft). 

Highest polar ice cap 

Dome Argus is a vast ice 

plateau near the centre of 

East Antarctica. Its highest 

point is some 4,093 m 

(13,428 ft) above sea level. 

It is Antarctica's highest ice 

feature and overlies the 

1,200-km-long (745-mi) 

Gamburtsev Mountain 

Range. For more on the 

formation of this recordbreaking 

range, see p.37. 

FACT 

The Tibetan Plateau 

Tibetan Plateau, which covers 1.85 million km2 

(715,000 sq mi) of Central Asia. Its average 

altitude is 4,900 m (16,000 ft). The Himalayan 

mountain range, to the south of the plateau, is 

home to 30 of the world's tallest mountains. 

MOUNTAI N 

RA NGES 

Largest 

A mountain range is a series 

of mountains, or hills, that 

are connected in some way. 

The Himalayas, in Asia, is 

the largest mountain range, 

incorporating 96 of the 

1 09 peaks measuring more 

than 7,300 m (24,000 ft). 

Longest continental 

The Andes in South America 

is 7,600 km (4,700 mi) long. 

It spans seven countries - 

from Venezuela to Argentina 

- and includes some of the 

highest mountains on Earth. 

More than 50 of the Andes 

Monte Roraima is 

thought to have inspired 

Arthur Conan Doyle's 

novel The Lost World. 

Highest mountain: 

Mount Everest, 

8,848 m; average base 

elevation of c. 4,700 m, 

giving an average 

base-to-peak height 

of c. 4,150 m 

Sixty yws ego. tfle height 

of Mol.8'lt Everwt d1anged 

cwernlghtl The Great 

Trlgonometrlcal Survey of 

India, a broad study that took 

place during the 19th century, 

calculated the height of the 

summit to be 8,840 m in 1856. In 1955, however, 

this figure was adjusted to the present altitude 

of 8,848 m. The mountain was given its present 

name in 1865, in honour of Sir George Everest 

(above). As British Surveyor General in India from 

1830 to 1843, he had a major role in mapping the 

Indian subcontinent.


of the Cordillera Blanca. 

The mountain range 

contains 33 peaks of more 

than 5,500 m (18,000 ft) in 

addition to 80 glaciers and 

120 glacial lakes. 

Longest submarine 

The Mid-Ocean Ridge runs 

65,000 km (40,000 mi) 

from the Arctic Ocean to 

the Atlantic Ocean, around 

Africa, Asia and Australia, 

and under the Pacific Ocean 

to the west coast of North 

America. Its peaks reach 

4,200 m (13,800 ft) above 

the base ocean depth. 

rate of 7 inm (0.27 In) per year. The mountain Is 

part of the Himalayan Plateau, which was formed 

when India began colliding with the Eurasian 

continental plate between 50 million and 

30 million years ago. 

peaks reach at least 6,000 m 

(20,000 ft) high and for most 

of its extent the range is 

some 300 km (200 mi) wide. 

Highest coastal 

The Sierra Nevada de Santa 

Marta is an isolated range 

of mountains located in 

Colombia, separated from 

the Andes. The range rises 

to an elevation of 5,775 m 

(18,946 ft) above sea level. 

Its considerable biodiversity 

led UNESCO to designate 

the mountains as a 

biosphere reserve in 1979. 

Highest tropical 

Huascaran National Park 

in Peru's Cordillera Blanca 

("White Range") mountain 

range has its highest point 

at 6,768 m (22,204 ft) above 

sea level. The protected 

area covers approximately 

340,000 ha (840,100 acres) 

and covers almost the whole 

Mount l


B ue p anet 

Oceans provide 190 times as much living space as soil, air and fresh water combined 

FACT 

Superior is one of the 

Great Lakes of North 

America, along with 

Michigan, Huron, Erie 

and Ontario. Spanning 

over 1,200 km, they 

contain about a fifth 

of the world's surface 

fresh water - only 

the polar ice caps 

have more. 

Largest freshwater lake . 

Lake Superior is shared by Canada and the USA, 

bordered by Ontario and Minnesota to 

the north and west, and Wisconsin 

and Michigan to the south. The lake 

covers 82,100 km2 (31 ,700 sq mi). 

Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, 

has the greatest volume for a 

freshwater lake, estimated at 

23,000 km3 (5,500 cu mi). 

Chesapeake Bay is the largest bay by shore 

length, stretching 18,804 km (11,684 mi) along 

the Atlantic coast of Maryland and Virginia, USA. 

Lowest river 

The Jordan River begins 

in Israel at an elevation of 

2,814 m (9,232 ft) and flows 

251 km (155 mi) south to 

the Dead Sea. Its lowest 

elevation here is 416 m 

(1 ,361 ft) below sea level. 

This elevation makes the 

Dead Sea itself the lowest 

exposed body of water. 

Bordering Israel and Jordan, 

it is 80 km (50 mi) long and 

measures 18 km (11 mi) at 

its widest point. 

Highest river 

The Yarlung Zangbo has an 

average elevation of 4,000 m 

(13,100 ft). It rises in Tibet, 

runs for 2,000 km (6,550 mi) 

through China, and becomes 

the Brahmaputra River in 

India. It enters the ocean in 

the Bay of Bengal, where it 

meets the Ganges to form 

the largest delta, covering 

75,000 km2 (30,000 sq mi). 

sea level 

last lee age 

Meltwater Pulse 1A was 

an event occurring around 

14,500 years ago, when 

sea levels rose by c. 20 m 

(65 ft) in less than 500 years. 

Approximately 3,000 years 

earlier, as the ice sheets of 

the last ice age began to 

retreat, they added fresh 

water to the oceans. Global 

sea levels rose at an average 

of some 1 em (0.4 in) per 

year until Meltwater Pulse 1A 

speeded things up, probably 

due to a partial collapse of 

the Antarctic ice sheets. 

Oldest body of seawater 

The US Geological 

Survey st a body of 

groundwater more than 

1,00Qm (3,2m *tl' lib 

Chesapeake Bay in the 

USA . They reported that 

it dated from the early 

liltj!!!!:l:::!li!!!=::i:!f:i:!!!:== Cretaceous North Atlantic 

Acoustic doppler 

current profiler (ADCP, 

or ADP): a meter that 

measures the velocities 

of water currents across 

a range of depths, by 

referencing the acoustic 

properties of sound waves. 

B. Paranll, Brazil, 4,880 km 

9. Congo, Congo, 4,700 km 

10. Amur-Argun, Russia, 4,444 km 

03 

Atlantic Ocean 15.1% 

P8DIIID o-t 30.596 

one of these waves r&ached 

Hangzhou Bay, China. It rose 

to 9 m, was 300 km long and 

pushed 9 million litres of water 

per sec to the shore, resulting 

in multiple fatalities. 

community of flora and 

fauna that occurs naturally 

in a specific environment 

such as desert, grassland, 

tundra, forest or ocean. 

Delta: an area of land, 

created from sediment, 

that forms at the mouth


WATERFALLS 

Largest waterfall ever 

Dry Falls, near Missoula 

in Montana, USA, is all 

that remains of a waterfall 

that stretched over 5.6 km 

(3.5 mi) and was 115 m 

(380 ft) high. It burst into 

life when the water 

from a massive 

glacial lake -formed 

18,000 years aQO 

OC EANS 

Deepest point 

Challenger Deep, located 

in the Mariana Trench in the 

Pacific Ocean, is 10,911 m 

(35,797 ft) at its deepest 

point. Mount Everest would 

entirely fit in it, with its peak 

2,000 m (6,560 ft) below 

the surface. 

Largest biome 

The area in open ocean - 

away from both seabed and 

shore - is called the pelagic 

zone. Globally, its volume is 

1.3 billion km3(319 million 

cu mi) and it supports life, 

making it by far the largest 

biome. It has many of the 

planet's larger animals, 

including whales. 

Largest continuous 

ocean current system 

The system of ocean 

circulation that transports 

cold and salty deep water 

is called the thermohaline 

conveyor belt ("therrY"Id' 

from heat and "haline" 

from salinity). The water .Is 

slowly transportQ(J from the 

north Atlantic :to the 

Southern Ocean, where it 

travels east and north to the 

Indian and Pacific oceans. 

Here, it rises and becomes 

warm, travelling back west, 

where it sinks once again 

in the north Atlantic. The 

complete cycle can last 

for a thousand years. 

Highest 

underwater waterfall 

The Denmark Strait Cataract 

is underwater in the Denmark 

Strait, which separates 

Greenland and Iceland. The 

3.5-km (2.17-mi) waterfall 

carries around 5 million m3 

(176.5 million cu ft) of water 

per sec. The Cataract, the 

largest waterfall of any 

Largest lake within a lake 

Manitou Lake occupies an area of 106 km2 (41 sq mi}. It is located on the 

largest island in a lake, Manitoulin Island (see above}, which covers 2,766 km2 

(1 ,068 sq mi} of the Canadian section of Lake Huron. Another geographical 

nesting doll is Vulcan Point, the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake 

on an island. The 40-m (130-ft} island sits in Crater Lake, the central crater 

of the Taal volcano in Lake Taal on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. 

a "'mftky sea• date far back In · riQaf 

history. In 2005, scientists at the US Naval 

Research Laboratory used satellite imagery to 

confirm detailed log reports made by the British 

ship SS Lima in 1995. They described an area 

in the Indian Ocean, near Somalia, measuring 

around 14,000 km2 (5,400 sq mi}. Vast amounts 

of bioluminescent bacteria, possibly Vibrio 

harveyi, are believed to be responsible. 

kind, is formed as cold, 

denser seawater crops from 

the Greenland Sea into the 

slightly warmer lrminger Sea. 

.. ....:,. ,..,. 

Plunge pools form at the base 

Sfetesult of 

water erosion. PIW'th Canyon 

is a plunge pool off the coast 

of Australia that measures 

. 300 m (1,000 ft) deep 

and 12 kJn2 (4.62 sq mi) In 

aree:. pool 

created wtleil the 

f.:-.: • above sea level. 

Tide of filth: a drop in the ocean 

The largest ocean rubbish site is in the North 

Pacific Gyre (right}, a vortex of slowly revolving 

ocean water that naturally concentrates ever 

increasing amounts of floating litter in its centre. 

Much of it is made up of plastic, which never 

degrades but breaks down into tiny fragments 

that pollute down to 10 m below the surface. 

These tiny, toxic chunks enter the food chain 

and studies now suggest that waste outweighs 

nutritious plankton by a factor of six to one. 

Plastic bags account for over 50% of all marine 

litter, the greatest ocean pollutant (left}. 

In deep water 

Deepest lake: 

Lake Baikal, Russia, 

1,637 m deep 

Deepest hypersaline 

lake: The Dead Sea, 

Israel/Jordan, 378 m deep 

and more than eight times 

saltier than seawater 

Deepest brine pool: 

Orca Basin, Gulf of 

Mexico, 2,200 m below 

sea level, filled with water 

around eight times saltier 

than the Gulf


is more than three times that of Its nearest rival, 

Mercer Bay Cave in New Zealand, which extends 

to 470 m (1,542 ft). The largest sea cave is in the 

Sea Lion Caves in Oregon, USA. One chamber 

is 95 m (310 ft) long, 50 m (165 ft) wide and 15 m 

(50 ft) high, in a 400-m-long (1 ,315-ft) passage. 

Largest cave chamber 

A chamber is the largest order of space in a 

cave. It is often formed at a junction of passages, 

where erosion and collapse have exposed more 

rock, and its maximum size is dictated by the 

strength of the ceiling. The Sarawak Chamber 

in the Lubang Nasib Bagus cave of Sarawak, 

Borneo, is 700 m (2,300 ft) long. Its average 

width is 300 m (980 ft) and it is at least 70 m 

(230 ft) high. By way of comparison, that's nearly 

as long as seven soccer pitches, and taller than 

Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London. 

at 2,981 ft (802 m). 

Today, Oouffre Berger Is 

no longer quHe the awesome 

challenge it once was, and 

is regularly explored by 

groups of up to 200. We 

also now know it is 1,122 m 

deep and that Krubera Cave 

in Georgia is nearly twice 

as deep (see right). 

Cave: natural chamber 

or series of chambers 

in the ground, hillsides 

or cliffs. 

Caving (or potholing or 

spelunking): recreational 

exploration of caves. 

Speleology: scientific 

study of caves, including 

their structure, properties, 

history, occupants and 

the process by which they 

form (speleogenesis).

Largest cave 

Vietnamese farmer Ho Khanh found a cave 

in central Vietnam in 1991 - and then forgot 

where it was. It wasn't until 2009 that he 

guided a UK team to Hang Son Doong 

("Mountain River Cave"), which is 200 m (655 ft) 

high, 150 m (490 ft) wide and at least 6.5 km 

(4 mi) long. Tourists with £1,800 ($3,000) to 

spare can now visit it - although first they 

must trek for over a day through jungle and 

abseil 79 m (260 ft) to the entrance. 


Natca mountain 

o8sert, Mexico, contains 

--=T5 

s cs m 

gypsum measuring up to 11 m 

(36 ft) long and weighing up to 

55 tonnes (121,200 lb). They began 

to form hundreds of thousands of 

years ago, when the cave was filled 

with warm, mineral-rich water. 

Deepest 

unbroken 

vertical shaft 

in a cave 

Straight, natural shafts 

are challenges for 

cavers - essentially, 

they are sheer drops 

without ledges. The 

Miao Keng Cave, near 

Tian Xing in China, 

has a continuous 

shaft 501 m (1 ,643 ft) 

deep that takes 

around two hours 

to abseil. The shaft 

is around two-thirds 

of the height of the 

tallest building - 

the 828-m (2,716-ft) 

Burj Khalifa in 

Dubai, UAE. 

It's not often that a geological feature breaks its 

own record, but that's exactly what happened with 

the deepest cave, Krubera Cave (left). Or rather, 

Gennady Samokhin (pictured right), a Ukrainian 

caver, extended the known depth of the cave on 

10 Aug 2012 by 6 m. The cave in the Arabika Massif, 

Georgia, now has an explored depth of 2,197 m. 

The new area is in a sump (submerged section) 

called Ova Kapitana ("Two Captains") that Samokhin 

suspects may extend by as much as 10 km, all the 

way to the Black Sea. Samokhin was also a member 

of the previous record attempt team in 2007. 

Deepest live radio broedcaat: 

two-hour CBC Radio Points 

North (CAN) show, 2,340 m down 

in Creighton Mine In Ontario, 

canada, 24 May 2005 

Largest natural underground 

musical instrument: the Great 

Stalacpipe Organ - stalactites 

covering 1.4 ha that produce 

tones when struck with mallets 

linked to a keyboard in Luray 

Caverns, Virginia, USA 

Deepest concert 

underground: Agonizer {FIN), 

1,271 m below sea level at 

Pyhasalmi Mine in Pyhajarvi, 

Finland, 4 Aug 2007 

www.gui nnessworldrecords.corn ( )IJ 1

Livin 


a net 

There are an estimated 7.77 million animal species on Earth; to date, only 12% have been described 

Largest fish 

The largest living fish is the rare plankton-feeding whale shark 

(Rhincodon typus), which is found in the warmer areas of the 

Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The largest scientifically 

recorded example was 12.65 m (41 ft 6 in) long - about the 

same length as three-and-a-half Mini Cooper cars - and 

measured 7 m (23 ft) around the thickest part of the body. 

It was captured off Baba Island near Karachi, Pakistan, on 

11 Nov 1949 and weighed an estimated 21 tonnes (46,000 lb). 

Diamond anniversary edition


Contents 

Flashback: 

New discoveries 044 

Mammals 046 

Birds 052 

Reptiles & amphibians 054 

Fishes 056 

Crustaceans 058 

Insects & arachnids 060 

Mostly molluscs 062 

Pets 064 

Animals in action 066 

00 

068 

A whale shark egg 

- the largest of 

all fish eggs - is 

typically the same 

size as an American 

football! 



New d1scovenes 

It is a tragic but inescapable fact that animal species 

are becoming extinct all the time - in many cases, as a 

direct result of human activity. Happily, it is also true 

that even today a surprising number of previously 

unknown, entirely new animal species are coming 

to light: 15,000 each year, on average. 

Many of the new species 

being discovered are small, 

inconspicuous creatures: 

mostly insects, worms 

and other diminutive 

invertebrates. But quite a 

few much more sizeable 

and very spectacular 

animals are also being 

uncovered, and on a global 

scale, not just in a few 

specific locations. 

To demonstrate this 

heartening and ongoing 

revelation of previously 

unknown life forms, our 

expert Dr Karl Shuker 

highlights some of the most 

notable new animal species 

that have come to light over 

the past six decades. All of 

these creatures have been 

found, formally described 

and classified by scientists 

since the first edition of the 

Guinness Book of Records 

was published in 1955, 

and every one is a GWR 

record holder. 

At the bottom of these 

pages we present 10 of 

the most recent, and most 

remarkable, animal finds. 

Encouragingly, the evidence 

on these pages suggests 

that there are still plenty 

of new species waiting to 

be discovered! 

1970s: In 1977, scientists 

on board US research 

submarine Alvin 

discovered an astonishing 

new ecosystem thriving 

around hydrothermal 

vents on the seafloor off 

the Galapagos Islands, 

Ecuador. Among the 

fauna were new species 

such as the giant tube 

worm (Riftia pachyptila), 

with huge, red, plume-like 

tentacles. It was the first 

known ecosystem not 

to derive its primary 

energy from sunlight, 

which can't penetrate 

down to it, but from 

chemical energy instead, 

released by bacteria. 

I 

1950s: The year 1955 saw the discovery 

of the most venomous jellyfish, 

Flecker's sea-wasp (Chironex fleckeri), 

1 which is found in the waters off 

Queensland, Australia. Shown inset are 

sting wounds inflicted on the leg of a 

swimmer in Jan 2000. 

TEN OF THE MOST RECENT ARRIVALS. NEWEST ••• 

- 

2013 

Botsford's leaf-litter frog 

(Leptolalax botsford/) was 

formally described and classified 

in late 2013. It was discovered in 

the high elevations of Vietnam's 

Mount Fansipan, the tallest 

mountain in Indochina. 

2010 

The northern buff-cheeked 

gibbon (Nomascus annamensis) 

is native to the tropical rainforests 

between Vietnam, Laos and 

Cambodia. It is distinguished 

from similar-looking species by 

its characteristic vocalizations. 

2010 

Formally described and named 

in 2010, the Socotra buzzard 

(Buteo socotraensis) is native 

exclusively to the Socotra 

archipelago, a group of tiny 

islands forming part of Yemen 

in the Arabian peninsula. 

2013 

The selkirk rex is also known as 

the poodle cat because of its 

thick, curly fur, composed of three 

separate layers. The breed was 

developed from a spontaneous 

genetic mutation originating in 

Montana, USA, in 1987. 

2014 

lnia araguaiaensis, the Araguaian 

boto, was officially described and 

named in Jan 2014. It is a species 

of freshwater dolphin native to 

the Araguaia River basin of Brazil, 

and is the first such discovery for 

almost a century. 

044 Living planet


www.guinnessworldrecords.com 045 

1990s: The newest genus of wild ox, 

Pseudoryx, was created in 1993 to 

house a spectacular species first made 

known to science the previous year in 

Vu Quang, Vietnam. Now known as the 

saola or Vu Quang ox (P. nghetinhensis), 

this sizeable species differs markedly 

from other oxen by way of its very long, 

slender, antelope-like horns and legs. 

Os: In 1983, scientists 

I ;eated a family of sharks, 

Megachasmidae, in order to 

accommodate a large and 

remarkable new species, 

the megamouth shark 

(Megachasma pe/agios), 

which was first discovered 

in 1976 off Hawaii, USA. 

Megachasmidae remains 

the newest shark family. 

2010s: The newest species 

of monkey to have been 

scientifically recognized 

is Vieira's titi (Cal/icebus 

vieirai). Native to the states 

of Malo Grosso and Para in 

central-northern Brazil, it 

was officially described and 

named in 2012 and is readily 

distinguished from all other 

litis by its unique facial and 

pelage (hair) colouration. 

2013 

The Marchita mouse lemur 

(Microcebus marohita) and Anosy 

mouse lemur (M. tanosi) are native 

to Madagascar, as are all lemurs. 

Each was distinguished from 

similar species of mouse lemur 

by sequencing its genes. 

2012 

The latest marine cetacean to 

have been scientifically recognized 

is the Burrunan dolphin (Tursiops 

australis), which was officially 

described and named in 2012. 

It is endemic to the coastal 

waters of south-eastern Australia. 

2013 

The Seram masked owl (Tyto 

a/mae) was described and named 

'in 2013, but was first known to 

science in 1987 when a specimen 

was photographed (but not 

collected) in the wild. It is native 

to the Indonesian island of Seram. 

2012 

The mosaic sea snake (Aipysurus 

mosaicus) is known from a single 

specimen in Copenhagen's Natural 

History Museum. Caught in the 

19th century, in the seas between 

New Guinea and Australia, it was 

only made a new species in 2012. 

2013 

Brazil's kabomani tapir (Tapirus 

kabomani) is one of the largest 

new mammals to have been 

discovered for a century, but 

is the smallest l ivi ng species 

of tapir, weighing on average a 

very modest 110 kg (242 1b).


Mamma s 

The rare bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) can live for longer than a century 

Largest feline carnivore 

The male Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) 

averages 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in) from nose to tail, 

stands 99-107 em (3 ft 3 in-3 ft 6 in) to its 

shoulder and weighs around 265 kg (580 lb). 

There are about 360 of the tigers in existence 

a recovery from a low of 20-30 in the 1930s. 

CARNI VORES 

Largest bear ever 

The tyrant polar bear (Ursus 

maritimus tyrannus) evolved 

from an isolated population 

of Arctic brown bears during 

the mid-Pleistocene epoch 

(250,000-1 00,000 years 

ago). With a body length 

of 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in), and a 

height to the shoulder of 

1.83 m (6 ft), it could weigh 

more than a tonne (2,200 lb). 

The tyrant was the first form 

of polar bear. 

of Animals in northern 

Greece. The average life 

span in the wild is 25 years. 

Largest 

euplerid 

Euplerids were 

once classed in 

the civet family and 

are also known as 

Madagascan civets. 

The largest of the 10 

species is the fossa 

(Cryptoprocta 

ferox), which 

has the 

size and look of a small 

puma. It is 70-80 em (2 ft 

3 in-2 ft 7 in) long with a tail 

of 65-70 em (2 ft 1 in-2 ft 

3 in), and weighs 5.5-8.6 kg 

(12 lb 2 oz-18 1b 15 oz). 

Oldest big-cat fossil 

In 2010, fossils from a 

previously unknown species 

similar to a snow leopard 

were unearthed in the 

-..., ...:-... Himalayas. 

The fossils 

of this 

species - named Panthera 

blytheae - have been 

dated to between 4.1 and 

5.95 million years old, which 

supports the theory that big 

cats evolved in central Asia 

- not Africa - and spread 

outwards. 

Newest species of wild cat 

Formally named in 2013, 

the southern Brazilian 

oncilla (Leopardus guttulus) 

inhabits the Atlantic Forest 

to the south of the country. 

They do not interbreed with 

oncillas elsewhere in Brazil. 

Rarest fox 

The island fox (Urocyon 

littoralis) is native to six of 

the eight Channel Islands 

in California, USA, each of 

which has its own separate 

subspecies of this species. 

In 2002, a total of 1,500 

specimens was estimated 

(some of the subspecies 

numbered fewer than 100). 

Since then the species has 

continued to decline, due in 

part to predation by golden 

eagles, disease parasites 

and habitat destruction. 

The International Union for 

Conservation of Nature 

(IUCN) categorize it as 

"Critically Endangered". 

Rarest raccoon 

The Cozumel or pygmy 

raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus) 

is found on the tiny Cozumel 

Island, off Mexico's Yucatan 

Peninsula, which is 478 km2 

(184.5 sq mi) in area. The 

raccoon is listed as "Critically 

Endangered" by the IUCN: 

only 250-300 specimens 

are now believed to exist. 

Oldest brown bear 

in captivity 

On 24 May 2013, a 50- r earold 

European brown bear 

(Ursus arctos) named 

Andreas died in a 

sanctuary built by 

the World Society 

for the Protection 

On 12 Oct 1958, a bull killer whale (Orcinus orca) an estimated 6.1-7.6 m 

(20-25 ft) in length was timed at 55.5 km/h (34.5 mph) in the north-eastern 

Pacific. Similar speeds have also been reported for Dall's porpoise 

(Phocoenoides dalli) in short bursts. 

... ... for .IMd 

...,...: typlcdy, polar bears can 

detect pray IUCh as seals from more 

than 30 km IIWflY and even when the 

prey Is under ice. 

Richest bear's milk: polar-bear milk 

contains up to 48.4% fat, which is as 

rich as cream and vital in order to build 

up the fat reserves in cubs so that they 

can withstand the extreme conditions. 

Fattiest diet: in the spring and summer 

months, polar bears dine on ringed seal 

pups, which have up to 50% body fat. 

Weighing up to 160 tonnes, the blue whale 

(Balaenoptera musculus) is the largest 

mammal, and the largest animal 

known to have existed. Pictured is a 

model of a blue whale's heart, made 

for Museum of New Zealand Te 

Papa Tongarewa by Human Dynamo 

Workshop. A blue whale's car-sized 

heart weighs c. 680 kg and is the 

largest heart of any animal. It beats 

4-8 times a minute (slowest heartbeat). 

046 Living planet


Smallest family 

of land carnivores 

Two families of land 

carnivores contain just 

one single species each. 

They are Nandiniidae, 

containing the nandinia 

(Nandinia binotata) of Africa, 

and Ailuridae, containing as 

its own living species the 

lesser or red panda (Ai!urus 

fulgens) of Asia. 

CETAC EANS 

largest cetacean 

A female blue whale 

(Balaenoptera musculus) 

killed at Twofold Bay in New 

· describes whale$, dolphins 

and porpoises. Dolphins (Delphlnldae) have 

37 living species, not all of which are called 

dolphins. This diverse family also includes pilot 

whales and killer, false killer and pygmy killer 

whales. They all breathe through a blow hole 

situated on top of their heads. 

The smallest species of 

baleen whale (toothless but 

possessing baleen plates 

for filtering food from water) 

is the pygmy right whale 

(Caperea marginate) - native 

to the Southern Ocean - at 

6-6.5 m (19 ft 8 in-21 ft 

3 in) long and weighing 

3-3.5 tonnes 

(6,600- 

7,700 lb). 

Deepest mammal dive 

Scientists recorded a 

2,000-m (6,500-ft) dive, 

lasting 1 hr 13 min, by a 

bull sperm whale (Physeter 

macrocephalus) off the 

coast of Dominica in 1991. 

In 1989, a male northern 

elephant seal (Mirounga 

angustirostris) was recorded 

diving to 1,529 m 

(5,017 ft) off the 

coast of California, 

USA, the deepest 

dive by a 

pinniped. 

Largest 

terrestrial 

carnivore 

The polar bear 

(Ursus maritimus) 

weighs 400-600 kg 

(880-1 ,320 lb) and 

is 2.4-2.6 m (7 ft 

10 in-8 ft 6 in) long. 

It feeds on the largest 

prey, killing walruses 

up to 500 kg (1 ,1 00 I b) 

and beluga 

whales of 

600 kg 

(1 ,322 I b) to 

fill a stomach 

capacity of 

c. 68 kg (1 50 lb), or 

4 kg (9 I b) heavier than 

an adult human male. 

South Wales, Australia, 

in 1910 measured 

29.57 m (97 ft) long. 

The smallest 

cetaceans are the 

Hector's dolphin 

( Cephalorhynchus 

hecton) and the 

vaquita (Phocoena 

sinus), both of which 

grow to a length 

of just 1.2 m 

(3 ft 11 in). 

Largest 

carnivore 

Male (bull) southern 

elephant seals 

(Mirounga leonina) 

weigh up to 3,500 kg 

(7,720 lb), with an 

average length 

of 5 m (16 ft 4 in). 

Also the largest 

pinnipeds, they dwarf 

even the polar bear 

(U. maritimus, left) 

and are found in the 

sub-Antarctic islands. 

Male 

Killer whale: 

length 9 m, 

weight 10 tonnes 

Siberian tiger: 

length 3.15 m, 

weight 265 kg 

 

Common dolphin: 

length 2.6 m, weight 80 kg 

Polar bear: 

leng1h 2.6 m, 

weight 600 kg 

 

Adult human male: 

height 1. 75 m, 

weight 64 kg 

Cetacean: aquatic 

mammal (order Cetacea). 

Divided into two main 

groups: toothed whales 

(dolphins, porpoises, 

smaller whales) and baleen 

whales (large filter-feeders). 

Pinniped: carnivorous, 

semi-aquatic marine 

mammal (order Pinnipedia). 

Comprises seals, sea lions 

and the walrus. 


Mamma s 


keys can be heard from 5 km away 

INSEC TI VORES 

Largest mammalian 

brain-to-body mass 

Shrews have brains that 

constitute 10% of their total 

body weight. 

CHIROP TERANS 

Most dangerous 

insectivore 

The solenodon is a small, 

innocuous-looking ratlike 

Caribbean mammal. 

The Haitian solenodon 

(Solenodon paradoxus) and 

the rare Cuban solenodon 

(Solenodon cubanus) 

have toxic saliva 

that is potentially 

dangerous to 

humans. 

The pygmy mouse lemur (Microcebus myoxinus) 

from Madagascar is about 62 mm (2.4 in) long 

with a tail of 136 mm (5.3 in) and an average 

weight of 30.6 g (1.1 oz). A white stripe runs from 

nose to forehead, and a black stripe 

runs down its back. 

Heaviest 

tree shrew 

Tree shrews 

resemble squirrels 

with pointed snouts 

and no whiskers. Fully 

grown male specimens of 

the Mindanao tree shrew 

(Urogale everetti), native 

to the Philippines, 

have been 

recorded 

weighing 

350 g (12 oz). 

FACT 

Shrews have a big 

appetite: in just one 

day, they can eat their 

own body weight in 

bugs and worms! 

Largest bat colony 

Up to 20 million female 

Mexican free-tailed bats 

(Tadarida brasiliensis) and 

offspring live in Bracken 

Cave in San Antonio, Texas, 

USA. Up to 500 baby bats 

occupy 0.09 m2 (1 sq ft) of 

space. The colony's nightly 

flight out for food forms a 

column that can be picked 

up on the local airport radar. 

Largest bat family 

As of Nov 2013, there were 

300 species of vesper bat 

(Vespertilionidae). with new 

ones described every year. 

Among the members are 

the common pipistrelles, 

the European serotine, the 

noctules, the tube-nosed, 

the mouse-eared, and the 

rare barbastelle. 

Longest gestation 

period for a bat 

The common vampire bat 

(Desmodus rotundus) has a 

gestation period of seven to 

eight months, and when the 

baby bat is born it suckles 

its mother for an additional 

nine months and sometimes 

even longer. Native to 

Mexico, Central America 

and South America, vampire 

bats feed solely on blood. 

Smallest monkey 

Most sensitive 

animal organ 

The star-nosed 

mole (Condy/ura 

cristata) takes 

its name from its 

22-probed nose 

covered with 25,000 

sensory receptors 

- five times the amount 

of touch-sensitive nerve 

fibres in a human hand. 

Pygmy marmosets (Callithrix pygmaea) weigh 15 g 

(0.53 oz) at birth and grow to an average of 119 g (4.19 oz). 

They are 136 mm (5.3 in) long, excluding tail. Despite their 

size, pygmy marmosets can leap 5 m (16 ft 5 in) in the air. 

> 

Mala eastern lowland 

gorilla: height 1.75 m, 

weight 163 kg 

Large and gigantic flying fox 

(fruit bat): wing-span 1.7 m, 

weight 1.6 kg 

mcte.t lloala: Sarah, who died In 2001 

aged 23 years, was born In 1978 and 

lived at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary In 

Queensland, Australia; koalas typically 

live for 16 years in captivity. 

Oldest koala sanctuary: the Lone Pine 

Koala Sanctuary, where Sarah lived; it was 

established in 1927 by Claude Reid (AUS) 

and still operates today.



(360 lb) and has a typical 

bipedal height of up to 1. 75 m 

(5 ft 9 in). The tallest recorded 

in the wild, however, was a 

.95-m (6 -ft 5-in) mountain 

shot in the eastern 

on 16 May 1938. 

lhe moonrat ( gymnui'U8) ia neither a 

rat nor from the Moon! Found in south-east Asia, 

it is actually a giant relative of the hedgehog, but 

with thick fur instead of spikes. It is 26-46 em 

(10 in-1 ft 6 in) long with a tail of 17-25 em 

(6-9 in), and weighs 1-2 kg (2 lb 3 oz-4 lb 6 oz) . 

MARSUPIALS 

Longest proportionate 

animal caecum 

A caecum is a kind of pouch 

in the large intestine, which 

in herbivores contains 

bacteria that help to break 

down the cellulose present 

in plant material. The largest 

in the animal kingdom 

relative to body size belongs 

to the koala (Phascolarctos 

cinereus). It is 2 m (6 ft 7 in) 

long and 10 em (4 in) in 

diameter, while the koala's 

own body length is just 

60-85 em (2-2 'ft 9 in). 

PRI MAT ES 

Largest primate 

The male eastern lowland 

gorilla (Gorilla beringei 

graueri), found in the eastern 

Congo, weighs up to 163 kg 

nocturna'l primate 

The aye-aye (Daubentonia 

madagascariensis) from 

Madagascar is rodent-like 

but closely related to lemurs. 

Under threat for being seen 

as an omen of death, the 

aye-aye weighs 2.7 kg (5 lb 

15 oz) and averages 65 em 

(2 ft) in length for the male, 

more than half of which is 

accounted for by its long tail. 

Smallest loris 

Lorises are small, nocturnal 

primates related to lemurs 

and bushbabies. The 

smallest is the pygmy slow 

loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus), 

which measures 19.5-23 em 

(7.6-9 in) in length, with a tail 

averaging 1.8 em (0.7 in). It 

weighs 36-58 g (1-2 oz). 

Savi's pygmy shrew 

(Suncus etruscus) 

is no bigger than a 

human thumb. Its body 

measures 36-53 mm 

(1 .4-2 in) and its tail 

24-29 mm (0.9-1 .1 in). 

It weighs just 1.5-2.6 g 

(0.05-0.09 oz). 

Most nipples 

The female shrewish shorttailed 

opossum (Monodelphis 

sorex) has up to 27 nipples 

(or "mammae"), despite being 

tiny: 11-13 em (4-5 in) with a 

tail of 6.5-8.5 em (2.5-3.3 in). 

Most northerly marsupial 

The Virginia opossum 

(Didelphis virginiana) is the 

only species of marsupial 

that lives north of Mexico. 

It has been recorded as 

far north as south-western 

Ontario in Canada. 

Largest mammal to build a nest 

Male African gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) measure 1.7-1 .8 m (5 ft 6 in-6 ft) and 

weigh 136-227 kg (300-500 lb). They create a new ground nest from the 

surrounding vegetation every day. The nests are circular and typically 

measure 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in diameter. Some lighter members of the troop 

build in trees and many make a separate nest during the day for a nap. 

These constructions are also the largest nests built by a mammal. 

Largest marsupial: red kangaroo 

There are nearly 60 species of kangaroo, the 

biggest being the red (Macropus rufus) from 

the dry centre of Australia. The male 

red measures 1.8 m tall and 2.85 m 

long, and can weigh 90 kg. Reds arrive 

as the largest newborn marsupial, 

but because all marsupials are born 

very early, the reds weigh just 0.75 g; it would 

take 36,000 newborns to equal their mother's 

weight. The longest jump by a kangaroo 

was in New South Wales, Australia, in 1951, 

when a female bounded 12.8 m. 

Glossary 

Chiropteran: has 

forelimbs modified as 

wings; uses echolocation 

to navigate 

Insectivore: insect-eating 

mammal 

Marsupial: characterized 

by pouch in which mother 

carries her young 

Primate: has 

large brain and 

flexible hands 

and feet, includes humans


Mamma s 

Giraffes give birth standing up, so newborn calves typically fall 1.5 m to the ground 

Smallest ungulate 

The lesser Malay 

mouse deer (Tragu/us 

javanicus) has a body 

length of 42-55 em 

(1 ft 5 in-1 ft 9 in), a 

shoulder height of 

20-25 em (8-1 0 in) 

and weighs 1.5-2.5 kg 

(3 lb 4 oz-5 lb 8 oz). 

Primarily nocturnal, 

this small ungulate 

is rarely seen. 

ROD ENTS 

First domesticated 

rodent 

The guinea pig or South 

American cavy (Cavia 

parcel/us) was first bred as 

a food animal in the Andes in 

around 5000 sc. It is thought 

to be a domesticated version 

of the montane guinea pig 

(C. tschudii) native to the 

mountains of Peru. 

Longest-lived rodent 

Africa's naked mole rat 

(Heterocephalus glaber) 

spends its life in underground 

burrow systems located 

beneath East 

Africa's drier 

tropical 

grasslands, 

and can live 

for 28 years. 

Smallest gliding rodent 

The pygmy scalytail (ldiurus 

zenkeri) is also known as 

a flying mouse. Native to 

Central and East Africa, 

it has a maximum length 

of 18 em (7 in), of which 

its long, feather-like tail 

accounts for more than half. 

It has a gliding membrane 

between the forelimb and 

hind limb on each side of its 

body, which it expands when 

leaping from a tree, enabling 

it to glide through the air. 

Largest rodent ever 

Josephoartigasia monesi 

was a 2-million-year-old 

fossil species that lived 

in what is today coastal 

Uruguay. It is currently 

known only from a single 

skull measuring 53 em 

(1 ft 9 in) long, from 

which scientists 

estimate that the 

Giraffes (Giraffe 

are 

the dry savannah and open woodland areas 

of sub-Saharan Africa. An adult male giraffe 

typically measures between 4.6 m and 5.5 m 

{15-18 ft) in height. 

complete animal probably 

weighed 1 tonne 

(2,200 lb}. 

Largest jerboa 

Jerboas are 

desert-dwelling 

rodents that 

jump and leap 

on their hind 

legs like miniature 

kangaroos. The 

suitably named 

great jerboa 

(AIIactaga major) has 

an uppermost headand-body 

length of 

18 em (7 in), with a tail 

that can grow to 26 em 

(10.2 in). It primarily 

inhabits deserts in Russia, 

Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan 

and Uzbekistan. 

Largest squirrel 

The Indian or Malabar giant 

squirrel (Ratufa indica) is 

endemic to deciduous and 

moist evergreen forests 

in peninsular India. It can 

grow to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long, 

of which its lopg bushy tail 

constitutes two-thirds. 

Fewest teeth for a rodent 

Also known as the smalltoothed 

moss-mouse, and 

native to Indonesia and 

Papua New Guinea, Shaw 

Mayer's shrew mouse 

(Pseudohydromys ellermani) 

has eight teeth - four incisors 

and four molars, with no 

canines or premolars. 

The most teeth for 

a rodent is the silvery 

mole rat (Heliophobius 

argenteocinereus). Native 

to Central and East Africa, 

including Tanzania, Kenya 

and the Democratic Republic 

of the Congo, it has no 

fewer than 24 grinding teeth 

(premolars and molars) plus 

four incisors: 28 teeth in all. 

The adult male African elephant (Loxodonta 

africana) is not only the largest ungulate but 

also the largest land mammal. It typically 

stands 3-3.7 m at the shoulder and, at 

4-7 tonnes, can weigh more than 100 averagesized 

men. The tallest in Africa are members of 

the endangered desert race from Damaraland 

in Namibia. A bull elephant shot near Sesfontein 

in Damaraland on 4 Apr 1978 was the tallest 

recorded example. It measured 4.42 m in a line 

from the shoulder to the base of the forefoot 

-as tall as a London double-decker bus! 

Glossary 

Rodent: largest order 

of mammals, found on 

every continent except 

Antarctica; characterized 

by their paired upper 

and lower incisor teeth 

("rodent" means 

"gnawing"). 

Ungulate: broadly 

defined as a mammal 

with hooves (enlarged, 

modified toenails that, 

unlike claws and nails, 

support its weight). 

050 Living planet


UNGULAT ES 

Smallest rhinoceros 

Once widespread across 

south-eastern Asia but now 

confined to Sumatra, the 

Malay Peninsula and Borneo, 

the Sumatran rhinoceros 

(Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) 

has a maximum head-andbody 

length of 3.18 m (10 ft 

5 in), tail length of 70 em (2 ft 

3 in) and shoulder height of 

1.45 m (4 ft 9 in). 

Largest herd of white deer 

Within the former Seneca 

Army Depot in Seneca 

County, New York, USA, is 

a herd of some 300 white 

Longest hair for a domestic cattle breed 

The domestic cattle (8os taurus) with the longest hair is the Highland 

cattle. Originating in Scotland but subsequently exported worldwide, 

this famously hirsute breed has an average hair length of 35 em (1 ft 

1 in). This is measured from the length of the "dossan" (fringe) and also 

the length of hair in the ears. 

deer. Their species is the 

North American white-tailed 

deer (Odocoileus virginianus), 

and their white coat results 

from a recessive non-albino 

mutant gene allele. 

The rarest deer is the 

Bawean (Hye/aphus kuhlii), 

limited to the tiny Indonesian 

island of Bawean. Fewer 

than 250 mature individuals 

are believed to exist. It is 

categorized as "Critically 

Endangered" by the 

International Union 

for Conservation of 

Nature (IUCN). 

Largest camel 

The dromedary or onehumped 

camel (Came/us 

dromedarius) has a top 

head-and-body length of 

3.5 m (1 1 ft 5 in) , with a 

maximum shoulder height 

of 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in), and can 

weigh 690 kg (1 ,520 I b). 

Native to the Middle East, it 

survives today as a feral 

animal only in Australia 

and Spain. 

Largest wild pig 

Central Africa's giant 

forest hog (Hylochoerus 

meinertzhagem) has a headbody 

length of 2.1 m (6 ft 

10 in), a shoulder height of 

1.05 m (3 ft 5 in) and can 

weigh 275 kg (600 lb). 

(Baiomys taylorl, 

above) of Mexico 

and the USA and the 

Baluchistan pygmy 

jerboa (Sslpingotu/us 

michaelis) of Pakistan 

have a 3.6-cm (1 .4-in) 

head-to-body length 

and 7.2-cm (2.8-in) tail. 

Pygmy mouse: 

height 3.6 em, 

tail length 7.2 em 

SIZES 

- 

Never forget ... 

he largest land mammal 

(African elephant) is 

nearly 3 million times 

1 heavier than the smallest 

\,.__ (pygmy shrew)! __} 

Capybara: 

length 1.3 m, 

weight 79 kg 

Giraffe: 

height 4.6-5.5 m, 

weight 1.6 tonnes 

FACT 

The World Wildlife 

Fund (WWF) has 

five ungulates on its 

critically endangered 

list: saola (Pseudoryx 

nghetinhensis), 

Sumatran elephant 

(E/ephas maximus 

sumatranus), Sumatran 

rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus 

sumatrensis), black 

rhinoceros (Diceros 

bicornis) and 

Javan rhinoceros 

(Rhinoceros sondaicus). 


B1rds 


Owls can rotate their heads a full 270° in either direction 

Largest owl 

The European race of 

the eagle owl (Bubo bubo) 

has an average length of 

66-71 em (2 ft 2 in-2 ft 

4 in), an average weight 

of 1.6-4 kg (3 lb 8 oz-8 lb 

13 oz) and a wing-span of 

more than 1 .5 m (5 ft). 

Largest woodpecker 

The imperial woodpecker 

(Campephilus imperialis) 

measures up to 60 em (1 ft 

11 in) long. It was formerly 

widespread across Mexico, 

but owing to extensive habitat 

destruction its numbers 

rapidly plummeted. The 

last confirmed sighting was 

in 1956, but observations 

by locals continued into 

the mid-1990s. It is 

categorized as "Critically 

Endangered", possibly 

extinct, by the International 

Union for Conservation of 

Nature (IUCN). 

Loudest parrot 

Research conducted at San 

Diego Zoo in California, USA, 

recorded shrieks reaching 

135 decibels by the Moluccan 

(salmon-crested) cockatoo 

(Cacatua moluccensis), native 

to the Moluccas in Indonesia. 

Fastest wing beat 

During its diving courtship 

displays, the ruby-throated 

hummingbird (Archilochus 

colubris) has a wingbeat 

rate of 200 beats per sec, 

as opposed to the 90 beats 

per sec produced by other 

hummingbirds. 

Smallest swan 

The smallest swan - but 

largest species of South 

American waterfowl - is 

the black-necked swan 

Largest toucan 

Male bee hummingbirds (Melllsuga helenae) of 

Cuba measure 57 mm (2.24 in) long, half of which 

is the bill and tail. They weigh just 1.6 g (0.056 oz), 

generally regarded as the lowest limit for warmblooded 

animals. Females are slightly larger. 

(Cygnus melancoryphus). 

It grows up to 1.24 m (4 ft) 

long, with a wing-span 

of 1.77 m (5 ft 9 in). The 

coscoroba swan (Coscoroba 

coscoroba) is slightly smaller, 

FACT 

Birds are closely related 

to dinosaurs. In the USA, 

there are plans to retroengineer 

a dinosaur 

using chicken DNA. 

The largest species of toucan is the toco toucan 

(Ramphastos taco), which weighs up to 876 g 

(1 lb 14 oz) and grows up to 65 em (2 ft 1 in) long 

-a third of which is its huge bill. Males are larger 

than females. It is native to much of eastern and 

central South America, but particularly Brazil. 

but is no longer thought to 

be closely related to true 

swans and may well be a 

swan in name only. 

Rarest heron 

The global population of 

the imperial (white-bellied) 

heron (Ardea insignis) is 

estimated at no more than 

400 birds and is thought 

to be decreasing. 

It is caegorized 

as "Critically 

Endangered" by the 

IUCN. The species is 

native to the eastern 

Himalayan foothills of 

India, Myanmar, Bhutan and 

possibly Bangladesh but is 

now extinct in Nepal. 

Rarest kingfisher 

The Tuamotu kingfisher 

(Todiramphus gambieri) 

is confined entirely to a 

very small area on the 

single island of Niau in 

the Tuamotu Archipelago 

of French Polynesia. Only 

125-135 birds still exist as 

of 2013. It is threatened by 

non-native rats and cats, as 

well as by cyclone-induced 

habitat destruction. 

Ostr-etch: tall story 

even 

be extinct. It is believed 

that less than a dozen still 

exist in the Florida area." 

Today, our consultant Karl 

Shuker says, "I consider 

there to be good evidence 

that it survives, albeit very 

precariously." 

The North African ostrich (Struthio came/us 

lblc-g;'ll came/us) is the largest living bird. Males 

have been recorded at 2.75 m tall and 

weighing 156.5 kg. It cannot fly, but makes 

up for it by being the fastest flightless bird 

on land, reaching 72 km/h. Its powerful strides 

can exceed 7 m and are comparable to those 

of the fastest land mammal, the cheetah. It 

can also attack with a powerful kick. Because 

of its size, the ostrich is also the bird that lays 

the smallest eggs relative to body weight: 

only 1.4-1 .5% of its total mass. 

052 Living planet


Largest family of birds 

The peregrine falcon 

(Fa/co peregrinus) - 

found on almost all 

continents - is thought 

to reach a terminal 

velocity of around 

300 km/h (186 mph) in 

a diving stoop. At this 

point it is the fastest 

animal on the planet. 

Bad news for any prey 

below ... 

The Tyrannidae family of tyrant flycatchers has 

more than 400 species, including the browncrested 

flycatcher (Myiarchus tyrannulus, above 

left), lesser kiskadee (Phi/ohydor lictor, below left) 

and vermilion flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus, 

below). Highly diverse in form, these insectivorous 

birds live in North, Central 

and South America. 

Fastest bird in level flight 

In a report published 

by French and British 

researchers working in the 

sub-Antarctic, the average 

estimated ground speed for a 

satellite-tagged grey-headed 

albatross (Tha/assarche 

chrysostoma) is 127 km/h 

(78.9 mph), sustained 

for more than 8 hr while 

returning to its nest at Bird 

Island, South 

Georgia, in 

the middle 

After leaving its nesting 

grounds as a youngster, the 

sooty tern (Sterna fuscata) 

remains aloft for 3-10 years 

while maturing, settling on 

water from time to time 

before returning to land to 

breed as an adult. 

The longest bird 

migration is that of 

the Arctic tern (Sterna 

paradisaea). It breeds 

north of the Arctic Circle, 

then flies south to the 

Antarctic for the northern 

winter and back again - a 

round trip of approximately 

80,467 km (50,000 mi). 

The longest time for 

a bird to learn to fly is 

exhibited by the wandering 

albatross (Diomedea 

exulans), whose chicks take 

278-280 days on average 

to make their first flight 

after hatching. Because it 

takes so long for the young 

albatross to get to this stage, 

the adults breed only once 

every two years. 

Most expensive pigeon 

On 18 May 2013, pigeon 

breeder Leo Heremans 

(BEL) sold his racing pigeon 

for 310,000 euros (£260,000; 

$400,000) on www.pipa.be. 

The pigeon, Bolt, was 

named after world-recordholding 

Jamaican sprinter 

Usain Bolt and will be 

used for breeding. 

. . '- '" the 

SOuth Atlantic, the 

Inaccessible Island 

rail (Atlantis/a rogers1) 

weighs a mere 

40 g (1.4 oz). First 

discovered in 1870, the 

birds are around the 

size of a three-day-old 

chicken. 

Shortest bills 

The shortest avian 

bills in relation to 

body length belong 

to the smaller 

swifts (Apodidae 

family), and in 

particular to the 

glossy swiftlet 

(Col/oca/ia esculenta), 

whose bill is almost 

non-existent. 

Longest bills 

The Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) 

is the bill to beat, at 34-47 em (1 ft 1 in-1 ft 6.5 in). 

But the longest beak in relation to body length 

is that of the sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera 

ensifera) of the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. 

The beak measures 10.2 em (4 in), making it 

longer than its body without the tail. 

-t 

Male wandering 

albatross: 

wing-span 3.63 m, 

weight 5.9-12.7 kg 

(Cerorhi"a monocerata) 

nest burrows typically 

measure 2-3 m long. 

) 



Repti es & amph1 b1ans 

More than 6,000 species of lizard are known to exist 

this frog produces such 

a high-frequency croak is 

to overcome the very loud 

low-frequency sound of the 

waterfalls near which it lives 

in order to communicate 

with others of its species. 

The eastern diamondback ratlilasrtlllca (C'Ili)181CJS 

adamanteus) weighs 5.5-6.8 kg (12-15 lb), with 

the biggest on record at 15 kg (34 1b). Other 

contenders are the king cobra (Ophiophagus 

hannah), up to 9 kg (20 lb), and the gaboon viper 

(Bitis gabonica), weighing 8.5 kg (18 lb 12 oz). 

Fastest lizard 

The Costa Rican spiny-tailed 

iguana (Ctenosaura simi/is) 

can attain a land speed of 

34.9 km/h (21.7 mph). 

Highest frequency 

frog croak 

The concave-eared torrent 

frog (Odorrana tormota) of 

eastern China croaks at a 

frequency of 128 kHz 

-an ultrasonic emission well 

beyond the range of human 

hearing (which cannot 

detect sound 

frequencies 

above 20 kHz). 

The reason 

that 

Longest iguana species 

Largest caiman 

Caimans are 

alligator-related 

crocodilians and, 

of their six species, 

the largest is the black 

caiman (Melanosuchus 

niger). Old males can 

sometimes exceed 5 m 

(16ft 5 in) in length 

and 400 kg (880 lb) 

in weight. The black 

caiman is native to 

rivers and swamps 

in the Amazon basin. 

The green, or common, iguana (Iguana iguana) can exceed 2 m 

(6 ft 6 in) in length. Found in an extensive range from Brazil and 

Paraguay to as far north as Mexico and the Caribbean, they are among 

the largest lizards in the Americas. Iguanas live near water and are 

excellent swimmers, feeding largely on leaves, flowers and fruit. 

The goliath frog (Conraua goliath) is 30 em 

(1 ft) long on average, the same size as a rabbit. 

The largest individual specimen was captured 

in Apr 1889 in Cameroon with an overall length 

of 87.63 em (2 ft 10.5 in). Classified as 

"endangered" by the International Union for 

Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the frog 

is found mainly in Central Africa. 

Largest planteating 

lizard 

Jim Morrison, singer 

with The Doors, called 

himself "The Lizard 

King". In his honour, 

an extinct species of 

iguana was named 

Barbaturex morrisoni. 

It was almost 2 m 

(6 ft 6 in) in length 

and inhabited what is 

now Burma during the 

Eocene epoch, some 

40-36 million years 

ago. High temperatures 

may have helped the lizard 

evolve to its unusual size. 

Most poisonous newt 

The California newt 

(Taricha torosa) 

llil- is poisonous all 

a crowd 

of In California, USA, It 

soared 4.73 m. The record was 

leapfrogged with a stunning 

performance by a South 

African sharp-nosed frog 

(Ptychadena oxyrhynchus) 

named Santjie, who was 

competing in a triple jump. 

On 21 May 1977, Santjie flew 

10.3 m-about half the length 

of a basketball court. 

054 Living planet 

Galapagos 

giant tortoise: 

length 1.35 m 

Estuarine or saltwater 

crocodile length 7 m


black-and-white or Argentine 

giant tegu (Tuplnambls merianae) is native 

to east and central South America and 

can grow to 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) in length and 

weigh 7 kg (15 1b 7 oz). Tegus are predatory, 

and popularly kept as pets by reptile fanciers. 

over: its skin, muscles and 

blood contain tetrodotoxin, 

a toxic and powerful nerve 

poison that is a hundred 

times more deadly than 

cyanide. It's the same stuff 

that makes the pufferfish 

(Tetraodontidae) the most 

poisonous edible fish. 

The newt itself is immune 

to the effects of venom. 

Smallest lizard family 

The Lanthanotidae family 

of lizards has just one 

member - the earless 

monitor (Lanthanotus 

borneensis). This is an 

evolutionary oddity known 

only in Sarawak, Borneo. It 

lacks external ears, and the 

nearest relatives of this small 

family are the true monitors 

and the venomous Gila 

monster and beaded lizards. 

Most legs for a worm lizard 

As their name suggests, worm lizards resemble 

earthworms and are generally limbless. But four 

of the 180-plus species - known as ajolotes 

(Bipes spp.) and confined to Mexico - possess 

a pair of small forelimbs with large clawed feet 

positioned behind the head. These limbs are 

sometimes mistaken for ears! 

Most geographically 

restricted python 

Liasis mackloti 

savuensis is 

confined to the tiny 

Indonesian island 

of Savu, south of 

Java, from which it 

gets its common name: 

the Savu Island python. 

Savu is the largest of the 

three Savu Islands, whose 

total area is only 460.84 km2 

(178 sq mi). 

Smelliest 

species 

of frog 

The skunk frog 

(Aromobates 

nocturnus) of 

Venezuela is well 

named. Measuring 

6.2 em (2.44 in) long, 

it is a member of the 

poison-arrow frog family 

(Dendrobatidae), yet its 

defensive skin secretion 

contains not toxin but the 

same stink-producing 

compound present in 

the anal emissions of 

mammalian skunks. 

Most powerful species 

of vertebrate 

In terms of watts of power 

generated per kilogram 

of muscle, the giant palm 

salamander (Bolitoglossa 

dofleinl) of Central America 

is the strongest vertebrate 

species. Its tongue explodes 

outwards at 18,000 watts 

per kg (818 watts per lb) of 

muscle. It is believed that 

elastic collagen tissue in 

the salamander's tongue 

stores up energy prior to its 

explosive release, much 

like a stretched rubber band 

or a bowstring drawn back. 

A typical Salvadori's 

monitor might have 

a body of 1.2 m but 

a tail of more than 

double that: up to 

2.7 m. By comparison, 

the average Komodo 

dragon is 2.25 m long. 

Scaled up: long snakes 

The reticulated python (Python reticulatus) of 

Indonesia, south-east Asia and the Philippines 

is the world's longest snake. A specimen 

measured in Indonesia in 1912 was 10 m long 

- equivalent in length to the outstretched arms 

of eight adult men. 

Pictured is Si Belang, a 6.05-m-long python .. "· 

"'*"" 

adopted by the Toe family in Borneo. The 60-kg 

snake lives, sleeps, eats and even bathes with the 

family - including three-year-old Karim. Si Belang 

is not a threat to the Toes as he recognizes them 

as his own family and their home as his territory. 

- ,,.,.,_ 

toad (Aiytes' obsflttrlc8ns), 

carries egga around Ita 

thighs until they hatch. 

Smallest toad: Bufo 

:e: 



o :fishes 

a starfish is not a fish; an electric eel is not an eel 

The m.• -- e an. 

aka giant barb, Is the largest of the cyprlnid 

(carp) family. The longest specimens currently 

reported - such as the 102-kg (225-lb) barb above 

- are around 1.8 m (5 ft 10 in) in length, while the 

longest known specimen was 3 m (9 ft 10 in). 

long, almost twice the 

length of the whale shark, 

the largest fish alive 

today (see p.42). 

Largest freshwater fish 

The largest fish that 

spends its whole life in 

fresh or brackish water 

is the Mekong giant 

catfish (Pangasianodon 

gigas), principally of the 

Mekong River basin, 

and Pangasius sanitwongsei, 

mainly of the Chao Phraya 

River basin, both native 

to south-east Asia. Both 

species are reputed to 

grow to 3m (9 ft 10 in) and 

weigh 300 kg (660 lb). The 

Arapaima gigas of South 

America is reported to reach 

4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) long, but it 

weighs only 200 kg (440 lb). 

Smallest fish 

The smallest adult fish - 

and indeed the smallest 

vertebrate - is a sexually 

mature male Photocorynus 

spiniceps, which measures 

just 6.2 mm (0.24 in) 

long and is found in the 

Philippine Sea. This species 

of anglerfish reproduces 

through sexual parasitism. 

The male permanently 

attaches itself to the 

larger female by biting her 

back, belly or sides and 

effectively turning her into 

a hermaphrodite. 

The smallest 

freshwater fish is the 

dwarf pygmy goby (Pandaka 

pygmaea), a colourless 

and nearly transparent 

species found in the streams 

and lakes of Luzon in the 

Largest fish ever 

In 2008, two palaeontology 

students discovered a 

specimen of the marine 

fossil species Leedsichthys 

problematicus in clay pits 

near Peterborough in 

Cambridgeshire, UK. Dating 

back 155 million years, 

this particular specimen 

measured 22 m (72 ft) 

Longest bony fish 

The lengthiest of the bony or "true" fishes (class Pisces, aka Osteichthyes 

- see Glossary, below) is the oarfish (Regalecus glesne), or the "King of 

the Herrings", which has worldwide distribution. In c. 1885, a 7.6-m-long 

(25-ft) example weighing 272 kg (600 lb) was caught by fishermen off 

Pemaquid Point in Maine, USA. The specimen pictured here was found 

dead in the water off Toyon Bay, California, USA, on 13 Oct 2013 by staff 

of the Catalina Island Marine Institute; it measured 5.5 m (18 ft) long. 

FACT 

An oarfish seen 

swimming by a team 

of scientists off 

New Jersey, USA, in 

1963 was estimated 

to be 15.2 m long! 

Photocorynus 

splnlceps: 

length 6.2 mm 

llolrU.,.•: bony 

skeletons made from 

bone. There are c. 28,000 

species of Osteichthyes, 

accounting for 96% of 

all fish species. They also 

form the largest class 

of vertebrates (animals 

with backbones).

FACT 

Thresher sharks are 

believed to use their 

tails to herd and 

then stun schools 

of milling fish ready 

for eating. 

Longest fin 

All three species of thresher shark (family 

Alopiidae) have a huge, scythe-shaped caudal 

(tail) fin that is roughly as long as the body 

itself. The largest and most common species, 

Alopias vulpinus, found worldwide in temperate 

and tropical seas, grows to 6 m {19 ft 8 in) in 

length, of which almost 3 m (9 ft 10 in) consists 

of this greatly elongated upper tail fin. 

Philippines. Males are only 

7.5-9.9 mm (0.29-0.38 in) 

long and weigh just 4-5 mg. 

Highest living fish 

The Tibetan loach (family 

Cobitidae) is found at an 

altitude of 5,200 m (17,060 ft) 

in the Himalayas. 

Longest fish migration 

Many fish species undertake 

long annual migrations 

between their feeding 

grounds. The longest 

straight-line distance known 

to have been covered by a 

fish is 9,335 km (5,800 mi) 

for a bluefin tuna (Thunnus 

thynnus) that was darttagged 

off Baja California, 

Mexico, in 1958, and caught 

483 km (300 mi) south of 

Tokyo, Japan, in Apr 1963. 

The longest journey by 

a freshwater fish is some 

4,800-6,400 km (3,000- 

4,000 mi), taking about six 

months, by the European 

eel (Anguilla anguilla). This 

species spends between 

seven and 15 years in fresh 


water in Europe, 

before abruptly 

evolving into breeding 

condition, changing colour to 

become silver, and growing a 

longer snout and larger eyes. 

The much-altered animal then 

begins a marathon trek to the 

species' spawning grounds 

in the Sargasso Sea, east 

of North America. 

Most venomous fish 

Poisonous creatures contain 

poison within their bodies, 

which they pass on to any 

creatures that consume, 

venom into their victims. 

The stonefish (family 

Synanceiidae) of the tropical 

waters of the Indo-Pacific 

are highly venomous. 

Synanceia horrida has 

the largest venom 

glands of any known 

fish. Direct contact with 

the spines of its fins, which 

contain a strong neurotoxic 

poison, can prove fatal. 

The most poisonous 

fish is the puffer fish 

(Tetraodon) of the Red Sea 

and Indo-Pacific region, 

which produces a fatally 

poisonous toxin called 

tetrodotoxin. Its ovaries, 

eggs, blood, liver, intestines 

FACT 

Technically, there is no 

such thing as a "fish" - 

the creatures on these 

pages are from many 

different animal families. 

FACT 

There are more fish 

in the Amazon River 

than there are in all 

of Europe. 

salltlsh 

platypterus) 

considered to be 

the fastest species 

of fish over short 

distances, although 

practical difficulties 

make measurements 

extremely hard to 

secure. Trials at the 

Long Key Fishing 

Camp in Florida, USA, 

suggested a top speed 

of 109 km/h (68 mph). 

and, to a lesser extent, its 

skin, contain tetrodotoxin. 

Less than 0.1 g (0.004 oz) 

of this is enough to kill a 

human adult in as little 

as 20 min. 

Most ferocious 

freshwater fish 

Piranhas are renowned 

for their ferocity, 

particularly those of the 

genera Serrasalmus and 

Pygocentrus, found in 

the large rivers of South 

America. Attracted to blood 

and frantic splashing, a 

school of piranhas can within 

minutes strip an animal as 

large as a horse of its flesh, 

leaving only its skeleton. 

Shark attack: great white shark 

The largest predatory fish is the great white 

shark (Carcharodon carcharias, from the Greek 

for "sharp-toothed"). Adults average 4.3-4.6 m 

in length - as long as a typical family saloon car 

- and generally weigh 900 kg. There is plenty of 

circumstantial evidence to suggest that some 

great whites grow to more than 6 m in length, 

and there have even been claims of huge 

specimens up to 10 m long. Pictured here is a 

lucky seal escaping the jaws of a great white, 

snapped in Jul 2013 off the coast of Seal Island, 

South Africa, by photographer David Jenkins. 

W Feshwater 

l1J g1ant 

According to our 1955 

edition, the largest 

freshwater fish was the 

6.7-m-long giant Russian 

sturgeon (Acipenser), found 

in the Volga River. "However, 

we now know that this is not 

an exclusively freshwater 

species," says our animal 

consultant Dr Karl Shuker. 

"At 3 m, the largest fish that 

spends its whole life in fresh 

water is Asia's Mekong giant 

catfish." (see p.56) 


___ ru 


stacean s 

shrimp consumes the male shortly after mating 

Copepods, found 

almost everywhere 

with water, comprise 

12,000 species and 

form groups that 

can reach a trillion 

individuals. Most 

are less than 1 mm 

(0,04 in) long. 

Pictured inset is a 

1-m-long American 

lobster found off the 

coast of Maine, USA, 

on 17 Feb 2012. The 

18-kg beast was 

dubbed Rocky before 

being released back 

into the wild. 

Deepest-living 

crustacean 

"'....,-,.....,1 Nov 1980, live amphipods 

found at a depth 

500 m (34,450 ft) 

in Ienger Deep, the 

deepest point on Earth, 

in the ariana Trench of the 

western acific Ocean. 

Longest journey 

by a crab 

In Dec 2006, it was reported 

that an American Columbus 

crab (Planes minutus) had 

been discovered washed 

up but still alive on a beach 

in Bournemouth, UK - 

8,000 km (5,000 mi) from its 

home in the Sargasso Sea, 

Heaviest marine crustacean 

The American or North Atlantic lobster (Homarus americanus) 

is the heaviest marine crustacean. On 11 Feb 1977, a specimen 

weighing 20.14 kg (44 lb 6 oz) and measuring 1.06 m (3 ft 6 in) 

from tail fan to the tip of its largest claw was caught off Nova 

Scotia, Canada. It was sold to a New York restaurant owner. 

east of Florida, USA. The 

15-cm (6-in) crab is believed 

to have made its journey 

by clinging to barnacles on 

a buoy for three months, 

surviving storms, predators 

and sharp changes in sea 

temperature. 

Fastest-swimming 

crustacean 

Henslow's swimming crab 

(Polybius henslowil) , native 

to the eastern Atlantic 

Ocean, has been timed 

at 1.3 m/s (4 ft 3 in/s) in 

captivity. It is likely that 

it would be able to swim 

even faster under natural 

conditions in the wild. 

First venomous 

crustacean 

Xibalbanus (previously 

Speleonectes) tulumensis 

feeds upon other 

crustaceans. Its claws 

inject a cocktail 

of chemicals 

The Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish 

(Astacopsis gould1) is also the largest 

freshwater invertebrate of any kind. Native 

to small streams in Tasmania, Australia, it can 

measure 80 em (2 ft 7 in) and weigh 5 kg (11 lb}. 

Overfishing and habitat loss have seen the 

species decline and it is listed as endangered. 

a paralysing neurotoxin 

similar to rattlesnake venom. 

The toxin breaks down the 

victim's body tissues, turning 

it into liquid to be sucked up 

from its prey's exoskeleton. 

The blind crustacean 

inhabits underwater 

caves of the Caribbean, 

Canary Islands and Western 

Australia. Xibalbanus 

the remipede class and is 

the only crustacean that 

possesses enom. 

Largest extent 

of colour vision 

Stomatopods such as 

mantis shrimps have 

eight different types of 

colour photoreceptor in 

their eyes (humans have 

three). These reef-dweller 

crustaceans can distinguish 

numerous shades within the 

electromagnetic spectrum's 

ultraviolet waveband - 

entirely invisible to humans. 

Their clear-eyed vision 

is used to identify 

prey (which is 

often semitransparent) 

and dodge 

predators. 

 

Parasitic pea crab: 6.3 mm 

Common sea slater: 3 em 

.. 

Water fleas {branchiopods): 

0.25 mm 

CfullaU•t •""'-·1.. 1'"" "''..._ 

phylum) of arthropod comprfelng 

67,000 described species, from 

the minuscule 0.094-mm-long 

Stygotantulus stock/ up to the 

giant spider crab (Mscrochelra 

kaempfen) with Its 3.69-m span 

from claw to claw (see above right) . 

They are distinguished from other 

groups of arthropods by their twoparted 

limbs and the form taken 

by their larvae.


measure around f-2.55. 

Each eye possesses a pair 

of high-powered parabolic 

reflectors that direct the 

dim light on to the retina. 

Sharpest night vision 

for an animal 

Gigantocypris is a marine 

crustacean living at depths 

of more than 1 ,000 m 

(3,300 ft) with almost no 

sunlight. But this genus 

of ostracod has eyes with 

an f-number (a measure 

of light sensitivity) of 0.25. 

In comparison, humans 

Largest barnacle 

The giant acorn barnacle 

(Balanus nubilus) stands up 

to 12.7 em (5 in) high and 

measures 7 em (2.76 in) 

across. It lives as far down 

as 91 m (300 ft) and its side 

plates withstand strong 

currents. The barnacle is 

food for whelk snails, which 

can drill into the shell. 

Largest copepod 

Pennella balaenopterae is a 

parasite living on the backs 

of fin whales (Balaenoptera 

physalus). It can attain a 

length of 32 em (1 ft 0.5 in). 

Largest woodlouse 

The common sea slater 

(Ligia oceanica) can grow up 

Largest marine crustacean 

The giant spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi), 

found off the south-eastern coast of Japan, has 

a leg-span of up to 3.69 m (12 ft 1.5 in). Pictured 

here is "Big Daddy", whose leg-span of 3.11 m 

(10 ft 2.5 in) makes him the widest crustacean in 

captivity. The leggy crab - named after a famous British 

wrestler - was measured at Sea Life in Blackpool, UK, on 8 Aug 2013. 

1'he endangered Shasta crayfleh (Paclfastacus 

fortis) Is native to Shasta County In California, 

USA, where it is found along portions of the Pit 

River. It occurs in only 13 km2 (5 sq mi) of the 

river and its fragmented population probably 

numbers no more than 300 in total. 

to 3 em (1 .2 in) long and is 

twice as long as it is broad. 

Its speed when startled has 

earned it the nickname "sea 

cockroach". It is an aquatic 

species that breathes air 

and lives on rocky coasts 

of temperate waters. 

Smallest crustacean 

Stygotantulus stocki 

measures 0.094 mm 

(0.003 in), also making it 

the smallest arthropod of 

any kind. It is an 

ectoparasite 

- a parasite 

on the surface - of 

crustaceans called 

harpacticoid copepods. The 

smallest non-parasitic 

crustaceans are water fleas 

(branchiopods) of the 

genus Alonella. 

These freshwater 

fleas measure less 

than 0.25 mm 

(0.009 in). 

Coconut crab: island monster 

The largest (and heaviest) land-living 

crustacean is the robber or coconut crab 

(Birgus latro), which lives on tropical islands and 

atolls in the Indo-Pacific. It can weigh as much 

as 4.1 kg and has a leg-span of up to 1 m. This 

type of hermit crab feeds on rotting coconuts, 

although it will eat a variety of other food. It 

has been hunted almost to extinction on many 

islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, owing 

to both its size and its use as a culinary delicacy. 

The young are hatched in the sea but return to 

land and lose the ability to survive in the water. 

Hermit crabs (Paguroidea) 

aren't true crabs (they have 

three rather than four pairs 

of walking legs), but they 

are crustaceans. They don't 

have shells; instead, they 

reuse those that have been 

abandoned by other creatures. 

The hermit crab is the animal 

with the most chromosomes 

(the body's hereditary 

information), with 127 pairs, 

compared with just 23 pairs 

in humans. 



I / 

\I 

an estimated 1.4 billion insects alive right now 

The fastest 

insect wingbeat 

under 

conditions is 

62,760 beats 

per min by a tiny 

midge of the genus 

Forcipomyia. 

Fastest insect 

A speed of 5.4 km/h 

(3.36 mph), or 50 body 

lengths per sec, 

was registered by 

Periplaneta americana 

- the familiar American 

cockroach of the order 

Dictyoptera - in 1991 . 

The fastest 

caterpillar is the 

larva of the motherof-pearl 

moth 

(Pieuroptya ruralis), 

which can travel at 

1.37 km/h (0.8 mph). 

The fastest flying 

insect is the Australian 

dragonfly (Austrophlebia 

costa/is), at 58 km/h (36 mph) 

in short bursts. In 1917, a 

ground velocity of 98.6 km/h 

(61.3 mph) was 

recorded over 73- 

82 m (240-270 ft). 

Least 

classifiable 

insect 

A newly discovered 

nymph (juvenile) 

form of planthopper 

resembles nymphs 

from at least four 

classification. It 

was found in the 

rainforest of 

Pogonomyrmex 

maricopa is a stinging 

species of harvester 

ant native to Arizona, 

USA. The LD5 0 

value 

of its venom (the 

dosage required 

to kill 50% of mice 

subjected to it) 

is 0.12 mg/kg 

when injected 

intravenously 

into mice. 

Loudest insect 

The African cicada 

(Brevisana brevis), 

discovered in 1850, 

produces a calling 

song with a mean 

sound pressure level 

of 106.7 decibels at a 

distance of 50 em (1 ft 7 in). 

Songs play a vital role in 

cicada communication 

and reproduction. 

The caterpillar of the North American silk 

moth (Antheraea polyphemus) eats more food 

relative to its own body weight than any other 

animal. Living on the leaves of oak, birch, willow 

and maple trees, it eats up to 86,000 times its 

own weight during the first 56 days of its life. 

Most aggressive butterfly 

The powerful flier 

Charaxes candiope of 

Uganda actively divebombs 

people who 

invade its territory. 

e 

 

Most times for 

an insect to moult 

All insects moult several 

times during the course of 

their lifetime. Up to 60 moults 

have been recorded for 

the fire brat (Thermobia 

domestica), a primitive, 

wingless insect that is widely 

distributed in North America 

• 

The wingless queen 

of the fulvous 

driver ant Dory/us 

fu/vus is native to 

South Africa. It 

grows to a maximum 

length of 5 em (1 .9 in), 

some 2 em (0.7 in) 

longer than the male 

of the species. 

The term "fulvous" 

describes the ant's 

characteristic tawnybrown 

colouration. 

Fulvous driver ant (wingless 

queen}: length 5 em


moults throughout its life, 

whereas most insects only 

do so during their juvenile 

(nymph, or larval) stage. 

Most dangerous bee 

The Africanized 

honey bee (Apis me/litera 

scutel!ata) will generally only 

attack when provoked but 

is persistent in pursuit. It is 

very aggressive and fiercely 

protective of territories up 

to a 0.8-km (0.5-mi) radius. 

Its venom is no more potent 

than that of other bees, but 

it attacks in swarms so the 

number of stings inflicted 

can be fatal. 

Most bee stings removed 

The greatest number of 

bee stings sustained by any • 

surviving human subject 

The most indestructible 

beetle is a small 

species known as 

Niptus hololeucus. 

Researcher Malcolm 

Burr has revealed 

that no fewer than 

1,547 specimens were 

discovered alive inside 

a bottle of casein 

protein that had been 

stoppered 

for 12 years. 

is 2,443, by Johannes 

Relleke at the Kamativi tin 

mine, Gwaii River, in Wankie 

District, Zimbabwe (then 

Rhodesia), on 28 Jan 

1962. All the stings were 

removed and counted. 

Most painful insect sting 

In 1983, entomologist Justin 

0 Schmidt (USA) published a 

detailed pain index of insect 

stings, based on a four-point 

scale. The most painful 

sting, registering 4.0+ 

on his index, was that of 

the bullet ant (Paraponera 

clavata), native to Central 

The giant houae spider 

(Tegenaria glgantea) 

is native to North 

America. An adult 

female studied during 

tests in the UK in 1970 

attained a running 

speed of 1.90 km/h 

(1 .18 mph) over short 

distances. This is 

equivalent to covering 

33 times her own body 

length in 10 sec. 

and South America. 

Schmidt described its sting 

as "like walking over flaming 

charcoal with a 3-in [8-cm] 

rusty nail in your heel". 

LARGEST ... 

Wasp 

A female giant tarantula-hawk 

wasp (Pepsis heros) found 

in Peru had a wing-span of 

12.15 em (4.75 in) and body 

length of c. 6.2 em (2.25 in). 

Native to Australia, the heaviest species of moth 

is the giant wood moth (Endoxy/a cinereus). The 

weightiest specimen on record is an adult female 

that measured 31 .2 g (1.1 oz). Females have a 

wing-span of approximately 25 em (9.8 in), while 

males are only about half that size. 

Bee 

Females of the king bee 

(Chalicodoma pluto) from 

the Moluccas Islands 

of Indonesia measure 

3.9 em (1.5 in) long. 

The smallest 

species of bee 

is Perdita minima 

of south-western 

USA - measuring 

just under 2 mm 

(0.07 in) long 

and weighing only 

0.333 mg (that's 3,030 

bees to the gram, or 

85,133 to the ounce). 

Longest insect tongue 

Scorpion 

A specimen of Heterometrrltl9. 

swannerdami found during 

World War II in the village 

of Krishnarajapuram, India, 

measured 29.2 em (11.5 in) 

in length from the tips of the 

pedipalps (pincers) to the 

end of the sting. 

Cockroach 

A preserved female 

Megaloblatta /ongipennis 

in the collection of Akira 

Yokokura (JPN) measures 

9.7 em (3.8 in) long and 

4.5 em (1 .75 in) across. 

The tongue, or proboscis, of Morgan's sphinx 

(hawk) moth (Xanthopan morganii praedicta) 

measures up to 35 em (1 ft 1 in) - more than twice 

the entire length of the moth itself. This enables - 

the moth to reach the nectar deep inside the 

star-shaped flowers of the comet, or Darwin's 

orchid. The insect is native to Madagascar. 

Since around 2006, many bee 

populations have collapsed 

- a phenomenon known as 

colony collapse disorder. 

Possible causes include 

poisoning from pesticides, 

destruction of the bees' 

natural environments and 

parasites that feed on bees' 

blood. The welfare of the bee 

impacts directly on our own 

food chain: with no bees to 

pollinate them, up to half of 

our fruit and vegetable plants 

would disappear, along with 

animal-feed crops. 

Bee-suited: attracting a mantle 

A "mantle" is an enormous cluster of bees that 

forms a protective layer around the queen bee. 

By wearing the queen in a locket around the 

neck, an individual can encourage a mantle of 

bees to form around their body. This rippling 

mass of bees can weigh many kilograms, with 

the heaviest mantle of bees record currently 

standing at 61 .2 kg - about the same weight 

as an adult man - by Ruan Lianming (CHN) on 

6 May 2012. Ruan used 56 queens to attract 

an estimated 621,000 bees in Fengxin County, 

Jiangxi Province, China. 

LargMt 11M houee: A tMte 

house measuring 13 x 1.27 x 

0.36 m was built in Barking, 

london, UK, on 18 Jun 2011. 

Largest wasp nest: A nest 

measuring 3.7 x 1.75 m and 

c. 5.5 m in circumference 

was found at Waimauku, 

New Zealand, in Apr 1963. 

www.guinnessworldrecords.com


Most y mo uses 

Octopuses don't have eight legs - they have two legs and six arms 

Deepest octopus : 

The dumbo octopus .' 

(Grimpoteuthis) lives as far 

down as 1,5(30 m (5,000 ft). 

Its body, 20 cm (7.8 in) long, 

is soft and semi-gelatinos. 

enabling the 0ctopus to 

resist the gr at pressure 

found at this depth. It travels 

by moving its. fins, pulsing its 

webbed arms (octopus limbs 

are called arms rather than 

tentacles) or pushing water 

through a funnel as a form 

of jet pror:fulsion. 

• 

Most 

bioluminescent octopus 

Squids include many 

bioluminescent species but 

only Stauroteuthis syrtensis 

lights up the octopus world 

in a significant way. It uses a 

row of sucker-like structures 

that glow blue-green 

and emit light at 

470 nanometres (a 

wavelength that travels 

well under water). 

Researchers believe 

the flashing entices 

prey within reach. 

Smallest octopus 

With an average arm 

span of less than 

5.1 em (2 in), Octopus 

arborescens is the 

smallest species. It 

is found in Sri Lanka. 

First complete 

nervous system 

In 2013, scientists 

announced a nervous 

system had been 

Largest 

invertebrate 

An Atlantic giant 

squid (Architeuthis 

dux) that washed 

up in Thimble 

Tickle Bay, 

Newfoundland, 

Canada, on 2 Nov 

1878 had a body 

measured at 

6.1 m (20 ft) long 

and one tentacle 

reaching 10.7 m 

(35 ft), giving a 

total of 16.8 m 

(55 ft). Pictured 

is a giant squid 

snapped in Feb 

1996 in New 

Zealand. 

found in a 3-cm-long 

(1.18-in) fossil belonging 

to a previously unknown 

species of segmented 

marine arthropod. This 

creature is an ancestor 

of chelicerates (spiders, 

scorpions and horseshoe 

crabs). Belonging 

to the extinct genus 

Ala/comenaeus, it lived more 

than 520 million years ago in 

the Cambrian period in the 

seas of south-west China. 

Heaviest colossal squid 

Colossal squid are 

shorter than giant squid 

but they make up for it 

in weight. One specimen 

of adult male colossal 

squid (Mesonychoteuthis 

hamiltoni) weighed c. 450 kg 

(990 lb) when caught by 

fishermen in the Ross Sea 

of Antarctica in 2007. 

Rarest jellyfish 

The Cookii Monster (Crambione cookii) of 

Australia is pink, 50 em (1 ft 8 in) long and very 

venomous. Recorded in 1910 in Cooktown, 

Queensland, the species disappeared until a 

specimen was caught in 2013 off Queensland's 

Sunshine Coast by Puk Scivyer of nearby 

UnderWater World, where it now resides. 

Most venomous 

gastropod 

Predatory marine shells 

called cone shells (genus 

Conus) deliver a fast-acting 

neurotoxic venom. While 

several species are capable 

of delivering enough toxin to 

kill humans, the geographer 

cone (C. geographus) of the 

Indo-Pacific is particularly 

dangerous and should never 

be handled. 

Longest bivalve mollusc 

Bivalves, such as clams 

and oysters, have a hinged 

shell. The longest bivalve is 

the giant shipworm (Kuphus 

polythalamia), a marine 

species that lives in a tubular 

shell. The longest specimen 

measured 1.53 m (5 ft). 

For news of life off 

Earth, turn to p.24 

Big suckers: giant octopus 

The largest octopus is the Pacific giant octopus 

(Enteroctopus dofleini, right), the biggest 

specimen of which sported an arm-span 

of 9.6 m - the same arm-span of eight 

adult men! Despite their size, they are 

not exempt from predators but, like most 

cephalopods, they have a good defence 

mechanism: above left is a Pacific giant 

squirting a plume of ink in its wake as it evades 

attack. They are also masters of camouflage and 

can change colour - and even texture -to match 

their surroundings (bottom left). 

FACT 

Centipedes don't 

have 100 legs but 

do have an uneven 

number of leg pairs. 

Full of 

venom 

All octopuses, cuttlefish 

and some squid are 

venomous. Fortunately, 

only the venom of one 

the blue-ringed octopus 

is powerful enough to kill 

humans. 

062 Living planet


An individual African giant snail (Achatina 

achatlna) was recorded at 39.3 em (1 ft 

3.5 in) when fully extended, with a shell 

length of 27.3 em (10.75 in). Weighing 900 g 

(2 lb), this specimen was named Gee Geronimo 

and was kept in Hove in the UK after being 

collected in Sierra Leone in Jun 1976. 

Gee Geronimo's owner, 

Chris Hudson (UK), got 

divorced after his wife 

complained that the 

house was too full of 

snails - and that he even 

had a bucket of them 

under their bed. 

LARGEST ... 

Centipede 

The giant centipede 

(Scolopendra gigantea) 

of Central and South 

America is 26 em (10 in) 

long. It preys on mice, 

lizards and frogs·- and 

one group was found in 

Venezuela hanging upside 

down from cave roofs to 

feed on bats. The centipede 

uses modified jaws to catch 

its food, delivering venom 

that feels like an insect sting 

in humans and can cause 

swelling and fever. 

of Australia. A specimen 

collected in 1979 had a 

shell 77.2 em (2 ft 6.4 in) 

long, with a maximum 

girth of 1.01 m (3 ft 3. 75 in). 

It weighed nearly 18 kg 

(40 lb) when alive. 

Eye-to-body ratio 

Vampyroteuthis infernalis 

- the "vampire squid from 

hell" - has a body measuring 

28 em (11 in) in length and 

eyes with a diameter of 

2.5 em (0.9 in). The ratio is 

almost 1:11 - the human 

equivalent of eyes the size 

of table tennis bats! Squid 

also have the largest eyes in 

absolute terms (see below). 

Science was already aware of the giant 

pink slug (Triboniophorus aff. graeffei) 

of New South Wales, Australia, but it was 

thought to be an unusual colour variety 

of the red triangle slug (Triboniophorus 

graeffei). In Jun 2013, genetic results 

revealed it to be a species in its own right. 

Millipede 

A fully grown African 

giant black millipede 

(Archispirostreptus gigas) 

owned by Jim Klinger 

of Coppell, Texas, USA, 

measures 38.7 em (1 ft 3.2 in) 

Marine snail 

The largest marine 

gastropod is the 

trumpet or baler 

conch (Syrinx aruanus) 

Atlantic 

horseshoe crab: 

length 60 em 

Giant centipede: 

length 26 em 

Atlantic giant •quid: length 

up to 16.8 m, hes the largnt 

eye of any animal (above), 

at 40 em In diameter 

flratly equid (Watalenlf 

sclntfllans) emit flashes 

of light. 

Firat video of giant 

squid In natural habitat: 

Jul 2012, filmed south of 

Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean. 

First giant squid 

captured: seven juveniles 

caught off the coast of 

New Zealand in Mar 2002. 


Pets 


There are 70 million pet dogs and 74.1 million pet cats in the USA 

Largest breed 

of spaniel 

Named after Clumber 

Park in Nottingham, UK, 

the Clumber spaniel has 

been a favourite of 

-"..., aristocracy and royalty. 

First pet hedgehog 

A relative of the Algerian 

hedgehog (Atelerix algirus) 

was domesticated during 

the 4th century ec by the 

Romans. They were 

primarily raised for their 

meat and quills, but were 

also kept as pets, as several 

different species are today. 

Modern popular breeds are 

the Egyptian long-eared 

hedgehog (Hemiechinus 

auritus auritus), the Indian 

long-eared hedgehog 

(H. collaris) and the 

African pygmy hedgehog 

(A. albiventris), which is a 

hybrid of the Algerian and 

the four-toed hedgehog. 

200 professional dog 

obedience judges. To p dogs 

understand a vocabulary of 

250 words - as many as a 

two-year-old human child. 

Bottom of the class are 

the bulldog, the Basenji and, 

last of all, the 

Afghan hound. 

The breed standard 

specifies a weight of 39 kg 

(86 lb) and a height of 51 em 

(20 in). The Clumber is loyal 

but a little demanding: its 

white coat sheds throughout 

the year, and the breed 

tends to slobber and snore. 

Smallest breed of poodle 

Poodles can be found 

in standard, miniature 

and - the smallest -toy 

categories. To qualify, a 

toy poodle must have 

a maximum height 

to the withers of 

either 28 em (11 in) or 

25.4 em (10 in), depending 

on the guidelines of different 

international bodies. 

Pig Floyd (b. 17 Feb 1992) - a pot-bellied pig 

owned by Kris and Tricia Fernandez of Baton 

Rouge, Louisiana, USA - was 21 years 166 days 

old when assessed on 2 Aug 2013. 

Most intelligent 

breed of dog 

The Border collie is the 

smartest pooch of all, 

followed by the poodle 

and German shepherd, 

according to Professor 

Stanley Coren (USA) of 

the University of British 

Columbia, Canada, and 

Largest pet canary: 

22 em, Parisian frill 

feltri ,and 118fc811 a 

Moet travelled: In Feb 1984, 

Hamlet escaped from his cage 

on a flight from Toronto in 

Canada and became caught 

behind aeroplane panelling for 

over seven weeks, accidentally 

travelling nearly 965,000 km. 

Wealthiest: In 1988, Ben Rea 

(UK) bequeathed his £?-million 

($12.5-million) fortune to Blackie, 

the last of the 15 cats he shared 

his mansion with. 

George Wombwell 

(UK, 1777-1 850) had 

a successful travelling 

menagerie. It included 

Nero, a lion so docile that 

he refused to fight dogs 

when his owner arranged 

a bout. Wombwell's tomb 

is still viewable today: he 

was buried in London's 

gothic Highgate Cemetery, 

under a statue of sleepy 

Nero, lying with his head 

on his paws.


Lilieput, a nine-year-old female Munchkin cat, 

measured 13.34 em (5.25 in) from the floor to 

the shoulders on 19 Jul 2013. She is owned by 

Christel Young of Napa, California, USA. 

Gone but not fur-gotten is Colonel Meow 

(inset), the characterful cat 

with the longest fur, who 

passed away on 30 Jan 2014. 

His fur measured 22.87 em 

(9 in) and his owner 

was Anne Marie 

Avey (USA). 

Smallest breed of horse 

Originally developed in 

Argentina in 1868, the 

.,.. . .. _ ., 

smallest recognized breed 

.:?!b • ___ ... of horse is the Falabella 

miniature horse, which 

has an average height 

at the withers of 8 hands 

(81 .2 em; 32 in). While 

miniature horses are 

shorter, they are also smaller 

-their limbs and body grow 

in proportion. The use of a 

"hand" (10.1 em; 4 in) as a 

unit of measurement goes 

back to ancient Egypt 

Largest breed of horse 

The English Shire horse is 

a type of draught horse. 

Stallions stand 17 hands 

(173 em; 5 ft 8 in) or 

even taller at 

tallest and 

heaviest horse ever to 

be documented. Sampson 

(later renamed Mammoth) 

was a Shire gelding born 

in 1846. By 1850, he 

measured 21 .2Y2 hands 

(2.19 m; 7ft 2.5 in) and 

later weighed 1 ,524 kg 

(3,359 lb). Mammoth was 

Tallest donkey 

Romulus is an American Mammoth Jackstock 

who measured 17 hands (1.72 m; 5 ft 8 in) tall 

on 8 Feb 2013. He is owned by Cara and Phil 

Yellott of Red Oak in Texas, USA. His brother, 

Remus, was measured at over 16 hands (1.62 m; 

5 ft 4 in). The minimum height for the big breed 

is 14.2 hands (1 .47 m; 4 ft 10 in). 

bred by Thomas Cleaver 

of Toddington Mills in 

Bedfordshire, UK. 

Largest breed of pony 

The Connemara pony of 

North America ranges 

in height from 13 to 

15 hands (132-1 52.4 em; 

4ft 4 in-5 ft). 

The smallest breed of 

pony is the Shetland pony. 

Often used by children 

learning to ride, its maximum 

accepted height is 107 em 

(3 ft 6 in) at the withers, 

with a minimum of 71 em 

(2 ft 4 in). Dwarf ponies have 

a genetic mutation that may 

make them smaller, but the 

Shetland pony is the smallest 

of the pure breeds. 

Vanesa Semler 

of Dorado, Puerto 

Rico, owns a female 

Chihuahua called 

Milly, who measured 

9.65 em (3.8 in) tall 

on 21 Feb 2013. 

As a puppy, she 

was fed using an 

eyedropper and was 

small enough to fit 

on a teaspoon. 

First pets: domestic bliss 

As our ancestors formed settlements, animals 

became domesticated for practical uses. They 

were used for food and clothing or would help 

us work. Dogs became the first domestic 

animals, around 13,000 sc in the Middle East. 

The bones of the oldest known domestic cat 

date back 9,500 years, and were discovered 

in a neolithic village on Cyprus next to its 

presumed owner. Records of the first domestic 

elephants tell of their use as beasts of burden 

at least 4,000 years ago in the present-day area 

covering Pakistan and India. 

And finally ... 

• Longest tail on a dog: 

Finnegan, from Calgary, 

Canada, is an Irish 

wolfhound with a 72.29-cm 

tail, as of 15 Aug 2013. 

• Largest donation of 

pet food in one week: 

Full Stride Media (Pty) 

Ltd (ZAF) collected 

10,009 kg of pet food 

for animal charities 

between 6 and 13 Oct 

2013 in Johannesburg, 

South Africa. 



· Anima s in action 

GWR's human talent always faces fierce furry or feathered competition ... 

Most treats balanced ) 

on a dog's nose 

Despite his name, Monkey 

is a dog, and on 2 Jul 2013 

he balanced 26 treats on his 

nose, appearing with handler 

Meghan Fraser (USA) on 

the set of Guinness World 

Records Unleashed 

in California, USA. 

A Most drink cans 

opened by a parrot 

Zac the macaw opened 

35 cans using just his beak 

in San Jose, California, USA, 

on 12 Jan 2012. The talented 

bird also set the record for 

the most slam dunks by 

a parrot in one minute, 

with 22 dunks into a specially 

designed net on 30 Dec 2011. 

Longest jump by a cat 

Flying feline Alley cat-apulted himself 

to a record with a 1.82-m (6-ft) leap 

on 27 Oct 2013. Alley, a rescue cat 

owned by Samantha Martin (USA), is 

part of the Amazing Aero-Cats touring show. 

Fastest 30 m on 

a scooter by a dog 

Owner Karen Cobb (USA) didn't need to 

do much to encourage her enthusiastic 

four-year-old Briard, Norman, to 

scoot 30 m (98 ft) in 20.77 sec, 

at All-Tournament Players Park 

in Georgia, USA, on 12 Jul 2013. 

Nifty Norman also 

rides bicycles (with 

stabilizers, of course), 

skateboards and 

surfboards. 

A Largest 

working rodent 

The Gambian giant pouched 

rat (Cricetomys gambianus) 

measures 90 em (3 ft) long 

and is used to sniff out 

landmines in Mozambique. 

The rats are trained to 

associate the scent of 

explosives with a food 

reward and identify the 

presence of explosives by 

grooming and scratching 

at the earth. 

066 Living planet


Highest-ranking 

penguin 

Colonel-in-Chief Sir Nils Olav is the male king 

penguin mascot of Norway's Hans Majestet 

Kongens Garde (King's Guard) unit. He lives 

in the UK's Edinburgh Zoo, which received 

its first king penguin, from Norway, in 1913. 

In 1972, when the Norwegian King's Guard 

visited the zoo, a penguin was adopted 

and was named Nils Olav in honour of King 

Qlav V. The current incumbent became 

Colonel-in-Chief on 18 Aug 2005. 

A Fastest dog to retrieve 

a person from water 

Search-and-rescue dog 

Jack, a black vom Muhlrad, 

is handled by Hans-Joachim 

BrOckmann (DEU). On 

11 Jun 2013, Jack retrieved 

one of his handler's assistants 

from a distance of 25 m 

(82 ft) in 1 min 36.81 sec 

on the Kaarster See lake 

A First dog to detect 

diabetic episodes 

Armstrong the Labrador 

was trained in 2003 by 

Mark Ruefenacht (USA) 

to detect, via scent, the 

chemical changes leading 

to hypoglycaemia (low 

blood sugar) - a condition 

that can cause a diabetic to 

slip into a coma. The Dogs 

for Diabetics charity was 

founded in 2004, following 

Armstrong's success. 

FACT 

Jiff appeared in a Katy 

Perry video ("Dark 

Horse", 2013) and in 

the film Adventures 

of Bailey: A Night in 

Cowtown (USA, 2013). 

Fastest 10 m 

on hind legs by a dog 

Jiff the Pomeranian covered 10 m (32 ft) 

in 6.56 sec at TOPS Kennels in Grayslake, 

Illinois, USA, on 9 Sep 2013. The plucky 

Pom, who performs various tricks, can also 

walk on his front paws (inset), covering 5 m 

(16 ft) in a record 7.76 sec - the fastest 

5 m on front legs by a dog.


Shiniest living 

objects 

Marble berry (Pollia 

condensata) is a 

1-m-tall (3-ft 3-in) 

herb native to Ghana. 

Resembling Christmas 

baubles, its vivid fruit 

is approximately 

30% as reflective 

as a silver mirror. 

This is the highest 

reported light 

reflectivity of any 

biological material. 

First use of spices 

in cooking 

Garlic mustard plant 

seeds were used between 

6,150 and 5,800 years 

ago (around 4000 Be). 

In 2013, archaeologists 

announced that the 

spice had been found in 

European pottery shards. 

Largest cashew nut tree 

Natal's cashew tree 

(Anacardium occidentale) 

Rio Grande do Norte, 

Brazil, covers approximately 

7,500 m2 (80,700 sq ft) with 

a perimeter of around 500 m 

(1 ,640 ft). That's a lot of nuts 

- indeed, the yield is up to 

80,000 fruit per year. Some 

estimate the tree to be up to 

1,000 years old, though it is 

also said that it was planted 

in 1888 by local fisherman 

Luiz lnacio de Oliveira. 

Largest corm 

A corm is an 

underground plant 

stem that is used for 

storage by some plants 

to survive adverse surface 

conditions throughout the 

seasons. The largest is 

produced by the titan arum 

(Amorphophallus titanum) 

and commonly weighs 

around 50 kg (110 lb). The 

heaviest specimen weighed 

117 kg (257 lb 15 oz) and 

was recorded in 2006 in the 

Botanical Garden of Bonn 

University in Germany. 

The titan arum is also 

the smelliest plant 

when it blooms - which is 

fortunately relatively rarely. 

It releases an odour, 

comparable to that of 

rotten flesh, that can be 

smelled at a great distance 

to attract the carrion 

beetles and flesh flies that 

pollinate it. Like the largest 

living flower (right), its 

stench gives it the nickname 

"corpse flower". 

Largest horsetail 

One of the oldest plant 

genera to survive, horsetail 

is a living fossil. It is the only 

surviving member of the 

Largest water lily 

If evenly distributed, 

a mature giant water lily 

leaf can support up to 

45 kg of weight. 

Native to freshwater lakes and bayous 

in the Amazon basin, the giant water lily 

(Victoria amazonica) has floating leaves 

measuring up to 3 m (10 ft) across and 

is held in place on an underwater stalk 

7-8 m (23-26 ft) long. The leaves are 

supported by rib-like crossridges that are 

said to have inspired the metal girders of 

Crystal Palace in London, UK, built in 1851 . 

Equisetopsida class, which 

once featured strongly in late 

Mesozoic period forests for 

up to 100 million years. Today, 

the Mexican giant horsetail 

(Equisetum myriochaetum) is 

the largest species, 

primevallooking 

plant 

reaching 

7.3 m (24 ft) 

in height. 

Largest poppy flowers 

Coulter's Matilija poppy 

(Romneya coulten} has silky 

white flowers around an 

eye-catching ball of golden 

stamens and grows to 13 em 

(5.12 in) across. It can be 

found in southern California, 

USA, and northern Mexico 

and its bold display of 

flowers makes it a popular 

ornamental plant. 

Trees of 

the Amazon 

::..._ _ _,..--1...;-------------l 

* riliitiid; 

It W88 ttMt giant water 

Illy that was considered 

the largest leaf, In 

1955 reported as 6.4 m. 

Back then, it was called 

Victoria ragina before the 

name Victoria amazonica 

became widely used. Its 

common name is the royal 

water lily. 

The Amazon basin and 

Guiana Shield area of 

South America has an 

estimated 16,000 tree 

species, of which just 227 

species (1.4%) account for 

half of all Amazon trees. 

The rarest 11,000 species 

account for just 0.12% of 

the total number of trees 

in the region. The study 

from which this data is 

extracted, published in 

Nature in 2013, suggests 

that there is a total of 

400 billion trees alive today 

in the Amazon rainforest.


Assassin bugs 

Most massive plant by area 

A network of quaking aspen 

trees (Populus tremuloides) 

grows in the Wasatch 

mountains, Utah, USA, 

covering 43 ha (106 acres) 

and weighing an estimated 

6,000 tonnes (13,227,700 lb), 

making it also the heaviest 

organism. The clonal 

system is genetically 

uniform and acts 

as a single 

organism, 

with all the 

component trees changing 

colour or shedding leaves in 

unison. The network looks 

like a forest, but it is made 

up of plants that have grown 

from the root system of a 

single tree dating back at 

least 80,000 years. 

Smallest bromeliad 

While the best-known 

member of the bromeliad 

clan is the pineapple, its 

unlikely relation is Spanish 

moss (Tillandsia usneoides). 

A trick employed by some 

carnivorous plants is to use 

"assassin bugs", which live 

unthreatened on the plant 

itself. The bugs feed off the 

trapped prey and the plant 

then absorbs what it needs 

from the bugs' excrement. 

Neither a moss nor 

Spanish, the beard-like 

growth is made up of 

the smallest bromeliads, 

with slender stems 

bearing tiny flowers 

and a series of leaves 

that cling together. It 

produces hanging threadlike 

chains that stretch up 

to 6 m (19 ft 8 in) long. 

Tallest banksia 

Banksias are Australian 

wildflowers of the genus 

Banksia, some of which are 

so large that they grow as tall 

as trees. The tallest species 

are the coast banksia 

(Banksia integrifolia) 

and the river banksia 

(B. seminuda), both 

of which can grow 

to 30 m (100 ft). 

·ttrnOidllgett: ibl ;niOkhame •corpse 

flower" owing to Its smell of rotting flesh (see 

also smelliest plant, left). And there is a lot of 

flower to sniff - it measures up to 91 em (3 ft) 

across and weighs up to 11 kg (24 lb), with 

petals that are 1.9 em (0.75 in) thick. The rare 

flower is native to south-east Asia and grows 

as a parasite inside and upon jungle vines. 

Tallest cycad 

Cycads can look 

like palm trees 

and are sometimes 

grouped with 

them, but they 

are coning plants 

(like pine trees). 

Hope's cycad 

(Lepidozamia 

hopei) from 

Queensland, 

Australia, is the largest, 

growing to heights of 

15 m (49 ft). 

Tallest moss 

Dawson's giant moss 

(Oawsonia superba), native 

to New Zealand, can grow 

to 60 em (23.6 in) tall, even 

though its spores are no 

more than 0.01 mm in size. 

Largest prey of 

carnivorous plants 

Of all the carnivorous plants, 

the ones that digest the 

largest prey belong to the 

Nepenthaceae family (genus 

Nepenthes). Both N. rajah and 

N. raff/esiana have been known 

to eat large frogs, birds and 

even rats. These species are commonly found 

in the rainforests of Asia, in particular Borneo, 

Indonesia and Malaysia. By using their colour, 

smell and nectar to attract prey, the plants then 

trap, kill and digest enzymes, before absorbing 

what is needed for nutrition. 

Vaulting ambition: seed storage 

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is an underground 

facility located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen 

designed to store samples of the world's seeds as 

insurance against threats to biodiversity. Opened 

on 26 Feb 2006, it is the largest seed vault. The 

goal of the project is to store a total of 4.5 million 

samples (about 2 billion seeds) from 100 countries 

and -as of 2013 - more than 770,000 samples 

had been deposited. The vault cost £5 m and the 

location - 130 m into the permafrost of a mountain 

was chosen for being the best suited to keeping the 

temperature of samples at a stable 18 ' C. 

Faateet grOwing: giant 

kelp (Macrocystls pyrlfera), 

growing 34 em per day 

Largest clonal colony: 

DNA-sharing colony 

of Neptune grass, aka 

Mediterranean tapeweed 

(Posidonia oceanica), 8 km 

across, Mediterranean 

Sea, discovered 2006 



Humans 

The surface area of a human lung is equivalent to the size of a tennis court 

Longest fingernails on a pair of hands 

She's nailed it: Chris "The Dutchess" Walton (USA) has a set of fingernails 

measuring 3.62 m (11 ft 10 in) for her left hand and 3.68 m (12 ft 1 in) for 

her right hand - a total of 7.3 m (23 ft 11 in). Chris's twisting talons were 

measured in London, UK, on 16 Sep 2013. 



Contents 

Flashback: 

Changing shapes 072 

Senses & perception 074 

Oldest people 076 

Body parts 078 

Extreme bodies 080 

Family matters 082 

Medical bag 084 

Fingernails grow 

at around 3.5 mm 

per month. And 

men's nails usually 

grow faster than 

women's.


·: IIM; OCIM:talrt in Gulnness World Records' 60-year history has been the 

l< 'JI!ttliitalrtty of the Human Body chapter. It's the part of the book that most 

.. flick to first, and many of the colourful characters who've filled the 

over the years have attained iconic status. Here, we look back at 

some of these records have changed since our first edition in 1955. 

chances are they'll recall 

someone from the Human 

Body chapter. With visually 

striking record holders such 

as Robert Wadlow (tallest 

man ever), Lee Redmond 

(longest fingernails) and 

Robert Earl Hughes (largest 

chest measurement 

and former heaviest man), 

it comes as no surprise. It 

helps that their stories are 

so memorable. Who could 

forget that Wadlow died as a 

result of a blister from ill-fitting 

footwear? Or that Hughes 

was buried in a coffin the 

size of a piano case? 

In this Flashback, we 

examine a selection of iconic 

Human Body superlatives 

that appeared in our first 

edition and identify who now 

holds the record. In some 

cases, such as the tallest 

man ever, the record hasn't 

changed in 60 years; in 

others, such as the longest 

hair, the current claimant 

has surpassed the original 

holder by a long way ... 

Longest moustache 

Measured at 4.29 m 

(14 It) on 4 Mar 2010, 

the face furniture of Ram 

Singh Chauhan (IND) earned him 

a place in the record books for 

the longest 'tache of all time. Ram 

started growing his facial hair in 

1970 and, with his wife's help, 

grooms his whiskers daily with 

coconut and mustard oils. 

Heaviest living male 

Although his peak weight of 

560 kg (1 ,235 lb; 88 st 3 I b) 

secured Manuel Uribe (MEX, 

pictured) the extant world record 

in 2006, he's not the heaviest 

man ever. That accolade 

goes to Jon Brower 

Minnoch (USA, 1941-83, 

see p.80) . whose weight 

was estimated by doctors 

at an unparalleled 

635 kg (1 ,400 lb; 

100 st) in 1978. 

at a single birth to survive 

Nadya Suleman (USA) claimed headlines across 

the world on 26 Jan 2009 when she gave 

birth to six boys and two girls in Bellflower, 

California, USA. Dubbed "Octomom" by the 

US press, Suleman conceived with the aid of 

in vitro fertilization (IVF), swelling her family 

from six children to 14. 

Oldest living woman 

As we go to press, 115-year-old 

Misao Okawa of Japan is the 

oldest woman - and oldest 

person - alive on Earth (see p.76). 

She's not the oldest woman ever, 

of course: the all-time holder, 

also a woman, is Jeanne Louise 

Calment (FRA), who died on 4 Aug 

1997 at the remarkable age of 

122 years 164 days. 

Oldest 

072 

H ... ..

Longest hair 

(female) 

The world's 

lengthiest locks 

(female) belong to 

Xie Qiuping of China 

at 5.62 m (18 It 

5.5 in). She has 

been growing her 

hair since 1973, 

from the age of 13. 

"It's no trouble at 

all. I'm used to it," 

she said. "But you need 

patience and you need 

to hold yourself straight 

when you have hair 

like this." 


FACT 

As a teenager, 

Sultan was signed to 

play basketball for 

Galatasaray in Turkey 

but proved too tall 

to compete! 

Greatest vocal range 

Brazil's Georgia Brown has 

a vocal range that spans 

an incredible eight octaves 

(from G2 to G10), as verified 

at Aqui Jazz Atelier Music 

School in Sao Paulo on 

18 Aug 2004 - a record 

that has remained 

unchallenged for 

more than a 

decade! 

Tallest living man 

Towering 81 .2 em (2 It 8 in) over 

GWR Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday is 

Sultan Kosen of Turkey, who took the 

title of tallest living man - and human 

- in Feb 2009. Currently standing at 

251 em (8 It 3 in), Sultan is one 

of just eight people over 8 It 

(243 em) to be ratified in 

the past 60 years. 

In 1955, we reported on a man 

claiming to be the world's 

tallest human at 289 em (9 ft 

6 in), but who actually turned 

out to be 222 em (7 ft 3.5 in) 

when assessed medically! 

Shortest living man and woman 

Pictured here is GWR's Head of 

Records, Marco Frigatti, with the 

current shortest living humans. 

Jyoti Amge (IND. right) measured 

62.8 em (24.7 in) in Nagpur, 

India, on 16 Dec 2011 

while, two months later, 

at a clinic in Kathmandu, 

Nepal, on 26 Feb 2012, 

Chandra Bahadur Dangi 

(N PL, left) reached just 

54.6 em (21.5 in). 

Mr Dangi is also 

officially ratified 

as the shortest 

Xie travels with an 

assistant to hold her 

hair and help her 

manage her plentiful 

tresses.


Sen ses & perceptjo_n __ 

The eyes can process around 36,000 pieces of information every hour 

FACT 

Quieter V6 engines 

were introduced in 

the 2014 season - to 

the disappointment 

of many F1 fans! 

The loudest place on Earth that any human works 

for a sustained period is the cockpit of a Formula 

One racing car. For a driver sitting directly in front 

of the engine, the noise level has been measured 

at 140 dB. All drivers wear tailor-made earplugs. 

HEARI NG 

SI GHT 

Highest detectable pitch 

The upper limit of human 

hearing is accepted to be 

20,000 Hz (hertz, or cycles 

per second), although this 

figure decreases with age. By 

way of comparison, bats emit 

pulses at up to 90,000 Hz. 

The average accepted 

lowest detectable pitch 

by the human ear is 20 Hz, 

although in ideal conditions 

a young person can hear 

frequencies down to 12 Hz. 

Inaudible infrasound waves 

in the range of 4-16 Hz can 

be felt by the human body as 

physical vibrations. Tests performed on 18 Oct 2012 

Smallest bone 

The stapes or stirrup bone 

measures 2.6-3.4 mm 

(0.1-0.13 in) in length and 

weighs 2-4.3 mg. One of the 

three auditory ossicles in the 

middle ear, the stapes plays 

a vital role in hearing. 

Farthest object visible 

to the naked eye 

Gamma-ray bursts are the 

birth cries of black holes. 

At 2:12 EDT on 19 Mar 

2008, NASA's Swift satellite 

detected a gamma-ray 

burst from a galaxy some 

7.5 billion light years away. 

Some 30-40 sec later, the 

optical counterpart of the 

burst was seen on Earth 

and captured by a robotic 

telescope. The explosion, 

known as GRB 080319B, 

was visible to the naked 

eye for around 30 sec. 

Most active muscle 

Scientists have estimated 

that human eye muscles 

in the Anechoic Test Chamber at 

Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis, 

Minnesota, USA, gave a background 

noise reading of just -1 3 dBA (decibels 

A-weighted). The term "dBA" denotes 

sound levels audible to the human ear 

i.e., excluding extreme highs and lows. 

move more than 100,000 

times a day. Many of these 

rapid eye movements take 

place during the dreaming 

phase of sleep. 

Most sensitive 

colour vision 

The average human eye 

can perceive approximately 

a million colours. Our powers 

of colour vision derive from 

three types of cone cells in 

the eye, each responsive 

to different wavelengths of 

light. Our brains combine 

the signals to produce the 

perception of colour. Work 

completed by neuroscientist 

Gabriele Jordan at the 

University of Newcastle, 

UK, proved that some 

people have four cones, 

Most va•ua1u1" 

tongue 

On 9 Mar 2009, Lloyd's 

reported that the 

tongue of Gennaro 

Pelliccia (UK) was 

insured for £10 m 

($14 m). Pelliccia tastes 

every single batch of 

coffee beans made 

for Costa Coffee (UK) 

stores and has now 

learned to distinguish 

between thousands of 

different ffavours. 

enabling them to see more 

colours - about 99 million 

more, in fact. Jordan and 

her team created a test in 

which three subtle colour 

circles flashed on a screen. 

Only one person was able 

to distinguish them every 

time - an English female 

doctor known as "c0a29" - 

who has the most sensitive 

colour vision measured. 

SM ELL 

Smelliest substance 

The man-made foul-smelling 

substances "Who-Me?" and 

"US Government Standard 

Bathroom Malodor" have 

five and eight chemical 

DECIBEL (dB) READINGS 

ConventlonaUy, we think 

of ourselves as having 

five senses: sight, 

hearing, taste, touch and 

smell. But if to "sense" 

something simply means 

to be aware of It, then 

we have many more than 

just these five "primary" 

senses. Here are a few 

others to consider: 

Pain: a mechanism for the 

body to sense damage 

074 Humans 

r - 

_- 

- 

_ 

-_ 

_. 

B alance 

: we 

are 

sens 

,tlve 

---l body movement, direction 

and acceleration 

 

t 

Kinesthetics: the brain's parietal 

cortex enables us to tell where every 

part of our body is in relation to its 

other parts. (Test this by trying to touch 

your nose with your eyes closed!) 

The loudness, or intensity, of 

a sound is usually measured 

in decibels (dB). Decibels 

are calculated according to 

a logarithmic scale, which 

increases by a set ratio. 

Total silence would measure 

0 dB; a sound 10 times 

greater would be 10 dB, but 

a sound 100 times louder 

than 0 dB would measure 

only 20 dB, and sounds 

1,000 times louder than 0 dB 

would register just 30 dB. 

Listed here are typical 

decibel readings, recorded 

from a distance of 10 m 

away from the source. 

All readings from 10-m distance 

dB Sound 

150 Jet engine 

114 Train whistle 

110 Subway train 

107 Pneumatic riveter 

89 Power saw 

64 City traffic from inside car 

46 Normal piano practice


Mapping the senses 

This oddly shaped figure is 

a "sensory homunculus". 

This is what you'd look like 

if your body parts were in 

proportion to the areas of 

the brain concerned with 

sensory perception. Based 

on a model at the UK's 

Natural History Museum, 

it shows which areas of 

our bodies are the most 

sensitive to touch. 

Lips have many sense 

receptors - which is one of 

the reasons why babies put 

objects Into their mouths to 

learn about them. 

Most valuable nose 

On 19 Mar 2008, Lloyd's reported that llja 

Gort (NLD) had his nose insured for 5 m euro 

(£3.9 m; $7.8 m). Gort, the owner of the 

vineyard Chateau Ia Tu lipe de Ia Garde in 

Bordeaux, France, insured his nose in an 

attempt to protect his livelihood. 

ingredients respectively. 

Bathroom Malodor smells 

primarily of human faeces 

and becomes incredibly 

repellant to people at a ratio 

of just two parts per million. 

It was originally developed 

to test the power of 

deodorizing products. 

Smelliest molecule 

The chemicals ethyl 

mercaptan (C 2 

H 5 SH) and 

butyl selena-mercaptan 

(C 4 

H 9 SeH) have a distinctive 

smell reminiscent of a 

combination of rotting 

cabbage, garlic, onions, 

burnt toast and sewer gas. 

TASTE 

Bitterest substance 

The bitterest-tasting 

substances are based on the 

denatonium cation and have 

been produced 

commercially 

as benzoate 

and saccharide. 

Taste detection 

levels are as low 

as just one part 

in 500 million, 

while a dilution 

of just one 

part in 

100 million 

will leave a 

TOUC H 

Most touch-sensitive 

part of the body 

Our fingers have the highest 

density of touch receptors in 

the body. So sensitive are our 

fingers that we can distinguish 

two points of contact just 

2 mm (0.07 in) apart. 

They can also detect 

a movement of 

just 0.02 microns 

- that's 200- 

thousandths of 

a millimetre (or 

31-millionths 

of an inch). 

FACT 

The term "homunculus" 

was coined by 

alchemists in the 17th 

century and means 

simply "little person". 

Our fingers feel the world 

in sensory high definition 

by containing the highest 

density of touch receptors in 

the body. Sense receptors 

are more concentrated in 

smaller fingers. As a result, 

women tend to have a more 

developed tactile sensitivity 

than men. 

Ta lking scents: our sense of smell 

Smell accounts for around 80% of our sense of 

taste. The first sense to develop, it is functional 

before we are born and is generally most sensitive 

in childhood. We can detect some 10,000 odours, 

but prolonged exposure to a smell causes our 

awareness of it to reduce quickly. We are more 

sensitive to smells in spring and summer, as the 

air is more moist then; exercise also increases the 

moisture in our nostrils, improving our sense of 

smell. Women have a stronger sense of smell than 

men - it is particularly acute during pregnancy. 

• Longest echo: 1 min 

15 sec by Trevor Cox and 

Allan Kilpatrick (both UK) 

inside a disused oil tank at 

lnchindown in Highland, 

UK, on 3 Jun 2012. 

• Fastest time to boil 

water by passing 

electricity through body: 

1 min 22.503 sec, to heat 

150 ml of water from 25°C 

to 97•c by Slavisa "Biba" 

Pajkic (SRB) in Istanbul, 

Turkey, on 13 Jul 2013. 

000 



o dest peop e 

The number of people over 65 is expected to double to 800 million by 2025 

television, the modern motor 

car and aeroplanes. When 

asked on her 120th birthday 

what she expected of the 

future, she replied: "A very 

short one." 

Largest gathering 

of centenarians 

On 19 May 2013, the Regency Jewish Heritage 

Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Somerset, 

New Jersey, USA, hosted a gathering of 31 

people aged 100 years or over - only two of 

whom were men. Their combined ages stretched 

back to about 11 00 sc, when the ancient 

Phoenicians were inventing the alphabet. 

Parent-child (aggregate) 

The highest combined age 

for a parent and child alive at 

the same time is 215 years 

in the case of 119-year-old 

Sarah Knauss (USA. 1880- 

1 999) and her 96-year-old 

daughter Kathryn Knauss 

Sullivan (USA, 1 903-2005). 

Knauss was the secondoldest 

human ever, reaching 


Adoptive parent 

Frances Ensor Benedict 

(USA, 1918-2012) was 

83 years 324 days old 

when she adopted her 

foster daughter Jo Anne 

Oldest solo 

parachute jump (female) 

Dilys Margaret Price (UK, b. 3 Jun 1932) 

made a parachute jump at Langar Airfield in 

Nottingham, UK, on 13 Apr 2013 at the age of 

80 years 315 days. The oldest solo parachute 

jump (male) was made by Milburn Hart (USA, 

1908-2010) in Washington, USA, on 18 Feb 

2005. He was 96 years 63 days old. 

Hidekichi Miyazaki 

(J PN, b. 22 Sep 1910) 

was 1 03 years 15 days 

old when he competed 

at the International 

Gold Masters in Kyoto, 

Japan, on 6 Oct 2013. 

He took part in the 

100 m race, which he 

finished in 34.10 sec, 

shaving 2.67 sec off 

his previous best. 

Longest separated twins 

Twins Ann and Elizabeth 

were born to unmarried 

mother Alice Lamb in 

Aldershot, Hampshire, UK, 

on 28 Feb 1936. A decision 

was made to separate the 

twins for adoption, and Ann 

grew up unaware of her 

sister Lizzie, who now lives 

in Portland, Oregon, USA 

The pair were fi nally reunited 

on 1 May 2014 after a record 


OLD EST ... 

Person (ever) 

The greatest fully 

authenticated age to which 

any human has ever lived 

is 122 years 164 days by 

Jeanne Louise Calment (FRA, 

21 Feb 1875-4 Aug 1997). 

She lived through two World 

Wars and the development of 

Benedict Walker (USA) 

on 5 Apr 2002 in Putnam 

County, Tennessee, USA 

At 65 years 2 24 days, Jo 

Anne (b. 24 Aug 1936) is 

also the oldest adoptee. 

Fashion model 

Aged 85 years 295 days 

as of 22 Apr 2014, Daphne 

Selfe (UK, b. 1 Jul 1928) 

is the oldest professional 

fashion model. Her 60-year 

career includes appearances 

for Dolce & Gabbana and 

Gap, modelling in Vogue and 

Marie Claire, and posing for 

photographers David Bailey 

and Mario Testino. 

Actor to win an Oscar 

Christopher Plummer (UK, 

b. 13 Dec 1929) was 82 years 

65 days old when he won the 

2012 Best Supporting Actor 

Oscar for Beginners (2010). 

2S Orienta/ 

Lui audit - by the Getontology 

h GI'OUp on 18/IAer 2014 

1 White-Hispanic 

1 White-lnd•an 

1 Hispanic 

In our first edition, we 

cautioned against "deceit 

and falsehood" encountered 

in claimed ages. Using 

information investigated by 

the Canadian government, 

we listed the greatest age 

reached by a male as 113, 

by Pierre Joubert, a French 

Canadian bootmaker (b. 15 Jul 

1701, buried 18 Nov 1814). An 

investigation in 1990, however, 

established that Joubert was 

actually 82 at the time of his 

death, and that the person 

buried in 1814 was Joubert's 

homonymous ("same name") 

son, born in 1732. 

FACT 

Life expectancy has 

risen worldwide on 

average by four months 

each year since 1970. 

My life 

will go on 

The greatest age reached 

by a survivor of the Titanic 

was 1 04 years 72 days. 

Mary Wilburn, nee Davis 

(UK, 1883-1987), was 28 

when the ship sank in 1912.

-- 


OLDEST SUPERCENTENARIANS 

As of 14 Apr 2014, there were 74 people whose age had been 

verified as passing the 111-year mark. The estimated worldwide 

total of living supercentenarians is 300-450 persons. 

Who 

Born 

Misao Okawa 5 Mar 1898 

(JPN) 

Jeralean Talley 23 May 1899 

(USA) 

Susannah Mushatt 6 Jul 1899 

Jones (USA) 

Bernice Madigan 24 Jul 1899 

(USA) 

Emma Morano- 29 Nov 1899 

Martinuzzi (ITA) 

Anna Henderson 5 Mar 1900 

(USA) 

Antonia Gerena 19 May 1900 

Rivera (USA) 

Ethel Lang (UK) 27 May 1900 

Nabi Tajima (JPN) 4 Aug 1900 

Blanche Cobb (USA) 8 Sep 1900 

Source: Gerontology Research Group 

How old? 

-- 

116 years 40 days 


-- 



-- 



-- 


-- 




I 

Oldest living man 

Shortly before going to press, we heard of the 

passing of Arturo Licata (ITA, 2 May 1902-24 Apr 

2014), who had briefly been the oldest living 

man, aged 111 years 357 days at his death. 

His successor, Dr Alexander lmich (POL/RUS, 

now USA, b. 4 Feb 1903), took the title at the 

age of 111 years 79 days. He is pictured here 

in his Upper West Side home in New York. 

The oldest actress to win 

an Oscar is Jessica Tandy 

(UK, 1909-1994), who won 

the 1990 Best Actress award 

at 80 years 295 days for the 

title role in Driving Miss 

Daisy (1989). 

 

Theatre actor 

On 29 Nov 2013, Radu 

Beligan (ROM, b. 14 Dec 

1918) was still performing at 

the National Theatre in 

2 ' Bucharest, Romania, at 

94 years 350 days old. 

Oldest newspaper 

delivery person 

(female) 

Aged 88 years 

346 days as of 27 Mar 

2014, Beryl Walker 

(UK, b. 15 Apr 1925) 

was still delivering 

newspapers six 

mornings a week 

in Gloucester, 

Gloucestershire, UK. 

She has now given up 

her evening round. 

Newspaper delivery 

person 

Ted Ingram (UK, b. 14 Feb 

1920) delivered the Dorset 

Echo from the 1940s until 

9 Nov 2013, when he was 

93 years 268 days old. 

Soccer referee 

As of 14 Apr 2013, Peter 

Pak-Ngo Pang (USA, 

b. IDN, 4 Nov 1932) was 

still refereeing in the adult 

men's league in San Jose, 

California, USA, aged 


Convicted bank robber 

On 23 Jan 2004, 92-year-old 

J L Hunter Rountree (USA, 

b. 1911) received 12 years 

7 months for robbing a bank 

(unarmed) in Texas, USA. 

Oldest dance troupe 

The Hip Op-eration Crew (NZ) are hip-hop dancers 

whose ages range from 67 to 95, giving an 

average of 79 years 197 days (as of 10 May 2014). 

The 23 core members, from the small island of 

Waiheke, New Zealand, include 12 in their eighties 

and nineties. Their performances include a guest 

slot at 2013's World Hip Hop Dance Championship 

final in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Respect. 

Painter 

Alphaeus Philemon Cole 

(USA, 1876-1988), whose 

work is in the permanent 

collections of the National 

Portrait Gallery (UK) and the 

Brooklyn Museum (USA), 

painted and exhibited his 

work up to the age of 103. 

A portraitist, Cole began 

his art career in the 1890s 

with Seurat and Signac 

as contemporaries. 

Chess master 

Zoltan Sarosy (HUN, 

b. 23 Aug 1906) was the 

Canadian Correspondence 

Chess Champion three 

times (1967, 1972, 1981) and, 

according to ChessGames. 

com, continues to play at 

107 years of age. 

Elder statesmen: current national leaders 

Combining political power with staying power, 

Shimon Peres (right), the ninth President of Israel, 

is the oldest living head of state. Born Szymon 

Perski in Wiszniew, Poland (now Vishnyeva, 

Belarus), on 2 Aug 1923, he celebrated his 

90th birthday in 2013. 

Only six months younger is the President 

of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe (left, top), born 

on 21 Feb 1924. Almost exactly a year younger 

than Peres is Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin 

Abdulaziz ai-Saud (left). Born on 1 Aug 1924, he 

has already outlived two of his crown prince heirs. 

Longest 

C::: l careers 

Professional hairdresser: 

Dorothy McKnight (USA, 

b. 27 Feb 1922) of Lake 

Worth, Florida, USA, since 

13 Jun 1939. 

Church pianist/organist: 

Martha Godwin (USA, 

b. 17 Jan 1927) in Southmont, 

North Carolina, USA, since 

Apr 1940. 

Stuntman: Rocky Taylor (UK, 

b. 28 Feb 1945), since Mar 

1961. He appeared in World 

War Z (released Jun 2013). 

000 



g 8ody parts 

Adults are made up of around 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms 

hair while the men have thick 

hair on approximately 98% 

of their body apart from 

their hands and feet. 

to the density of the hair. 

Nat received a score of 4 

on four areas: face, neck, 

chest and upper back. 

Farthest eyeball pop 

Kim Goodman (USA) popped her eyeballs to a 

protrusion of 12 mm (0.47 in) beyond her eye 

sockets in Istanbul, Turkey, on 2 Nov 2007, 

beating her previous record of 11 mm (0.43 in) 

from 1998. Kim discovered her talent when 

she was hit on the head by a hockey mask, 

but can now pop her eyes out on cue. 

Stretchiest skin 

Garry Turner (UK) is able 

to stretch the skin of his 

abdomen to a distended 

length of 15.8 em (6.25 in) 

due to a rare medical 

condition called Ehlers 

Danlos Syndrome. With 

this condition, the collagen 

that strengthens the skin 

and determines its elasticity 

becomes defective, resulting 

in, among other things, a 

loosening of the skin and 

"hypermobility" of the joints. 

Largest hairy family 

Victor "Larry" Gomez, 

Gabriel "Danny" Ramos 

Gomez, Luisa Lilia De 

Lira Aceves and Jesus 

Manuel Fajardo Aceves 

(all MEX) are four of a 

family of 19 that span five 

generations with a rare 

condition called congenital 

generalized hypertrichosis, 

characterized by excessive 

facial and torso hair. The 

women are covered with 

a light-to-medium coat of 

Hairiest teenager 

In 2010, trichologists 

(medical experts specializing 

in hair) used the Ferriman 

Gallwey method to evaluate 

the hirsutism (hairiness) of 

Supatra "Nat" Sasuphan 

(THA, b. 5 Aug 2000). 

Ten areas of her body were 

scored from 1 to 4 according 

LARGEST ... 

Human skull 

The largest documented 

skull was that of an adult 

male with a 1 ,980-cm3 

(120-cu-in) cranial 

capacity. The average skull 

has a capacity of 950- 

1,800 cm3 (57.9-109 cu in), 

depending on age 

and size. 

The aggregate 

measurement 

of the five nails 

on Shridhar 

Chillal's (IND) left 

hand was 7.05 m 

(23 ft 1.5 in) on 

4 Feb 2004. His 

thumbnail was the 

longest, at 1.58 m (5 ft 

2.2 in), and his index 

finger was the shortest, 

at 1.31 m (4 ft 3.5 in). 

Chillal stoplped cutting 

his fingernails in 1952. 

Hands 

Robert Wadlow's (USA) 

hands measured 32.3 em 

(1 ft 0.75 in) from wrist to tip 

of middle finger, which isn't 

surprising given his status 

as tallest man ever (see 

p.80-81}. The current tallest 

man, Sultan Kosen (TUR, 

see p.80), has the largest 

hands on a living person, 

at 28.5 em (11.22 in) long. 

150 cm 

 

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had a 100% covering of 

black inked over his existing 

tattoos and is now adding 

white designs on top of the 

black, and coloured designs 

on top of the white. 

Maria Jose Cristerna 

(MEX) is the most 

tattooed woman: she 

had a total body coverage 

of 96% on 8 Feb 2011. 

to Robert Wadlow, who wore 

US size 37AA shoes (UK 36) 

- the equivalent of 47 em 

(1 ft 6.5 in). 

The largest feet on a 

living person are those of 

Brahim Takioullah (MAR) 

at 246.3 em (8 ft 1 in), the 

world's second-tallest living 

human - whose left foot 

measured 38.1 em (1 ft 3 in) 

and his right 37.5 em (1 ft 

2.76 in) on 24 May 2011. 

Breasts 

Annie Hawkins-Turner 

(USA) has an under-breast 

measurement of 109.22 em 

(43 in) and an around-chestover-nipple 

measurement 

of 177.8 em (70 in). She 

currently wears a US 

size 521 bra, but needs 

a 48V, which is not 

manufactured. 

Tonsils 

The palantine tonsils 

(the lymphatic tissue 

at the back of the 

mouth) of Justin 

Werner (USA) 

measured 5.1 x 2.8 x 

Largest gape 

Piercings (lifetime) 

Elaine Davidson (BRA/ 

UK) had been pierced 

4,225 times as of 

8 Jun 2006. She also 

received the most 

piercings in a 

single count when 

A mouth gape stretches from the incisal 

edge of the maxillary central incisors to 

the incisal edge of the mandibular central 

incisors. J J Bittner (USA, right) is able to 

open his mouth to a gape of 8.4 em (3.30 in). 

Meanwhile, Francisco Domingo Joaquim 

"Chiquinho" (AGO, inset) 

has the widest mouth, 

measuring 17 em 

(6.69 in) on 18 Mar 

2010 in Rome, Italy. 

2 em (2.1 x 1.1 x 0.7 in) and 

4.7 X 2.6 X 2 em (1 .9 X 1 X 

0.7 in). They were removed 

at the ExcellENT Surgery 

Center in Topeka, Kansas, 

USA, on 18 Jan 2011. 

MOST ... 

Tattoos 

The ultimate in multi-layered 

tattooing is represented 

by Lucky Diamond Rich 

(AUS, b. NZ), who has spent 

more than 1,000 hr having 

his body modified. Lucky 

462 were documented in 

one sitting on 4 May 2000. 

Rolf Buchholz (DEU) 

had the most piercinga 

in a single count (male), 

with 453 on 5 Aug 2010. 

As of 16 Dec 2012, Rolf had 

516 modifications, including 

subdermal horn implants 

and magnetic fingertips, 

making him the most 

modified person. 

Hair-raising: incredible coiffures 

Joining the GWR family in 2013 was Alan Edward 

Labbe (right) of Waltham, Massachusetts, 

USA, whose hairdo - measured at 1.54 m 

in circumference on 26 Jul - earned him a 

certificate for the largest male afro. Alan 

joins the likes of Eric Hahn (USA, left), 

whose 68.58-cm barnet was verified as 

the tallest Mohican on 14 Nov 2008, 

and Xie Qiuping (CHN, bottom left), who 

has grown the longest hair (female) 

- her terrific tresses, last measured 

on 8 May 2004, stretch for 5.62 m. 

Hole again 

Most piercings ... 

• On a senior citizen 

(single count): 

"Prince Albert", aka 

John Lynch (UK), 241 , 

as of 17 Oct 2008 

• In the tongue: 

Francesco Vacca 

(USA), 16, as of 

17 Feb 2012 

• On the face: Axel 

Rosales (ARG), 280, 

as of 17 Feb 2012 

000 

"'"wnrlrlr,.,ords.com 079


Extreme bodies 

Kuwaiti citizens have the highest body mass index: 27.5 for men, 31 .4 for women 

Tallest 

living person 

At 251 em (8 ft 3 in), 

Sultan Kosen (TUR) 

1"'1!-t:SBl-.-:11 had feared that he 

might be too tall to 

find true love. But 

on 26 Oct 2013, his 

dream of finding a 

soulmate came 

true when 

Sultan is 76 em (2 ft 

6 In) taller than Merve, 

but the greatest height 

difference In a married 

couple is 94.5 em (3 ft 

1 in) for France's Fabien 

and Natalie Pretou. 

Heaviest woman ever 

Rosalie Bradford (USA) 

was claimed to have 

registered a peak weight 

of around 1,200 lb (544 kg; 

85 st) in Jan 1987. Although 

she had some success 

in controlling her size, it 

continued to be a problem 

throughout her life and she 

died from weight-related 

complications in Nov 2006. 

Largest waist 

At his peak weight of 

approximately 1,200 lb 

(544 kg; 85 st), Walter 

Hudson (USA, 1 944-91 ) 

had a waist measurement 

of 302 em (9 ft 11 in). 

Heaviest living man 

Heaviest twins 

Billy Leon (1946-79) and 

Benny Loyd (1946-2001) 

McCrary, alias McGuire 

(both USA), were average 

in size until the age of six. 

But by Nov 1978, Billy 

and Benny weighed 

337 kg (743 ll;l; 53 st) and 

328 kg (723 lb; 51 st 9 lb} 

respectively. Each brother 

had a waist measuring 

2.13 m (6 ft 11.8 in) 

in circumference. 

In 2006, Manuel Uribe (MEX) peaked in weight at 560 kg 

(1 ,235 1b; 88 st 3 lb), but by Mar 2012 he had slimmed 

down to 444.6 kg (980 lb; 70 st). He remains the 

heaviest living man weighed by GWR. 

A 

GWR discovered Manuel 

after he asked for help 

to lose weight on 

Mexican television. 

The heaviest man 

ever was Jon Brower 

Minnoch (USA, 1941-83), 

whose weight peaked 

at an estimated 1 ,400 lb 

(635 kg; 100 st). 

080 Humans


Largest chest 

measurement 

Robert Earl Hughes (USA, 

1926-58) had a chest 

circumference of 315 em 

(10 ft 4 in). In our first edition 

of 1955, he was listed as 

the heaviest human, with 

a weight of 429.6 kg (946 lb; 

67 st 8 lb), although when he 

was weighed shortly before 

his death he had reached 

484 kg (1 ,067 lb; 76 st 3 1b). 

A Shortest woman ever 

Pauline Musters (NLD) 

was born in Ossendrecht, 

Netherlands, on 26 Feb 

1876, measuring 30.5 em 

(12 in). By the time she 

died of pneumonia with 

meningitis on 1 Mar 1895 in 

New York City, USA, at the 

age of 19, she had grown 

to only 61 em (2 ft) . 

Shortest living woman V 

Jyoti Amge (IN D) was 

measured at 62.8 em (2 ft 

0.7 in) on 16 Dec 2011 -her 

18th birthday. She towers 

over the shortest 

living man (and 

shortest man 

ever), Chandra 

Bahadur Dangi 

(NPL), who was 

measured at 

54.6 em (1 ft 

9.5 in) tall 

on 26 Feb 

2012. 

Tallest man ever 

Robert Pershing Wadlow of 

Alton, Illinois, USA, was listed 

as the tallest man in our first 

edition and his record has 

never been beaten. When last 

measured, on 27 Jun 1940, 

he was 2.72 m (8 ft 11.1 in). 

He died less than a month 

later, on 15 Jul.


Fami y matte rs 

In Senegal, the average household has 8.9 family members; in Germany, 

Highest combined age 

for nine living siblings 

As of 24 Jun 2013, the 

nine Metis siblings born 

to Francesco Metis and 

his wife Eleonora Mameli 

of Perdasdefogu, Italy, 

had an aggregate age of 


Largest family reunion 

On 12 Aug 2012, at Saint 

Paui-Mont-Penit in Vendee, 

France, 4,514 members of 

the Porteau-Boileve family 

came together for a truly 

great reunion. 

Largest proportion 

of children 

Niger has the highest 

proportion of children, with 

50% of the total population 

aged 0-1 4 years old in 2012. 

The smallest proportion 

of children is that of the 

two Special Administrative 

Regions of China: Hong Kong 

and Macau. Just 12% of 

their respective populations 

were aged 0-14 in 2012. 

Lowest birth rate 

In 2011, Germany had the 

lowest crude birth rate - 

the number of babies born 

per 1,000 people - with 

8.1 births. In the same year, 

Germany had the 16thlargest 

population in the 

world, at 82.2 million. 

As of 2011, Niger 

remained the country with 

the highest birth rate 

with 48.2 births. 

Greatest number 

of descendants 

In polygamous countries, 

the number of descendants 

can become incalculable. 

In terms of documented 

cases, at the time of his 

death in 1992, Samuel S 

Most twins in one academic year 

FACT 

In Tudor and 

medieval England, 

the term "family" 

also included 

servants. 

A total of 24 pairs of twins were enrolled in fifth grade at Highcrest Middle 

School in Wilmette, Illinois, USA, for the academic year 2012-13. That's eight 

more pairs than the previous record holders! 

Mast, aged 96, of Fryburg 

in Pennsylvania, USA, was 

known to have 824 living 

descendants. The roll call 

comprised 11 children, 

97 grandchildren, 634 greatgrandchildren 

and 82 greatgreat-grandchildren. 

Although it is impossible 

to verify the figures, the 

last Sharifian Emperor of 

Morocco, Moulay Ismail 

(1672-1727), was reputed to 

have fathered 525 sons and 

342 daughters by 1703. His 

700th son w a s reported to 

have been born in 1721. 

Most prolific mother 

A total of 69 children were 

born to the wife of Feodor 

Vassilyev (1707-c. 1782), a 

peasant from Shuya, Russia. 

In 27 confinements. she 

gave birth to 16 pairs of 

twins, seven sets of triplets 

and four sets of quadruplets. 

The most family members from multiple generations to 

complete a marathon is eight, by the Shoji family (JPN, above) 

at the 40th Honolulu Marathon in Hawaii, USA, on 9 Dec 2012. 

The most siblings to complete a marathon is 16, by the Kapral 

family (USA, inset) in Appleton, Wisconsin, USA, on 20 Sep 2009. 

Most children delivered 

in a single birth 

Nine children were born to 

Geraldine Brodrick (AUS) 

at the Royal Hospital for 

Women in Sydney, Australia, 

on 13 Jun 1971. All the 

children (five boys and four 

girls) died within six days. 

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Agures adjusted for inflation. 

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Consecutive 

births of twins 

On 5 Feb 1955, Gail Taylor 

(USA), a twin (of sibling Dale), 

gave birth to twins of her 

own, Janet and Joyce. As an 

adult, Janet gave birth to twins 

too - Debra and Daniel - and, 

incredibly, Debra followed suit, giving birth to twins Nathan 

and Alexander: a record four generations of twins. 

The Taylors (above) share their record with the Rollings family 

(UK). Twins Elizabeth and Olga were born on 3 Dec 1916. On 

20 Jul 1950, their nieces Margaret and Maureen Hammond 

arrived, and their own nieces - Fay and Fiona O'Connor 

followed on 26 Feb 1977. Finally, Fay and Fiona's nieces Kacie 

and Jessica Fawcett were born on 12 Jan 2002. 

082 Humans


On 26 Jan 2009, Nadya 

Suleman (USA) gave birth 

to six boys and two girls 

at the Kaiser Permanente 

Medical Center in Bellflower, 

California, USA - the most 

children delivered in a 

single birth to survive. The 

babies were conceived with 

the aid of in vitro fertilization 

{IVF) treatment and were 

nine weeks premature when 

they were delivered by 

Caesarean section. 

Heaviest birth 

Giantess Anna Bates 

(nee Swan, CAN), who 

measured 241 .3 em (7 ft 

11 in), gave birth to a boy 

weighing 9.98 kg (22 lb) and 

measuring 71 .12 em (2 ft 

4 in) at her home in Seville, 

Ohio, USA, on 19 Jan 1879. 

The baby died 11 hr later. 

Donna Simpson (USA) 

weighed 241 kg (532 lb) 

when she delivered daughter 

Jacqueline in Feb 2007, 

making her the heaviest 

woman to give birth. 

Lightest birth 

The lightest birth for a 

surviving infant of which 

there is evidence is 260 g 

(9.17 oz) for Rumaisa 

Rahman (USA), born at 

Loyola University Medical 

Center in Maywood, Illinois, 

USA, on 19 Sep 2004 after 

a gestation period of just 

25 weeks 6 days. 

Rumaisa was born with 

her twin sister Hiba, who 

weighed 580 g (1 lb 4.4 oz). 

Together, they hold the 

record for the lightest birth 

for twins, with a total weight 

of 840 g (1 lb 13.57 oz). 

Longest interval 

between birth of triplets 

The greatest gap between the 

birth of a first and third triplet 

was 66 hr 50 min for the 

arrival of Christine, Catherine 

and Calvin, children of Louise 

and Robert Jamison {all USA) 

in 1956. Christine was born at 

3.05 a.rn. on 2 Jan, Catherine 

was born at 10 a.rn. on 3 Jan, 

and Calvin was born at 

9.55 p.m. on 4 Jan. 

Peggy Lynn (USA) gave 

birth to a girl, Hanna, on 

Most bridesmaids to a bride 

Nisansala Kumari Ariyasiri (LKA) was attended 

to by a record retinue of 126 bridesmaids at 

her wedding to Nalin Pathirana at the Avenra 

Garden Hotel in Negombo, Colombo, Sri 

Lanka, on 8 Nov 2013. Around 700 guests 

were also present. 

Herbert Fisher (USA, 1905-2011) 

and Zelmyra Fisher (USA, 1907- 

2013) were married on 13 May 1924 

in North Carolina, USA. They had 

been married 86 years 290 days at 

the time of Herbert's death. 

11 Nov 1995. Hanna's twin, 

Eric, was not delivered until 

2 Feb 1996 - 84 days later - 

at the Geisinger Medical 

Center in Pennsylvania, USA 

- a delay that represents the 

longest interval between 

the birth of twins. 

Largest gathering of ... 

• Multiple births: 4,002 

sets (3,961 pairs of twins, 

37 sets of triplets, four sets 

of quads) amassed outside 

Taipei City Hall in Chinese 

Taipei on 12 Nov 1999. 

• People born via IVF: 

1 ,232, by The Infertility Fund 

R.O.C. in Taichung, Chinese 

Taipei, on 16 Oct 2011. 

• People born 

prematurely: 386, by 

UNICEF in Buenos Aires, 

Argentina, on 30 Sep 2012. 

• People with the same 

birthday: 228 people, 

all born on 4 Jul, by 

Stichting Apenheul (NLD) 

in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, 

on 4 Jul 2012. 

On 4 Aug 2013, Sun Mingming - the world's 

tallest active basketball player - and handball 

player Xu Yan (both CHN) were married in Beijing, 

China, generating speculation that they had 

become the world's tallest married couple. 

On 14 Nov 2013, Guinness World Records was 

able to confirm this as a record when the towering 

twosome were measured by doctors at the Oasis 

Healthcare Centre in Beijing in the presence of 

official adjudicators. Mingming arid Yan reached 

236.17 em and 187.3 em respectively, giving a record combined height 

of 423.47 em and beating the previous record by 4.37 em. 

The tallest married 

couple ever recorded 

in history was Anna 

Haining Swan (CAN) and 

Martin van Buren Bates 

(USA), whose combined 

height was 477.52 em 

when they married in 

St Martin-in-the-Fields 

church in Trafalgar 

Square, London, UK, 

on 17 Jun 1871 . Anna 

later gave birth to the 

heaviest baby (see 

main text above). 

'- www.guinnessworldrecords.com 083


Med ical bag_ 

of the Black Death killed up to 200 million people 

Largest waiting mortuary 

German physician Christoph 

Wilhelm Hufeland (1762- 

1836) designed "waiting 

hospitals" to avoid burying 

the living. The largest of 

these was in Munich around 

1880, and had room for 120 

corpses. "Patients" were tied 

to an alarm system triggered 

by movement. 

to 26 Dec 1898. He was 

an assista[1t to the coffin's 

inventor, Count Michel de 

Karnice-Karnicki (RUS). It 

had a periscope-like tube 

reaching above ground 

to allow in air for the 

prematurely buried. Lorenzo 

said of his Christmas break 

that it had been "damned 

smelly down there". 

First three-headed baby 

In 1834, Dr Raina and 

Dr Galvagni (both ITA) 

described a stillborn, threeheaded 

infant. This was the 

Lucia Zarate (aka 

Xarate, MEX) weighed 

1.1 kg (2 lb 6 oz) at 

birth and 2.1 kg (4 lb 

11 oz) at the age of 17. 

By 1884, when she 

was 20, she weighed 

5.9 kg (1 3 lb). Born with 

a variant of dwarfism, 

she reached a height 

of 67 em (2 ft 2 in). 

First recorded 

case of congenital 

hypertrichosis 

The hirsute covering 

of Petrus Gonzales 

(ESP, b. 1537) was 

caused by congenital 

hypertrichosis 

lanuginosa. Educated 

at the court of the 

French king Henri II, he 

married a wife who did 

First recorded 

lithopedion 

The 1582 autopsy on 

68-year-old Madame 

Colombe Chatri (FAA) 

revealed an ossified child 

(lithopedion or "stone-child"). 

The foetus had died in 

pregnancy and was calcified 

by her body to prevent 

infection from the tissue. 

First proven case 

of superfetation 

Superfetation is the 

conception of twins from two 

different menstrual cycles 

- and potentially different 

fathers. A 1980 case of 

disputed paternity of twins 

in Germany used genetic 

testing to establish the 

putative father of Twin Two 

with 99.995% probability, 

while excluding him as the 

father of TwirJ One. 

Ethel Granger (UK, 

1g05-82) reduced 

her natural waist 

from 56 em (1 ft 1 0 in) 

to 33 em (1 ft 1 in) 

from 1929 to 1939 by 

wearing ever tighter 

corsets. The same 

measurement was 

matched by actress 

Mile Polaire, aka Emilie 

Marie Bouchaud (FRA, 

1874-1 939). 

First safety coffin 

Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick 

Wolfenbuttel (DEU) suffered 

from taphephobia (see 

below). Ahead of his death 

in 1792, he ordered a coffin 

with a window, an air hole, 

and a lid that was unlockable 

instead of nailed down. 

Faroppo Lorenzo (ITA) 

underwent the longest 

voluntary burial in a 

safety coffin, from 17 Dec 

I 

These are the leading causes of death in 2011 In a representative 

I 

sample of 1,000 people wor1dwlde from the following groups: 

• 141 from low-income countries 

• 368 from lower-middle-income countries 

• 322 from upper-middle-income countries 

• 169 from high-Income countries 

• Total deaths from these causes: 515 

'COPD is --- 

chronic obstructive 

pulmonary disease 

II Low-income countries II Lower-middle-income countries 

26 

''also includes 

lung cancers 

II Upper-middle-income countries 

14 

II H igh-income countries 

52 Number of deaths 78 104 130 

24 

Hypertrichosis: 

abnormal growth of hair; 

the condition can be 

congenital (from birth). 

Hairiness can be assessed 

using the Ferriman-Gallwey 

method (see p.78). 

Taphephobia: the fear of 

being buried alive. This 

was a pressing concern 

before doctors were able 

to reliably detect signs of 

life in people who might 

appear to be deceased.


First recorded asymmetrical 

conjoined twins 

Lazarus Colloredo (ITA , b. 1617) had a parasitic 

twin complete with head and three deformed 

extremities growing from his chest. The twin 

was apparently considered to be a separate 

individual as he was given the name Joannes 

Baptista. Lazarus toured to exhibit his twin, 

who displayed some reaction to stimulus, 

implying limited autonomous functionality. 

first recorded instance of 

extreme conjoined twinning, 

as one of the necks had 

two heads. 

Most 

tapeworms expelled 

It is possible for more 

than one tapeworm 

to exist in the body. 

In 1883, Dr Aguiel 

described an unnamed 

patient who expelled a 

1-kg (2-lb 3-oz) lump 

containing 34.5 m (113 ft 

2 in) of tapeworm. 

Three years later, 

Dr Garfinkel saw 

Longest human tail 

Indian plantation worker 

Chandre Oram showed a tail 

measuring 33 em (1 ft 1 in) in 

length to the world's media 

in 2008. Other notable cases 

include a 12-year-old boy 

in French Indochina who 

was said to have sported a 

22.8-cm (9-in) tail. In 1901, 

anatomist Dr Ross Granville 

Harrison described a baby 

boy with a 7.6-cm-long (3-in) 

tail that was examined by 

Harrison after amputation. 

Most ascarides expelled 

Ascarides are roundworm 

parasites that live in the small 

intestine. They sometimes 

appear by the hundreds, but 

in 1880, Dr Fauconneau 

Dufresne reported on the 

case of a Frenchman who 

had managed to expel 

around 5,000 ascarides in 

less than three years, largely 

through vomiting. 

of tapeworm 

with 12 

heads. 

Most children born to 

unseparated conjoined twins 

Chang and Eng Bunker (1811-74) were born in 

Thailand, then called Siam -the origin of the 

now-defunct term "Siamese twins". The two men 

fathered 21 children, the descendents of whom 

held their 24th annual reunion in Mount Airy, 

North Carolina, USA, in 2013. 

Most deadly 

outbreak of listeriosis 

Sources differ, but 

somewhere between 

47 and 84 people were 

killed in California, USA, 

in the 1985 outbreak of 

listeriosis. It was caused 

by the bacteria listeria in 

cheese and, even at the 

lowest figure, it remains 

the instance with the 

highest number of fatalities. 

It is also the deadliest 

outbreak of bacterial foodborne 

disease in the USA. 

Oldest dwarf 

Hungarian-born Susanna 

Bokoyni of New Jersey, USA, 

was 105 when she died on 

24 Aug 1984. Born in Apr 

1879, she was 101.5 em 

(3 ft 4 in) tall and is one of 

two centenarian dwarfs on 

record, the other being Anne 

Clowes (UK). Anne died on 

5 Aug 1784 aged 103 and 

was 114 em (3 ft 9 in) tall. 

Oldest ever 

male conjoined twins 

Giacomo and Giovanni 

Battista Tocci (ITA} were 

born on 4 Oct 1877 and 

lived to be 63. They were 

separate above the waist, 

but shared an abdomen, 

pelvis and t-.,o legs. Having 

made money from touring 

Europe and the USA, they 

retired from public life. 

Together: conjoined twins 

Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova (both USSR, 

left) suffered from dicephalus tetrabrachius dipus 

(two heads, four arms, and two legs), a very rare 

form of conjoined twinning. They were born on 

3 Jan 1950 and, until their death on 17 Apr 2003, 

were the oldest living conjoined female twins. 

The title then went to the craniopagus Uoined at 

the head) twins born on 18 Sep 1961 as Lori and 

Dori Schappell (both USA, right). As of 8 May 2014 

they were 52 years 232 days old. In 2007, Dori 

announced that he was transgender, identifying 

himself as a male called George. 

FACT 

The decision to separate 

conjoined twins is not 

taken lightly, and many 

twins - such as Lori 

and George (left} and 

Chang and Eng Bunker 

(above) - opt to stay 

together. Complications 

arise when twins share 

vital organs. In the case 

of the Bunkers, their 

livers were fused but the 

procedure to separate 

them would, today, be 

relatively simple; not 

so back in the 1800s, 

hence their decision 

to stay together.


Record man ia 

Mania: noun, from the Greek, be mad; an excessive enthusiasm or passion 

Largest collection 

of soft-drink cans 

Davide Andreani's (ITA) mania for Coca-Cola cans 

began at the age of five, when he started collecting 

unfamiliar tins brought home by his father from 

European business trips. At the last count, confirmed 

on 14 Aug 2013, Coke addict Davide owned a record 

10,558 unique single-brand cans from 87 countries.


Flashback: 

Mr Versatility 088 

Collections 090 

Model-making 092 

Big stuff 094 

Big orchestra 096 

Fun with food 098 

Big food 100 

Curious claimants 102 

Show of strength 104 

Flexible friends 106 

Performers 108 

Indoor pursuits 110 

Outdoor pursuits 112 

Wheelie good 114 

Mass participation 



Mr Ve rsatil ity 

No sooner had work started on the first edition of The Guinness Book of 

Records in London than a boy was born in New York City, USA, who would 

go on to become the undisputed king of record-breaking. His name was 

Keith Furman, but today he's better known by his spiritual name: Ashrita. 

That the man who holds the 

Guinness World Records title 

for most Guinness World 

Records titles held was 

born within a month of the 

company is a coincidence, 

but it's a joyous one. Keith 

Furman was born on 16 Sep 

1954. It would be 25 years 

before he set the first of many 

Guinness World Records, 

For the 

record 

Ashrita set his 100th 

record on 24 Sep 2005, 

spinning the largest 

hula hoop - 4.8 m (16 ft} 

in diameter - three times 

around his waist on the 

set of Richard & Judy 

in London, UK. 

but he has achieved more in 

36 years than most people 

could do in 10 lifetimes. 

The manager of a health 

food store, Furman was 

given the name Ash rita - 

Sanskrit for "Protected 

by God" - by his spiritual 

teacher Sri Chinmoy (I NO, 

1931-2007), who taught 

him self-transcendence and 

meditation. Using these 

lessons, Ash rita set his first 

record in 1979 - achieving 

27,000 star jumps (jumping 

jacks) - and he hasn't looked 

back. As of 1 May 2014, 

he had set 521 records, of 

which 182 are still current. 

Come with us on a 

journey through just some 

of the records set by 

Mr Versatility ... 

Ash rita ... in his own words 

"My teacher's philosophy of self-transcendence - 

of overcoming your limits and making progress 

spiritually, creatively and physically using the 

power of meditation - really thrills me. If you can 

connect with your inner source and be receptive 

to a higher Grace, you can accomplish anything. 

"Attempting records has become an inherent 

part of my spiritual journey. I scour the Guinness 

World Records book looking for categories 

I think will be challenging and fun. Many of the 

records involve child-like activities such as 

juggling, hopscotch, unicycling, pogo-sticking 

and balancing objects on my head and chin. 

I get joy not only in practising the activity itself, 

but also in seeing my progress towards achieving 

a goal. The particular event is unimportant as 

long as it gives you the opportunity to dance 

on the edge of your capacity." 

1999 Farthest 

distance carrying a 

9-lb (4.08-kg) brick 

non-stop (male): 

136.87 km (85.05 mi) 

088 Recordmania


Key 

Record set then later lost 

- 

Still holds record - 

Most consecutive forward rolls 

Farthest distance with milk bottle on head 

Pogo-stick jumping (in Mount Fuji foothills) 

Underwater pogo-stick jumping 

(in the Amazon River) 

Fastest sack race mile (against a yak) 

Most star jumps - Ashrita's first record! 

8,341 

130.3 km 

18.60 km 

3,647 jumps 

3 hr 40 min 

16 min 41 sec 

27,000 

Pool cue balancing (at the pyramids, Egypt) 1 11.3 km 

Fastest mile pushing an orange with nose 

Fastest 8 km on stilts 

22 min 41 sec 

39 min 56 sec 

30 min 

089


co ections 

There are an estimated five million stamp collectors in the USA 

Bagpipes 

Daniel Fleming of Cleethorpes 

in Lincolnshire, UK, owned 

105 sets of playable 

bagpipes as of 24 Oct 2013. 

Coins from the same year 

Rahul G Keshwani (IND) has 

11,111 coins from the year 

1989. The collection, made 

up of the defunct 25-paise 

coin, was verified on 28 Jul 

2013 in Mumbai, India. 

Plastic food replicas are a common sight in Japanese 

• restaurants ... and in the home of Akiko Obata in 

Sanbu-gun, Chiba, Japan. Obata's collection of 

8,083 fake dishes - plus food-related keyrings, 

toys and magnets - was verified on 24 Jan 2014. 

Cookery books 

Sue Jimenez (USA/CAN) 

had 2,970 cookbooks as of 

14 Jul 2013 in Albuquerque, 

New Mexico, USA. 

different countries. 

These are the latest 

collections to be added 

to the GWR database: 

Airline boarding passes 

Having flown with 90 airlines 

in 28 years, Joao Gilberta 

Vaz of Brasilia, Brazil, had 

saved 2,558 boarding 

passes as of 23 Jan 

2014. He flies 

an average of 

91.35 flights 

per year. 

Electronic calculators 

Gerhard Wenzel (DEU) has 

no fear of wrongly counting 

his collection of calculators 

lan O'Brien (UK) had acquired 1,573 unique items 

relating to everyone's favourite Timelord, as of 6 Sep 

2013, in his home in Manchester, UK. He started his 

collection in 1974 with a yellow Dalek (a Louis Marx 

toy) and received The Dr Who Annual every Christmas. 

His personal favourites are a TARDIS console released 

by Dapol and a very rare nursery toy Dalek by Selcol. 

- not with 4,113 examples to 

help tot them up, as of 7 Sep 

2013, in Solingen, Germany. 

Ganesha-related items 

Ram and Lalita Kogata (IN D) 

own 10,631 items relating 

to Ganesha, the Hindu god 

with the head of an elephant. 

Their collection was counted 

on 14 Sep 2013 in Udaipur, 

Rajasthan, India. The couple 

also have the largest 

collection of Ganesha 

statues, with 2,930. 

Gift cards (gift tokens) 

In 2007, teenage brothers 

Aaron and David Miller 

(USA/CAN) wanted to make 

shopping with their mother 

more interesting, so they 

started to collect gift tokens. 

As of 30 Aug 2013, they 

had amassed 3,215 

different cards. 

Horse-related items 

Equine enthusiast 

Edgar Rugeles (COL) had 

mcoiiElCtE!d 2,762 models of 

Glossary 

5: Clothing and 

- accessones 

806,698 items 

9: Household 

237,006 items 

10: Animal 

184,946 items 

Popee: Magnue Anderseon 

(SWE), 1,580 stamps as 

of 16 Nov 2010 in Falun, 

Sweden 

Bibliophilism: enthused 

book collecting 

Cagophily: key collecting 

Cartophily: cigaretteor 

chewing-gum-card 

collecting 

Labeorphily: beer-bottlelabel 

collecting 

Philately: postage-stamp 

collecting 

Timbromania: mania for 

collecting postage stamps 

000 

090 Recordmania


horses, among other items 

of horse memorabilia, as 

of 26 Aug 2013, in Bogota, 

Colombia. 

Keys 

Lisa J Large of Kansas 

City, Missouri, USA, owned 

3,604 different keys as of 

20 Nov 2013. 

Ozzy Osbourne 

memorabilia 

As of 18 Oct 2013, Claus 

Solvig of R0dovre, Denmark, 

had acquired 1 ,811 items 

relating to heavy-metal 

legend Ozzy Osbourne. 

Nick Bennett (UK) began his bond with Bond in 1995 

and his collection of 12,463 items, as verified on 21 Nov 

2013, is now housed in a warehouse in Warrington, 

UK. The collection includes Roger Moore's shoes from 

The Man with the Golden Gun (UK, 1974), a unique 

007 doll worth in the region of £1 0,000 ($1 6,000) 

and a speedboat from Live and Let Die (UK, 1973). 

• The Nightmare Before 

Christmas memorabilia: 

William Wong (HKG) owns 

2,020 items (1 8 Feb 2014). 

• Star Wars memorabilia: 

Steve Sansweet (USA) has 

300,000 unique Star Wars 

items in California, USA. 

Of these, 92,240 had been 

catalogued by 4 May 2014. 

• Clothing labels: Paul 

Brockmann (USA) has 

amassed 4,120 labels 

(1 1 Mar 2014). 



Mode 

Airfix originally sold infl 

Largest 

toothpick sculpture 

Michael Smith (USA) 

used more than 3 million 

toothpicks to create "Alley", 

a 4.5-m-long (15-ft) alligator 

that weighed 132.4 kg 

(292 lb) when measured 

in Prairieville, Louisiana, 

USA, on 22 Mar 2005. 

Largest display of 

toothpick sculptures 

A full miniature orchestra - 

wingspan of 11.2 m (36 ft 9 in) and a length of 9.12 m 

at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford in Shropshire, UK. 

12,500 toothpicks and 

displayed in Ottawa, Ontario, 

Canada, on 18 Jun 2013. 

Largest Plasticine model 

Martin and Nigel Langdon 

(UK) have spent thousands 

of hours since the early 

1960s painstakingly 

modelling their ideal city 

with more than 226 kg 

(500 lb) of Plasticine. 

model, complete with 

"'","r'-"''"" colosseum 

Tallest toothpick 

scatlpture 

Stan Munro (USA) created 

a model of the Burj Khallfa 

tower in Dubai, UAE, the world's 

talleet building. The 5.09-m-tall 

(16-ft 8-in) sculpture was 

measured at the Phelps Art 

Center in Phelps, New York, 

USA, on 22 Jun 2013. 

It took Munro around 

six months to make and 

includes approximately 

250,000 toothpicks. 

skyscrapers, now covers 

an area 4.5 m (15 ft) long by 

1.2 m (4 ft) wide. The only 

things not made of Plasticine 

are the tree trunks, which are 

made of dyed matchsticks. 

Largest 

matchstick model 

"Cathedrals of the 

Sea" is a North Sea oil 

production platform 

modelled from 4,075,000 

matchsticks. It was made 

by David Reynolds (UK) and 

completed in Jul 2009. 


of military models 

Francisco Sanchez Abril 

(ESP) started collecting 

miniature military vehicles in 

1958 and, as of Feb 2012, 

had amassed 2,815 unique 

items representing the military 

might of 25 countries. 

Largest model airport 

Knuffingen Airport, located 

at Miniatur Wunderland 

in Hamburg, Germany, 

is built to a scale of 1 :87. 

The 45.9-m2 (494-sq-ft) 

model is based on the 

·- 

Choose a bottle with a fairly 

large neck and paint a sea 

effect inside the bottle. 

Using wood, build the hull 

of the ship. Build everythipg 

except for the mast, -sans, 

and the ai ts• Su pport beams 

jparsJ . _ 

Make sure 11 can 

• • - • • f1t through the neck of the 

bottle. Pam! 

' 

' 

' 

' 

' 

' 

Make the masts. Create 

a hinge using wire, which 

is used to bend the sails, 

in the base of each mast. 

Make the sails and spars. 

Make holes in each mast and 

run a line of thread through 

them. Attach the masts and 

rigging to the hull of the ship; 

lay them flat along its length. 

Push the ship through the 

bottle's neck. Colour putty to 

represent the sea. When the 

putty sets, the ship should 

be stable. 

Gently pull the thread 

running through the masts, 

so that they rise vertically 

on their wire hinges. 

Fasten the masts by applying 

glue to their bases. Insert a 

cork to seal the bottle. 

paperclips at but now 

has stainless steel versions 

specially made for him by 

a paperclip factory. 

092 Recordmanla


Smallest 

ship-in-a-bottle 

In 1956, Arthur V Pedlar (UK) 

constructed a ship inside a 

1 -cc glass phial measuring 

2.38 em (0.9 in) long and 

0.9 em (0.3 in) wide, with a 

neck of just 0.2 em (0.07 in). 

The galleon had three masts, 

five sails and three flags. 

international airport serving 

Hamburg, and took seven 

years to complete. 

Fastest rocket-powered 

model car 

The Heathland School 

Rocket Car Club in 

Hounslow, UK, built "Mobius" 

-a jet-propelled model car 

that reached a speed of 

329.84 km/h (204.95 mph) 

on 14 Jun 2013. 

Longest model train 

A model train measuring 

282.11 m (925 ft 6 in) and 

comprising 31 locomotives 

and 1,563 carriages was 

constructed by the 

Wilmington Railroad Museum 

Model Railroad Committee. 

It was presented in 

Wilmington, North Carolina, 

USA, on 23 Apr 2011. 

The longest model train 

track is the Great American 

Railway, which boasts a 

total of more than 15.2 km 

(9.5 mi) of HO (1 :87 scale) 

track. Built by Bruce Williams 

Zaccagnino (USA), it is the 

star exhibit at the Northlandz 

attraction in Flemington, 

New Jersey, USA. 

Most model rocket kits 

launched simultaneously 

Boy Scout Jacob 

Smith (USA) launched 

3,130 model rockets at 

once to commemorate 

the 1 OOth anniversary of 

the Boy Scouts of America. 

The launch took place 

in College Station, 

Texas, USA, on 

9 Oct 2010. 

Largest display of 

ships-in-a-bottle 

Kjell Birkeland (NOR) owned 

a fleet of 655 model ships, 

as of 15 Feb 2013. The 

bottled boats are displayed 

at the Arendal Bymuseum 

in Arendal, Norway. 

Largest Dalek sculpture 

Snugburys Ice Cream (UK) has been 

making straw sculptures for over 10 years 

and, in 2013, constructed a 10.6-m-tall 

(35-ft) Dalek. The sculpture, made 

in celebration of Doctor Who's 50th 

anniversary, took 700 hr to complete 

and used 6 tonnes (13,440 lb} of straw 

and 5 tonnes (1 1 ,200 I b) of steel. 

.. saw the birth 

dolls' house 88 W8 know It 

today: a beautifully crafted 

child's plaything.

Bi 


stuff 

The Great Wall of China is big - but it's a myth that it is visible from the Moon 

Hot dog cart 

Marcus Daily (USA) built a 

3.72-m-tall (12-ft 3-in) cart 

that, despite its size, is 

mobile, although at 7.06 m 

(23 ft 2 in) in length, it moves 

with difficulty. Marcus plans 

to turn the cart - which set 

the record on 28 Oct 2013 

in Union, Missouri, USA 

into a permanent restaurant. 

LARGEST ... 

Envelope 

Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College 

(IND) made an envelope 

measuring 17.86 m (58 ft 

7 in) in length and 13.10 m 

(42 ft 11.7 in) in width 

in Aligarh, Uttar 

Pradesh, India, 

on 3 Apr 

2013. 

Longest golf club 

Knitting needles 

Despite being 3.98 m (13 ft 

0.75 in) long, needles made 

by Jim Bolin were used by 

Jeanette Huisinga (both 

USA) to knit a square of 

10 x 10 stitches at Monroe 

Elementary School in Casey, 

Illinois, USA, on 20 May 2013. 

Megaphone 

Members of the public 

were encouraged to make 

their thoughts heard loud 

and clear with a massive 

megaphone measuring 

2.43 m (8 ft) long. It was built 

by Bezoya (ESP) in Madrid, 

Spain, on 10 Oct 

2013. 

A massive molar 

measuring 8.23 m (27 ft) 

tall was made by Sensodyne 

(MEX) and displayed in 

Mexico City's Parque Mexico 

on 25 Nov 2013 to raise 

awareness of tooth decay. 

Karsten Maas (DNK) made a 4.37-m-long 

(14-ft 5-in) long golf club and drove a ball 

165.46 m (542 ft 10 in) at the Golf in Wall course 

in Wall, Germany, on 30 Apr 2013. Karsten, who 

performs in his own trick golf shows, last set the 

record in 2009. Normal golf drivers are usually 

around 1.14-1 .22 m (3 ft 9 in-4 ft). 

Fredrik and Martin Raddum (NOR) were the 

bright sparks behind a lamp measuring 9.16 m 

(30 ft) high in Oslo, Norway, in Feb 2013. 

The lamp shade is made of polyester and 

fibreglass and is 3.98 m (1 3 ft) in 

diameter. The supporting pole 

is made of steel. 

Oil lamp 

An oil lamp with 

a volume of 652.8 litres 

(143 gal) was commissioned 

by the municipality of 

Alm6cita in Almeria, Spain, 

as part of their celebrations 

for The Night of the Oil 

Lamps festival held on 

11 May 2013. 

Paintbrush 

Indian artist Sujit Das 

made a paintbrush 

measuring 8.5 m (28 ft) 

long and weighing 22 kg 

(48 lb 8 oz). It was used 

at Nagaon Government 

Boys' High School in 

Nagaon, India, on 19 Jun 

2012 to paint portraits 

of Mahatma Gandhi, 

Bhagat Singh and 

Bishnu Prasad Rabha. 

Largest Christmas 

bauble ornament: 

diameter 4.2 m 

newspaper ever. 

"Big stuff" records typically 

require claimants to 

recreate a scaled-up version 

of a regular-sized object, 

maintaining proportions 

where possible and using 

the same construction 

materials. Although 

guidelines may vary, we 

expect the supersized 

version to be functional - 

a giant pencil should still be 

able to write, for example, 

no matter how big! 

-


Paper aircraft 

It's one thing to make a 

paper plane with a wingspan 

of 18.21 m (59 ft 9 in); 

it's another to make it fly. 

Yet Braunschweig Institute 

of Technology (DEU) did 

just that in Braunschweig, 

Germany, on 28 Sep 

2013. Launched from a 

2.47-m-high (8-ft) platform, 

the aircraft flew 18 m (59 ft). 

Playing cards 

A pack of playing cards 

measuring 1.295 m x 0.939 m 

(4 ft 3 in x 3 ft 1 in) was 

unveiled by Viejas Casino & 

Resort in Alpine, California, 

USA, on 12 Sep 2013. The 

cards were played in a hand 

of blackjack on the world's 

largest blackjack table 

a fully functioning gaming 

table covering an area of 

206.85 m2 (2,226.51 sq ft) 

- made to celebrate the 

venue's 21st anniversary. 

Sand castle 

Ed Jarrett (USA) became 

king of the (sand) castle 

with his 11.63-m-tall 

(38-ft 2-in) effort at 

Point Pleasant Beach 

in New Jersey, USA, 

on 29 Oct 

2013. 

Silver ring 

A 91.32-kg (201 -lb 5-oz) 

ring made from 99.99% 

pure silver was created 

by Valentine Diamond 

(TUR). The ring, which 

has an inner diameter of 

92 em (3 ft), was measured 

in Istanbul, Turkey, on 

27 Sep 2013. 

art spoon made 

by Centrul 

Cultural Mioveni 

of Romania 

measured 17.79 m 

(58 ft 4 in) long 

in Mioveni, 

Romania, on 

7 Jun 2013. 

In Brazil, Santa Claus is 

known as Papai Noel. 

He comes through 

the window and hides 

presents in shoes 

left out for him. 

Largest 

Santa Claus 

Shopping Center 

Norte unveiled a Santa 

towering 20 m (65 ft 7 in) 

tall, 7 m (23 ft) wide and 

4 m (1 3 ft) deep in Sao 

Paulo, Brazil, on 7 Nov 

2013. It was estimated that 

up to 5 million shoppers 

would pass through the mall 

over Christmas to admire 

the styrofoam and fibreglass 

giant. Next to Santa wa a 

wrapped present that itself 

stood 4 m (13 ft) high. 

• Largest marquee: 

40,473.85 m2, erected by 

Barrett-Jackson Auction 

Company in Scottsdale, 

Arizona, USA, in Jan 2014. 

• Largest spade: 4.5 m 

tall with a 95.6-cm-wide 

blade, by Rollins Bulldog 

Tools in Harlow, UK, on 

27 Sep 2013. 

• Largest flag {draped): 

101,978 m2, by Moquim AI 

Hajiri in Doha, Qatar, on 

16 Dec 2013. 

000 



o1 Big orchestra 

Largest drum kit 

The Drumartic (AUT) 

percussion group's kit list 

includes a bass drum at 

2.9 m (9 ft 6 in), a floor tom 

at 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) and 

a rack tom at 1.57 m (5 ft 

2 in). The hi-hat cymbals 

are 1 .73 m (5 ft 8 in) wide. 

Their huge creation is 

called Big Boom. 

A Largest electric guitar 

Modelled on a 1967 Gibson 

Flying V, this 12:1 -scale 

replica stands 13.29 m (43 ft 

7 in) tall, 5.01 m (1 6ft 5 in) 

wide and weighs 900 kg 

(2,000 lb). It was made by 

Scott Rippetoe (USA, above) 

and students from Conroe 

Independent School District 

Academy of Science & 

Technology in Texas, USA. 

It was first played on 6 Jun 

2000, some seven months 

after work began. 

A Longest alphorn 

Seven months in 

the making, "Corno 

vivo Oli'' is 26.46 m 

(86 ft 9 in) long and 

weighs 92.5 kg (203 lb 

14 oz). It was made 

by the Rottumtaler 

Alphornblaser (DEU) 

out of a single Douglas 

fir and was presented 

and measured in 

Bellamont, Germany, 

on 16 Sep 2012. 

Largest piano 

Constructed by Daniel Czapiewski (POL, below left), this very grand piano is 

2.49 m (8 ft 2 in) wide, 6.07 m (19 ft 10 in) long and 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) high. It was 

played at a concert in the village of Szymbark, Poland, on 30 Dec 2010. 

Sadly, Daniel - a gifted wood-worker and friend of GWR - died on 3 Dec 2013. 

096 Recordmania


A 

In terms of individual 

elements, the largest drum 

set belongs to Dr Mark 

Temperato (USA, above) and 

comprises 813 pieces. They 

were counted in Lakeville, 

New York, USA. on 21 Mar 

2013. It takes a team of four 

people more than 20 hr to 

set up this colossal kit, and 

around 45 minutes to hit 

every piece of percussion 

in it. Beat that! 

Largest violin 

A Largest accordion 

This 2.53-m-tall (8-ft 3-in), 

1 .9-m-wide (6-ft 2-in) and 

85-cm-deep (2-ft 9-in) 

squeeze box weighs about 

200 kg (440 lb). Built by 

Giancarlo Francenella (ITA, 

above, with his daughter 

Laura), the instrument 

is named 

"Fisarmonica 

Gigante" 

and was 

completed 

in 2001 . 

Created by the Vogtland masters of 

violin- and bow-making (DEU), this 

giant violin is 4.27 m (14 ft) long, 

has a maximum width of 1.4 m 

(4 ft 7 in) and is played with 

a 5.2-m-long (17-ft) bow. 

A Largest saxophone 

With a tube length of 

6.74 m (22 It 1 in) and a 

bell diameter of 39.1 em 

(1 It 3 in), this super-sized 

sax was created by J'EIIe 

Stainer (BRA) for the 

company Below65-4hz.com 

(ITA) to mark the 200th 

anniversary of Adolphe Sax. 

It stands 2.74 m (8 It 11 in) 

tall, weighs 28.6 kg (63 lb 

0.8 oz) and was measured 

in Cerveteri, Italy, on 3 Aug 

2013. Above, project 

co-ordinator Gilberto 

Lopes tries it out. 

www.guinnessworldrecords.com


Fun with food 

eat 75 litres of popcorn a year - enough to fill a bath tub! 

Fastest field-tooven-cooked 

loaf 

Australian farmer Neil Unger 

had long wanted to take 

the "paddock to plate" 

challenge. The record had 

stood unbroken since 

1999, but with a team 

of assistants he took 

wheat from a field to 

produce 13 loaves of 

bread (a "baker's dozen") in 

16 min 30.83 sec. The feat 

took place in Cawdor, New 

South Wales, Australia, on 

11 Jan 2013. 

of Abenteuer Leben (Kabel 

eins) in Sankt Peter-Ording, 

Germany, on 13 Jul 2013. 

Fastest time to eat a jam 

doughnut with no hands 

Oli White (UK) used no 

hands and didn't lick his lips 

as he hoovered up a jam 

doughnut in 28.75 sec at 

Alexandra Palace in London, 

UK, on 17 Aug 201 3. It was 

the third time in the space 

of a year that the GWR 

YouTube presenter managed 

to break the record. 

made In 

by a team is 76,382, 

by Batter Blaster (USA) 

on 9 May 2009. 

Fastest time to eat 

a bowl of pasta 

Furious Pete, aka Peter 

Czerwinski (CAN, pictured 

on p.99), ate a bowl of 

pasta in 41 sec on the set 

Most Bhut Jolokia chilli 

peppers eaten in two minutes 

The Bhut Jolokia, or ghost chilli, rates at 

approximately 1,000,000 on the Scoville scale 

(see below). On 19 Jun 2013, Jason 

McNabb (USA) ate 66 g (2.33 oz) 

of these chill is - more than \ 

13 whole peppers 

- in Los Angeles, 

California, USA. 

MOST ... 

Bananas sliced with 

a sword on a slackline 

in one minute 

A slackline is similar in look 

to a tightrope, but is slung 

much closer to the ground. 

Veteran record-breaker 

Ashrita Furman (USA) 

balanced on a slackline 

as he was thrown 

36 bananas, each 

of which he cut 

Ghost peppers can 

bum bare skin, so 

always wear latex 

gloves if handling. 

> 

Fastest time to crush 

10 eggs: 12.64 sec, 

Mauro Vagnini (ITA), 

Milan, Italy, 28 Apr 201 1 

Most standing jumps 

on to raw eggs without 

breaking them: nine, 

Lan Guangping (CHN), 

Beijing, China, 9 Sep 2013 

Most eggs held 

in one hand: 27, 

Silvio Sabba (ITA). 

Milan, Italy, 19 May 2013 

000 

098 Recordmania

FACT 

Sabering a bottle of 

champagne was popular 

during the Napoleonic 

Wars. The bottle is held 

at about 20° and the 

sabre used to crack the 

collar; the pressure in 

the bottle then sends 

the top flying off. 

Champagne bottles 

sabered in one minute 

"Sabrage" is a technique 

used to open champagne by 

holding the bottle at an angle 

and sliding a sabre (sword) 

up the neck deftly enough to 

slice off the collar and cork. 

On 8 Sep 2013, Mitchell 

Ancona (USA) sabered open 

34 bottles in a minute in 

Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA. 

The most champagne 

bottles sabered at once 

is 277, by Centro Empresarial 

e Cultural de Garibaldi in 

Rio Grande do Sui, Brazil, 

on 5 Oct 2013. 

Using the conventional 

method of opening, UK TV 

chef Gino D'Acampo 

(ITA) recorded the 

most champagne 

corks popped 

in one minute, 

with seven on 

29 Jul 2013. 


Cream-filled sponge 

cakes eaten in 

one minute 

Competitive eater Patrick 

Bertoletti (USA) tucked away 

16 creamy sponge delights 

in Los Angeles, USA, on 

26 Jun 2013. 

Eggs held unbroken 

on a roller-coaster 

Ozgur Tuna held 110 eggs 

in a basket while Udo 

Baron (both DEU) gave him 

advance warning of the 

roller-coaster turns. The pair 

were at Europa-Park in Rust, 

Germany, on 21 Jun 2013. 

Hamburgers eaten 

in three minutes 

Takeru Kobayashi (JPN) 

ate 11 hamburgers in 

Istanbul, Turkey, on 

5 Jun 2013. 

Ice-cream 

scoops 

balanced 

on one cone 

Dimitri Panciera 

(ITA) balanced 

85 scoops at a festival 

of ice-cream in Zoppe di 

Cadore, Italy, on 21 Jul 2013. 

Most nuts crushed 

by sitting down in 

30 seconds 

Cherry Yoshitake (JPN) 

crushed 48 walnuts using his 

buttocks at the Wakamiya 

Hachimangu shrine in 

Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 

Japan, on 15 Jan 2013. 

Mustard drunk 

in 30 seconds 

Denis Klefenz (DEU) 

consumed 294 g (10.37 oz) 

from a tube of Kuhne 

Sent Mittelscharf German 

mustard on 20 Jun 2013. 

Fastest time to drink 

one litre 'of lemon juice 

Michael Jenkins (USA) won a three-way head-tohead 

challenge by drinking a litre of lemon juice 

through a straw in a record time of 54.1 sec in Los 

Angeles, California, USA, on 20 Jun 2013, beating 

the next fastest time 

by 10 sec. 

by hand in one minute 

Not content with crushing 

131 walnuts in his hand in 

60 sec on 10 Dec 2012, 

Ashrita Furman went on to 

set another nutty record, for 

the most walnuts cracked 

against the head in one 

minute: 44, on 8 Jan 

2013. Both were set 

in New York, USA. 

!., 

61 .46 sec, eat 500 g of cranberry sauce, Erkan Mustafa (UK) 

54 aec, eat thre _ e mince pies, Robert Edward Lee (AUS) 

50.08 sec, wrap five jiOrtjons of chips, Stephanie Celik (UK) 

eggs, Kyle Thomas Moyer (USA) 

chocolate eclairs, Peter Czerwinski (CAN) 

, eat a slice of toast, Anthony Falzon (MLT) 

• Most cappuccinos made 

in one hour: 

289 by Suzanne Stagg 

(AUS) in Hobart, Tasmania, 

Australia, on 29 Nov 201 3 

• Largest cream tea party: 

510 people in Buxton, 

Derbyshire, UK, on 24 Nov 

2013 

• Most people dunking 

cookies: 1, 796 by Oreo 

India at I.I.T., Mumbai, India, 

on 22 Dec 2013 

000 

www.guinnessworldrecord s.com 099

Bi 


food 

There are more Indian restaurants in London than in Mumbai and New Delhi combined 

1.085 m (3 ft 6.7 in) long, 

29.4 em (11.57 in) wide 

and 2.9 em (1.14 in) deep. 

Chocolate mousse 

A mousse weighing 225.3 kg 

(496 lb 12 oz) - as heavy as 

three average men - was 

whipped up for charity at 

the Aventura Mall in Florida, 

USA, on 6 Oct 2012. 

Cinnamon roll 

Weighing the equivalent of 

five adult women, the largest 

cinnamon roll tipped the 

scales at 276 kg (609 lb) and 

was baked by the Second 

Floor Bakery in Holland, 

Michigan, USA, on 4 May 

2013. The roll measured 

85 em (2 ft 9 in) wide and 29 em (11 In) high. The 

team dubbed their world-beater "Big Bertha". 

This titanic turkey 

tea is free for 

anyone who can 

eat it - solo - 

within 45 min! 

LARGEST ... 

Bowl of apple sauce 

Musselman's Apple Sauce 

(USA) produced a bowl 

of apple sauce weighing 

324.8 kg (716 lb) at the 

Baltimore Running Festival 

in Maryland, USA, on 

12 Oct 2013. 

Cheesecake 

Philadelphia Cream Cheese 

(USA) created a cheesecake 

weighing in at 3,129 kg 

(6,900 lb) in Lowville, 

New York, USA, on 21 Sep 

2013. It measured 2.29 m 

(7 ft 6.2 in) in diameter 

and 78.7 em (2 ft 7 in) tall. 

Chewing gum stick 

Japanese firm Lotte 

produced the biggest 

stick of chewing gum, in 

Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, 

on 5 Oct 2013. It measured 

Largest Christmas dinner 

This 9.6-kg (21-lb 2-oz) festive feast for one 

comprises a turkey, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, 

cauliflower, roast potatoes, "pigs in blankets" 

and 25 Brussels sprouts. It was on the menu of 

The Duck Inn in Oakenshaw, UK, on 24 Dec 2013. 

FACT 

First made in 

Naples, Italy, pizzas 

originally used 

dough and tomatoes 

but no cheese. 

Crab cake 

Made from fresh Maryland 

blue crab meat, the largest 

crab cake weighed 136 kg 

(300 lb). It was made 

by Handy International 

Incorporated (USA) in 

Timonium, Maryland, 

USA, on 1 Sep 2012. 

Rocky road 

On 25 Jan 2013, Australian 

confectionery company 

Darrell Lea created a "rocky 

road" - a candy bar of 

chocolate, nut, marshmallow 

and biscuit - that weighed 

261.2 kg (575 lb 13.5 oz) . 

CAN I HAVE SOME MORE, PLEASE? 

A standard bath tub holds 80 lltres. So how long do you 

think it would take you to drink all these record-breakers? 

Largest cocktail 39,746.82 litres 

Largest bowl of soup 26,658 litres 

_ ............ .. 

-= 25 bath tubs 

-.............. ., 

Largest cup of coffee 13,200 litres 

Largest cup of hot chocolate 3,331.16 1itres 

• 

J. 

Waste not, 

want not 

GWR insists that the 

products of all "big food" 

record attempts must 

be consumed to avoid 

wastage. At most record 

attempts, food is eaten by 

participants or spectators, 

distributed to food banks 

or sold off to raise money 

for charity. If food is 

not eaten, or becomes 

inedible in the process of 

being prepared, it will not 

qualify as a record.

HUMONGOUS HELPINGS 


Most of the records on these pages are for one huge item of food. But in the table below, you'll find 

records for the largest overall servings - ordinary food served in extraordinary amounts. 

What 1 Quantity Who 

Date 

I 

Baked potatoes 1 1,716.6 kg Comite Organizador 9 Jun 2012 

I 

(3,784 lb 7 oz) de Fegasur (PER) 

1, Chilli con carne 1,097.7 kg (2,420 lb} Chris' Dream Chili Team (USA) 15 Jun 2013 

Chips (fries) 448 kg (987 lb 10 oz) Adventure Island (UK) 29 Jun 2011 

Dumplings 685 kg A Chang Meat Dumpling 18 Nov 2012 

(1,51 0 lb 2 oz) Restaurant (TPE) 

47.75 kg Fish and Chips@ LTD (UK) I 30 Jul 2012 

(105 lb 4 oz) 

Fruit salad 1 6,935.88 kg University of Massachusetts Dining 2 Sep 2013 

(15,291 lb) Services (USA) 

510.99 kg International Lobster Festivals, Inc. 14 Sep 2013 

(1,126 1b 8 oz) and San Pedro Fish Markets (USA) 

Mussels I 4,898 kg Havfruen Fiskerestaurant (NOR) 

I 

(10,798 lb 3 oz) 

3 Aug 2012 

Papas rellenas 1 846.9 kg Municipality of Ventanilla, Sociedad 1 29 Sep 2013 

(1,867 lb 1 oz) Peruana Cebiche Mas Grande del 

Mundo, and APRIEG (all PER) 

Pastries I 39,550 pastries 2023 Metre Ban ve Kardelik I 3 Jun 2012 

Boregi (TUR) 

Smoothie 

More than 3,200 bananas 

were liquidized by the Cabot 

Creamery Cooperative in 

New York City, USA, on 

3 May 2013 to make a 

1 ,514-litre (333-gal} smoothie 

- enough to fill at least 16 

average-sized bath tubs! 

LO NGEST ... 

Black pudding 

Created in Burgos, Spain, 

during the city's year as 

the Spanish Capital of 

Gastronomy 2013, a black 

pudding was measured 

Largest serving of doughnuts 

MEGA Alma-Ata shopping and entertainment 

mall in Almaty, Kazakhstan, fried up 667 kg 

(1 ,470 lb) of baursaks (sweetened fluffy dough) 

on 2 Nov 2013. A specially constructed wooden 

barrel was needed to hold the doughnuts. 

at 175.7 m (576 ft 5 in). 

Weighing in at 211 kg 

(465 lb), the morcilla 

was made by more than 

450 volunteers, following 

the local recipe: pork, 

pork fat, horcal onion, bahia 

rice, lard, pork blood, spices 

and salt, in a casing of tripe. 

r., ·- --- 

, ' rr "; >' .. 

."' . . . • . ·:i . 

' _.;,."... t 

'{. ,V. ;,./ /' 

,. , 

. 

" ... i . - .. - 

. '!!.' 6 ::"' .< . 

.. 

. . . 

Cake roll 

Starting on 16 Apr 2013, it 

took 66 pastry chefs from 

Japan's Kai Corporation two 

days to create a strawberrytopped 

cream sponge roll 


8 in) in Tokyo, Japan. 

Fruit cake 

A fruit cake measuring 

503.34 m (1 ,651 ft 4 in) - 

as long as nine jumbo jets 

parked wing to wing - was 

made by Panaderia Schick 

at the Centro Comercial 

Managua in Nicaragua 

on 17 Nov 2013. 

Garlic bread 

Etienne Theriault (CAN) 

created a stick of garlic 

bread 16.71 m (54 ft 10 in) 

long at Ecole Ola-Leger in 

Bertrand, New Brunswick, 

Canada, on 6 Jul 2013. 

Hot dog 

A hot dog measuring 

203.8 m (668 ft 7 in) was 

created by Novex SA in 

the city of Mariano Roque 

Alonso, Paraguay, on 15 Jul 

2011 - long enough to fill 

1,132 regular hot dog buns! 

Ice-cream dessert 

On 18 Aug 2013, a 380.97-m 

(1 ,249-ft 1 1 -in) line of icecream 

scoops decorated 

with chocolate syrup, nuts 

and sprinkles was served up 

- in an array of (clean!) gutter 

pipes - by PGA National 

Resort & Spa and Luke's 

Ice Cream in Palm Beach 

Gardens, Florida, USA. 

Ham-made: grow your own burger 

Professor Mark Post (left), a Dutch vascular biologist at Maastricht University in 

the Netherlands, demonstrated the first laboratory-grown beef burger during a 

launch event in London, UK, on 5 Aug 2013. The in vitro meat -the first example 

of what its creator says could provide an answer to A& w • 

global food shortages and help combat climate change 

- was fried in a pan and tasted by two volunteers. 

The result of years of research by Post, the meat 

in the burger was made by knitting together around 

20,000 strands of protein cultured from cattle stem 

cells in his lab. Post and his team· are working to 

show that meat grown in petri dishes might one day 

be a true alternative to meat from livestock. 

• Largest gingerbread 

house: 1,110.1 m3 (internal 

volume), built by Traditions 

Club (USA) on 30 Nov 2013. 

• Largest bag of crisps: 

1,141 kg, by Corkers Crisps 

(UK) on 13 Sep 2013. 

• Longest line of 

sandwiches: 3,865.7 m 

of sandwiches with 

chocolate and hazelnut 

spread, by Nocilla (ESP) 

on 1 Jun 2013. 

000 

www.gui nnessworldrecords.com 101


Curious c aimant2, 

Yo u don't need to be Usa in Bolt or Edmund Hillary to be a record-breaker . .. 

luckily for this heroic lot! 

With 48 current Guinness World Records 

to his name - all achieved in less than three 

years - Italy's Silvio Sabba is one of our most 

prolific claimants and king of the one-minute 

records. He's pictured here attempting the 

most matchsticks stacked into a tower (74), 

most dice stacked using chopsticks (44) and 

most clothes pegs clipped to the face (51). 

Simon Elmore 

Here's a record that really 

sucks! Britain's Simon 

Elmore managed to stuff 

400 regular drinking straws 

into his gob at once on 

6 Aug 2009. And, as per 


guidelines, he held them in 

place for a ful\ 10 seconds. 

Unfortunately for Simon, he 

was two straws short of his 

personal goal, but he still 

did enough to earn himself 

the world record. 

) 

Gary Duschl 

) 

The latest surveyor's report 

on Gary Duschl's (USA) 

epic longest chewing 

gum wrapper chain 

gives a total length 

of 23.9 km (14.8 mi) 

- that's almost 

230 soccer pitches 

long! Gary has 

been linking gum 

wrappers since 

11 Mar 1965, and 

as of Mar 2014 has 

made 3,743,076 

links to 1,871,538 

wrappers. 

102 Recordmania


Nathan Dickens 

There was plenty of bizarre behaviour on 

American TV when Guinness World Records 

Unleashed aired in 2013. Among 

the records established was 

the most targets hit 

by blindfolded tennis 

serves in two minutes 

(15), by the USA's 

Nathan Dickens. 

Michael Pericoloso 

Putting the "breaking" into record-breaking 

is Michael Pericoloso (USA), who earned his 

certificate for the most yard sticks broken over 

the head in one minute (37) on Guinness World 

Records Unleashed in Jun 2013. Ouch! 

Stephen Kish 

A regular in the first 

series of the BBC's Officially 

Amazing TV show, "Sizzlin'" 

Stephen Kish (UK) pinged 

his way to a record for the 

most ping pong balls 

bounced into a pint glass 

in one minute (six). 

Crying over 

spilt milk 

Skimmed milk is best 

for this attempt - if you 

use full-fat milk, the fat 

tends to clog up the 

tear ducts! 

A 

John Cassidy 

When it comes to 

balloon-shaping, John 

Cassidy (USA) leaves the 

competition feeling deflated. 

John's records include the 

fastest time to create a 

balloon dog sculpture 

(6.5 sec), the most balloon 

sculptures made in one 

minute (13) and the most 

made in one hour (747). 

Ever heard the phrase "Don't shoot 'til you see the whites of his eyes"? 

It could've been coined for Brandon "Youngblood" Kee (USA), holder 

of the record for the fastest time to hit five targets by squirting 

milk from the eye (34.9 sec). How does he get it there? He snorts 

it up his nose then forces it out of his tear ducts! Eye caramba! 

where you can attempt 

record of your own and 

upload a video to one 

of our adjudicators. 



show of strength 

Danish strongman John Holtum could catch cannonballs fired straight at him 

title 15 times between 1999 

and 2013. The nine events 

include standing chop, hot 

saw, springboard chop and 

18-m (60-ft) speed climb. 

The World Championships 

are held annually in 

Hayward, Wisconsin, USA. 

The most Lumberjack 

World Championships 

won by a woman is nine, by 

Nancy Zalewski (USA). She 

won the title of Lady Jill (men 

are lumberjacks, women are 

lumberjills) in 2003-04 and 

2007-13. The All-Around 

Lady Jill title is given to the 

woman who scores highest 

over the entire competition. 

Fastest time to pull a 

train over 20 metres 

using rice-bowl suction 

By pressing a bowl on his 

abdominal muscles, Zhang 

Xingquan (CHN) created 

enough suction to pull a 

train weighing 132 tonnes 

(291,000 lb), with two drivers 

weighing 150 kg (330 lb). 

It took him 1 min 18.92 sec 

to cover 20 m (65 ft 6 in) in 

Erlianhaote, Inner Mongolia, 

China, on 24 Jul 2013. 

Greatest weight 

lifted in one hour 

by kettlebell snatch 

On 23 Dec 2013, Sergey 

Trifanov (BLR) lifted 

30,012 kg (66,165 lb) by 

snatching kettlebells at 

the State Technological 

University in Vitebsk, 

Most baseball bats 

broken with the back 

in one minute 

Matt Dopson (USA) was 


Records Unleashed to 

snap 19 baseball bats over 

his back in Los Angeles, 

California, USA, on 

24 Jun 2013. 

Most wins of the 

Lumberjack World 

Championships 

Jason Wynyard (NZ) 

won the Tony Wise 

All-Around Champion 

> HEAVIEST WEIGHT LIFTED BY ... 

Nose (floss): Christopher 

Snipp (UK), 11 May 2013 

104 Record mania 

A 

- 15.8 kg 

64.12 kg 

14.9 kg 

64.12 

Forehead (hooks): 

Burnaby Q Orbax (CAN), 

21 Jun 2013 

Ears: Johnny Strange 

(UK), 12 Oct 2013 

Cheeks (hooks): 

Sweet Pepper Klopek 

(CAN), 21 Jun 2013 

a Toes: Guy Phillips 

(UK), 28 May 2011 

"The greatest weight 

ever raised by a human 

being", according to our 

1955 book, "is 4,333 lb 

(1.84 tons) [1,965 kg] by 

the 25-stone [158.7-kg] 

French-Canadian Louis Cyr 

(1863-1912) in Chicago in 

1896 in a back-lift (weight 

raised off trestles). Cyr 

had a 60Y2-in [153.6-cm] 

chest and 22-in (55.8-cm] 

biceps." Today, the fully 

notarized record stands 

at 2,422 kg for two cars 

(plus drivers) on a platform 

backlifted by Gregg Ernst 

(CAN) in Jul 1993.


HEAVI ES T ... 

Boat pulled by a 

team of swimmers 

A team of 73 people 

organized by lifeguard 

association SLRG Luzern 

(CHE) pulled a boat 

weighing 323.2 tonnes 

(712,534 1b) on 14 Sep 

2013 in Lucerne, 

Switzerland. They took 4 min 

34.72 sec to pull the boat 

100 m (328 ft) . 

George Olesen (DNK) 

recorded the heaviest boat 

pulled by an individual. 

The boat was a ferry 

weighing 10,300 tonnes 

(22.7 million lb) and he 

heaved it 5.1 m (16 ft 8.8 in) 

in Gothenburg, Sweden, 

in Jun 2000. 

Tyre spun 

around 

the body 

As well as 

breaking records 

with ordinary 

hula hoops, Paul 

Blair (USA) has 

shaken his stuff 

with a tyre weighing 

52.9 kg (1 16 1b 10 oz). 

Paul, who performs as 

Dizzy Hips, set his latest 

record on 8 Sap 2013. 

Fastest time to break 

16 concrete blocks on 

the body (female) 

Daniella D'Ville, aka Danielle Martin (UK), had 

16 concrete blocks smashed on her body - one 

at a time - in 30.40 sec with a sledgehammer 

wielded by fellow performer Johnny Strange 

(UK) at the Tattoo Jam in Doncaster, South 

Yorkshire, UK, on 12 Oct 2013. Each of 

the slabs had a minimum density of 

650 kg/m3 (41 lb/cu ft). 

Heaviest weight 

lifted by beard 

Vehicle pulled with an 

arm-wrestling move 

Kevin Fast (CAN) challenged 

a truck to an armwrestling 

contest - and 

won! With his elbow 

on a table in an armwrestling 

position, the 

multiple record holder 

pulled a truck weighing 

11,060 kg (24,380 I b) in 

Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, 

on 26 Apr 2013. Kevin 

also holds records for the 

heaviest aircraft pulled 

by a man (a Boeing 

C-17 Globemaster Ill 

weighing 

188.83 tonnes; 

416,299 lb), and the 

heaviest house pulled 

by a man (35.9 tonnes; 

79,145 lb). You can also see 

him setting a new cabertossing 

record on p.112. 

Yoke walk over 10 metres 

The yoke is a metal bar 

carried over the shoulders 

with weights either side. 

Patrik Baboumian (DEU, 

b. IRN) carried a weight of 

555 kg (1 ,224 lb) in Toronto, 

Ontario, Canada, on 

8 Sep 2013. 

Antanas Kontrimas (LTU) used his 

beard to lift 63.8 kg (141 lb) - in the 

shape of Rekorlar Dunyast presenter 

Gupse bzay'm - in Istanbul, Turkey, 

on 26 Jun 2013. It was his 10th 

consecutive successful attempt at 

a record he first set in 2000, when 

he lifted 55.7 kg (122 lb 11 oz). 

with his nipples at 

Bush Hall in london, 

UK, on 19 Jul 2013. 

Weight lifted with 

one ear using a clamp 

Rakesh Kumar (IND) used 

an ear clamp to lift 82.6 kg 

(182 lb 1 oz) in Istanbul, 

Turkey, on 25 Jul 2013. 

Vehicle pulled 

with ears (female) 

On 20 Jun 2013, Asha Rani 

(IND) used both ears to pull 

a 1,700-kg (3,745-lb) van in 

Leicestershire, UK. Back in 

Aug 201 2, she pulled a 

double-decker bus - at 

12,101 kg (26,678 lb), 

the heaviest vehicle 

'pulled by a woman using 

her hair - a distance of 

17.2 m (56 ft 5 in). 

• Heaviest vehicle pulled 

over 100 ft (female): Lia 

Grimanis (CAN) pulled a 

truck cab weighing 8,083 kg 

in To ronto, Ontario, Canada, 

on 12 Dec 2013. 

• Most kettlebell weight 

lifted in one minute with 

alternating floor presses: 

Anatoly Ezhov (BLR) lifted 

4,080 kg - 170 reps of a 

24-kg kettlebell lift - in 

Zurich, Switzerland, on 

27 Feb 2014. 

000 



Flexible friends 

Overall, women are more flexible than men of the same age 

Longest yoga 

marathon 

(female) 

During a 32-hr 

marathon, 

Yasmin 

Fudakowska 

Gow (CAN) 

completed 1,008 yoga 

positions at Om West 

Centre Holistique in Quebec, 

Canada, on 2-3 Aug 2010. 

The longest yoga 

marathon (male) lasted 

29 hr 4 min and was 

achieved by Michael Schwab 

(AUT) in Vienna, Austria, 

on 26-27 Sep 2009. 

AC RO BATICS 

Fastest escape 

from a straitjacket 

Sofia Romero (UK) freed 

herself from a regulated 

Posey straitjacket in 4.69 sec 

at the Aylestone Leisure 

Centre in Leicester, UK, on 

9 Jun 2011. 

The fastest escape 

from a straitjacket and 

chains while suspended is 

10.6 sec and was achieved 

by Lucas Wilson (CAN) at 

Holy Trinity Catholic High 

School in Simcoe, Ontario, 

Canada, on 8 Jun 2012. 

Wilson also recorded 

the fastest escape from a 

straitjacket underwater 

- 23.16 sec - at Ecole 

St Patrick high school in 

Yellowknife, Northwest 

Territories, Canada, on 

5 Oct 2013. 

Most people belly 

dancing simultaneously 

Danone Canarias (ESP) 

organized a mass belly 

dance involving 842 

performers at Playa de Las 

Canteras in Las Palmas, 

Gran Canaria, Spain, on 

29 May 2011. 

YOGA 

Longest yoga chain 

A chain of 696 students from 

the CK School of Practical 

Knowledge (IN D) formed a 

yoga chain in Cuddalore, 

India, on 30 Jan 2013. They 

performed five different yoga 

poses, including: Cow's 

Face (Gomukhasana), 

Child's (Balasana), Half 

Lotus (Padmasana) and 

Easy Seated (Sukhasana). 

Longest backflip 

Lukas Steiner 

(AUT) carried 

out a 4.26-m 

(13-ft 11.7-in) 

backflip in 

Milan, Italy, on 

28 Apr 2011. 

Longest time to hold the 

Marinelli bend position 

Los Angeles, Catlfomla, 

The guidelines require that the hand leaves the 

ground on each hop. 

Steiner also recorded the 

longest jump from feet to 

handstand (male). From 

a standing start, he leapt 

2.55 m (8 ft 4.39 in), landed 

on his hands and pressed 

himself into a handstand, 

held for 5 sec. The attempt 

was undertaken in 

Mittweida, Germany, 

on 10 Nov 2011. 

This extraordinarily demanding position requires the performer 

to sustain his or her entire body weight via a mouth grip on a short 

pole. Tsatsral Erdenebileg (MNG) maintained a Marinelli bend for 4 min 

17 sec on the set of Rekorlar Dunyas1 in Istanbul, Turkey, on 17 Jul 2013. 

> 

LARGEST ACTIVITY EVENTS 

Largest aerobics display: 50,420 participants, 15 Aug 2011 

FACT 

US gymnast George 

Eyser won six medals 

at the 1904 Olympics 

despite his wooden leg. 

tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt ; t ass: Supple 

difference 

Largest dance class: 

}') d' }') d' }') d' }') d' }') d' }') d' }') d' }') d' }') 

9,223 participants, 30 Apr 2010 

11 

******1\ 

Largest Zumba class: 

6,671 participants, 15 Sep 2012 

Largest pilates class: 

• el'l\ 3,486 participants, 2 Jun 2013 

 

t = 

1,000 participants 

Largest limbo dance: 

lJ\1 fill 1,208 children, 1 Oct 2011 

S6bastl4ttl Foucan. 

Parkour practitioners are 

known as "traceurs•, as 

they "trace" their way 

through their environment. 

Babies have a greater 

amount of soft cartilage 

than bone. In time, much 

of this hardens into bone 

-which is why adults 

are so much less flexible 

than babies. 

106 Recordmania

On 24 May 2010, Chase 

Armitage (UK) performed 

the longest backflip off a 

wall, measuring 3.48 m (11 ft 

5 in), for Zheng Da Zong Yi 

- Guinness World Records 

Special in Beijing, China. 

The most backflips 

against a 

"' 

wall in one 

minute is 29, by Miguel 

Marquez (ESP) for the same 

TV series in Beijing, China, 

on 19 Jun 2009. 

Most circular jumps 

on a wall in one minute 

To make a circular jump, 

performers use only their 

hands to spin the body 360° 

against a wall. On 24 Mar 

2010, Aung Zaw Oo (USA) 

carried out 11 circular jumps 

on a wall in Rome, Italy. 

Longest forward-jump 

flip/somersault 

Hasit Savani (UK) achieved a 

6-m (19-ft 7-in) forward-jump 


flip at Talacre Community 

Sports Centre in London, 

UK, on 15 Feb 2012. 

Most forward-roll 

frontflips in one minute 

Mathew Kaye (UK) managed 

17 forward-roll frontflips in 

a minute at Parkour Park 

in Chineham, Hampshire, 

UK, on 8 Sep 2010. On 

Farthest arrow shot using feet 

Nancy Siefker (USA) shot an arrow into a target 6.09 m (20 ft) 

away using only her feet on the set of Guinness World Records 

Unleashed in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 20 Jun 2013. 

The guidelines require that the target should be no more 

than 30 em (12 in) in diameter. However, Nancy, a circus 

performer, hit a target measuring just 13.9 em (5.5 in). 

Oldest person to 

perform a backflip 

Walter Liesner (DEU, 

b. 14 Jan 1913) was 


when he backflipped 

into a swimming pool in 

Wetzlar, Germany, on 9 Oct 

2007. Walter, a part-time 

gymnastics teacher for most 

of his life, shot to local fame 

aged 17 when he performed 

a handstand on the 

handrail at the top of 

the Wetzlar church 

tower, 42 m (137 ft) 

above the ground. 

Fastest escape from 

handcuffs underwater: 

3.425 sec, Thomas Blacke 

(USA), 25 Oct 2011 

Fastest escape 

from double-locked 

handcuffs: 1.59 sec, 

Chad Netherland (USA), 

8 Jan 2011 

escapes in one hour: 

627, Zdenek Bradac 

(CZE), 12 Feb 2010 

000 

107


Greatest weight juggled 

Ukrainian strongman Hercules, aka Denys 

llchenko, juggled three tyres weighing a total 

of 26.98 kg (59 lb 7 oz) in Nairn in the Scottish 

Highlands, UK, on 17 Jul 2013. The tyres stayed 

aloft for 32.43 sec on Denys's third attempt. 

Most apples held in own 

mouth and chainsawed 

in one minute 

Johnny Strange (UK) chainsawed 

eight apples in his mouth in a minute 

at Doncaster's Tattoo Jam in South 

Yorkshire, UK, on 12 Oct 2013. 

Teaming up with Daniella D'Ville 

(see opposite), Johnny also set a 

record for the most apples held 

in the mouth and cut in half by 

chainsaw in one minute, with 12. 

> 

LARGEST ANIMAL CIRCUS ACTS 

(') Jeff Dunham 

records Involving circus 

animals where we 

cannot be 100% sure of 

the animals' treatment 

and welfare. 

American ventriloquist and 

stand-up comedian Jeff 

Dunham holds the record 

for the most tickets sold 

for a stand-up comedy 

tour- his "Spark of 

Insanity" tour, which was 

performed in 386 venues 

worldwide from 13 Sep 

2007 to 21 Aug 2010, sold 

an incredible 1,981, 720 

tickets, presumably leaving 

Dunham laughing all the 

way to the bank. 

0 0 0


Most swords swallowed 

underwater 

The Space Cowboy, aka Chayne Hultgren 

(AUS), swallowed three swords underwater 

at the Olympic Park Aquatic Centre in 

Sydney, Australia, on 14 Nov 2013. 

Most melons chopped on 

the stomach on a nail bed 

Daniella D'Ville had 10 watermelons sliced 

on her stomach while lying on a bed of nails 

at Doncaster's Tattoo Jam on 12 Oct 2013. 

The most watermelons chopped on 

the stomach in one minute (no bed 

of nails) is 48, sliced by Bipin Larkin on 

Ashrita Furman (both USA) in Jamaica, 

New York, USA, on 30 Nov 2012. 

Most rotations of 

a sword balanced 

on a dagger 

Specialist circus 

sideshow performer 

Daniella D'Ville, aka 

Danielle Martin (UK), 

set a new record when 

she rotated a sword 

balanced on a dagger 

nine times in a minute 

at Doncaster's Tattoo 

Jam on 12 Oct 2013.


Indoor pursuits 

A 3 x 3 Rubik's Cube has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 permutations 

board game in Tribeca 

Central Park, Jakarta, 

Indonesia, on 16 Jun 2013. 

Longest board game 

marathon 

Brett Carow and Sam 

Hannemann (both USA) 

played 116 back-to-back 

games of Strat-0-Matic 

Baseball for 61 hr 2 min 

in New York City, USA, 

on 7-9 Jun 2012. 

CHESS 

Largest plastic-cup 

pyramid in 30 minutes 

Uri, Jonathan, Daniel 

and Oded Ish-Shalom 

{all USA) built a pyramid 

comprising 652 plastic 

cups in 30 min in 

Jerusalem, Israel, 

on 22 Feb 2012. 

Fastest sport stacking 

(individual cycle stack) 

William Polly (USA) set an 

individual cycle stack time 

of 5.59 sec at the WSSA 

Most people playing 

a board game 

simultaneously 

The Dokter Toy company 

(IDN) assembled 

1,239 people to 

play the Crazy 

Birds 

Fastest time to 

arrange a chess set 

Ray Butler (USA) set up 

a chess board in 41.87 sec 

in Las Vegas, Nevada, 

USA, on 18 Sep 2013. The 

fastest time to arrange 

a set by a team of two is 

41 .24 sec, by Tyler Eichman 

and John Walker {both USA) 

in Oconto, Wisconsin, USA, 

on 27 Nov 2013. 

Longest chess marathon 

On 17-19 Dec 2010, Daniel 

HauBier and Philipp 

Bergner (both DEU) 

played chess for 40 hr 

20 min in Ostfildern, 

Germany. HauBier won 191 

to Bergner's 114 games, 

with 50 draws. 

Most chess games 

played in one location 

The Sports Authority of 

Gujarat (IND) ran 20,480 

games simultaneously at the 

University of Gujarat Sports 

Grounds in Ahmedabad, 

India, on 24 Dec 2010. 

Largest chess set 

On 27 May 2009, the 

Medicine Hat Chess Club 

of Alberta, Canada, unveiled 

a set measuring 5.89 m (19 ft 

4 in) on each side. The king 

was 1.19 m (3 ft 10 in) tall 

and 37.4 em (1 ft 2 in) wide 

at its base. 

DOMINOES 

Most dominoes 

toppled by an individual 

Liu Yang (CHN) singlehandedly 

arranged then 

toppled 321,197 dominoes at 

CITIC Guoan Grand Epoch 

City in Beijing, China, on 

31 Dec 2011. 

Largest ball bath 

On 30 Oct 2013, the swimming pool at the 

Kerry Hotel in Pudong, Shanghai, China, was 

drained and filled with one million green and 

pink balls as part of Breast Cancer Awareness 

Month. The balls, which covered a surface area 

of 315.6 m2 (3,397 sq ft), were later sold to 

raise funds for charity. 

I • 15,000 dominoes


Sebastien Auroux (DEU) 2,033 2,122 

Frant;:ois Courtes (FRA) 1,651 1,780 2013 

Tallest 

domino 

structure 

A domino tower 6.02 m 

(19 ft 9.2 in) high and 

consisting of 11,465 

dominoes was erected 

and toppled by Yspertal 

Domino Team (AUT) in 

Yspertal, Austria, on 

3 Nov 2013. Pictured is 

Marcel POrrer, one of the 

team of four who built 

The tower formed 

the final part of a 

100,101-domino array 

built by 44 people over 

four days. 

Most solves in Rubik's Cube 

competitions in a single year 

In 2012, Sebastien Auroux (DEU) solved 2,033 

Rubik's Cubes in official World Cube Association 

competitions. This equates to 5.5 competitive 

solves every day and doesn't include any cubes 

solved outside of formal events. 

Zoe de Moffarts (BEL) 1,518 1,575 2012 

Arnaud van Galen (NLD) 1,481 1,568 2012 

Erik Akkersdijk (NLD) 1,477 1,609 2010 

Jan Bentlage (DEU) 1,452 1,517 2012 

Bence Banlt (HUN) 1,349 1,392 2010 

Clement Gallet (FRA) 1,213 1,249 201 1 

Tim Reynolds (USA) 1,205 1,281 2012 

Laura Ohrndorf (DEU) 1,193 1,295 2013 

Source: World Cube Association, as of 31 Dec 2013 

Longest domino wall 

Germany's Sinners Domino 

Entertainment holds multiple 

records for setting up and 

toppling dominoes. On 

6 Jul 2012, at the Wolfgang 

Ernst Gymnasium School in 

Budingen, Germany, Sinners 

erected - then toppled - a 

30-m-long (98-ft 5-in) wall 

built from 31,405 dominoes. 

On the same day, Sinners 

also set a record for the 

most dominoes toppled 

in a pyramid, with 13,486. 

Not content with this, 

they were back in action 

on 23 Oct 2012, this time in 

Kefenrod, Germany, with the 

most dominoes toppled 

in 30 seconds, setting up 

and toppling 60 pieces. 

Six months later, Sinners 

set another record for the 

most toppled in a spiral, 

with 55,555 on 12 Jul 2013. 

Most toppled 

in one minute 

Gemma Hansen (UK) set up 

and toppled 75 dominoes 

at Butlin's in Minehead, UK, 

on 7 Aug 2010. At the 2011 

event, also on 7 Aug, Andy 

James (UK) stacked 39 

dominoes in a single pile: the 

most dominoes stacked 

in one minute. Paul 

Lusher (UK) equalled 

his record on 

4 Sep 2011. 

World Cube 

Association fastest 

single solves 

12 x 2: Christian Kaserer 

(ITA), 0.69 sec 

4 x 4: Feliks Zemdegs 

(AUS), 24.66 sec 

5 x 5: Feliks Zemdegs 

(AUS), 50.50 sec 

6 x 6: Kevin Hays (USA), 

1 min 40.86 sec 

7 x 7: Bence Bani! (HUN), 

2 min 40.11 sec 

Megaminx: Simon 

Westlund (SWE), 42.28 sec 

Square-1 : Andrea 

Santambrogio (ITA), 7.41 sec 

Pyraminx: Oscar Roth 

Andersen (DEN), 1.36 sec 

Skewb: Brandon Harnish 

(USA), 2.19 sec 

Rubik's Clock: Sam Zhixiao 

Wang (CHN), 5.27 sec 

Correct as of 26 Feb 2014 

Most expensive ... 

Toy model car: 1930s 

W E Boyce delivery van, 

£19,975 ($35,728). 

Mickey Mouse toy: 

clockwork Mickey 

Mouse motorcycle, 

£51,000 ($83,466). 

Toy soldier: 1963 

prototype G I Joe, 

$200,000 (£124,309). 

Doll: 1914 French doll 

by Albert Marque, 

$263,000 (£162,181). 



outdoor pursuits 

Skateboarding was banned in Norway from 1978 to 1989 because of the high aGcident rate 

BUNGEE 

Highest dunk 

of a doughnut 

Ron Jones (USA) dunked a 

doughnut by bungee from 

60.55 m (198 ft 8 in) into 

a coffee cup measuring 

8.89 em (3.5 in) in diameter 

in California City, California, 

USA, on 7 Jul 2013. 

Highest bungee jump 

dive into water 

Raymond Woodcock (UK) 

was aged 72 when he 

bungee-jumped 115.9 m 

(380 ft) from a crane into 

water in Chepstow, UK, 

on 18 Aug 2013. 

Fastest 100 m in 

high-heeled roller-skates 

Most jumps in one hour 

Mike Heard (NZ) jumped 

80 times under Auckland 

Harbour Bridge on 

16 Sep 2011, using a cord 

measuring 9.5 m (31 ft 2 in). 

The most bungee 

jumps in 24 hours stands 

at 105, by Kevin Scott Huntly 

(ZAF) at Bloukrans Bridge, 

Garden Route, South Africa, 

on 8 May 2011. His time was 

7 hr 42 min - an average 

of one jump every 4.5 min, 

with a cord measuring 40 m 

(131 ft 3 in). 

FLYING DISC 

(FRISBEE) 

Fastest relay over 20 m 

On 6 May 2012, a 

team of five threw a 

disc in 8.74 sec. Tim, 

Daniel, Lindsey and 

Elyse Habenicht and 

Cliff West (all USA) 

were in College 

Station, Texas, 

USA. 

Longest throw 

caught by a dog 

Robert Mcleod 

(CAN) threw a disc 

122.5 m (402 ft) to 

Davy Whippet in 

Thorhild, Alberta, 

• 

Canada, on 14 Oct 2012. 

Another canine 

disc master is Beibei 

the border collie. His 

owner Liu Haiwang (CHN) 

helped him set the most 

catches by a dog over 

10 m in three minutes, 

with 18 in Beijing, China, 

on 7 Sep 2013. 

Longest throw 

to hit a target 

Brodie Smith (USA) dunked 

a disc into a basketball 

hoop from 45.7 m (150 ft) 

in Patterson Park in Austin, 

Texas, USA, on 3 Dec 2013. 

Brodie was not allowed to hit 

the backboard in the attempt. 

Most drink cans 

hit in one minute 

Robert Mcleod (CAN) hit 

28 cans at Edgemont World 

Health club in Calgary, 

Canada, on 28 Jan 2012. 

His other achievements 

include setting the longest 

throw, run and catch on 

ice skates, with 73.2 m 

(240 ft) on 24 Feb 2013, and 

the longest time for a disc 

to stay aloft thrown from 

ice skates, with 12.03 sec 

in Edmonton, Canada, on 

23 Feb 2013. 

POGO STICK 

Fastest mile 

dribbling a basketball 

On 9 Aug 2013, Ashrita 

Furman (USA) pogo-sticked 

a mile - while controlling 

a bouncing basketball - in 

23 min 2.91 sec in New York 

City, USA. Ashrita's eight 

pogo records include the 

fastest mile, set on 24 Jul 

2001 at 12 min 16 sec. 

Kevin Fast (CAN) 

tossed 14 cabers 

in Quinta West, 

Ontario, Canada, 

on 7 Sep 2013. 

Kevin has been 

setting records 

for many years 

and currently 

holds eight 

records for 

feats of 

Marawa Ibrahim (AUS) glided 100 m in 

26.10 sec in Regent's Park, London, UK, 

on 21 Aug 2013 while wearing her custommade 

13-cm-high (5.1-in) high-heeled 

roller-skates. "Marawa the Amazing", 

as she is known, manages a troupe 

of majorettes who perform in the UK . 

• 

Fastest one mile: 12 min 

16 sec, Ashrita Furman 

(USA), 24 Jul 2001 

Most balloons popped 

in one minute: 57, Mark 

Aldridge (UK), 1 Apr 2010 

Most consecutive front 

flips: 5, Jake Gartland 

(USA), 28 Jul 2011 

Most consecutive 

backflips: 17, Fred 

Grzybowski (USA), 

19 Dec 2013 

Farthest distance 

underwater: 512.06 m, 

Ashrita Furman (USA), 

1 Aug 2007 

Roller Gymnaatics Team 

(USA), four storeys high, 

Pennsylvania, USA, 1985. 

112 Recordmania


Most consecutive jumps 

James Roumeliotis (USA) 

recorded 70,271 consecutive 

pogo jumps - i.e., without a 

break and without falling off 

- at Pogopalooza 10 in New 

York, USA, on 26 Jul 2013. 

James had previously 

set the record for the 

most bounces in a pogo 

marathon, with an anklecrushing 

206,864 jumps. His 

attempt took 20 hr 13 min at 

Pogopalooza 8 in California, 

USA, on 29 Jul 2011. James 

commented afterwards, "My 

calves are killing me. My 

ankles are swollen. I can't 

actually feel my hands, my 

right thumb especially." 

ROLLER-SKATING 

Longest forward jump 

Jeff Dupont (USA) jumped 

6.18 m (20 ft 3 in) without 

using a ramp at the 

Willamalane Center for 

Sports and Recreation in 

Springfield, Oregon, USA, 

on 12 Feb 2012. 

Highest forward 

flip jump on 

a pogo stick 

Biff Hutchison (USA) 

jumped 2.49 m (8 ft 

2 in) in Tompkins 

Square Park, New 

Yo rk, USA, on 27 Jul 

2013. The next day he 

set the highest jump 

on a pogo stick at 

2.93 m (9 ft 7.5 in). 

Most spins while 

carrying two people 

On 10 Dec 2012, Liu 

Jiangshan made 

17 consecutive 

360° spins on 

roller-skates while hanging 

on to Wang Chenyu and 

Yang Liangliang (all CHN) 

in Beijing, China. 

SLINGSHOT 

Longest slingshot 

The greatest distance 

achieved launching 

an object from a sling 

is 477.10 m (1 ,565 It 

4 in), using a 1 .27-m-long 

(4-ft 2-in) sling and a 62-g 

(2.25-oz) dart, by David 

Engvall (USA) at Baldwin 

Lake, California, USA, on 

13 Sep 1992. 

Longest chain 

of roller-skaters 

The Clyde 1 radio station and ScotRail (both UK) set in 

motion 254 participants in a roller-skating line in Glasgow, UK, 

on 8 Sep 2013. They were led by Clyde 1 DJ Diane Knox-Campbell. 

in one minute 

Michael McClure (USA) used 

metal balls to strike 13 drinks 

cans with a slingshot - from 

1 0 m (33 It) - at the East 

Coast Slingshot Tournament 

in Alverton, Pennsylvania, 

USA, on 8 Jun 2013. 

Pie's the limit: flying disc history 

FACT 

Mountain biking was 

adopted as an Olympic 

sport in 1996. BMX 

followed in 2008. 



whee 1e ood 

The skateboard ollie is named after its inventor, Alan "Ollie" Gelfand 

Highest vertical drop 

Wayne Mahomet (UK) made 

a vertical drop of 4.1 m (13 ft 

5 in) on his bicycle at the 

Dounby Show in Dounby, 

Orkney Islands, UK, on 

8 Aug 2013. 

First double loop by a car 

Gary Hoptrough (UK) 

conquered the "Deadly 

720" by completing two 

8-m-diameter (26-ft) 360° 

loops in a Rage R180 

buggy on Top Gear Live at 

Moses Mabhida Stadium 

in Durban, South Africa, 

on 16 Jur1 2012. 

Longest individual 

ATV side wheelie 

On 30 Oct 2012, Daniel 

Adams (USA) executed a 

27.17-km (16.89-mi) wheelie 

on the side wheels of an 

all-terrain vehicle (ATV) near 

Grantsville in Utah, USA. 

Longest UTV ramp jump 

Tanner Godfrey (USA) made 

a 32.08-m (105-ft 3-in) ramp 

jump in a utility terrain vehicle 

(UTV) at Eureka Casino 

Resort in Mesquite, Nevada, 

USA, on 22 Feb 2013. 

BICYCLE 

Most 180° jumps 

in one minute 

The greatest number of 180° 

jumps on a bicycle in a minute 

is 43, by Daniel Rail (DEU) at 

Comtech Arena in Aspach, 

Germany, on 13 Jul 2013. 

Fastest 10-obstacle 

slalom (blindfolded) 

On 23 Jul 2013, Juan Ruiz 

(MEX) negotiated his bicycle 

around 10 obstacles set 

randomly on a 20-m (66-ft) 

slalom course in 25.43 sec 

on the set of Guinness World 

Records - Rekorlar DQnyast 

in Istanbul, Turkey. Juan 

has been blind since birth 

and used echolocation to 

achieve the feat. 

Fastest 100 miles 

ian Cammish (UK) took 3 hr 

11 min 11 sec to cycle 100 mi 

(161 km) on 10 Aug 1993. 

The fastest 100 miles 

by a woman is 3 hr 49 min 

42 sec, by Pauline Strong 

(UK) on 18 Oct 1991 . 

Farthest wheelie on 

front wheel with feet 

off the pedals 

Andreas Lindqvist (SWE) 

carried out a 316-m (1 ,036-ft 

. . 

- . §!, 

8-in) front-wheel wheelie 

without his feet touching the 

pedals of his bike on the set 

of Guinness Rekord TV at 

Liljeholmshallen, Stockholm, 

Sweden, on 6 Oct 2001 . 

On the same show, 

Lindqvist also performed 

the longest duration 

bicycle wheelie on the 

front wheel with feet off 

the pedals, staying aloft 

for 2 min 20 sec. 

Most BMX megaspins 

in 30 seconds 

A BMX megaspin involves 

standing on a rear peg, 

@ p A _A holding on to the 

@ll' 

@ll'@ 

A 

dlebars and, 

with the front wheel raised, 

kicking the rear lyre so that 

the bike spins. On 19 Jul 

2013, pro rider Takahiro Ikeda 

(JPN) performed 45 spins in 

30 sec in K5t6, Tokyo, Japan. 

MOTORCYCLE 

Longest jump with 

backflip on' a minimoto 

On 9 Oct 2012, Ricardo 

Piedras (ESP) carried out 

a 14.74-m-long (48-ft 4-in) 

jump with backflip on a 

minimoto (minibike) in 

Barcelona, Spain. 

Longest dirt-to-dirt motorcycle ramp jump 

The greatest distance covered in a dirt-to-dirt motorcycle ramp jump is 

90.69 m (297 ft 6 in), by Alex Harvill (USA) at the Horn Rapids Motorsports 

Complex in West Richland, Washington, USA, on 6 Jul 2013. He reached 

a speed of 154 km/h (96 mph) on the approach to the take-off ramp. 

Car In reverse: 

18.62 m, Top Gear stuntman (UK) 

Bicycle (assisted): 

35.63 m, Colin 

Winkelmann (USA) 

Monster truck: 

65.43 m, Dan Runte (USA) 

FACT 

The 2011 film Drive 

(USA), starring Ryan 

Gosling, was directed by 

Nicolas Winding Refn, 

who has never owned 

a driving licence. 

Om 

114 Recordmania


SKATEBOARD 

at 48.5 km/h (30.1 mph) on the frozen Schwatka 

Lake near Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. 

Longest stoppie 

The greatest distance for 

a stop pie (aka endo or 

front-wheel wheelie) on a 

motorcycle is 402.42 m 

(1 ,320 ft 4 in). It was achieved 

by Jesse Toler (USA) at 

the Charlotte Diesel Super 

Show staged at the ZMAX 

Dragway in North Carolina, 

USA, on 5 Oct 2012. 

Most switchback zero 

rotations in one minute 

For this record, a rider must 

be seated back-to-front on 

a motorcycle ("switchback 

zero"), without touching 

it with his or her hands, 

and rotate the machine 

through 360°. On 22 Aug 

2013, British rider Mark Van 

Oriel completed a total of 

13 motorcycle switchback 

zero rotations in one minute 

on the set of Officially 

Amazing in Mildenhall, 

Suffolk, UK. 

Most steps 

climbed by bicycle 

Krystian Herba (POL) 

climbed all 2,754 steps 

of the World Financial 

Center in Shanghai, 

China, by bike on 

17 Mar 2013. He did so, 

without touching the 

walls or putting his feet 

on the floor, in a time 

of 1 hr 21 min 53 sec. 

Fastest 110-m hurdles 

by hippy jumps 

A hippy jump involves 

jumping off a moving 

board and over an 

obstacle while the 

skateboard passes 

beneath. Steffen Koster 

(DEU) hippy-jumped along 

a 110-m (360-ft) hurdle 

course in 29.98 sec in Rust, 

Germany, on 19 Jun 2013. 


slalom 100 cones 

On 16 Aug 2013, Janis 

Kuzmins (LVA) slalomed his 

board through 100 cones 

in 19.41 sec on the set 

of CCTV Guinness World 

Records Special at the Asia 

Pacific Experimental School 

of Beijing Normal University 

in Beijing, China. 

Farthest distance 

in 24 hours 

Andrew Andras 

(USA) travelled 

431 .33 km (261 .8 mi) 

on his skateboard in 

24 hr at the Homestead 

Miami Speedway in 

Homestead, Florida, 

USA, on 7-8 Jan 2013. 

On the same date 

and at the same venue, 

Colleen Pelech (USA) 

achieved the farthest 

distance travelled 

on a skateboard in 

24 hours (female): 

269.08 km (167.2 mi). 

Most ollie 180s in a minute 

Eric Carlin (USA) performed 

25 skateboard ollie 180s in 

60 sec in Mount Laurel, New 

Jersey, USA, on 2 Jul 2013. 

at the Society 

skate shop in 

San Carlos, 

California, USA, 

on 11 May 2013. 

Most shove-its 

On 5 Sep 2013, 

Gabriel Pena 

(USA) executed 

33 shove-its (t 

180°-0r-m .. ard 

spin) in 30 sec in 

Houston, Texas, USA. 

Fastest motorcycle wheelie on ice 

On 27 Jan 2013, Ryan Suchanek (USA) carried out a wheelie at a speed of 

174.6 km/h (108.5 mph) across the frozen Lake Koshkonong in Wisconsin, 

USA. In doing so, he broke his own existing world record by 21.7 km/h 

(13.5 mph). The speed was measured over a distance of 100 m (328 ft). 

Caballerial: a 360' turn 

with the skater's back 

facing the ramp. Named 

after Steve Caballero. 

McTwist: a 540' turn on 

a ramp. 

Ollie: a jump in which the 

tail of the board is smacked 

("popped") on the ground. 

In a "nellie", the nose of the 

board hits the ground. 

Railslide: sliding the 

underside of the board 

along an object. 0 0 0 



Mass participation 

in Oct 2011 is almost four times the population of the Falkland Islands 

Grin Club Limited, Grin 

Kitchen Limited and Ma On 

Shan Tsung Tsin secondary 

school (all HKG) in Hong 

Kong, China, on 7 Sep 2013. 

to the human ear - i.e., excluding extreme 

highs and lows. 

LARGEST ... 

AED training session 

Automated External 

Defibrillators (AED) diagnose 

and treat heart conditions. 

A training session for 

2,109 participants on 

the machines was held 

by AED4all.com, Anne-Marie 

Willems and Rene Verlaak 

(all NLD) in Nijmegen, 

Netherlands, on 29 May 2013. 

Baking lesson 

Much dough was kneaded 

by 426 students of Green 

Barbecue 

Try to guess how much food 

you need for a barbecue for 

45,252 people. Ingredients 

used by Estado de Nuevo 

Le6n (MEX) included 

15.5 tonnes (34,000 lb) of 

angus beef with 18 tonnes 

(39,500 lb) of onions and 

15 tonnes (33,000 lb) of 

corn tortillas, topped with 

16 tonnes (35,000 lb) of 

salsa. It took place in Parque 

Fundidora in Monterrey, 

Mexico, on 18 Aug 2013. 

Barefoot walk 

The National Service Scheme 

Cell of Acharya Nagarjuna 

University (IND) took 7,050 

people for a shoe-free stroll 

in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, 

India, on 12 Dec 2012. 

Gathering of professional 

clown doctors 

Clown doctors can ease 

difficult and frightening 

procedures in hospital for 

sick young people. On 

30 Jan 2013, a group of 

153 clowns marked the 

20th anniversary of the 

clown doctoring work done 

by the Theodora Foundation, 

headquartered in Bern, 

Switzerland. 

Largest gathering of people 

dressed as penguins 

Children's hospice Richard House got 325 oversized penguins 

to waddle together in Wood Wharf, London, UK, on Guinness 

World Records Day on 13 Nov 2013. 

1 ' 

Largest anti-war rally: 

3 million, Italy, 2003 

/ J j J ' .: 't .:' ._L. ... 

;._.w...-....,- 

.. 

by 700 cooks and porters. 

The occasion was a War 

Memorial fund raising effort 

by Freemasons."

I LARGEST GATHERING OF PEOPLE DRESSED ••• 

jcategory 

1 as Mohandas 

;;!/ Gandhi 

People 

2,955 


I 

Organizer/Event 

Sowdambikaa 

Group of Schools 

Location 

Tiruchirappalli, India 

Datej 

11 Oct 2013 

with false 2,268 

moustaches 

!) as witches 1,607 

3 as Star Trek 1,063 

::.1 characters 

as Saint Patrick 882 

City of Fairfield & Fairfield 

RAGBRAI Committee 

La Bruixa d'Or 

Media 10 Ltd 

Saint Brigid's 

National School 

Fairfield, Iowa, USA 

Sort, Lleida, Spain 

ExCeL, London, UK 

Castleknock, Dublin, 

Ireland 

26 Jul 2013 

16 Nov 2013 

20 Oct 2012 

14 Mar 2013 

Carolling 

The Waukesha Downtown 

Business Association (USA) 

cajoled 1 ,822 carol singers in 

Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA, 

on 22 Nov 2013. 

as fairies 871 

as Superman 867 

in one-piece 752 

pyjamas (onesies) 

St Giles Hospice 

Escapade, Kendal Calling 

Henry Allen Onesie 

Angels 

Lichfield, 

Staffordshire, UK 

Lowther Deer Park, 

Cumbria, UK 

StadiumMK, 

Milton Keynes, UK 

22 Jun 2013 

27 Jul 2013 

2 Nov 2013 

On a single bed 

Leaving no room to roll over, 

54 people were crammed 

on a single bed by Xilinmen 

Furniture in Beijing, China, 

on 7 Sep 2013. 

as nurses 691 

as trees 516 

as cows 470 

Dubai Health Authority 

OSrodek Kultury Lesnej 

w Goluch6wie 

Chick-fil-A 

Dubai, UAE 

Go/uch6w, Poland 

George Mason 

University, Virginia, 

USA 

24 Jan 2014 

30 Sep 2013 

2 Jul 2013 

Blowing bubble gum 

bubbles 

Lester B Pearson Public 

School in Aurora, Canada, 

organized 544 people to 

simultaneously blow gum 

bubbles on 6 Jun 2013. 

as monks 463 

in Disney 361 

costumes 

Ardfert Central National 

School 

Walsgrave Church of 

England Primary School 

Ardfert, County 

Kerry, Ireland 

Coventry, UK 

11 May 2013 

12 Jul 2013 

Blowing up balloons 

A different kind of blowing 

saw Bayer Yakuhin (JPN) 

organize 2,639 simultaneous 

balloon inflations on 14 Jan 

2014, in Osaka, Japan. 

MOST PEOPLE ... 

On the same drum 

Queen's "We Will Rock You" 

was an anthemic choice for 

263 people playing a drum 

measuring 10 m (32 ft 9 in) 

in diameter and 1.6 m (5 ft 

2 in) high. Organized by 

PLAY (POL), the event 

took place at Przystanek 

Woodstock in Kostrzyn 

nad Odra, Poland, 

on 2 Aug 2013. 

Painting buildings at once 

On 18 May 2013, Slovenian 

paint manufacturer Helios 

put 1,272 painters to work 

across nine 

venues. 

Singing a national 

anthem simultaneously 

A total of 121,653 employees 

from the Sahara India 

Pariwar company sang 

India's national anthem 

in Lucknow, India, on 

6 May 2013. 

• Most people shaking 

cocktails simultaneously: 

1,710, Diageo (UK), 18 Sep 

2013 

• Most people popping 

party poppers: 743, 

Grey Court School (UK), 

17 Jul 2013 

• Longest high-five chain: 

695 people, St Francis of 

Assisi Primary School and 

Calwell High School (both 

AUS), 27 Sep 2013 

000 



No a1n no a1n 

Owing to a genetic anomaly, redheads are more susceptible to pain 

Longest time in full-body 

contact with snow 

Oleksiy Gutsulyak (UKR) 

endured 60 min 8 sec of 

close contact with snow 

in the Kyrylo Tryliovski City 

Park in Kolomyia, Ukraine, 

on 25 Jan 2013. 

Longest time to hold the 

breath voluntarily (male) 

Stig Severinsen (DNK) held 

his breath underwater for 

exactly 22 min at the London 

School of Diving in London, 

UK, on 3 May 2012. The 

female record is held by 

Karoline Mariechen Meyer 

(BRA), who held her breath 

for 18 min 32.59 sec in the 

Racer Academy swimming 

pool in Florian6polis, Brazil, 

on 10 Jul 2009. 

Most animal 

traps released on 

the body in one minute 

On 12 Oct 2013, Johnny Strange (UK) 

set off six vintage animal traps on his body 

in a minute at Doncaster's Tattoo Jam, held at 

Doncaster Racecourse in South Yorkshire, UK. 

All of the traps were once used to catch rabbits. 

It's one of six GWR records that this sideshow 

(e 48 hr (male): 405.22 km 

eJ 

Tony Mangan (IRL), 22-24 Aug 2008 

(e 48 hr (female): 309.8 km eJ Martina Schmit (AUT), 10-12 Mar 2006 

{1'10·24hr(m:a:le): ==;e) 257.88 km, Suresh Joachim (AUS), 28-29 Nov 2004 

- 

{l...,e._2 ;···· ,.. 4 .. hr_.(f .. e .. m .. a .. le._J= _ 

... e..,!J 247.2 km, Edit Berces (HUN), 8-9 Mar 2004 

(e12 hr eJ (male): 123.4 km, Eusebio Bochons (CHE/ESP), 7 Dec 2013 

('i'1!Ei'} (female): 96.8 km, Theresa Dugwell (CAN), 2 Mar 2013 

Longest full-body burn 

(without oxygen) 

The greatest duration for 

a full-body burn without 

oxygen is 5 min 25 sec. 

The fiery feat was 

accomplished by Jayson 

Dumenigo (USA) in Santa 

Clarita, California, USA, 

on 27 Mar 2011. 

The most people to 

perform simultaneous 

full-body burns is 21 , 

achieved during an event 

organized by Ted Batchelor 

and Hotcards.com (both 

USA) at the Hotcards Burn 

in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 

on 19 Oct 2013. 

The fastest time to 

run through 10 locked 

and burning doors is 

12.84 sec, performed by 

Chris Roseboro (USA) on 

FACT 

William Staub created 

the home treadmill in the 

1960s. It was initially 

sold under the name 

PaceM aster. 

common feature in UK 

prisons. Engineer William 

Cubit! (UK) introduced 

them c. 1818, variously to 

supply power, grind corn 

and punish prisoners. They 

were abolished in 1898. 

118 Recordmania



Records Unleashed in 

California City, California, 


Most nails inserted into 

the nose in 30 seconds 

Burnaby Q Orbax (CAN) 

inserted 12 nails into - then 

out of - his nose, one at a 

time, in 30 sec in London, 

UK, on 22 Jun 2013. Each 

nail was 10 em (4 in) long. 

Heaviest vehicle pulled 

using a hook through the 

nasal cavity and mouth 

On 5 Jun 2013, Ryan Stock 

(CAN) pulled a 983-kg 

(2,167-lb) Volkswagen Beetle 

-with two women inside it - 

using a hook fed through his 

nasal cavity and out of his 

mouth for Rekorlar Dunyas1 

in Istanbul, Turkey. 

MOST ... 

Arrows broken 

by the neck in 

one minute 

Fitness 

enthusiast 

Michael Gillette 

(USA) snapped 12 

arrows by placing 

the sharp end of 

each one against 

his throat - in the 

jugular notch - and forcing 

the other end against a wall 

in Los Angeles, California, 

USA, on 27 Jun 2013. 

Ceramic slabs broken 

by the head by forward 

flips in one minute 

In just 60 sec, Michael 

Gonzalez (USA) smashed 

43 ceramic slabs with his 

head, following a forward 

flip, on the set of Guinness 

World Records Unleashed 

in Los Angeles, California, 


Concrete blocks broken 

in one minute (male} 

Ali Bah9etepe (TUR) 

smashed 1,175 concrete 

blocks by hand in 

Cumhuriyet Mevdam.. 

Turkey, on 17 

Ali is something of a past 

master when it comes to 

concrete deconstruction. 

Over the years, he has 

also recorded the most 

concrete blocks broken 

in 30 seconds (683) and 

the most concrete blocks 

broken in one stack (36). 

Ice blocks broken by 

a human battering ram 

Ugur Oztlirk (TUR) rammed 

through 14 ice blocks for 

Rekorlar Dunyas1 in Istanbul, 

Turkey, on 26 Jun 2013. 

Most rope skips on a 

bed of nails over a person 

As if lying on a bed of nails isn't testing enough, 

Amy Bruney skipped 117 times on top of a 

bed of nails balanced over her husband Jon 

Bruney (both USA) on the set of Guinness World 

Records Unleashed in Los Angeles, California, 

USA, on 25 Jun 2013. 

Pine boards broken with 

the elbow in one minute 

Mohammad Rashid (PAK) 

broke 68 pine boards with 

his elbow in one minute at 

the Punjab Youth Festival 

in Lahore, Pakistan, on 

13 Mar 2013. At the same 

event on the same day, 

1 ,450 attendees also set the 

record for the most people 

arm wrestling. 

The following year, 

perhaps looking for less 

painful records to attempt, 

the festival organizers 

formed the largest 

human flag, involving 

28,957 participants at 

the National Hockey Stadium 

in Lahore on 15 Feb. 

Paddy Doyle 

takes the strain 

Most star jumps in one 

minute carrying a 100-lb 

pack: 33, on 10 Nov 2013 

Most step-ups in one minute 

carrying a 100-lb pack: 

31 , on 17 Aug 2013 

Fastest cross-country 

half marathon carrying 

a 100-lb pack: 4 hr 18 min, 

on 22 Jun 2013 

Most squat thrusts in one 

minute with a 40-lb pack: 

21, on 28 Mar 2011 

000 


o 


Modern wor d 

There are 250 births every minute ... and 105 deaths 

Largest collection of 

US presidential memorabilia 

Ronald Wade (USA) owned 6,960 items of memorabilia with a US 

presidential theme as of 14 Oct 2013. Ronald started his collection 

with a badge at the age of 10, and after graduation became a 

White House page during Richard Nixon's presidency 

(1969-74). He has also donated many items to the 

Bush Library outside Dallas and has had a replica of 

the Oval Office built in his house in Longview, Texas. 

> 

120 Diamond anniversar}


Contents 

1 =1) :l'lJ :« \ } 

/ 

' ! 

" 

I - 

' . 

. • . .II 

Flashback: 

Riche$t people 

World at war 

Hot spots 126 

Travel & tourism 128 

Shipping 130 

World of chance 132 

Fakes, frauds 

& forgeries 134 

Money & economics 136 

Internet 138 

Crowdsourcing 140 

The site for the White 

House was chosen by 

the first US president, 

George Washington, in 

1791. John Adams, the 

second president, was 

the first one to actually 

live there, in 1800. 



peop e 

Even if he spent $1 m a day, it would still take the richest man nearly 200 years to spend all of his cash! 

Meet the oil barons, retail magnates and tech tycoons who are all 

members of the exclusive Guinness World Records Super-Rich Club - the 

16 men (and yes, they're all men, and all but four of them American) who've 

held the record for the wealthiest living person over the past 60 years. 

"The meek shall inherit 

the Earth, but not its 

mineral rights." So 

said Jean Paul Getty 

(USA), the oil baron who 

was the world's richest 

person for seven of the 

last 60 years. He was not 

alone in oil - one in four 

of our featured billionaires 

owed their megabucks 

to a vice-like grip on our 

natural resources. 

Oil is no longer such a 

king. More recent entrants to 

the Billionaires' Club found 

their fortunes by trading in 

less tangible goods such as 

software and media rights, 

or have a near magical ability 

to read the stock markets. 

In real terms, the richest 

man to emerge since we 

started publishing in 1955 is 

Bill Gates (USA). Adjusted for 

inflation, his software-based 

fortune via Microsoft reached 

an almost inconceivable 

$120 bn (£75 bn) in 2000. 

It was built on the back of 

the dot-com boom, which, 

in the USA, saw the value 

of shares on the NASDAQ 

stock exchange more than 

double in the year up to 

10 Mar 2000. Alas, all good 

things come to an end, 

and the wheel of fortune 

crushed many of those same 

companies: just 12 months 

later, most NASDAQ dotcams 

had ceased trading. 

Bill Gates survived, 

although, by the end of 

2001, even he was down to 

his last $77.8 bn (£48.5 bn). 

FACT 

The business 

card of gangster 

Alphonse Gabriel 

,...,.-.. 

- "AI" Capone read: 

"Second-hand 

furniture dealer." 

00 bn 

$90 bn 

$60 bn 

FACT 


has been published 

every year since 1955, 

with the exception of 

1957, 1959 and 1963. 

We have included the 

FACT 

record for the richest 

J T Williamson's 

person in every edition. 

wealth was never 

-!- $ '-3_ 0 _ b n --l stated explicitly in the 1--------------------- 

first Guinness Book 

of Records ; his entry 

merely stated that his 

wealth "transcends 

$20 bn all other personal 

fortunes". 

Jun Paul Getty 

(USA, 1892-1976) 

Record: 1958, 

1960-61, 1964-67 

lnduatry: Oil, 

building on empire 

of father George 

Frenklln Getty 

Puk: $3 bn 

AdJuatecl: $22.2 bn 

Daniel K Ludwig 

(USA, 1897-1992) 

Record: 1972-77, 

1979-81 

Industry: Shipping, 

oil, banking, 

cattle, insurance, 

property, hotels 

Peak: $3 bn 

Adjusted: $16.5 bn 

John D MacArthur 

(USA, 1897-1978) 

Record: 1978 

Industry: 

Insurance (with 

wife Catherine), 

property, mainly 

in Florida, USA 

Puk: $1.72 bn 

AdJuatecl: $8 bn 

David Packard 

(USA, 1912-96) 

Record: 1984-85 

Industry: IT and 

computing, cofounding 

Hewlett 

Packard with Bill 

Hewlett in 1939 

Peak: $1.8 bn 


1 22 Modern world

TOP 10 RICHEST PEOPLE IN 2014 

-- -· 

- ----- 

Of the richest person record holders over the last 60 years, 

only three feature in the current top 10. 


FACT 

Name Amount Industry Age If Bill Gates were 

still worth $120 bn 

e Bill Gates (USA) $75.9 bn Software 58 

today, his wealth 

Carlos Slim Helu (MEX) $71 bn Telecoms 73 would be greater 

than the GOP of 

Amancio Ortega (ESP) $62.7 bn Textiles 

134 of the world's 

192 countries. 

e Warren Buffett (USA) $58.6 bn Investment 83 

lngvar Kamprad (SWE) $51.9 bn Retail 87 

Charles Koch (USA) $46.9 bn Engineering 78 

!---- 

David Koch (USA) 

Larry Ellison (USA) $43 bn Software 69 

Christy Walton (USA) $36.9 bn Retail 59 

Sheldon Adelson (USA) $35.4 bn Casinos 80 

Wealth average taken from: bloomberg.com, celebritynetworth.com, 

citywire.co.uk, forbes. com, londonlovesbusiness.com and 

nationaljourna/.com 

77 

73 

Key 

Each bar represents the dollar 

value of each person in a given 

year; bars are shown to scale 

based on their actual known 

wealth at the time, plus this 

figure adjusted for inflation 

to the value at today's figures. 

inflation adjusted 

actual 

Who wants to be 

a quadrillionaire? 

In Jun 201 3, it was reported that Christopher 

Reynolds (USA) became the first trillionaire 

and first quadrillionaire when a (brief) 

bank error in his favour resulted in a balance 

of $92,233,720,368,547,800 in his PayPal 

account. Reportedly, when asked what he 

would have spent the money on, Reynolds said, 

"I probably would have paid down the national debt." 

He would have been able to do that and then some, 

given that his balance was 1,200 times greater than 

the GDP of every country in the world combined! 

0 

Cl) 

01 

... 

It) 

Cl) 

01 

... 

0 

01 

01 

... 

It) 

01 

01 

... 

0 

0 

0 

C'\1 

It) 

0 

0 

C'\1 

0 

... 

0 

C'\1 

S Robson Walton 

(USA. b. 1944) 

Record: 1993 

Industry: Oldest 

son of Sam Walton, 

chairman of 

Walmart (biggest 

retailer in 2013) 

Peak: $10 bn 


John Werner 

Kluge (DEU, 

1914-2010) 

Record: 1994 

Industry: Mainly 

media, including 

TV, radio and 

advertising 

Peak: $8.1 bn 


Bill Gates 

(USA, b. 1955) 

Record: 1997- 

2008, 2010, 2014 

Industry: Software 

engineering, 

founder of 

Microsoft 

Peak: $90 bn 

Adjusted: $120 bn 

Carlos Slim Helu 

(MEX, b. 1940) 

Record: 2011-13 

Industry: 

Telecoms, after 

stockbroking, 

investment and 

general business 

Peak: $74 bn 

Adjusted: $74 bn 



o Wor d at war 

There has not been a 25-year period without war since 1495 · 

Least peaceful country 

Created by the Institute for Economics and Peace, 

the Global Peace Index ranks countries by the 

safety of their citizens, the extent of conflict and 

the degree of militarization. The index runs from 

1 to 5, where 1 represents peace. As of 2013, 

Afghanistan was rated least at peace (3.440), with 

Somalia second-least peaceful and Syria third. 

Most peaceful country 

As of 2013, Iceland was No.1 

on the Global Peace Index 

(see above) with a score of 

1.162. Denmark was second 

and New Zealand was 

ranked third. 

Highest defence budget 

The USA had a defence 

budget totalling $645.7 bn 

(£399.3 bn) in 2012. 

Longest civil war 

of modern times 

Least secure 

nation in relation 

to nuclear weapons 

In 2012, the Economist 

Intelligence Unit and the 

Nuclear Threat Initiative 

(a non-governmental 

organization) reported that 

of the 32 nations with more 

than 1 kg (2.2 lb) of 

weapons-grade nuclear 

material, North Korea 

is the least secure. 

The state's leader, 

Kim Jong-un - aged 

31, according to 

official reports - is the 

youngest state leader to 

control nuclear weapons. 

As of 2012, these sources 

rank Australia as the most 

secure nation in relation 

to nuclear weapons. 

The civil war in Myanmar started shortly after the 

country - formerly known as Burma - achieved 

independence from the UK on 4 Jan 1948, and 

it continues to the present day. Small armed 

groups are active in the west and, according to 

Amnesty International, clashes in Rakhine State 

started in Jun 2012 and have continued since. 

Largest 

refugee camp 

According to the humanitarian aid charity 

Cooperative for Assistance and Relief 

Everywhere (CARE), the Dadaab refugee camp 

in Kenya, Africa, is the largest in the world. On 

29 Apr 2013, its registered refugee population 

stood at 423,496 - nearly five times the size the 

camp was originally built to accommodate. Most 

of the refugees are from neighbouring Somalia. 

Most civilian deaths 

in an undeclared civil war 

Accurately recording deaths 

in any conflict is difficult 

and subject to variation 

of numbers. However, the 

United Nations estimated 

on 24 Jul 2013 that 100,000 

people had died in Syria 

since the start of hostilities 

in Mar 2011. On 24 Sep 

2013, France is reported to 

have told the UN General 

Assembly that 120,000 

people had been killed in 

Syria. In Oct 2013, the Syrian 

Observatory for Human 

Rights, based in the UK, also 

reported 120,000 fatalities. 

Deadliest conflict for 

children (current) 

In the Nov 2013 report 

"Stolen Futures" 

(spanning Mar 2011 

to Aug 2013) by the 

Oxford Research 

Group, 11,420 victims 

aged 17 and under are 

believed to have been 

killed in the Syrian civil 

war. Of these, more 

than 112 were tortured, 

389 were killed by sniper 

fire and some 764 were 

summarily executed. 

TTTTTTTTTTtTTTTTTtTTT±TtT 

Second Congo War 2.5-5.4 million, 1998-2003 

ttTTTTt:t 

Vietnam War 800,000-3.8 million, 1955-75 

Nigerian Civil War 1-3 million, 1967-70 

Soviet War in Afghanistan c. 960,000-1.6 million, 1979-89 

Iran-Iraq War c. 1 million, 1980-88 

Second Sudanese Civil War c. 1 million, 1983-2005 KEY: 

t x1 = 100,000 deaths 

Mozambican Civil War 900,000-1 million, 1975-94 

tttttttttt 

Rwandan Civil War 800,000-1 million, 1990-93 

= lowest estimate 

First Congo War 800,000, 1996-97 

= highest estimate 

Eritrean War of Independence 570,000, 1961-91 

124 Modern world 

During World War I, 

the average life 

expectancy of soldiers 

in the trenches was 

around six weeks. 

Nothing civil 

about war 

Civil wars have brought 

about the death of around 

25 million people since the 

conclusion of the last global 

conflict in 1945. 

That c:onfllct featured 

in our debut edition 

as the bloodleat war, 

with overall casualties 

of around 56.4 million. 

Poland suffered most in 

proportion to its population, 

with 6,028,000 (or 17.2%) 

of its 35,100,000 citizens 

killed. It is a measure of the 

magnitude of this loss of 

life that it still represents 

history's highest wartime 

death toll.

.. 

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Hot s 


The average life expectancy in 955 was 48 years; today, it is 67.2 

Thent were 47,106 murders in Brazil during 2012, 

corresponding to 24.5 homicides per 100,000 

of the population. In 

Nov 2012, protesters 

concerned by these 

figures amassed outside 

the Brasilia National 

Congress, where more 

than 900 blood-red bricks 

were laid out: one for each 

victim in a typical week. 

Most murders per capita 

While Brazil has the most 

murders in an absolute 

sense (see above), per 

capita the record is held 

by Honduras. The Central 

American country has 

82.1 murders per 100,000 

people, according to 

research by The Economist. 

Most dangerous 

place to fly 

The 2012 Annual Review of 

the International Air Transport 

Association (lATA) reported 

that the most dangerous 

place to fly is Africa - nine 

times more dangerous 

than the global average. In 

2011, Africa suffered 3.27 

aircraft destroyed or written 

off for every million flights 

taken. Reasons included an 

ageing fleet of turbo-prop 

aircraft, and inadequate airtraffic 

control. 

Country with the highest 

percentage of the poor 

Despite India's growing 

economy, its borders contain 

41.01% of the world's poor. 

China comes second with 

22.12%. The UN Department 

af Economic and Social 

Affairs defines poverty 

"equating to thOse who earn 

$1.25 [BOp] a day or less". 

Lowest GOP per head 

Gross Domestic Product 

(CIDP) all th8 goods 

and services produced bY 

a nation in a year, stated as a 

value per head of population. 

The citizens of Malawi, an 

East Afrintry with n 

undewloped economy, have 

a GOP per head of $223 

(£132). Luxembourg has the 

nighest GOP (excluding 

the tiny principatlties of 

Monaco and Lichtenstein) 

at $110,424 (£65,384). 

Most prisoners per capita 

According to the 

lntrn.ot;r.nool Centre for 

USA tiiGi a 

populati6n _, _,_,,___, . 

and a 111te of 716 prisOM'a 

for fMK'J 100,000 residents 

- the most prtsoners per 

capita. By comparison, the 

microstate of San Marino 

had just two prisoners - or 

six prisoners per 100,000. 

Most fatal snake bites 

per country 

India reports a greater number of fatalities 

from snake bites than any country, recording 

81 ,000 "envenomings" annually. Of these, 

11,000 eventually prove to be fatal, according to 

conservative estimates published in The Global 

Burden of Snakebite (2008). 

According to a 

report from 2010 

by the Blacksmith 

ll'IStiM!'! (\J8!tl}, 

1 mlllian are at 

risk'frGm lead poisoning. 

The next st toxic global 

pollutants, in order, are: 

mercury, chromium, arsenic, 

pesticides and radionuclides. 

These can cause mental 

and physical disabilities. 

cancers and even death. 

> 

GLOBAL PEACE INDEX: THE LEAST PEACEFUL COUNTRIES 

 

The Global 

Peace Index 

2013 ranks 162 

nations on a scale of 

1 to 5 (1 =most peaceful) 

using 22 indicators ranging 

from military expenditure to 

relations with neighbouring 

countries and the percentage 

of prison population. 

per population 

projecrted for 201G-1 5. 

Hlghat-death 

rate: Hungary, with 

316 deaths per 100,000 

population in 2009. 

Hlghnt heart diMaM 

death rate: Ukraine, with 

1,070.5 deaths per 100,000 

population in 2011. 

Highest obesity rate: 

the island state of Nauru 

in the South Pacific, with 

71.1% of people in 2008. 

126 Modern world 

Source: Institute for Economics and Peace


average of only 3 micrograms 

of PM10, making it the least 

polluted city. 

Most polluted 

major city 

A 2011 report by the 

WHO measured air 

pollution by the mass 

of particles smaller 

than 10 microns in 

diameter per m3 of 

air (known as PM, 0 

). 

Ahwaz in Iran was 

the main offender, 

with a PM 10 

of 372 

micrograms per m3• 

Worst air pollution 

In 2011; the 

Worfd Heafth 

o,-Q'"an!Zatlon 

(WHO) reported 

that the air in 

Mongolia had an anntia1 

average of 279 micrograms 

of 0-r m3JSE!fl 

Glo..Many-ef the 

co factories burn 

I and many people live 

in gers: yurt-like felt-lined 

tents with central' stoves. 

See above for the most 

polluted major city. 

On a lighter note, the 

WHO report also stated 

that Whitehorse in Yukon, 

Canada, has an annual 

Worst land pollution 

In Nov 1994, thousands of 

tonnes of crude oil flowed 

across the pristine Arctic 

tundra of the Komi Republic 

near Usinsk, Russia. 

Estimates of the amount of 

oil lost vary from 14,000 to 

200,000 tonnes, and the 

total contaminated area 

measured 21.1 million m2 

(227.11 million sq ft), almost 

the same area occupied by 

El Salvador. The cost of the 

accident was estimated at 

more than 311 billion roubles 

($11 bn; £7.5 bn). 

Unhappiest country 

According to a survey of 156 

nations conducted in 2013 

by the tJN Sustainable 

Most deaths from natural disasters 

In 2013, the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, Belgium, 

provided a report of fatalities from disasters such as earthquakes, floods 

and hurricanes during 2012. The most deaths - 2,385 - occurred in the 

Philippines, with China in second place with 802. In Dec 2012, almost 

2,000 people in the Philippines were killed by Typhoon Bopha alone. 

Development Solutions 

Network, the citizens of 

the West African naijQn of 

Togo are the unhappiest, 

with a score of 2.936 out 

of 10. The survey looked 

at factors Sl.4Ch as quality111""""' 

and quantity of life, mental 

health and personal liberty. 

At the other end of the scale 

was Denmark with a score 

of J;293 .;: making it tile 

happii f st COU...-....,... ' 

Most tornadoes by area 

The Netherlands has 

one twister for every 

1,991 km2 (769 sq mi) 

of land. The USA has 

one per 8,187 km2 

(3,161 sq mi). 

Most dangerous resort for shark attacks 

New Smyrna Beach in Florida, USA, has recorded 238 attacks and the 

beach has become known as the shark attack capital of the world, although 

most of the bites have been nibbles from hungry juveniles. Pictured here are 

surfers with a blacktip shark not far behind them - a photo snapped in 2008 

by Kern McNair, who had finished surfing for the day. 

FACT 

Experts believe New 

Smyrna's reputation as 

a shark diner is simply 

down to the large 

numbers of people in 

the water who venture in 

despite frequent shark 

sightings. 

m State of 

l1J danger 

From our first edition: 

"Taking figures for the 

decade {1940-1950) 

that part of the world 

with the highest annual 

average murder rate is 

the state of Georgia, 

USA, with 167.3 per 

million." By 2012 the 

figure had dropped to 

59 per million, according 

to the FBI. The record 

holder per capita is now 

Honduras (see main text). 

_ ...,.... _, 

Hard news: journalists in danger 

The most dangerous country for 

journalists is Iraq, with 153 killed since 

1992. A total of 1,014 journalists have been 

killed worldwide since 1992, according to 

the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). 

The problem is compounded by impunity 

- when governments deliberately don't 

investigate murders because they don't 

want to have abuses of power and human 

rights violations reported. The second most 

dangerous country is the Philippines, with 

73 journalists killed since 1992. 

Glossary 

PM 10 : Used to assess the 

extent of air pollution, 

this refers to "particulate 

matter" smaller than 

10 micrometres wide. {The 

full stop at the end of this 

sentence is about 1,000 

micrometres wide.) At this 

size, particulate matter 

such as dust, salts and 

the products of industrial 

processes are sufficiently 

small to penetrate into the 

deepest part of the lungs 

and cause a range of health 

problems such as asthma 

and lung cancer. 



gTrave & tourism 

Mexico City is sinking by 10 em per year - 10 times faster than Venice 

Highest earnings 

from tourism 

According to the UNWTO, 

tourism in the USA was 

worth $126.2 bn (£78 bn) in 

2012 and single-handedly 

accounted for 8.5% of 

international tourism takings. 

Spain was second, with 

$56 bn (£34 bn), and France 

third, with $54 bn (£33 bn). 

The Tromse Alpinsenter ski resort Is located 

in Kroken, Norway, more than 300 km (186 ml) 

inside the Arctic Circle. The resort has two 

drag lifts, a 500-m (1 ,640-ft) children's tow and 

four slopes with varying levels of difficulty. The 

longest run extends for some 2 km (1 .2 mi). 

Highest tourist receipts 

In 2011, global receipts 

(earnings) from tourism 

topped $1 tr (£0.6 tr) for 

the first time in history, 

according to the United 

Nations World Tourism 

Organization (UNWTO). 

In 2012, however, total 

exports from international 

tourism rose yet again, 

to reach a record level 

of $1.3 tr (£0.8 tr). 

Greatest spending 

on tourism (country) 

The Chinese spent $102 bn 

(£63 bn) on tourism in 2012 

- an increase of 37% on the 

country's 2011 spending and 

an eightfold increase from 

the $13 bn (£8.7 bn) spent 

in 2000. Germany's tourists 

spent the next largest 

amount internationally - 

$83.8 bn (£51 .8 bn) - with 

the USA third, spending 

$83.5 bn (£51 .6 bn). 

Most international tourist 

arrivals in one year 

In 2012, according to a 

UNWTO report, the number 

of international tourist arrivals 

was 1.035 billion. 

The same source reports 

that the most popular 

country for tourism is 

France, with 83 million 

international arrivals. The 

country accounts for just 

over 8% of the global 

Fastest-growing tourist region 

Tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific rose 

7% in 2012, the equivalent of 15 million more 

international tourist visitors than in 2011. Among 

Asian subregions, south-east Asia posted the 

highest growth, with 9% more arrivals than the 

previous year, and Thailand saw a growth of 16% 

in absolute terms over 2011. This was the second 

year in a row that this region posted a record 

increase, according to the UNWTO. 

tourism market. Its nearest 

rivals are the USA (with 

67 million visitors) and 

China (with 57.7 million). 

Europe remains the 

most-visited tourism 

region, with 534.2 million 

arrivals in 2012 according to 

the UNWTO. Asia and the 

Pacific are its nearest rivals, 

with 233.6 million arrivals. 

In third place are the 

Americas, with 163.1 million. 

Most continents visited 

in one calendar day 

Gunnar Garfors (NOR) and 

Adrian Butterworth (UK) 

visited five continents 

WANDERERS OF THE WORLD: INTERNATIONAL TOURISM 

Changing trends in 60 years of globe-trotting: 

:[ 1,200 

"' 

I 1.ooo 

 

800 

Ci) 600 

"§ 

{?. 

(ij 400 

c: 

0 

'§ 200 

E 

.'l 

.£ 0 

Africa 

• Middle East 

• Americas 

• Asia and the Pacific 

Europe 

1960 1970 1980 1990 

Source: UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2013 Edition 

2000 2010 

2% 

Health; 

-:! ; s/ 

family; 

other 

27% 

usiness 

Not specified 7% 

14% 

 

vlslt8ct city. But for years now, 

one country has consl8tently 

proved to be the most 

popular for tourists: France. 

Back In 1999, it welcomed 

73 million visitors. As of 2012, 

83 million of us chose France 

for its rich cultural heritage, 

beautiful countryside, 

beaches, ski resorts, culinary 

delights, historic castles and 

cathedrals ... and, of course, 

to see the "city of light", Paris. 

Only an estimated 

1 ,OOOth of 1% of the 

world's population has 

visited Antarctica. 

Towering 

achievement 

Every seven years, the 

Eiffel Tower receives a 

fresh coat of paint. In all, 

some 60 tonnes of paint 

are required to cover its 

250,000-m' surface area. 

128 Modern world


In terms of lnhabHants, Marina del Rey in Los 

Angeles County, California, USA, is the largest 

marina, with a population of 8,866 according to 

a 2010 census. It is home to 6,500 boats. The 

Dubai Marina, however - a 3-km-long (2-mi) canal 

city in Dubai, UAE, inaugurated in 2003 - will 

accommodate approximately 120,000 people. 

It has a provisional completion date of 2015. 

Morocco (Africa), Paris in 

France (Europe), Punta Cana 

in the Dominican Republic 

(North America) and 

Caracas in Venezuela (South 

America) on 18 May 2012. 

The entire trip took 28 hr 

25 min, but the changing 

time zones ensured that 

Garfors and documentary 

film-maker Butterworth 

Most national capitals 

visited in 24 hours by 

scheduled transport 

Sarah Warwick and Lucy 

Warwick (both UK) visited 

London, Paris, Brussels, 

Prague, Vienna and Bratislava 

from 24 to 25 Sep 2013. 

Most-visited art gallery 

Most international visits 

by a US president 

Two US presidents have 

each visited 74 unique 

nations in office. The first 

was Bill Clinton, whose trips 

began on 3-4 Apr 1993 in 

Vancouver, Canada, where 

he had a summit meeting 

with President Yeltsin 

(RUS) and a meeting with 

Canadian Prime Minister 

Brian Mulroney. His final trip 

was to the UK on 12-14 Dec 

2000, and included meetings 

with Prime Minister Tony 

Blair and Queen Elizabeth II. 

In all, Clinton made 133 trips. 

George W Bush, the 43rd 

president, visited 74 unique 

nations during 140 trips in 

his two terms. The first, on 

16 Feb 2001, was to San 

Cristobal in Mexico, where 

he met with President Fox. 

The final visit was to Kabul 

in Afghanistan, from 14 to 

15 Dec 2008, to meet 

President Karzai and visit 

US military personnel. 

Largest national park 

The Northeast 

Greenland National Park 

covers 972,000 km2 

(375,290 sq mi), from 

Liverpool Land in the south 

to the northernmost island, 

Oodaaq, off Peary Land. 

Established in 1974 and 

The Louvre Museum in Paris, France, attracted 9,720,260 visitors in 2012. 

Housed in the Palais du Louvre on the Right Bank of the Seine, the museum 

first opened in 1793. In 1989, a glass pyramid 

designed by architect I M Pei was controversially 

added to its main courtyard (below). 

According to The Economist, the Tate ... 

Modern in London, UK, remains the 

most-visited modern art gallery. 

In 2012, it drew 5,300,000 art lovers. 

enlarged in 1988, much of 

the park is covered by ice 

and is home to a variety of 

protected flora and fauna, 

including polar bears, musk 

ox and birds of prey. 

The oldest national 

park is Yellowstone National 

Park, USA. It was given 

its status in 1872 by US 

president Ulysses S Grant, 

who declared that it would 

always be "dedicated and 

set apart as a public park 

or pleasuring ground for the 

F =•'1' benefit and enjoyment 

· II of the people". It covers 

8,980 km2 (3,470 sq mi), 

mostly in the state of 

Wyoming. 

Water resistance: Venice in peril 

Jd? 

-1 The historic Italian city of Venice, a UNESCO 

· 

World Heritage Site, is increasingly threatened 

with subsidence and serious flooding of its 

lagoon and canals. In 2002, a scheme was 

inaugurated to control water surges from the 

Adriatic Sea into the lagoon. Named the Moses 

Project, it envisages building 78 giant steel 

gates across three inlets to the lagoon, and 

e..,: -ffl!:::jl sinking 300-tonne hing 

_ 

ed gtes (see bottom left) 

- each around 27 m w1de - mto huge concrete 

bases dug into the seabed. This represents the 

largest project to save a tourist resort. 

First space tourist: 

Businessman Dennis Tito 

(USA), trip to International 

Space Station, 28 Apr to 

6 May 2001 

First space tourist 

(female): Anousheh Ansari 

(IRN), trip to ISS, 18 to 

29 Sep 2006 

Most trips into space 

by a tourist: Charles 

Simonyi (USA, b. HUN) 

embarked on first trip to 

ISS on 7 Apr 2007; made 

second trip, aged 60, on 

26 Mar 2009 



shipping 

In a year, the average container ship will cover the distance of a trip to the Moon and halfway back ; 

built ships. A unit of cargo 

capacity can be measured 

by TEU - Twenty-foot 

Equivalent Unit - based on 

the volume of one standard, 

6.1 -m-long (20-ft) container. 

Greatest lifting capacity 

for a ship 

The MV Fairplayer and MV Javelin, operated by 

Jumbo Shipping of Rotterdam (NLD), are J-class 

mega-ships. Equipped with two Huisman mast 

cranes, each is capable of carrying a load of 

900 tonnes (2 million lb), giving a maximum lifting 

capacity of 1,800 tonnes (4 million lb). 

Busiest shipping lane 

The Dover Strait marks the 

narrowest part of the English 

Channel between the UK 

and continental Europe. 

Through its shipping lane 

pass 500-600 ships a day. 

First container ship 

Shipborne containers were 

employed - usually on 

Longest container ship 

The Maersk (DNK) Triple E-class ships 

are each 400 m (1 ,312 ft) long and 20 

have been ordered. The lead, Maersk 

Mc-Kinney Meller, was launched 

in Geoje, South Korea, on 24 Feb 

2013. Each of the ships will contain 

as much steel as eight Eiffel Towers 

and, placed in Times Square, 

New York City, USA, would tower 

above the billboards and most of 

the buildings. Each ship has enough 

space to accommodate 36,000 cars 

or 863 million tins of baked beans. 

short -sea routes - from the 

early 20th century. Modern 

containerization started in 

the 1950s, one of the first 

vessels being the former 

tanker Ideal X, modified by 

Sea-Land Service (USA) in 

1955. Standard container 

sizes were adopted in 

the 1960s alongside the 

introduction of purpose- 

Largest container 

shipping line 

Maersk (DNK) runs more 

than 600 vessels that 

make a total of 3.4 million 

Largest ship ever 

The oil tanker Mont (formerly Jahre Viking, Happy 

Giant and Seawise Giant) had a deadweight 

tonnage of 564,763 tonnes (622,544 tons). She 

was 458.45 m (1 ,504 ft) long, 68.8 m (226 ft) wide 

and had a draught of 24.61 m (80 ft 9 in). In 2010, 

she became the largest ship to be scrapped. 

container moves annually. 

The company reported that 

they call at 35,000 ports 

annually and, in 2012, their 

work included shipping 

8.4 billion bananas. 

Fastest ship-building 

The World War II shipbuilding 

programme at 

Kaiser's yard in Portland, 

Oregon, USA, built 

10,000-tonne (22-million-lb} ., 

LARGEST SHIPS 

For comparison: 

Eiffel To wer, 324 m tall 

Largest privately owned yacht: 

Azzam, owned by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed 

AI Nahyan (UAE), 180 m (cost: approx. £390 m) 

Largest passenger liner: Royal Caribbean 

International Oasis class, 362 m, DWT 

(deadweight tonnage) 15,000 tonnes 

Largest oil tanker: Daewoo 

Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering 

T1 class, 379 m, DWT 441,585 tonnes 

Longest container ship: Maersk Triple E 

class, 400 m, DWT 196,000 tonnes 

Largest ship ever: Mont, 

458.45 m, DWT 564,763 tonnes 

Modelling 

big ships 

For the ship enthusiast 

who needs a Maersk in 

their life, LEGO" have 

created a model version 

of the Triple E-class ship 

(see longest container 

ship). It comes in 1,519 

pieces and measures 

21 em in height, 65 em in 

length and is 9 em wide. 

Largest oH tanlalr-cumnt: 

Hellespont Alhambra, Daewoo 

Shipbuilding & Marine 

Engineering (KOR), 11 Jun 

2001, 441,585 tonnes 

Largest bulk carrier ship: 

Vale Beijing (Dec 2011) and 

Vale Qingdao (Jun 2012), 

STX Offshore & Shipbuilding 

(KOR), 404,389 tonnes 

Largest dry bulk carrier 

ship: Berge Stahl, Bergesen 

(NOR), 1986, 364,767 tonnes 

Largest pipe-laying ship: 

Solitaire, Allseas Group (NDL), 

1998, 127,435 tonnes


FACT 

In 1992, 29,000 plastic 

yellow ducks and other 

toys were released into 

the wild when they were 

spilled from a container 

ship in the Pacific. 

Busiest port for cargo volume 

The Port of Shanghai turned over 736 million 

tonnes (724.3 million tons) of cargo in 2012, 

handling more than 32 million containers. It has 

a total quay length of around 20 km (1 2.43 mi), 

with 125 berths for container ships. 

ships in as little as 4 days 

15 hr 30 min. In 1942, the SS 

Robert E Peary had her keel 

laid on 8 Nov, launched on 

12 Nov and was operational 

on 15 Nov. Prefabrication 

speeded up production. 

Largest ship builder 

Hyundai Heavy Industries 

(KOR) is said to account 

for 15% of total world ship 

production. According 

to a report from a South 

Korean news agency in 

Feb 2014, a fall in ship prices 

meant that the giant's profits 

were down 86% in 2013, 

at 146.3 bn South Korean 

Won (£88 m; $136 m). In 

Jan 2014, it began work 

on a container ship with a 

capacity of 19,000 TEU. 

Largest offshore 

mast crane 

Onboard the Seven 

Borealis is a crane, built 

by Huisman (NLD), that 

lifts payloads of up to 

5,000 tonnes (11 million lb). 

The Seven Borealis crane 

extends a record 150 m 

(492 ft) above deck level, 

although other cranes 

lift heavier weights. The 

structure revolves on a 

bearing that is 11 m (36 ft) 

in diameter. The ship began 

work in 2012. 

Largest open-deck 

transport ship 

The semi-submersible 

Oockwise Vanguard is 

275 m (902 ft) long and 

has a flat deck measuring 

70 X 275 m (230 X 902 ft). 

It can carry oversized cargo 

weighing 110,000 tonnes 

(242 million lb). The carrier, 

operated by Dockwise 

(NLD), submerges its deck 

to a depth of 16m (52 ft) to 

allow it to load cargoes such 

as oil and gas platforms by 

floating underneath them. 

SHIPWRECKS 

Deepest 

The Rio Grande was a 

German World War II 

blockade runner, evading 

enemies to deliver cargo. 

In Jan 1944, she was sunk 

by American ships and was 

discovered in 1996 by Blue 

Water Recoveries (UK) at a 

depth of 5,762 m (18,904 ft). 

Another World War II 

casualty was UK merchant 

ship SS Gairsoppa, from 

which was retrieved the 

deepest salvage of cargo 

from a shipwreck. She was 

sunk by a German U-boat 

submarine and lay at a depth 

of 4,700 m (15,420 ft). In 2011 , 

the ship was discovered by 

Odyssey Marine Exploration 

(USA), who had retrieved 

47.9 tonnes (105,821 lb) 

of silver by Jul 2013. 

Longest big ship canal 

The Suez Canal has allowed ships to navigate 

from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, 

without sailing around Africa, since opening 

on 17 Nov 1869. Ten years in the making, it is 

162.2 km (100.8 mi) in length and varies in width 

between 300 m (984 ft) and 365 m (1 ,198 ft). 

Largest 

The 321 ,186-tonne 

(708-million-lb) deadweight 

crude-oil carrier Energy 

Determination broke in two in 

the Strait of Hormuz, Persian 

Gulf, on 12 Dec 1979. The 

ship was not carrying any 

cargo at the time but had a 

hull value of $58 m (£26 m). 

Oldest 

A single-mast sailing ship, 

discovered in 1912, was 

wrecked off Uluburun, 

near Ka in southern Turkey, 

in the 14th century sc. 

FACT 

Emma Maersk 

can transport 

approximately 

528 million bananas 

in one voyage - 

one each for every 

person in Europe 

or North America. 

Spinning around: a propeller with a twist 

The Emma Maersk was launched in 2006 and 

featured the world's largest propeller. Made 

by Mecklenburger Metallguss GmbH (DEU), the 

single-piece, 130-tonne propeller has six blades 

and measures 9.6 m in diameter. Because of its 

size, the metal alloy from which it's made required 

two weeks to cool after casting. The blades are 

turned by a 14-cylinder Wi:irtsila-Sulzer RTA96C 

two-stroke engine, the world's largest diesel 

engine. In Feb 2013, however, as ' the ship entered 

the Suez Canal, an engine-room flood put it out 

of service for some months. 

Deadweight tonnage: 

The total weight that a ship 

can carry, including crew, 

passengers, supplies, etc. 

Gross tonnage: The total 

enclosed space within 

a ship (i.e., not a weight 

measurement). 

Displacement tonnage: 

The weight of the water 

that a ship displaces when 

floating with full fuel tanks 

and stores. It is the actual 

weight of the ship, as a 

floating body displaces 

its own weight in water.


Wor d of chance 

In 2013, $9.4 bn was gambled by the 39.7 million people who visited Las Vegas 

Greatest winning streak 

In Dec 1992, Greek 

American Archie Karas 

arrived in Las Vegas, USA, 

with $50 (£27) in his pocket. 

By early 1995, he had turned 

this sum into $40 m (£25 m) 

by playing pool, poker 

and dice. It's the largest 

winning streak in history, 

and even has its own name 

in gambling lore: "The Run". 

Karas's love of dice and 

(later) baccarat were his 

downfall: by mid-1995, he 

had lost all of the money. 

Largest claw machine 

"Santa Claw" is a claw machine measuring 

5.1 x 2.4 x 3.6 m (1 7 x 8 x 12 ft) that was 

operated via the internet on thesantaclaw.com 

website between 3 Jan and May 2011. Around 

100,000 players tried their luck during this 

period, and more than 4,000 prizes were 

grabbed; winners received 

their prizes by post. 

First bookmaker 

The first person to turn a 

profit as a bookmaker is 

thought to have been Harry 

Ogden (UK), who operated 

on Newmarket Heath, 

Suffolk, UK, during the mid- 

1790s. Prior to this, people 

who wished to bet on horse 

racing would simply make 

bets against one another. 

Ogden was the first to look 

at the entire field and offer 

different odds on every 

horse, calculating its chance 

of winning so that he would 

make a profit. 

First offshore bookmaker 

Victor Chandler 

International, now trading 

as BetVictor, decided to 

move its entire operation 

offshore in 1997 to evade 

the UK gambling tax, a 

move that was completed 

in 1999. The company 

relocated to Gibraltar 

- where the betting 

Largest win in a 

televised poker game 

Tom Dwan (USA) picked up £0.6 m ($1.1 m) 

from one hand of televised poker against fellow 

American Phil lvey during Full Tilt Poker's Million 

Dollar Cash Game, filmed in London, UK, in 

Sep 2009. Both players had drawn a "straight" 

(five cards of any suit ranked in order), but 

Dwan's 3-4-5-6-7 beat lvey's Ace-2-3-4-5. 

tax is zero. Many other 

bookmakers now also have 

a presence on the "Rock". 

Largest horse-racing win 

Scottish race horse owner 

Harry Findlay scooped 

£1 .85 m ($3 m) over the 

British May Bank Holiday 

weekend in 2007. Findlay 

had placed bets of £140,000 

($276,000) with online pool 

betting firm RaceO. He 

ended up with 16 winners, 

comprising two eight-horse 

accumulators (a multiple, 

high-risk bet that only pays 

out if every horse wins). 

Most successful 

horse-racing gambler 

William Benter (USA) makes 

some $10 m (£5 m) per year 

betting on horses at the two 

TOP 10 BIGGEST GAMBLING LOSSES PER ADULT (PER ANNUM) 

FACT 

Singapore: ...._...., 

00 

 

The chances of winning 

the jackpot in a 6/49 

In absolute terms, populations of larger countries such as the USA Source: H2 Gambling Capital, 2011; 

and China naturally lose more money to gambling than smaller 

a// figures quoted in US$ 

lottery (i.e., selecting six 

countries. (Macau in China is the largest gambling city by revenue 

numbers correctly out 

- more than $38 bn was generated by its casinos and other gaming 

of a choice of 49) are 

services in 2012.) But measured in proportion to their overall 

1 in 13,983,816. 

population, gambling's biggest losers tend to be the smaller nations: 

$500 

$0 

Jackpot: maximum prize; 

the name originates from a 

type of poker in which the 

stakes built up until a player 

could open with a pair of 

jacks or better.


First Facebook game 

to offer cash prizes 

On 7 Aug 2012, the British online gaming 

company Gamesys launched the first Facebook 

game to offer real cash prizes. Titled Bingo 

Friendzy, it featured 90 mini-games. Only 

Facebook users over the age of 18 are legally 

allowed to play the game. 

tracks in Hong Kong, China. 

Benter trained as a physicist 

and used his scientific skills to 

build a computer model that 

takes into account more than 

100 statistics - quantifying 

horses, jockeys, trainers, 

tracks and race conditions 

- to calculate each runner's 

Largest win in a 

poker competition 

Antonio Esfandiari (USA, 

b. Iran) won $18,346,673 

(£11 ,701,800) at the World 

Series of Poker tournament 

(WSOP2012) in Las Vegas, 

Nevada, USA, on 3 Jul 2012. 

Largest online 

poker tournament 

PokerStars (UK) 

organized an online 

poker tournament 

with 225,000 

participants 

on 16 Jun 2013. 

Each player 

paid 60p ($1), 

with a £15,000 

($25,000) 

top prize. 

Largest slot-machine 

tournament 

A total of 3,001 players 

attended a slot-machine 

event organized by Bally 

Technologies (USA) 

at Mohegan Sun in 

Uncasville, Connecticut, 

USA, on 27 Apr 2013. 

Most lottery prizes 

given in a year 

Pron6sticos para Ia 

Asistencia Publica (MEX) 

awarded 97,909,447 

lottery prizes during 2008, 

distributed across eight 

different games. 

Most members of a family 

to win a national lottery 

In Sep 2012, teenager 

Tord Oksnes 

By 30 Mar 2012, the American Mega Millions 

lottery jackpot reached an annuity value of 

$656 m (£412 m), or $474 m (£298 m) in cash. 

The three unidentified winners (all USA) split 

the cash sum between them. 

third member of his family 

to hit the jackpot in the 

Norwegian National Lottery 

when he won 12.2 m kroner 

(£1 .3 m; $2.1 m). Three 

years previously, Tord's 

sister Hege Jeanette claimed 

8.2 m kroner (£880,000; 

$1.27 m). Three years before 

that, To rd and Hege's father 

Leif scooped a win of 8.4 m 

kroner (£900,000; $1 .5 m). 

Largest Tote 

betting win 

Sixty-one-year-old Steve 

Whiteley (UK) won an 

incredible £1 ,445,671.71 

($2,356,444.89) on a £2 

($3.25) Tote Jackpot 

accumulator bet in which 

he successfully predicted 

the winner of all six 

races from the meeting at 

Exeter, UK, on 8 Mar 2011. 

Afterwards, he was quoted 

as saying: "I'm a heating 

engineer - well, I was." 

Lottery winners: what do they spend it on? 

As of Mar 2012, the largest national lottery (see Lottery legends, right) had created 

3,000 millionaires, each winning an average of £2.8 m. So how did they 

'3 '3"" 

-- 

.l..-·. · - "-.. choose to spend their windfalls? 

q (o / 

Source: Camelot Group 

'1 

Cn 

0' 

:> 

Dream holidays: 

£21 m 

a prtze poQI of 2.6 btl 

auras (£2 bn). 

Largest lottery win: 

$314.9 m (£197.5), by 

Andrew "Jack" Whittaker 

Jr (USA) for a Powerball 

jackpot on 24 Dec 2002. 

Largest national lottery: 

The UK National Lottery had 

total ticket sales of £95 bn 

as of 31 Mar 2013. 



Fakes, frauds & fo rgeries 

6, the young Michelangelo faked an "ancient" statue of Cupid 

Most expensiVe 

fake diaries 

In 1983, Stem magazine paid 

some 9 million German marks (£3.3 m; $5 m) 

for 62 diaries allegedly written by Adolf Hitler, 

Germany's leader during World War II. US expert 

Kenneth W Rendell later proved that they were 

forged. The forger, Konrad Kujau (DEU), was jailed 

for 3 years 6 months, as was Gerd Heidemann, 

(DEU, above) the man who "uncovered" them. 

Most lucrative art fraud 

by a woman 

On 16 Sep 2013, Glafira 

Rosales (MEX) pleaded guilty 

in New York City, USA, to 

nine counts of fraud. She 

had taken part in a scheme 

to sell more than 60 fakes of 

abstract and Impressionist 

art, allegedly by 73-year-old 

American-Chinese artist 

Pei-Shen Qian, for more 

than $80 m (£50 m). The 

forgeries included copies of 

works by Mark Rothko and 

Jackson Pollock. 

Most prolific forger of 

Shakespearean work 

In 1794-95, manuscripts 

appeared in London, 

UK, supposedly written 

by William Shakespeare 

(1564-1616), among them a 

love poem to his wife, a letter 


of fake masterpieces 

French artist Christophe Petyt owns just over 

2,500 fake paintings of some of the world's most 

famous artworks. His company, Art du Faux, 

employs a selection of highly talented artists 

to copy masterpieces, which are then officially 

registered as a reproduction and sold. 

merċhants 

suspected of 

faking at least 

400 bottles of 

Romanee-Conti 

burgundy wine 

were arrested. 

The fraudsters 

may have 

made some 

£1.7 m 

($2.75 m) 

from the 

scheme. 

Most prolific art forger 

At his trial in 1979, 

Thomas Keating (UK, 

1917-84) put his output of 

fake pictures at more than 

2,000 works, representing 

121 different artists across 

a 25-year period. 

Highest career earnings 

for a forger 

Han van Meegeren (NLD, 

1889-1947) is often cited 

as the most successful 

and influential art forger of 

all time. Estimates of his 

earnings vary, but by 1943 

he had made the equivalent 

today of £15.6-18.8 m 

($25-30 m), and also had 

property investments in 

the region of £300 m 

($500 m). He focused on 

forgeries of work by the 

artists Johannes Vermeer 

and Pieter de Hooch. 

Most successful 

defence equipment faker 

On 2 May 2013, James McCormick (UK) received 

a 10-year sentence for selling devices that he 

claimed could detect explosives and drugs, but 

which were actually modified novelty golf-ball 

finders. He sold them for around 

£27,000 ($40,000) each, making an 

estimated £50 m ($77 m) overall. 

from Queen Elizabeth I, 

revisions to his work, 

and two new plays. They 

were, in fapt, forgeries by 

William Henry Ireland (UK). 

One of the new dramas, 

Vortigern and Rowena, 

was performed in 1796. 

Largest ATM fraud 

In May 2013, it was 

reported that cyber 

criminals had stolen 

$45 m (£29 m) by 

hacking into a database 

of pre-paid credit cards 

in a scheme dubbed 

"PIN cashing" or "carding". 

Seven US citizens were 

arrested and accused 

of removing withdrawal 

limits, creating access 

codes and using 

associates to spread the 

data online to leaders of 

"cashing crews", who 

drained cash machines. 

The Swiss have the most secure banknotes (see right). Security features include: 

Very fmc l1nes 

d1ff1cult to replicate 

Secunty ttl read 

embedded 1n the note 

1,000-frano note Incorporated 

14 security featunle including 

micro lettering, fluorescent 

Ink and braille. Several 

nations - including Australia, 

Canada and Brunei - have 

now abandoned paper 

notes in favour of plastic 

film. They are also four times 

more durable than paper 

banknotes: on average, the 

US dollar bill lasts only for 

around 18 months before 

it wears out. 

FACT 

In all, 830 million UK 

banknotes - worth 

£11.4 bn - had to be 

destroyed in 2013 owing 

to their poor condition. 

Finance 

agents 

The US Secret Service, a 

law-enforcement agency, 

was originally created at 

the end of the American 

Civil War (1861-65) to 

tackle counterfeit currency. 

134 Modern world

- 


- 

Largest bitcoin fraud 

Bitcoin - a virtual monetary system based on 

digital tokens - was conceived in 2008, and by 

Nov 2013 its value had soared to £600 ($1,000) 

per bitcoin. The currency has already suffered 

from fraud losses, the worst being that of the 

Bitcoin Savings and Trust. By the time it was 

shut down in 2012, the savings scheme had 

reportedly lost the equivalent of £3.4 m ($5.6 m). 

cal fraud 

In Jul 2012, British company 

GlaxoSmithKiine received 

a £1 .9-bn ($3-bn) penalty 

after admitting to history's 

biggest healthcare fraud. 

From 1997 to 2004, the 

company was alleged to 

have bribed doctors to 

prescribe drugs linked 

with safety concerns and 

promoted drugs that 

were not approved for 

their intended purpose. 

Greatest 

goldsmith fraud 

In 1896, the Louvre 

Museum in Paris, 

France, exhibited 

a large gold helmet 

weighing more than 

800 g (1 lb 12 oz). The 

"Tiara of Saitaphernes" 

allegedly dated from 

either the late 3rd or 

2nd century sc. The 

Louvre bought the 

object for 200,000 gold 

French francs, but it 

was later shown to be 

a fake that had been 

crafted by Russian 

goldsmith Israel 

Rouchomovsky. 

Largest fine 

for mortgage fraud 

On 19 Nov 2013, the largest 

US bank - JPMorgan Chase 

- concluded a settlement 

with officials from the 

US Justice Department. 

This included a fine that 

amounted to $13 bn (£8 bn) 

- the largest civil settlement 

with any one company 

resulting from the sale 

and misrepresentation of 

residential mortgagebacked 

securities 

(RMBS). 

Largest fraud by 

a rogue trader 

On 24 Jan 2008, French 

bank Societe Generals 

declared that it had 

uncovered 4.9 bn euros 

(£3.6 bn; $7.16 bn) of 

losses following rogue 

trading by a member 

of its staff. Bank 

trader Jerome Kerviel 

(FRA) was taken into 

police custody and was 

said to have admitted 

hiding his activities 

from his superiors. He 

was sentenced to five 

years in prison, with two 

years suspended. In 

2010, however, he 

published a memoir 

entitled Downward 

He became a hermit in the 

countryside under the name 

Magnusson. In 1955, after 

41 years, he was exposed 

and reunited with his 

bewildered children. 

lilt 1/1\-f\ nt\...,.. 

1(£' 

....,,,.,, 

9"SS...,.O. 

va>'""'d: 4 

Sl


Mone & econom1c 

1,616 tonnes of gold was recycled in 2012, generating £15 bn 

reported record revenues 

of $16.8 bn (£10.4 bn) in 

the same period. 

Largest gender gap 

According to the World Economic Forum's 2013 

Global Gender Gap Index, Yemen has the largest 

gender gap of any country. The measurement 

is made by scoring four indicators: economic 

participation and opportunity, educational 

attainment, health and survival, and political 

empowerment. Yemen scored 0.51 28 (with 1 as 

the highest possible score). The country with the 

smallest gender gap was Iceland, scoring 0.8731 . 

The USA scored 0.7392 and the UK 0.7440. 

Fastest rising brand 

Facebook's brand value 

increased by 43% to take it 

to No.52 in the lnterbrand 

list of 2013, the only social 

media brand to claim a place 

on the Top 100 Best Global 

Brands. Its global user base 

increased by 26% to an 

incredible 1.19 billion MAU 

(monthly active users) and its 

mobile user base went up by 

51 % to 751 million in the year 

to Sep 2013. 

Largest 

advertising agency 

In Jul 2013, Publicis 

(FRA) and Omnicom (USA) 

announced that they would 

merge to create the Publicis 

Omnicom Group, which 

would have had $23 bn 

(£14 bn) in revenue had it 

been in existence during 

2012. As it stands, WPP 

Highest annual 

earnings by a CEO 

John H Hammergren 

(USA), chief executive 

of pharmaceutical firm 

McKesson, received 

$131.1 9 m (£81 .1 m) in 

2012. Of this, "just" 

$1.66 m (£1 m) was 

earned salary; $4.65 m 

(£2.9 m) was a bonus, 

$112.12 m (£69.3 m) 

came as stock options, 

and the remaining 

$12.76 m (£7.9 m) was 

categorized as "other". 

Greatest 

economic freedom 

With a score of 89.3 

(out of 100), Hong 

Kong, China, enjoys 

the greatest economic 

freedom according to the 

Heritage Foundation's 

Index of Freedom. 

Economic freedom is a 

measurement of the right 

of workers to control their 

own labour, consumption, 

investments and property. 

Highest 

economic growth 

Sierra Leone ended a 

decade of often barbaric civil 

war in 2002, and growth has 

been relatively speedy given 

how poor its citizens are in 

absolute terms. The country 

saw a 15.2% increase in 

GOP (Gross Domestic 

Product) in 2011-12. 

However, citizens also have 

the lowest average life 

expectancy, at 45 years. 

In 2011, South Sudan 

gained independence from 

Sudan after another long civil 

war. The fledgling country 

went on to experience the 

lowest economic growth, 

with an enormous drop of 

55.8% in 2011-12. Next 

door, Sudan recorded 

the second lowest 

growth with -10.1 % . 

had a score of 

66.59 in the 

annual Global 

Former mayor of 

New York City 

Michael Bloomberg 

(USA) is the richest 

media mogul. His 

Bloomberg LP empire, 

which includes the 

Bloomberg financial 

news firm, is worth 

$27 bn (£17.7 bn), 

according to Forbes' 

list of billionaires from 

Mar 2013. 

> 

ECONOMY SIZES: LARGEST GOP 

Source: worldbank.org 

FACT 

The GOP of the USA is $16.24 tr (£10 tr). But 

how long would it take you to count this out 

in $1 bills? Fast (human) money counters 

can count 200 notes in a minute; at 12,000 

per hr, that's more than 154,000 years - 

non-stop - to count all 16.24 trillion bills! 

Richest investor: Warren 

Buffett (USA), $58.6 bn 

(£35.1 bn), Feb 2014. 

Richest woman: 

Christy Walton (USA), 

$36.9 bn (£22.1 bn), 

Feb 2014. 

136 Modern world


According to the 2013 lnterbrand Top 100 

Best Global Brands rankings, Apple 

is worth $98.31 bn (£59.61 bn) - a 

28% rise over the previous year. The 

record ends 13 years of domination 

by Coca-Cola, which dropped to third 

behind Google. There are 72 million 

Mac computers in use, and 9 million 

iPhone 5s and 5c models were sold 

in launch weekend alone. In 2013, 

the App Store reached the 50-billion 

download mark after just five years. 

G 

Highest budgetary 

expenditure 

The USA spent $3.53 tr 

(£2.3 tr) in 2012, a figure 

that excludes social 

benefits of approximately 

$2.3 tr (£1 .5 tr) . The 

USA accounts for more 

than 15% of worldwide 

budgetary expenditure and 

also brings in the highest 

revenue, with an estimated 

$2.44 tr (£1 .6 tr) in 2012. 

This excludes social 

contributions revenue of 

some $1 tr (£652 bn). 

Highest 

cost of living 

According to a Dec 2012 

survey by the Economist 

Intelligence Unit, Japan is 

the most expensive nation 

to live in for expatriate 

0 o' . . executives and their 

0 Le ·· families. Prices for 

products 

Largest municipal bankruptcy 

On 18 Jul 2013, Detroit in Michigan, USA, filed 

for the largest bankruptcy in modern times, with 

debts estimated at $18-20 bn (£11-12 bn). Up to 

40% of street lights are broken in the city that is 

home to over 150,000 deserted buildings. Among 

them is the former Packard car factory (pictured), 

a 325,160-m2 (3.5-million-sq-ft) property that 

is the largest abandoned factory. Closed 

since 1956, Packard once produced 75% of the 

world's cars in Detroit - known as "Motor City". 

of international comparable 

quality in stores in New 

York City, USA, are used 

as a base, with the USA 

scoring 100. Japan is 

the priciest, 

with a score of 152, 

followed by Australia 

(137). The country 

with the lowest cost 

of living is Pakistan, 

with a rating of 44. 

Innovation Index, published 

by Cornell University, the 

business schooi iNSEAD and 

the World Intellectual Property 

Organization. Measurements 

are taken in such areas as 

institutions, infrastructure, 

research, the sophistication of 

the market and in business, 

creativity and technology. 

Highest budget for • •• 

• Defence: According to 

The Economist, Iraq spent 

11.3% of its GOP on 

defence in 2012. 

• Health: World Bank 

figures from 2011 put Liberia 

top of health spending 

with 19.5% of its GDP. 

• Education: In 2012, 

Lesotho put 13% of its 

GOP towards education, 

according to figures from 

The Economist. 

Worst modern recession 

The ongoing downturn in Greece has been 

more severe than in any other country in the 

developed world since World War II. In 2013, 

the economy shrank by 23-25%, compared 

with 20% in 2012. The jobless rate increased 

from 25% to 27% and youth unemployment 

leapt from 50% to 60%. 

m Costly 

l1J quaffs 

As an indicator of how 

our spending habits have 

changed since 1955, 

the most expensive 

bottle of wine then 

was a 1949 Feinste 

Trockenbeerenauslese 

priced at £8; adjusting for 

inflation means that this 

would cost £178 today. But 

the most expensive wines 

commercially available 

currently sell for c. £32,000 

-that's 180 times more 

than the adjusted figure! 

Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov 

was in the International Space Station 

orbiting at an altitude of 41 9 km 

(260 mi) above Earth when he made 

the highest-altitude financial 

transaction, a land tax payment of 

616 roubles (£11.31 ; $18.51) on 22 Apr 

2013. The money was transferred to 

the Federal Tax Service of Russia and 

represents the first time that anyone 

has paid their tax bill -or indeed any 

kind of bill - from space! 

m Gross world 

l1J product 

Totalling the gross 

domestic product (GDP) 

of every country gives you 

the "gross world product" 

- in other words, the value 

of all goods and services in 

the world. Sixty years ago, 

this figure stood at $5.43 tr 

(or $1,966 per person); in 

2014, this is an estimated 

$72.21 tr (or $10,316 per 

person). This means our 

economy today is more 

than 13 times bigger than 

it was back in 1955. 


0 

0 


online video advertisement 

"Dove Real Beauty Sketches" was watched 

1 34,265,061 times - in 25 languages in more 

than 110 countries - as of 1 May 2014, by which 

date it had been shared 4,517,422 times. The 

video was posted on 14 Apr 2013 and data was 

collected by Unruly for their Viral Video Chart. 

and the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology 

(USA) ran tests in Oct 2013, 

including an HD video sent 

between the Moon and 

Earth in 7 sec. 

Southernmost location 

on Google Street View 

On 17 Jul2012, Google released images 

on its ground-level perspective Street View 

service showing the South Pole. Other areas 

of Antarctica available on Street View include 

penguin colonies, Ernest Shackleton's hut and 

Robert Falcon Scott's supply hut. Users can 

guide their cursors inside the buildings and take 

a virtual tour of these icons of exploration. 

First Google hoax 

On 1 Apr 2000, Google 

perpetrated the "MentaiPiex" 

hoax to mark April Fool's 

Day. It invited users of its 

search engine to stare 

at an animated gif on its 

homepage and think of what 

they wanted to find on the 

net. Later japes included 

2007's Google TiSP (Toilet 

Internet Service Provider). 

First webcam 

In 1991, computer 

scientists at 

Cambridge 

University, UK, 

set up a 

camera and 

a computer 

to monitor 

the status of 

their coffee 

pot without 

having to leave 

their room. The system 

was upgraded in 

Nov 1993 when it 

images of the famous coffee 

pot were broadcast until the 

feed was turned off in 2000. 

Highest communications 

bandwidth between 

Earth and the Moon 

A two-way laser lunar 

net link was established 

with download speeds of 

622 megabits per 

sec between a 

NASA spacecraft 

orbiting the 

Moon - allowing 

a gigabyte 

to be 

Most mentions of 

a brand name on 

Twitter in 24 hours 

A chocolate-coated 

biscuit stick called 

Pocky was mentioned 

3,710,044 times on 

Twitter on 11 Nov 

2013. That works 

out at slightly over 

4,294 mentions per 

sec for the Ezaki Glico 

Co, Ltd (JPN) snack. 

Everything from emojis 

(Japanese smileys) to 

straight retweets were 

counted in the attempt. 

> 

WHAT HAPPENS IN AN INTERNET MINUTE 

email 

204 million emails sent 

facebook 

1.8 million "likes" 

skype 

1.4 million connection minutes 

278,000 tweets 

YouB 

3 days of video 

uploaded 

tumblr. 

11,000 active users 

Source: Intel and qmee.com, 2013 

spamming 

Anyone who has ever used 

email has received spam 

- unsolicited messages. 

Billions of the nuisances 

are sent daily but, before 

the phenomenon had a 

name, Gary Thuerk (USA) 

sent the oldest spam, on 

3 May 1978. His memo was 

quite innocent - a message 

to 397 email accounts on 

the ARPAnet of the US 

Department of Defense, 

with an invitation to attend 

a product demonstration. 

FACT 

Tim Berners-Lee had 

the idea for the first 

hypertext browser 

- what became the 

World Wide Web - in 

Mar 1989. Marking its 

25th anniversary, in 2014 

Berners-Lee called for 

a bill of rights to keep 

the Web free and open. 

"Our rights are being 

infringed ... on every side 

and the danger is that we 

get used to it... the key 

thing is getting people 

to fight for the Web." 

138 Modern world


currency that exists only 

online - belonged to 

Ross Ulbricht (USA), who 

is accused of running 

the Silk Road, an online 

marketplace for drugs. 

Largest internet census 

by a botnet 

A botnet - from robot 

network - consists of many 

computers linked together 

to run services. In 2012, an 

anonymous hacker hijacked 

420,000 devices that had 

only default passwords and 

used them to conduct an 

illegal mapping 

of the internet, 

particularly insecure 

devices. His control 

program was called 

the Carna Botnet. 

Largest seizure of 

virtual currency 

On 25 Oct 2013, the 

US Federal Bureau 

of Investigation (FBI) 

revealed that it had seized 

144,000 bitcoins worth 

around $28.5 m (£17.2 m). 

The FBI allege that the 

tranche of bitcoins - a 

Fastest time 

to reach 1 million 

followers on Tw itter 

Northernmost 

underwater 

communications 

cable 

Longyearbyen in 

Norway, at a latitude 

of 78.22°N, is the 

landing point of the 

Svalbard Undersea 

Cable System, which 

provides a fibre-optic 

internet connection with 

the Norwegian mainland. 

The two-cable system is 

2,714 km (1 ,686 mi) long and 

provides fast access to data 

from Svalbard's SvaiSat. This 

is one of only two ground 

On 11 Apr 2014, Twitter was a-flutter 

to learn that Robert Downey Jr (USA) 

had joined the site with a "Talk to me, 

Tw itter" (@robertdowneyjr). Within a day, 

the star had attracted 1,017,322 fans, but 

he still lags behind the most followers 

on Twitter for an actor. Ashton Kutcher 

(USA; @aplusk) had 16,022,147 

followers as of 

6 May 2014. 

For more top tech 

turn to pp.206-207 

The selfie above, organized 

by 2014 Oscars host Ellen 

DeGeneres (USA), exceeded 

1 million retweets within about 

an hour of being tweeted on 

Oscars night, 3 Mar 2014. 

Smiling alongside stars such 

as Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Brad 

Pitt, Kevin Spacey and Meryl Streep, DeGeneres 

tweeted, "If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best 

photo ever. #oscars." As of 5 May 2014, the 

message had been retweeted 3,428,897 times. 

stations optimally located 

to download data from all 

14 polar-orbiting satellites. 

Most consecutive daily 

personal video blogs 

on YouTube 

As of 6 May 2014, 

Charles Trippy 

(USA) had posted 

1,831 vlogs, 

without missing 

a day, on his 

You Tube channel 

Internet Killed 

In Apr 2014 he documented 

his split from wife and fellow 

vlogger Alii. 

Most expensive property 

sold at online auction 

A plot of land in the same 

area of Dubai as the Burj 

Khalifa sold for 94,176,000 

United Arab Emirates dirham 

(£16,565,558; $25,634,707) 

on 19 Feb 2013 through 

Emirates Auction (UAE). 

Most subscribers 

on YouTube 

As of 6 May 2014, 

"PewDiePie", aka Felix 

Arvid Ulf Kjellberg (SWE), 

had 26,540,250 You Tube 

subscribers for his comedic 

videogaming highlights. 

FACT 

Robert Downey Jr also 

operates a Facebook 

account which had 

been "liked" by 

16,373,295 fans 

as of 7 May 2014. 

Turn it off and on again: rebooting the net 

Seven experts (including Moussa Guebre, BFA, above 

left) form the first international group capable of 

rebooting the World Wide Web, or at least certain 

aspects of it, in the event of a major catastrophe such 

as a cyber attack. They are the back-up for a security 

system called DNSSEC that adds a digital signature to 

--.. .... , '-' website names, helping in the battle to stop hackers 

--.,.___, ! 

• 

redirecting surfers to fake sites. Should a disaster take 

out DNSSEC, five of the seven global keyholders would 

be summoned to a secure US location to save the 

day. Each of the team has a swipe card that provides 

one-fifth of the reboot key. 

DNS: stands for Domain 

Name System. It manages 

navigation of the internet 

by resolving proper names 

used by websites into 

the strings of numbers 

understood by computers. 

DNSSEC: stands for 

Domain Name System 

Security Extensions, a set 

of standards to ensure that 

our browsers are not being 

sent to fake sites with 

malicious code. 

000 



Crowdsourcing 

A bank robber used crowdsourcing to hire a team of identically dressed workmen, aiding his escape 

in the Jun 2006 edition of 

Wired under the title "The 

Rise of Crowdsourcing". 

First use of the term 

"crowdsourcing" 

In 2005, US journalist 

Jeff Howe coined the term 

"crowdsourcing" while 

pitching an article about how 

the internet was being used 

to outsource work to the 

general public, or "crowd". 

The article =::;::: :::_ __ 

appeared 

fi r8 t CrGW\RIVUr 

.•..a- .... . ced 

car design 

Largest platform 

for crowdfunding 

From Kickstarter's 

launch on 28 Apr 

2009 until 4 Mar 2014, 

5.7 million people pledged 

a total of $1 ,001,567,335 

(£598,870,000). This 

support has aided 

57,171 projects to meet 

their funding goals. 

First crowdsourced 

military vehicle design 

The XC2V FL YPMode, made 

by Local Motors and the US 

Defense Advanced Research 

Projects Agency (DARPA), 

used design ideas from 

The Rally Fighter, an off-road racer produced by 

Local Motors (USA), represents the culmination 

of 35,000 designs by 2,900 people from more 

than 100 countries. The car made its debut at 

t h e Specialty Equipment Market 

Association Show in Las 

Vegas, Nevada, USA, 

on 3 Nov 2009. 

Most money pledged 

for a Kickstarter project 

The Pebble (USA) is a customizable watch with 

internet connectivity, message and email alerts, 

and access to sports and fitness apps. The watch 

received pledges of $10,266,845 (£6,468,610) 

by 19 May 2012, surpassing its goal 10-fold. 

more than 150 people. Built 

to replace the Humvee, the 

prototype was presented to 

President Obama in 2011. 

Highest chart placing 

by a crowdfunded album 

Theatre is Evil, an album by 

Amanda Palmer and The 

Grand Theft Orchestra (USA, 

see above right), achieved 

a top 10 placing on the 

Billboard 200 on its release 

in Sep 2012 - the highest 

position achieved by a 

crowdfunded music release. 

2013, "Reaper 

Miniatures 

Bones II" 

(USA) - 

a project 

created to 

fund an expansion 

of the miniatures 

range - sped to 

a pledge total of 

$1 m (£618,000) in 

2 hr 41 min 51 sec. 

Group efforts : the history of crowdsourcing 

Crowdsourcing is nothing new. In the UK, the Oxford 

English Dictionary (left) received six million suggestions 

from the public when it first solicited entries in the 

1850s, while Nelson's Column (below left, erected 

1843) was paid for in part from public subscriptions 

(crowdfunding). In 1567, England's Queen Elizabeth I 

effectively crowdfunded the enlarging of the Navy by 

initiating the first national lottery. Competitions can also 

be considered a form of crowdsourcing: the Longitude 

Prize in the 1700s, for example, sought to find a solution 

to determining a ship's longitude at sea - a problem 

finally solved in 1756 by John Harrison (right). 

What is 

Kickstarter? 

Kickstarter was founded 

by Perry Chen, Yancey 

Strickler and Charles 

Adler (all USA) in New 

York, USA, and launched 

on 28 Apr 2009. The 

concept allows investors 

to pledge money towards 

creative projects in 

return for rewards and 

experiences. However, 

the funds are only handed 

over if the project's entire 

funding goal is met. 

000


(£28,043). FORCES is 

described as a theatrical 

show centred on "action". 

MOST MONEY 

PLEDGED FOR 

A KICKSTARTER ... 

Art project 

The Marina Abramovic 

Institute, a performance and 

education centre 

in New York 

City, USA, 

aimed 

The goal was surpassed on 

25 Aug 2013, with pledges 

of $661,452 (£424,750). 

Dance project 

STREB Extreme Action 

(USA) beat their $45,000 

goal on 25 Nov 2013 

with pledges 

of $45,512 

Fashion project 

Jake Bronstein (USA) is so 

sure of his lifetime-lasting 

hoodie that he provides a 

1 0-year free mending service. 

He passed his funding goal 

on 21 Apr 2013 with pledges 

of $1,053,830 (£690,000). 

Food project 

Scott Heimendinger's 

(USA) "Sansaire Circulator" 

uses sous vide - a method 

of cooking using exact 

temperature control - in 

a product designed for 

the home cook. Final 

pledges reached $823,003 

(£527,000) on 6 Sep 2013. 

Publishing project 

Planet Money's (USA) 

project leads the 

consumer on 

Most crowdfunded 

stage project 

The story of serial killer Patrick Bateman may seem 

an unlikely source for a musical, but American 

Psycho opened in London, UK, in Dec 2013 

with ex-Doctor Who star Matt Smith as the lead. 

Producer Jesse Singer of Act 4 Entertainment 

(USA) had raised pledges of $154,929 (£97,000) 

in May 2013 to help fund the production. 

journey through aT-shirt's 

creation. Each T-shirt has 

a barcode linking to a web 

page featuring photos of 

the people who made it, 

from cotton growers to 

factory workers. Pledges of 

$590,807 (£385,076) were 

received by 14 May 2013. 

Theatre project 

Tim O'Connor (USA) raised 

$175,395 (£108,041) by 

24 Sep 2012 to upgrade 

Catlow Theater in 

Barrington, Illinois, 

USA, with modern 


vldeogame 

console 

The Kickstarter appeal 

to back the OUYA 

(USA) raised $8,596,474 

(£5,500,090) by 9 Aug 

2012. The £99 eighthgeneration 

console 

is an Android-based 

device that connects 

to a standard modern 

TV set and allows 


project (overall) 

Efforts to fund Star Citizen, a space-based trading and combat 

adventure videogame, resulted in the largest single amount ever raised via 

crowdsourcing. As of 4 Mar 2014, publisher Cloud Imperium Games (USA) 

had raised $39,680,576 (£23,726,300) via its own website appeal alone. 

Chris Roberts designed the game, scheduled for release in 2015. 

> 

KICKSTARTER CATEGORIES WITH THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS 

Category 

Q Music 

Film & Video 

O Art 

0 Publishing 

Q Theatfe 

e Games 

• Design 

CD Food 

• Comics 

Total 

$94.20 m 

$163.95 m 

$30.24 m 

$40.42 m 

$19.69 m 

$189.97 m 

$125.13 m 

$30.69 m 

$22.96 m 

Source: kickstarter.com, 4 Mar 2014 

... 

Funded 

Unfunded 

:----- .. . .:- ·,: -· :: . 

, ...--,- · t ,.--;: -- • "' ... _1-'"'"t: """" 

• Children's book: Hello Ruby, 

Unda liukas (USA), $380,747 

(£228,545), 22 Feb 2014 

• Fiction: The Warden and the 

Wolf King, Andrew Peterson 

(USA), $118,188 (£73,631), 

31 Oct 2013 

• Poetry: A Bruise on Light by 

Shane Koyczan (CAN), $91,154 

(£54,656), 26 Feb 2014 


) Great 


Each continent has a Pole of Inaccessibility - its farthest point from an ocean 

The first fully spherical 360° video from the summit of Mount 

Everest was recorded in May 2013. The footage was 

captured with 360Heros' 360° video gear for a documentary 

by Everest Media Productions about Nepalese climber Apa 

Sherpa, who also acted as a consultant for the shoot. The 

veteran sherpa summitted the mountain 21 times between 

1990 and 2011, the most conquests of Mount Everest. 



North Pole 

South Pole 146 

Mount Everest 148 

Mountaineering 150 

Crossing the seas 152 

Endurance 154 

Epic journeys 156 

In Nepal the name of 

Everest is Sagarmatha 

("forehead of the 

sky"), and In Tibet 

It is Chomo/ungma 

("mother goddess 

of the world"). 



g North Po e 

0 m deep 

Canada. The expedition 

was dog-supported 

and Uemura had 

access to re-supplies. 

The 

Expedition 

Nikofay 

Kozlov, Afanasy Makovnev, Vladimir Obikhod, 

Alexey Shkrabkin and Andrey Vankov, led by 

Vasily Elagln) left Golomyanny Island, Russia, on 

1 Mar 2013. Driving two 6 x 6 1ow-pressure-tyre 

ATVs, the team arrived at the North Pole on 6 Apr, 

then continued to the Canadian coast, which 

they reached on 30 Apr. The 60-day journey 

covered approximately 4,000 km (2,480 mi) in all. 

Most polar expeditions 

completed by an individual 

Richard Weber (CAN) has 

successfully completed 

eight polar expeditions. 

He reached the geographic 

North Pole from the 

coast six times between 

2 May 1986 and 14 Apr 

2010, and the geographic 

South Pole twice from the 

coast on 7 Jan 2009 and 

29 Dec 

Three Poles 

Challenge 

First solo expedition 

to the North Pole 

At 4:45 a.m. GMT on 1 May 

1978, Japanese explorer and 

mountaineer Naomi Uemura 

became the first person 

to reach the North Pole in 

a solo expedition across 

the Arctic sea-ice. He had 

travelled 770 km (478 mi), 

setting out on 7 Mar 1978 

from Ellesmere Island in 

First person to ski 

to both poles 

!!L (unassisted, 

The first person to complete the 

Three Poles Challenge was Erling 

Kagge (NOR), who reached the North on 

8 May 1990, the South on 7 Jan 1993, and 

Everest on 8 May 1994. The latest challenger 

was Johan Ernst Nilson (SWE, pictured), who 

topped Everest in May 2007. He began the polar 

stages by being dropped at the North Pole on 22 Jun 

2011 and walking to land, and completed a South Pole 

trek on 19 Jan 2012. Having left from 90°N, Nilson achieved 

the first Three Poles Challenge - North Pole to land. 

unsupported) 

Marek Kaminski 

(POL/USA) reached 

the North Pole from 

Cape Columbia on 

23 May 1995, and 

the South Pole from 

Berkner Island on 27 Dec 

1995. He completed both 

trips under his own power 

and without any external 

assistance. 

FASTEST ... 

Surface journey 

to the North Pole 

On 21 Mar 2005, Tom Avery 

and George Wells (both UK), 

Matty McNair and Hugh 

Dale-Harris (both CAN), 

Andrew Gerber (ZAF) and 

16 husky dogs left Cape 

Columbia on Ellesmere Island 

in Canada. They reached 

the North Pole 36 days 22 hr 

11 min later, on 26 Apr 2005. 

Their journey was an attempt 

to recreate as closely 

as possible the 

disputed 1909 

expedition of 

US explorer 

Robert 

Peary. 

Ski journey to the North 

Pole by a women's team 

Catharine Hartley and Fiona 

Thornewill (both UK) skied to 

the North Pole (with support 

in the form of re-supplies 

en route) in 55 days between 

11 Mar and 5 May 2001 . 

They began their expedition 

from Ward Hunt Island in 

Nunavut, Canada. 

David J P Pierce 

Jones (UK), 

Richard Weber 

and Tessum Weber 

(both CAN) and 

Howard Fairbanks 

(ZAF) took 41 days 

18 hr 52 min to trek 

to the North Pole, 

from 3 Mar to 14 Apr 

2010. The team set out 

from 82.58'02'N and 

of Severnaya'Zemlya in 

the Russian Federation. 

He undertook the trip 

without external assistance 

in 52 days, from 2 Mar to 

23 Apr 1994. This also 

makes him the first person 

to make a solo journey 

to the North Pole from 

land (unsupported, 

unassisted). 

The fastest trek to the 

North Pole by a woman 

(unsupported) was 

achieved by Cecilie Skog 

(NOR). She left Ward Hunt 

Island with Rolf Bae and Per 

Henry Borch (both NOR) on 

6 Mar 2006, reaching the 

Pole 48 days 22 hr later. 

Marathon on each 

continent and the 

North Pole (male) 

From 26 Feb to 9 Apr 2013, 

Ziyad Tariq Rahim (PAK) 

ran a marathon on each 

continent and one at the 

North Pole, taking 41 days 

20 hr 38 min 58 sec in all. 

Adventurers consider Earth 

to have three poles: the 

North and South poles and 

Mount Everest. The latter 

is regarded as a "pole" in 

this context, owing to its 

relative inaccessibility. 

144 Great journeys


Magnetic North Pole: Unlike the 

geographic North Pole, this is not a 

fixed point; it moves by some 60 km 

each year, driven by fluctuations 

in the Earth's magnetic field. This 

is the "north" to which magnetic 

compasses align themselves. 

us to measure wind 

, 

{ speed, temperature, air 

1 ' I pressure and humidity. 

It was also of some 

help to us in predicting 

the weather." 

"Ski goggles protect 

the eyes and part 

of the face in harsh 

weather conditions. 

The yellow and red 

lenses also enhance 

"A very simple and 

ordinary GPS. It's 

lightweight and 

consumes less energy 

than those with colour 

maps. In the Arctic 

Ocean, there is no 

need for GPS maps: 

there is nothing to 

be mapped." 

THREE POLES 

CHALLENGE 

First woman to complete 

the Three Poles Challenge 

Sweden's Tina Sjogren 

reached the North Pole 

on 29 May 2002 with her 

husband Thomas. She 

had summitted Everest on 

26 May 1999 and reached 

the South Pole on 1 Feb 

2002. The couple's two 

polar journeys also mark the 

fastest time to reach both 

poles unsupported. 

First person to complete 

the Three Poles Challenge 

without the use of oxygen 

on Everest 

As of Mar 2014, the only 

person to complete the 

Three Poles Challenge 

unsupported and without 

the use of supplementary 

oxygen is Antoine de 

Choudens (FRA), who 

accomplished this breathtaking 

feat from 25 Apr 

1996 to 10 Jan 1999. 

Fastest time 

to complete 

the Three Poles 

Challenge 

The shortest time 

taken to reach 

the three extreme 

points on Earth 

is 1 year 217 days 

by Adrian Hayes (UK). 

He summitted Everest on 

25 May 2006, reached the 

North Pole on 25 Apr 2007 

(from Ward Hunt Island, 

Canada), and claimed the 

South Pole, journeying 

from the Hercules Inlet 

in western Antarctica, 

on 28 Dec 2007. 

The fastest time 

to complete the Three 

Poles challenge by a 

woman is 1 year 336 days, 

and was accomplished 

by Cecilie Skog (NOR). 

She summitted Mount 

Everest on 23 May 2004, 

reached the South Pole 

on 27 Dec 2005, and 

got to the North Pole 

on 24 Apr 2006. 

In 2012, Audun Tholfsen tNOR) and 

limo Palo (EST), pictured right, set 

out on what would have been Nansen 

and Johansen's return route. The 

duo left the North Pole on 23 Apr 

2012. Using skis and kayaks, but no 

external support or re-supplies, they 

negotiated 1,150 km (715 mi) of drifting 

ice and curious polar bears to reach Phipps0ya 

island, in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, 55 days 

later. They arrived at Longyearbyen, Svalbard, on 

3 Jul, having covered 1,620 km (1 ,060 mi) in all. 

"A sledge, rather than 

this kayak, would have 

been more appropriate 

to pull across the sea-ice 

of the Arctic Ocean. But 

we needed it to cross the 

large open areas of water 

at the later stages of the 

expedition in order to 

get on land and continue 

along the fjords."


g South Po e 

Approximately 90% of the ice on Earth is located in Antarctica 

7 Jan 1993. His 1,400-km 

(870-mi) journey from 

Berkner Island took 50 days. 

The first woman to 

complete a journey 

to the South Pole 

solo (unsupported) 

was Liv Arnesen (NOR), 

who trekked solo from 

the Hercules Inlet on 

4 Nov 1994, arriving at 

the pole 50 days later 

on 24 Dec. 

Norwegians Mads Agerup (main picture, above), 

Christian Eide (photographer, reflected), Morten 

Andvig and Rune Midtgaard skied from the 

Messner Start on the Filchner Ice Shelf to the 

geographic South Pole in 24 days 8 hr 57 min 

between 2 Dec and 26 Dec 2008. 

First expedition to 

reach the South Pole 

The South Pole was 

conquered on 14 Dec 1911 

by a Norwegian party of five 

men led by Captain Roald 

Amundsen, after a 53-day 

march with dog sledges 

from the Bay of Whales, 

then part of Antarctica's 

Ross Ice Shelf. 

A total of 19 expeditions 

in Antarctica were 

undertaken in 2011, the 

most expeditions to 

the South Pole in a 

single year. Most of the 

expeditions were launched 

with the aim of marking 

the centenary of Captain 

Robert Scott (UK) and 

Roald Amundsen's race 

to the South Pole. Around 

500 people were involved 

in the various attempts, 

either as participants or 

working as support staff. 

The first person to 

walk to both poles was 

Robert Swan OBE (UK). 

He led the three-man "In 

the Footsteps of Scott" 

expedition, which reached 

the South Pole on 11 Jan 

1986, and three years later 

headed the eight-man 

"lcewalk" expedition, which 

arrived at the North Pole 

on 14 May 1989. 

First solo expedition 

to the South Pole 

Erling Kagge (NOR) became 

the first person to reach the 

South Pole after a solo and 

unsupported surface trek on 

Fastest journey to the 

South Pole overland 

Two-man team Jason De 

Carteret and Kieron Bradley 

(both UK) set off from Patriot 

Hills in western Antarctica 

on 18 Dec 2011 in their 

Thomson Reuters polar 

vehicle. They arrived at their 

destination 1 day 15 hr 

54 min later. Having 

Farthest distance skied 

by a team (unsupported) 

James Castrission and Justin Jones (both AUS, 

above left and right) skied 2,270 km (1 ,410 mi) 

from the Hercules Inlet to the South Pole and 

back, finishing on 27 Jan 2012 after an 89-day 

trek. They crossed the finish line with Aleksander 

Gamme (NOR, centre), who had completed the 

trip solo (see opposite). 

covered 1,114 km (692 mi) 

at an average speed of 

27.9 km/h (17.34 mph), they 

also recorded the fastest 

average speed to the 

South Pole overland. 

Fastest walk to the 

South Pole (unsupported, 

unassisted) 

Ray Zahab, Kevin Vallely 

and Richard Weber (all CAN) 

reached the South Pole from 

the Hercules Inlet, on the 

south-western edge of the 

Ronne Ice Shelf, on 7 Jan 

2009 after 33 days 23 hr 

30 min. 

Farthest distance skied 

solo (unsupported) 

Aleksander Gam me (NOR) 

skied solo for 2,270 km 

(1 ,410 mi) across Antarctica, 

completing his epic journey 

on 25 Jan 2012 (local time). 

He set off from the Hercules 

Inlet and travelled to the 

expeditions 

were attempted 

during the winter 

of 2013/14 but 

evidence has yet 

to be collated.


South Pole: located 

at 90"S. Ice is about 

2,800 m thick here. As 

with the North Pole, there 

is also a magnetic South 

Pole, which fluctuates 

with Earth's magnetic 

field. It is presently in 

the Southern Ocean, 

0 

I some 2,825 km from the 

geographic South Pole. 

an 

"Antarctica is right beneath the 

ozone hole, so there is little or no 

natural protection from the Sun's 

harmful UV rays. Without these ski 

goggles for eye protection, I would 

quickly have gone snow·blind." 

"These mittens have 

both a fleece inner 

Antarctica is larger than 

the entire continent 

of Europe (and bigger 

than the USA), and is 

nearly twice the size 

of Australia. 

1 km (0.6 mi) from his start. 

There, he waited two days 

to cross the finish line with 

two other skiers -James 

Castrission and Justin 

Jones (both AUS) - who 

had travelled a similar route. 

On 27 Jan 2012, the 

three men returned to 

their starting point at the 

Hercules Inlet. They had 

travelled without food drops, 

snowmobiles, kites or 

other means of assistance, 

thereby setting the record 

for the first ski trip to the 

South Pole and back 

(unassisted). 

"In the extreme cold, my 

face had to be covered at all 

times. This face mask has - - - 

a clever system that allows 

me to breathe freely without 

losing too much heat." 

across Antarctica to 

Inlet on the Ronne Ice Shelf, arriving 

59 days later on 23 Jan 2012. Aston 

made the 1,744-km (1 ,084-mile) 

journey - with re-supplies - on 

Nordic cross-country skis, dragging 

85 kg (1 87 lb) of provisions on two 

sledges in temperatures as low 

as -40°C (-40°F). 

Youngest person to 

traverse Antarctica 

(supported and 

wind-assisted) 

Teodor Johansen 

(NOR, b. 14 Aug 1991) 

traversed Antarctica 

at the age of 20 years 

151 days. Johansen 

started out on his journey 

from the Axel Heiberg 

Glacier on 26 Nov 2011, 

reaching the South Pole on 

18 Dec 2011 and completing 

the trip at the Hercules 

Inlet on 12 Jan 2012. In 

all, Johansen covered 

1,665 km (1,034 mi). 

"These meals were made 

especially for me with added 

carbohydrate and fat for 

energy. Once cooked, the 

meals are dehydrated to 

make them light to carry. 

To eat them, I simply had to 

pour hot water into the bag 

and wait a few minutes." 

"This jacket is lightweight 

but it is a very effective 

wind barrier and so 

keeps me warm when 

I am skiing. It has deep, 

well-placed pockets so 

I had easy access to 

the equipment I needed 

while skiing." 

J 

"The sledges were made 

of strengthened plastic that 

was lightweight and resilient. 

I dragged two sledges, one 

behind the other, together 

containing all my equipment." 

First circumnavigation 

via both poles (surface) 

Sir Ranulph Fiennes (UK) - 

named in 1984 by GWR's 

Founding Editor Norris 

McWhirter as the greatest 

living explorer - travelled 

south with Charles Burton 

(UK) from Greenwich in 

London, UK, on 2 Sep 1979. 

They reached the South Pole 

on 15 Dec 1980, the North 

on 10 Apr 1982, and returned 

to Greenwich on 29 Aug 

1982 after a 56,000-km 

(35,000-mi) journey. 

"The highlight of my 

day was crawling into 

the tent when I had 

finished skiing, taking 

off my ski boots and 

slipping my feet into 

mY treasured down 

booties. Warm and 

comfortable, I often 

slept in them too!" 

"This shovel was a vital piece 

of kit. At the end of each day, 

the tent has to be dug into 

the snow for protection 

against high winds. And in 

the morning, all the snow that 

has accumulated overnight 

has to be dug away." 

"One of the major 

hazards in Antarctica 

are crevasses that 

are hidden from the 

surface by a thin 

layer of snow. Skis, 

especially long ones, 

spread out the skier's 

weight and reduce 

the likelihood of falling 

through the snow into 

an unseen crevasse . ..


o Mount Eve rest 

It took 16 attempts before the highest peak was finally conquered 

time on 19 May 2012, aged 

73 years 180 days, making 

her the oldest woman to 

climb Everest. 

2009, 

Parazynski (USA) successfully topped Everest, 

becoming the first person to travel in space 

and climb Earth's highest mountain. According 

to NASA, Parazynski participated in five space 

flights and spent more than 1 ,380 hr in space. 

Once at the top of Everest, he left a small Moon 

rock that he had collected during one of his 

seven space walks. 

Most ascents of Everest 

(female) 

Lakpa Sherpa (NPL) 

reached the 8,848-m-high 

(29,029-ft) summit of 

Everest for the sixth time 

on 11 May 2006. She made 

the climb accompanied by 

her husband, Gheorghe 

"George" Dijmarescu (ROM/ 

USA), who was completing 

his eighth ascent of Everest. 

For the most conquests of 

Everest overall, see p.142. 

Most ascents of Everest 

in one day 

On 19 May 2012, a total 

of 243 climbers summitted 

Everest - the most on a single 

day. The most ascents of 

Everest in one year came 

in 2013, with 658 ascents, 

up from 623 in 2007. 

Tragically, an avalanche 

near Everest's base camp 

on 18 Apr 2014 killed 

16 Nepalese climbers, the 

most deaths on Everest 

in one day. 

Longest stay on 

the summit of Everest 

Babu Chhiri Sherpa (NPL) 

completed a stay of 21 hr 

at the summit of Everest, 

without the use of bottled 

oxygen, in May 1999. 

Oldest man 

to climb Everest 

Yuichiro Miura (JPN, 

b. 12 Oct 1932) reached the 

top of Everest on 23 May 

2013, at the age of 80 years 

223 days. This is the third 

time that he has held this 

record: he previously 

climbed to the highest point 

on Earth as the world's 

oldest summiteer in 2003 

and again during 2008. 

The achievement also 

makes Miura the oldest 

man to climb any 

mountain over 8,000 m. 

Tamae Watanabe (JPN, 

b. 21 Nov 1938) climbed 

Everest for the second 


ski down Everest 

Slovenian ski instructor 

Davo Kamicar skied from 

the summit of Everest to 

Base Camp (located at 

an altitude of 5,350 m, or 

17,550 ft) in just 5 hr on 

7 Oct 2000. By contrast, it 

took him a whole month to 

get to the mountain top, as 

he was obliged to stop at 

several camps to acclimatize 

to the extreme altitude. 

b. 14 NOv 1995) 

reached the summit from the Nepali side on 

19 May 2012, aged 16 years 187 days. She 

and her father, Dendi Sherpa (NPL), are the 

first father and daughter to climb Everest 

together. The youngest woman to climb from 

the north side (Tibet) was 15-year-old Mingkipa 

Sherpa (NPL, b. 1987) on 22 May 2003. 

Fastest ascent 

of Everest (south side) 

Pemba Dorje Sherpa (NPL) 

climbed from Base Camp 

to the peak of Everest in 

a time of 8 hr 10 min on 

21 May 2004. 

FIRST ... 

Ascent of Everest 

At 11:30 a.m. on 29 May 

1953, Edmund Percival 

Hillary (NZ) and Tenzing 

Norgay (I NO/Tibet) became 

the first people to conquer 

Everest. The successful 

expedition was led by 

Colonel (later Honorary 

Brigadier) Henry Cecil 

John Hunt. Hillary was 

knighted by Queen 

Elizabeth II and Norgay 

awarded the George Medal. 

Junko Tabei (JPN) 

achieved the first ascent 

of Everest by a woman, 

reaching the summit on 

16 May 1975. 

Ascent of Everest 

without oxygen 

Reinhold Messner (ITA) 

and Peter Habeler (AUT) 

made the first successful 

ascent of Everest without 

supplemental oxygen, on 

8 May 1978. This feat is 

regarded by some purist 

mountaineers as the first 

"true" ascent of Everest, 

because overcoming the 

effects of altitude (i.e., the 

low oxygen content of the 

air) is the greatest challenge 

facing high-altitude climbers. 

(16,942 ft) above sea level at the Gorak Shep 

plateau near Everest on 21 Apr 2009. This epic 

feat saw two 15-man squads, three qualified 

cricket umpires, four medics, two members of the 

press and 10 spectators scale the heights to the 

plateau. Team Hillary defeated Team Tenzing. 

1 48 Great journeys


"Oxygen levels at the 

summit of Everest are 

approximately one-third 

of those available at sea 

level. This mask mixes 

pure oxygen from a tank 

with ambient air." 

"These goggles 

protect my eyes from 

hurricane-speed 

winds and the Sun 

reflected on the snow, 

which can cause 

blindness. The LED 

headlamp illuminates 

my way when I'm 

climbing at night." 

(both IND) are the first 

twin sisters to have climbed Everest, doing 

so on 19 May 2013. They reached the peak 

alongside Samina Baig, the first Pakistani 

woman to complete the climb. All three 

successful climbers raised the flags of both 

countries in a symbolic gesture of peace. 

On 20 Aug 1980, 

Messner also became the 

first person to ascend 

Everest solo. It took him 

three days to make the 

climb from his base camp 

at 6,500 m (21 ,325 ft) - 

again without the benefit 

of supplementary oxygen. 

Blind person 


Erik Weihenmayer (USA) 

was born with retinoschisis, 

an eye condition that left 

him blind by the age of 13. 

Despite this, on 25 May 

2001 , he topped Everest, the 

first - and so far only - blind 

person to have done so. 

Erik's other notable feats 

include his 2008 completion 

of the Seven Summits - the 

highest mountain on each 

of the seven continents (see 

p.150) - making him the first 

blind person to climb the 

Seven Summits including 

Carstensz. 

Married couple 


On 7 Oct 1990, Andrej and 

Marija Stremfelj (both SVN) 

became the first married 

couple to conquer Everest, 

climbing via the South Col. 

On the same day, Jean 

Noel and Bertrand "Zebulon" 

Roche (both FRA) became 

the first father and son 

team to summit Everest. 

Oonzfllez 

the peak of Everest from Nepal on 

the south side on 11 May 2013 and 

returned to the peak on 19 May 2013, 

climbing from Tibet on the north side. 

This is the first time that any climber 

has scaled the mountain from both 

sides in one climbing season. 

"This is an ascender: 

a safety device that 

allows climbers to clip 

into ropes and anchors 

already set up on the 

route. It's attached to 

Machine (such as a Versaclimber stepping machine). 

Requires climbing the equivalent of 8,848 m (29,029 ft) 

Individual 

Male 

(team) 

2 hr 53 min Richard Pemberton (AUS) 

47 sec 

1 hr 56 min Richard Saville, Edward Kerry, 

8 sec Steve Wilson, Chris Grimshaw, 

Charlie Boyes, Dan Levy, Dave 

Rome and Kevin Williams (all UK) 

Female 2 hr 45 min Bridget Funnell, Victoria Brown, 

(team) 53 sec Natasha Jones, Sarah Ruscombe- 

King, Sandra Heard, Margaret 

Reeve, Sandra Cann and Nicola 

Hammond (all UK) 

Indoor climbing wall 

Individual 

Team 

13 hr I Tom Lancaster (UK) 

25 min 

I 

4 hr 24 min The Climbing Society at 

33 sec Texas A&M University-Commerce 

(USA) 

"The double-layer 

boots protect the toes 

against frostbite and are 

comfortable enough to be 

worn for hours and hours. 

The crampons are easily 

attached to the boots, and 

allow climbers to ascend 

steep ice sections where 

boots alone would slip." 

J 

- - 

1 49


g Mountai neeri n 

The Seven Summits' combined height is the equivalent of 113 Eiffel Towers 

The first woman to 

summit all 8,000ers 

without bottled 

oxygen was Gerlinde 

Kaltenbrunner (AUT) on 

23 Aug 2011. 

In 1953, Hermann 

person to climb Nanga Parbat - the ninthhighest 

mountain, situated in the Himalayas at 

8,125 m (26,656 ft). It was not until 15 Jul 2012 

that it was ascended via the technically difficult 

Mazeno Ridge or west-southwest route - one 

of the most demanding challenges in alpinism - 

by Sandy Allan and Rick Allen (both UK). 

FIRST ... 

Person to climb 

the Seven Summits 

The highest mountains 

on each of the continents 

are known as the "Seven 

Summits" (see table). Two 

lists have been compiled: the 

"Bass list", which includes 

Mount Kosciuszko in New 

South Wales, Australia, and 

the more difficult "Messner 

list", which recognizes 

Oceania's highest point as 

Puncak Jaya in Indonesia. 

Patrick Morrow (CAN) 

completed the Messner 

list on 5 Aug 1986 with a 

summit of Puncak Jaya. 

Woman to climb 

the Seven Summits 

On 28 Jun 1992, Junko Tabei 

(JPN) topped Puncak Jaya, 

completing Messner's list. 

Tabei also recorded the first 

ascent of Everest by a 

woman, when she climbed 

it on 16 May 1975. 

It took Vanessa O'Brien 

(USA) 295 days to climb 

both Messner's and 

Bass's list -the fastest 

Seven Summits ascent 

(female). Vanessa began 

with Everest on 19 May 2012 

and finished on Kilimanjaro 

on 10 Mar 2013. 

Person to climb 

all 8,000-m mountains 

Reinhold Messner (ITA) 

began his quest to climb 

each of the 14 mountains 

higher than 8,000 m 

(26,246 ft) in Jun 1970. He 

completed the feat with a 

summit of Lhotse, on the 

Nepal-Tibet border, on 

16 Oct 1986. The feat is 

so difficult that as of 25 Apr 

2014 - nearly 30 years 

later - only 32 people 

had successfully tackled 

all 14 mountains. 

Woman to climb 

all 8,000-m mountains 

On 17 May 2010, Edurne 

Pasaban Lizarribar (ESP) 

completed her climb of the 

14 mountains over 8,000 m 

(undisputed) by summitting 

Shisha Pangma in Tibet. 

A month earlier, Oh Eun-Sun 

(KOR) had claimed this title, 

but doubt was cast on one 

of her summits and her 

record remains disputed. 

Person to complete the 

Explorers' Grand Slam 

The Explorers' Grand 

Slam comprises climbing 

the Seven Summits, 

the 14 mountains over 

8,000 m and trekking to 

the North and South poles 

on foot. Park Young-Seok 

(KOR) began by climbing 

Everest on 16 May 1993 and 

completed the feat when 

In IndOnesia was first 

topped by Heinrich 

Harrer (AUT), Philip 

Temple, Russell 

Kippax (both NZ) and 

Albertus Huizenga 

(NLD). The team 

reached the summit 

on 13 Feb 1962. It is 

considered the most 

difficult of the Seven 

Summits to climb. 

he reached the North Pole 

on 30 Apr 2005. Sadly, 

Park died in Oct 2011 on 

Annapurna, renowned 

as the world's deadliest 

mountain. 

Ascent of K2 

On 31 Jul 1954, Italians 

Achille Compagnoni and 

Lino Lacedelli completed 

the first ascent of K2, which 

at 8,61 1 m (28,251 ft) is the 

world's second-highest 

mountain. K2 is situated in 

the Karakoram range, on 

the border between Pakistan 

and China. 

Wanda Rutkiewicz (POL) 

became the first woman to 

climb K2 on 23 Jun 1986. 

Russia's Andrew Mariev 

and Vadim Popovich 

completed the first ascent 

of K2's west face, on 

21 Aug 2007, after a gruelling 

10-week climb. The pair - 

As with many mountaineering distinctions, the definition of the "Seven Summits" is disputed. 

Some climbers include Kosciuszko in Australia over Carstensz. Others place Elbrus within the 

borders of Asia, and thus regard Mount Blanc as Europe's highest mountain. 

Continent 

Africa 

Antarctica 

Asia 

Australasia 

Europe 

North America 

Mountain 

Kilimanjaro 

Vinson Massif 

Everest 

Puncak Jaya, aka Carstensz 

Elbrus 

McKinley, aka Denali 

South America Aconcagua 

Source: www.BOOOers.com 

Location Height First climbed 

Tanzania 5,895 m 6 Oct 1889 

Antarctica 4,892 m 18 Dec 1966 

Nepal/China 8,848 m 29 May 1953 

Indonesia 4,884 m 13 Feb 1962 

Russia 5,642 m 27 Jul 1874 

USA 6,194 m 7 Jun 1913 

Argentina 6,962 m 14 Jan 1897 

led by Viktor Kozlov (RUS) 

- conquered this notoriously 

vicious face and reached 

the peak without the use 

of supplementary oxygen. 

Ascent of Kangchenjunga 

The third-highest mountain 

(8,586 m; 28,169 ft) was first 

climbed on 25 May 1955 

by George Bahd and Joe 

Brown (both UK). 

150 Great journeys


FACT 

Kim Chang-Ho made a 

sea-to-summit ascent 

of Everest, starting 

from sea level at the 

Bay of Bengal. 

over 8,000 m (26,246 ft) In a time of 7 years 

310 days, starting with his summit of Nanga 

Parbat on 14 Jul 2005 and ending with Everest 

on 20 May 2013. Significantly, he completed 

all climbs without supplemental oxygen. 

The first female to 

climb Kangchenjunga 

was Ginette Harrison 

(UK), who summitted via 

the north-west face on 

18 May 1998. 

OLDEST ... 

Person to climb the Seven 

Summits (Messner list) 

Male: Takao Arayama (JPN, 

b. 4 Oct 1935) completed his 

final Seven Summits climb 

on Kilimanjaro in Tanzania 

on 18 Feb 2010, at the age 

of 74 years 138 days. 

Female: Carol Masheter 

(USA, b. 10 Oct 1946) 

completed her last Seven 

Summits climb of the 

Messner list with an ascent 

of Carstensz Pyramid on 

12 Jul 2012, at the age of 

65 years 276 days. Masheter 

also climbed Kosciuszko on 

17 Mar 2012, thus becoming 

the oldest female to climb 

the Bass list. 

Person to climb the 

Seven Summits (Bass list) 

Ramon Blanco (ESP, 

b. 30 Apr 1933) completed 

the last mountain on the 

Bass list on 29 Dec 2003, 

aged 70 years 244 days old. 

Person to climb an 

8,000er without bottled 

oxygen 

Only five people older than 

65 have summjtted an 

8,000er without the use 

of bottled oxygen. The 

oldest of these was Boris 

Korshunov (RUS, b. 31 Aug 

1935), who climbed Cho 

Oyu on 2 Oct 2007 aged 

72 years 32 days. However, 

as some alpinists dispute 

Korshunov's claim, the 

undisputed record goes to 

Carlos Soria (ESP, b. 5 Feb 

1939), who summitted 

Manaslu on 1 Oct 2010, 

aged 71 years 238 days. 

Building' on the ldea of the S8vert tiUIMIRS, 

the Triple Seven Summits refers to climbing 

the three highest mountains on each continent. 

Christian Stangl (AUT) was the first to achieve 

the feat when he finished with Europe's thirdhighest 

mountain, Shkhara, on 23 Aug 2013. 

While achieving this hat-trick, Stangl 

also became the first person to climb the 

Seven Second Summits and the Seven Third 

Summits, having conquered the second-highest 

mountain on each continent by 15 Jan 2013. 

Continent Second Summits Third Summits 

Africa Batian (5,199 m) Mawenzi (5,148 m) 

Antarctica Tyree (4,852 m) Shinn (4,660 m) 

Asia K2 (8,611 m) Kangchenjunga 

(8,586 m) 

Australasia Sumantri (4,870 m) Puncak Mandala 

(4,758 m) 

Europe Dykh-tau (5,205 m) Shkhara (5,193 m) 

North America Logan (5,959 m) Orizaba (5,636 m) 

South America Ojos del Salado Pissis (6,795 m) 

(6,893 m) 

I 

t 

I 

151


g Crossin the seas 

As of Sep 2013, a total of 340 ocean rows had been successfully completed 

Eoln Hartwright {UK, b. 17 Jan 1997) was 

16 years 340 days old when he left La Gomera 

in the Canary Islands, Spain, to row the Atlantic 

Ocean east to west. The team, also consisting 

of Simon Hartwright (Eoin's uncle), Matthew 

Collier and Tom Alden, reached Antigua in the 

Trilogy Extra on 4 Feb 2013, in just under 44 days. 

Fastest single-handed 

transatlantic sailing 

Francis Joyon (FRA) sailed 

from New York City, USA, 

to Cornwall, UK, in 5 days 

2 hr 56 min. He arrived on 

16 Jun 2013 after a trip of 

2,880 nautical mi (5,333 km; 

3,314 mi). Joyon still holds 

the fastest global solo 

circumnavigation sailing 

record, set back in 2008 at 

57 days 13 hr 34 min. He 

sailed 21 ,600 nautical mi 

(38,900 km; 24,170 mi). 

Fastest row across 

the Indian Ocean, 

east to west 

Maxime Chaya (LBN), Livar 

Nysted (DNK) and Stuart 

Kershaw (UK) rowed from 

Geraldton, Australia, to 

Mauritius on board tRIO. 

Fastest single-handed 

sail from Cadiz to 

San Salvador 

Following a similar route to 

that of Christopher Columbus 

- leading to its name "The 

Discovery Route" - Armel 

Le Cleac'h (FRA) sailed 

from Cadiz in Spain to San 

Salvador in The Bahamas 

in 6 days 23 hr 42 min. Le 

Cleac'h sailed in his 31.4-m 

(103-ft) trimaran Banque 

Populaire 7 and completed 

the 3,884-nautical-mi 

(7,193.17-km; 4,469.62-mi) 

route on 23-30 Jan 2014 

at an average speed of 

23.16 knots (42.89 km/h; 

26.65 mph). 

On 26-27 Jan, during 

the voyage, veteran sailor 

Le Cleac'h also achieved 

the greatest distance 

sailed in 24 hours 

single-handedly, 

covering 682.85 nautical mi 

(1 ,264.64 km; 785.81 mi). 

Youngest tandem row 

across an ocean 

(598.4 ml) In the Atlantic Ocean between the 

Portuguese cities of Lisbon and Funchal on 

11-13 Sep 2013. The voyage took him 48 hr 

55 min, during which time he was the sole 

pilot and had no sleep. 

UK rowers Jamie Sparks (b. 11 Jan 1992) and 

Luke Birch (b. 4 Jul 1992) set off on 4 Dec 2013 

in the Maple Leaf from La Gomera, Spain, 

on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Aged, 

respectively, 21 years 327 days and 21 years 

153 days on departure, they reached English 

Harbour in Antigua 54 days 5 hr pJIIiii..C::..IIII! 

56 min later, on 27 Jan 2014, 

having covered 4,722.6 km 

(2,934.48 mi). 

Their trip - which took 

57 days 15 hr 49 min, from 

9 Jun to 5 Aug 2013 - also 

represents the first team 

of three to row an ocean. 

First person to row mid 

Pacific west to east solo 

Sarah Outen (UK) rowed 

on board Happy Socks 

from Choshi in Japan to 

Adak in Alaska, USA, taking 

149 days 13 hr between 

27 Apr and 23 Sep 2013. 

Prior to this, at the age 

of 23 years 310 days, 

Outen (b. 26 May 1985) 

had become the youngest 

female to row the Indian 

Ocean solo. She made 

her epic east-to-west 

crossing between I Apr 

and 3 Aug 2009. 

Longest distance 

rowed solo 

non-stop in the 

Atlantic (female) 

Janice Jakait (DEU) 

rowed 5, 705 km 

(3,545 mi) as the crow 

flies, east to west from 

Portugal to Barbados, 

from 23 Nov 2011 

to 21 Feb 2012. This 

also makes her the 

first woman to row 

across the Atlantic 

"'1ll!llli.lW..,..._ east to west from 

mainland Europe to 

the West Indies solo, 

a feat unmatched as 

of Apr 2014.


Youngest person to row 

solo across an ocean 

On 14 Mar 2010, Katie 

Spotz (USA, b. 18 Apr 1987) 

completed her 70-day row 

across the Atlantic, east 

to west from Senegal to 

Guyana. When she set off 

on 3 Jan 2010, she was 


Tommy Tippetts (UK, 

b. 26 Mar 1989) was 

22 years 301 days old at the 

start of his trip east to west 

across the Atlantic, making 

him the youngest male 

to row solo across an 

ocean. His trip took place 

from 21 Jan to 12 Apr 2012. 

137 days 20 hr 1 min, finlshlng:on·- Apr 2&tS. In 

2005-06, he was the first Chinese sailor to take 

part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, 

founded by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (UK, above 

right, with GWR's Frank Chambers). Sir Robin 

became the first person to sail solo around 

the world (non-stop) on 22 Apr 1969, as the 

only finisher of the Golden Globe Race. 

TASMAN SEA 

First solo row 

From 6 Feb to 10 Apr 

1977, Colin Ouincey (NZ) 

rowed solo in the Ta sman 

Trespasser across the 

Tasman Sea - a stretch 

of water approximately 

2,000 km (1 ,200 mi) wide 

and known locally as "The 

Ditch". Quincey rowed 

from Hokianga in New 

Zealand to Marcus Beach 

in Queensland, Australia, 

taking 63 days 7 hr. 

The first person to 

row across the Tasman 

Sea west to east (from the 

mainland) is Shaun Ouincey 

(NZ) - Colin's son. He rowed 

in Tasman Trespasser 2 

from New South Wales 

in Australia to Ninety Mile 

Beach in New Zealand. 

The trip took him 53 days, 

between 20 Jan and 

14 Mar 2010. 

First team to row 

east to west 

Steven Gates, Andrew 

Johnson, Kerry Tozer and 

Sally Macready (all AUS) 

rowed from Hokianga in New 

Zealand to Sydney Harbour, 

Australia, between 29 Nov 

and 30 Dec 2007. 

The first team to 

row west to east was 

Nigel Cherrie, Martin 

Berka, James Blake and 

Andrew McCowan (all 

NZ), from Sydney to the Bay 

of Islands, between 26 Nov 

2011 and 16 Jan 2012. 

"The satellite phone 

is for safety first and 

foremost but it's good 

to hear news from 

back at home and tell 

loved ones how the 

rowers are 

 

,.,).. ' 

"Fenders are only 

used in port and not 

taken on the trip. They 

prevent damage to the 

boat when moored." 

rations - and is good 

for making the odd 

cup of tea too!" 

ocean rows. He rowed east to west across the Atlantic Ocean in 

teams of two (1997), five (2007/08), six (2013), eight (2012 and 

2014) and 14 (2011). He rowed the Indian Ocean east to west, solo, 

in 2003 - making him the youngest male rower to cross 

the Indian Ocean - and in a team of eight in 2009.


End urance 

We can survive for about two months without food, but only around five days without water 

Model Basin in Bethesda, 

Maryland, USA. It was piloted 

by Sebastien Brisebois and 

Joel Brunet (both CAN) of 

the Ecole de Technologie 

Superieure at the University 

of Quebec, Canada. 

Most countries visited 

by bicycle in seven days 

Between 29 Apr and 5 May 

2013, Glen Burmeister (UK) 

cycled through 11 countries, 

from Breclav in the Czech 

Republic to Shkoder in 

Albania. Burmeister passed 

through Austria, Slovakia, 

Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, 

Romania, Serbia, Bosnia 

and Herzegovina and 

Montenegro. 

Fastest speed in 

a human-powered 

vehicle (multiple riders) 

On 14 Sep 2013, Tom 

Amick and Phil Plath (both 

USA) reached 117.61 km/h 

(73.08 mph) in their 

streamlined recumbent 

bicycle Glowworm on a flat 

road surface at the World 

Human Powered Speed 

Challenge near Battle 

Mountain in Nevada, USA. 

Fastest circumnavigation 

by bicycle (female) 

In just 152 days 1 hr, Juliana 

Buhring (DEU) cycled a 

total distance of 29,069 km 

(18,063 mi). The journey 

Longest time flying in 

a human-powered vehicle 

Kanellos Kanellopoulos 

(GRC) kept his Daedalus 88 

started and finished at Piazza aircraft aloft for 3 hr 54 min 

Plebiscita in Naples, Italy, and 59 sec on 23 Apr 1988, 

lasted from 23 Jul until 

while pedalling 

,..- 

22 Dec 2012. /_. '· the 115.1 1 km 

/ 

(71.93 mi) 

Fastest human- 

between 

powered 

propeller 

submarine 

In Jun 2007, 

the two-person, 

propeller-driven 

Severinsen (DNK) swam 152 m under 

ice, with his breath held, at Qorfortoq Lake on 

Ammassalik Island, Greenland, on 16 Apr 2013. 

He returned the next day to make the farthest 

swim under ice with breath held (no fins, 

no diving suit): 76 m (250 ft). 

Crete, and the Greek island 

of Santorini. Unfortunately, 

a gust of wind broke off the 

plane's tail and it crashed just 

before reaching shore. 

LONGEST 

JOURNEY ... 

Oct 2013, 

in the 16th annual 

Sri Chinmoy 24-hour 

race in Auckland, New 

Zealand. En route, he 

clocked the fastest 

100 km barefoot, in 


Fastest crossing of the USA by bicycle 

During the Race Across America in 2013, Christoph Strasser (AUT) 

cycled across the USA in 7 days 22 hr 11 min, completing the trip 

on 19 Jun. In doing so, the indefatigable cyclist also became the first 

person to cross the USA coast to coast in under 8 days. 

154 Great journeys

155 


"I used these beat-up 

binoculars for 20-30 

years. They were small 

but clear for finding 

a way over difficult 

mountains or ravines. 

Also, to see in wars, 

where the shooting 

and bombing was." 

visited 159 countries, 

starting out from Romford 

in Essex, UK. 

On crutches 

From 21 Mar to 27 Jul 

2011, Guy Amalfitano 

(FRA) journeyed 4,004 km 

(2,488 mi) through France 

on crutches. His journey 

took him from Saliesde-Bearn 

to the Centre 

Hospitalier in Orthez. 

On roller skis 

Between 11 May and 5 Jul 

2012, Cesar Baeha (VEN) 

travelled 2,246.21 km 

(1 ,395.73 mi) on roller skis 

from Stockholm in Sweden 

to Oslo in Norway. 

On inline skates 

Khoo Swee Chiow (SGP) 

covered a distance of 

6,088 km (3,782 mi) on inline 

skates. Khoo departed 

from Hanoi in Vietnam on 

20 Oct 2007 and arrived in 

Singapore on 21 Jan 2008. 

Swimming in open water 

Martin Strel (SVN) swam 

5,268 km (3,273 mi) down 

the length of the Amazon 

River in Peru and Brazil 

from 1 Feb to 8 Apr 2007. 

Walking backwards 

To date, the greatest 

exponent of reverse 

pedestrianism is 

Plennie L Wingo 

(USA). From 

15 Apr 1931 to 

24 Oct 1932, 

he walked 

12,875 km 

(8,000 mi) 

from Santa Monica 

in California, USA, to 

Istanbul in Turkey at 

a rate of 24.89 km 

(15.47 mi) per day. 

"I've used this hipster 

for 20 years. It carries 

my small Bible and 

sometimes my 

passport. Sometimes 

I have food snacks in 

it, too. It's like a small 

backpack. I still use it." 

"My army knife is 

one thing that always 

goes with me. It fits 

right on my belt with 

its bottle- and canopener, 

sewing kit, 

paper, writing pen, 

magnifying glass, 

saw, wrench, scissors, 

screwdriver and stone 

for sharpening." 

all seven continents, 

including Antarctica, 

having traversed 321 

nations, island groups 

and territories carrying a 

3.7-m-tall (12-ft) wooden 

cross and preaching from 

the Bible throughout. 

"A true pleasure, these 

utensils fit inside a plastic 

holder with a salt and pepper 

shaker. So even with dirty 

hands on the road and 

awful food at least I have 

with." 

"My water canteen, last 

used in the Darien Gap 

in Panama/Colombia in 

1978. I've never gotten 

sick from the water 

sources I used on the 

roads of the world. 

Fastest speed in a humanpowered 

vehicle (female) 

On 15 Sep 2010, Barbara Buatois (FAA) reached 

a speed of 121 .81 km/h (75.69 mph} pedalling her 

streamlined recumbent bicycle Varna Te mpest. 

She achieved the feat on a flat road surface at 

the World Human Powered Speed Challenge 

near Battle Mountain in Nevada, USA. 

"Keep the passport dry, 

out of sight and away 

from sticky fingers - 

some border police of 

remote areas would hold 

the passport for a bribe. 

Interestingly, it's the 

smallest countries that 

have a full-page stamp!" 

"In 1969, there were only working 

boots - it was years before specialist 

walking shoes became developed. 

I learned the hard way to get walking 

shoes that were larger than my typical 

shoe size: I would have to cut holes on 

the side for my toes. I tighten my shoe 

laces in the morning and loosen 

them as my feet expand." 

wood wears away as 

it drags on the rocks 

and pavement, and 

I'd have to replace the 

cross every few weeks 

without the wheel."

IC 


We walk the equivalent of about four times around Earth in a lifetime 

applicable in 1g8g and 1991 

embracing more than an 

equator's length of driving 

(24,g01 road miles; 

40,075 km), is 

I 

held by Saloo 

Choudhury and 

his wife Neena 

Choudhury (both India). 

The journey took 69 days 

19 hours 5 minutes 

from 9 September to 

11 17 November 1989. 

The couple drove a 

1989 Hindustan "Contessa 

Classic" starting and 

finishing in Delhi, India. 

Longest journey ... 

• Barefoot: Michael Essing 

(DEU) walked 1,488.09 km 

(924.65 mi) on his bare feet 

between the German towns 

of Flensburg and Efringen- 

Kirchen from 30 May to 

5 Sep 2013. 

Theodore Rezvoy and Evgeniy Stoyanov (both 

UKR) rode 14,434 km (8,968 mi) from Odessa 

in Ukraine to Ulan-Ude in Russia on two 50-cc 

Honda Zoomer scooters between 11 Jul and 

11 Sep 2013. In doing so, they surpassed the 

previous record, set in 2010, by approximately 

2,000 km (1,240 mi). 

BY AIR 


by microlight 

Colin Bodill (UK) circled 

the globe in his Mainair 

Blade 912 Flexwing 

microlight aircraft in 

99 days from 31 May 

to 6 Sep 2000, 

starting and landing at 

Brooklands airfield in 

Weybridge, Surrey, UK. 

Accompanying him was 

Jennifer Murray (UK), 

who made the fastest 

circumnavigation by 

helicopter (female) 

on the trip, flying in a 

Robinson R44. The pair 

covered some 35,000 km 

(21 ,750 mi). 


• By ultralight aircraft: 

Roberto Bisa and Antonio 

Forato (both ITA} of ASD 

Riding the Skies flew an 

ultralight aircraft 20 126 km 

(12,505 mi) from Cassola 

in Italy to Southport in 

Queensland, Australia, 

from 8 to 31 Oct 2013. 

• Kite surfing in 24 hours: 

On 26 Feb 2012, Rimas 

Kinka (LTU) covered 

645.6 km (401 .2 mi) off 

the coast of Islamorada 

in Florida, USA. 

• Kite surfing (female): 

No woman has kite-surfed 

for longer than Germany's 

156 G r ea t JOU . r neys 

r".oem {18,487-mi) trip by electric vehicle, leaving Adelaide In AustraRa 

on 26 Oct 2011 and arriving in Mount Barker, Australia, on 15 Dec 2012. They 

spent a total of 168 days driving. Eight days were devoted to recharging the 

vehicle; the remaining days were spent exhibiting the SolarCar at various 

locations, events and universities and being transported between continents. 

Anke Brandt who 

covered 135.16 nautical mi Vehicle Distance 

(250.32 km; 155.54 mi), Bus 87,367 km 

between Amwaj Marina 

and AI Dar Island, Bahrain, 

on 1 Mar 2014. 

Fire engine 50,957 km 

Hovercraft 8,000 km 

BY LAND 

Wheelchair 

40,075 km 

• 'L' 

Record holders 

,, ,. ::: · . : " 

Hughie Thompson, John Weston and 

Richard Steel (all UK) 

Stephen Moore (UK) 

British Trans-African Hovercraft 

Expedition, led by David Smithers (UK) 


Motorcycle 735,000 km Emilio Scotto (ARG) 

by car Quad bike 56,239 km Valerio De Simoni, Kristopher "Ted" 

The record for the first and 

fastest man and woman to Skateboard 12,159 km 

Davant and James Kenyon (all AUS) 

Rob Thomson (NZ) 

have circumnavigated the 

Earth by car covering six 

Tandem 38,143 km Phil and Louise Sham brook (UK) 

continents under the rules Tractor 21,199 km Vasilii Hazkevich (RUS) 

Rick Hansen (CAN) 

-· 

• By car: As of 3 Apr 2013, 

Emil and Liliana Schmid 

(both CHE) ad covered 

677,281 km (420,842 mi) in 

a Toyota Land Cruiser. Their 

trip began on 16 Oct 1984. 

• By non-solar electric 

vehicle: Duane Leffel 

(USA) drove 5,688.68 km 

(3,534.77 mi) from 

Charleston in South 

Carolina to Laguna Hills 

in California, USA, from 

4 Jul to 24 Aug 2013. 

• By motorcycle in 

one country: Buck Perley 

(USA) and Amy Mathieson 

(UK) rode 33,357.15 km 

(20,727.13 mi) across China 

from 19 Jul to 11 Dec 2013. 

• By motorized bicycle: 

From 14 Jul to 4 Sep 2012, 

Danny Halma (CAN) rode 

Dates 

6 Nov 1988-3 Dec 1989 

18 Jul 2010-10 Apr 2011 

15 Oct 1969-3 Jan 1970 

17 Jan 1985-2 Apr 1995 

10 Aug 2010-22 Oct 2011 

24 Jun 2007-28 Sep 2008 

17 Dec 1994-1 Oct 1997 

25 Apr-6 Aug 2005 

21 Mar 1985 22 May 1987


www.guinnessworldrecords.com 1 57 

6,721 km (4,176 mi) within 

Canada, from English Bay 

in Vancouver, British 

Columbia, to Halifax 

Harbour, Nova Scotia. 

• By rickshaw: Tim Moss 

(UK) rode a rickshaw 

1,377.96 km (856.22 mi) from 

Aviemore to West Molesey, 

UK, between 26 Apr and 

19 May 2010. 

BY WATER 

First person to swim 

from Cuba to Florida 

without a shark cage 

Diana Nyad (USA, 

b. 22 Aug 1949) swam 

from Havana, Cuba, to 

Key West, Florida, USA, 

in 52 hr 54 min 18.6 sec 

on 31 Aug-2 Sep 2013, 



• Swimming non-stop 

in open water (male): 

Martin Strel (SVN) swam 

504.5 km (313.1 mi) down 

the Danube, from Melk in 

Austria to Paks in Hungary, 

in 84 hr 10 min on 3-6 July 

2001 . He was escorted by 

four kayakers, a safety escort 

boat and six road vehicles. 

• Rowed in 24 hours by 

a team (men): On 14-15 Jun 

2013, Dutch rowers Ansgar 

John Brenninkmeijer, 

Gert Jan Keizer, Oscar 

Dinkelaar, Jacques Klok, 

Jeroen van Renesse and 

Hans-Jan Rijbering covered 

295.2 km (1 83.4 mi) up- and 

downstream on the Amstel 

river in the Netherlands.


Arts & med ia 

The top 10 most visited museums had a total of 52.9 million visits in 2012 



Flashback: 

60 years on screen 160 

Movies 162 

Music 166 

Works of art 170 

Publishing 172 

TV 174 

Videogamers 176 

According to Forbes' 

2013 list of the most 

powerful celebrities, 

Jennifer Lawrence was 

the second-highestscoring 

actress. Only 

Angelina Jolie (USA) 

ranked higher. 



as you would expect. but when adjusted for inflatlon 

(the lighter colour) there is plenty of variation over 

the years, peaking in 1971. Of course, this is just tHe 

cost of the seat, not the perklng, Jhe popcorn, the 

drinks, the 30 g 

Doctor Zhtvago (USA 1965) 

F1rst movre to wm ftve Golden Globe 

awards: Best Film D1rector Actor 

Screenplay and Score. f1ve Globes IS also 

a record shared With four other mov1es 

US CINEMA ADMISSIONS 

It's been a bumpy ride when It comes to theatre 

admissions. As ticket prices grew, so the number 

of visits to the cinema dropped drastically. 

reaching a low at the start of the 1970s. The 

advent of the blockbueter and multiplexes has 

seen this trend reverse, but not beck to the glory 

days of the 1940s and 50s. 

.T. 

The Golden Age of Hollywood peaked 

at 4.7 billion admissions in 1947; by 

1964, with the rise of TV, the figure 

had dropped below 1 billion 

Adjusted peak of 

$1 1.98 bn in 1956; 

remains unbeaten 

until 2002


More Americans went to 

the movies in 2011 than 

attended sporting events 

or theme parks combined. 

But in the same year, India 

recorded twice as many 

theatre visits as the USA. 

Releases exceed 

4,000 for first time; 

1,041 of them 

originate in India 

The average spend 

in a US cinema in 

2013 was $20 per 

person - of which 

only $8.12 was for 

the seat. 

FACT 

The Japanese pay 

the most for their 

cinema tickets, 

as of 201 3 - the 

equivalent of $22 

per seat. 

Attendances peak at 1.6 billion 

in 2002, with The Lord of the 

Rings, Harry Potter, Men in 

Black and Star Wars all enjoying 

chart-topping sequels 

The 12 biggest movies of 

2009's Christmas weekend 

(25-27 Dec) earn a combined 

$259.9 m in three days at 

the domestic (US) box office 

-the biggest weekend at 

the cinema

Movi 


ivalent of 38p 

•• 

Largest total cinema 

attendance (current) 

There were some 

3.17 billion trips made to 

cinemas in India in 2011. 

The largest annual 

cinema attendance 

in a given year occurred 

in 1929, when 4.49 billion 

admissions were made 

to US movie theatres. 

musical, InSpired by Hans Christian 

Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, broke 

the record while still on general release. 

Most expensive year 

in Hollywood 

The 50 biggest blockbusters 

released by major Hollywood 

studios in 2010 cost a 

combined total of $5.2 bn 

(£3.37 bn) - the highest in 

US cinematic history. 

In 2013, the USA 

experienced the highest 

box-office summer gross, 

with cinemas taking a total 

of $4.76 bn (£2.96.bn) 

between 1. ·May and 

Most extensive 

digital object 

For the final battle sequence 

in Ender's Game (USA, 

2013). US effects studio 

Digital Domain created 

333,443 individual 

spaceships, all of 

which appeared 

simultaneously in 

shots comprising 

more than 

27-illion 

porygor]s. 

Largest international 

movie market 

North America represents 

the largest market for films, 

with box-office receipts in 

USA and Canada totalling 

$10.8 bn (£6.6 bn) in 2012. 

Largest annual 

movie output 

According to UNESCO, 

India is the most prolific 

movie-making nation. 

The Bollywood industry 

produces up to 1 ,000 

feature films a year, and in 

2011 1,255 movies were 

made, in 24 languages, 

gest continuously 

running movie franchise 

Despite several significant gaps in production, 

the scheduled release of Godzilla (USA/JPN) on 

16 May 2014 means that Japan's Toho studios 

have owned and promoted the Godzil/a (Gojira) 

franchise for nearly 60 years. The original film by 

lshiro Honda (JPN) was released in Nov 1954. 

compared with 819 movies 

produced ir,1 the USA. 

Most movies made 

in one language 

The most recent UNESCO 

cinematic survey found that 

in 2011, 1,302 movies were 

made exclusively in I 

Highest box-office gross 

for a zombie movie 

The 2013 blockbuster World War Z (UK/USA) took 

a worldwide box-office gross of more than $540 m 

(£337 m) by the time it closed in cinemas on 10 Oct 

2013. The film is based on a book of the same name by 

Max Brooks and stars Brad Pitt. In Jun 2013 it was 

BUDGET vs BOX OFFICE: BIGGEST RETURNS ON INVESTMENT 

Charted here are the 

top 10 most profitable 

movies, as identified 

by the-numbers.com 

as of 14 May 2014. 

Profit is estimated from 

global box-office figures 

and domestic video/ 

DVD sales. At the top 

is Paranormal Activity 

(USA, 2009), which 

cost $450,000 

(£225,300) 

to make but 

netted $89.7 m 

(£44.9 m). 

162 Arts & media 

Budget Profit (estimated) 

Return on Investment (%) 

- Budget 

- Gross 

- Return 

Source: www.the-numbers.com/Nash Information Services; 

budget and profit scales are not proportional 

per capita, with average of 

5.24 trips per person per year 

according to a 2011 survey by 

UNESCO. (For largest total 

attendance, see above.)



French came second with 

293 movies and Spanish 

was third with 263. 

Although India makes the 

most movies, a range of 

languages were featured 

including Hindi, Tamil 

and Telugu. 

Most expensive movie 

Pirates of the Caribbean: 

At World's End (USA) had 

a production budget of 

$300 m (£146 m) in 2007. 

Even if movie budgets are 

adjusted for inflation to 

2014 prices, At World's End 

remains the most expensive 

production of all time. Its 

$339-m (£204-m) budget 

narrowly beats Cleopatra 

(1963, USA), starring 

Elizabeth Taylor and 

Richard Burton 

(both UK), 

which 

cost $44 m (£16 m) in 1963 

- the equivalent of $337 m 

(£202 m) today. 

Most expensive 

movie series 

The eight Harry Potter films 

(USA/UK, 2001-09) had 

a combined production 

budget of $1.15 bn (£718 m). 

However, it is James Bond 

that takes the record of 

most expensive movie 

series adjusted for 

inflation, with costs of 

around $2.07 bn (£1 .29 bn) 

across 23 films and 50 years. 

HIGHEST 

GROSSING ... 

• Movie: Avatar (USA, 

2009), $2.78 bn (£1 .77 bn) 

• Bollywood movie: 

Dhoom: 3 (IND. 2013), 

$88 m (£53 m) 

• James Bond 

movie: Skyfa/1 

(UK/USA, 2012), 

$1.10 bn (£742 m) 

• Post-apocalypse 

movie: The Hunger 

Games: Catching 

Fire (USA, 2013), 

$864 m (£519 m) 

Most extensive 

lighting on a movie set 

"Zero-gravity" footage for the movie Gravity 

(USA, 2013) was filmed within a custom-built light 

box containing 1.8 million high-powered LEOs. The 

LEOs were individually controlled by the film's effects 

team to help recreate the natural light and shade of 

outer-space photography. The light box took the form of 

a hollow cube, within which the actors were suspended. 

Pledges totalling 

$52,527 (£33,502) 

were raised on 

Kickstarter to 

help fund 

/nocente (2012). 

Stand-out 

studios 

Most billion-dollar 

movies by a studio: 

Buena Vista International 

(USA), seven (Pirates of the 

Caribbean: Dead Man's 

Chest, Alice in Wonderland, 

Toy Story 3, Pirates of the 

Caribbean: On Stranger 

Tides, The Avengers, 

Iron Man 3 and Frozen) 

Highest average gross 

for a studio: Pixar (USA} 

has earned an average 

of $252.6 m (£1 51 m} 

across 14 movies 0 0 0


Bollywood big-hitters 

Topping the Forbes list as the highest-earning 

Bollywood actor is Shah Rukh Khan {I NO), with 

estimated earnings in 2013 of 220.5 crore (2.2 bn 

rupees; £22.08 m; $37.06 m). Khan is pictured 

here in the 2012 romantic drama Jab Tak Hai 

Jaan (As Long as I Live) with Katrina Kaif (HKG/ 

UK), the highest-earning Bollywood actress, 

with earnings of 63.75 crore (637 m rupees; 

£6.38 m; $10.7 m) during the same period. 

Best known for his role as Wolverine, Hugh 

Jackman (AUS) topped Forbes' 2013 list of most 

powerful actors and is 11th overall in the list of 

most powerful celebrities. The list measures 

fame in terms of factors such as earnings, 

media exposure and internet presence. 

film-maker Nancy Meyers remains the highestgrossing 

female film director of all time. 

Highest average 

box-office gross 

for a leading role 

Harry Potter star 

Emma Watson (UK) has 

an average box-office 

gross of $775,303,380 

(£482,238,702). Her 

Harry Potter co-star 

Daniel Radcliffe (UK) 

took top billing in one 

more non-Harry Potter 

film than Watson, which 

has reduced his perfilm 

lead role average 

slightly to $712,856,021 

(£443,396,445). 

HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY: THE MOST INDIVIDUAL OSCAR WINS 

1111111111111 1111 

!!!!!!!!!! 1 1111 

11111111 111 

Most Oscars won 

in a lifetime (female): 

Edith Head (USA), eight 

Most Best Director 

Oscars won: 

John Ford (USA), four 

Most Best Actress 

Oscars won: Katharine 

Hepburn (USA), four 

Most Best Actor 

Oscars won: Daniel 

Day-Lewis (UK), three 

Academy Award - Best 

Short Subject (Cartoon) for 

Winnie the Pooh and the 

Blustery Day (1968) - was 

awarded posthumously. 

Payback 

with interest 

Best investment return 

for an actress: according 

to Forbes, as of Dec 2010 

Emma Stone (USA) 

returned an average of 

$80.70 for every $1 she 

was paid. Other actors 

with a super-competitive 

rate of return include Mila 

Kunis (USA), at $68.70 

for every $1 paid, and 

Jennifer Lawrence (USA), 

at $68.60. The best 

investment return for 

an actor was that of The 

Rock aka Dwayne Johnson 

(USA), with $31.10 in 

returns for every $1 paid.


Most bankable 

Hollywood figure 

Steven Spielberg (USA) contributed the 

equivalent of $26,344,040 (£15,831 ,000) annually 

to the movie industry as of Feb 2014, according to 

the-numbers.com. His annual earnings (see 

highest earnings for a producer, p.164) also 

make him the highest-earning director. 

Highest annual earnings 

for an actor 

According to Forbes, two actors share the record 

for the highest earnings over a 12-month period. 

Robert Downey Jr (USA, main picture) earned 

around $75 m (£46.6 m) from Jun 2012 to Jun 

2013, benefiting from the success of The Avengers 

and Iron Man 3. Tom Cruise (USA, below right) 

earned a similar figure from May 2011 to 

May 2012, during which Mission: Impossible: 

Ghost Protocol (USN 

UAE/CZE, 2011) 

In the past eight years, 

Tom Cruise, seen here 

as Jack Reacher, has 

been the highest-earning 

film actor three times. 

His big-screen debut 

came back in 1981 . 

• Most appearances 

in $100-m-grossing 

movies: Bruce Willis 

(USA), with 25 such 

movies as of 21 Jan 2014. 

• Most powerful actress: 

Angelina Jolie (USA), 

ranked 41 in Forbes' 

2012-13 Celebrity 100 list. 

• Most screenwriters 

credited: 51, for 50 Kisses, 

(UK, 2014) produced by 

the London Screenwriters' 

Festival (UK). 

000 

www.guinnessworldrecord s .com 1 ( )h


Most consecutive years 

with a UK No.1 single 

Three acts in the 62-year 

history of the UK's Official 

Singles Chart have achieved 

No.1 singles in seven 

consecutive years: Elvis 

Presley (USA) in 1957-63, 

The Beatles (UK) in 1963-69, 

and in 2007-13 Rihanna, 

whose latest chart-topper, 

"The Monster", debuted at 

No.1 on 9 Nov 2013. 

event 1wetJSfte Songkick, electro-house 

musician, OJ and producer Steve Aoki (USA) 

clocked up 389,221 km (241 ,850 mi) performing 

a total of 168 shows in 41 countries in 2012. 

Most Facebook "likes" 

for a musician 

As of 25 Apr 2014, Shakira 

(COL) had the most "likes" 

with 90,938,442. Not far 

behind was Rihanna (BRB) 

with 87,042,153, and at 

No.3 was Eminem (USA) 

with 86,136,651. 

Over on Twitter, the 

musician with the 

most followers is 

Katy Perry (USA) 

with 52,463,838. 

Next up are 

Justin Bieber 

(CAN) with 

51 ,140,907 and 

Lady Gaga (USA) 

with 41,297,293. 

Highest-earning 

dead celebrity 

American singer Michael 

Jackson earned $160 m 

(£99 m) from Oct 2012 to 

Oct 2013. If Forbes included 

the dead, he would top the 

2013 highest-earning 

First act to play a concert 

on every continent 

Metallica (USA) became the 

first music act to play on all 

seven continents when they 

entertained 120 scientists 

and competition winners at 

Antarctica's Carlini Station on 

8 Dec 2013. The show was 

dubbed "Freeze 'Em All". 

Longest officially 

released song 

"Zwei Jahre" ("Two 

Years"), performed 

by German band 

Phrasenmaher, lasts 1 hr 

30 min 10 sec. It was 

released via iTunes, 

- Amazon and Spotify 

on 10 Jan 2014. 

Fastestselling 

iTunes album 

On 13 Dec 2013, Beyonce 

(USA) unexpectedly released self-titled 

studio album BEYONCE - with 14 new tracks 

and 17 videos - exclusively on iTunes. In its first 

three days of availability as a download, 

it sold 828,773 copies worldwide. 

There have been 

87 albums in the 

NOW That's What 

I Call Music! series 

(Virgin/EM I). The first 

was released in 1983 

and the most recent 

on 7 Apr 2014. 

• First: NOW That's 

What I Call Music!, 

28 Nov 1983 

• Editions: 87 

• Songs: 3,440 

• Units sold: more 

than 100 million 

• Most appearances: 

Robbie Williams (33) 

• Most appearances 

on one album: 

Calvin Harris (3) 

166 Arts & media 

m Still a "White 

l!J Christmas" 

The best-selling single (or 

"gramophone record" as it 

was then known) in 1955 was 

"White Christmas" (1942), 

written by Irving Berlin. 

Including Bing Crosby's famous 

version, it had sold 18 million 

copies. Today, the record is 

held by ... "White Christmas", 

the festive favourite having sold 

an estimated 50 million copies 

(this figure can be doubled if 

you include sales of albums on 

which it has appeared). 

Oldest UK ... 

chart-topper: Robert 

"Bobby" Elliott (UK, Hollies 

drummer), 71 years 21 days 

("He Ain't Heavy, He's My 

Brother" by The Justice 

Collective, 29 Dec 2012).


Most words in a hit single 

"Rap God" by Eminem (USA) packs 1,560 words 

into a fast and furious 6 min 4 sec -that's a 

tongue-twisting average of 4.28 words every 

second! In one 15-second segment alone, "Slim 

Shady" spits out 97 words (6.46 words per sec) 

at supersonic speed. 

Longest time between 

UK No.1 albums 

On 22 Jun 2013, British rock 

band Black Sabbath returned 

to the top of the UK albums 

chart with their 19th 

studio set, 13, 

some 42 years 

255 days after 

first topping the 

chart with their 

second album, 

Paranoid, on 

10 Oct 

1970. 

Most cover versions 

of a single charted 

before the original 

Seven cover versions of 

"I Love It", by Swedish duo 

leona Pop and singersongwriter 

Charli 

XCX, aka Charlotte 

Aitchison (UK), 

made the Top 200 

of the UK's Official 

Singles Chart 

before the original 

debuted at No.1 

on 6 Jul 2013. 

Largest TV audience for 

a Super Bowl half-time 

performance 

The half-time show by 

Bruno Mars and the Red 

Hot Chili Peppers (both 

USA) at Super Bowl XLVIII 

attracted 115.3 million 

US viewers, according to 

data supplied by Nielsen. 

The 2014 Super Bowl was 

contested by the Denver 

Broncos and the Seattle 

Seahawks at Metlife 

Stadium in East Rutherford, 

New Jersey, USA, on 2 Feb. 

The game itself was watched 

by an average of 111.5 million 

- the largest TV audience 

for a Super Bowl. 

Best-selling album ever 

Thriller by Michael Jackson 

(USA), released in Nov 1982, 

has sold more than 65 million 

copies worldwide. Thriller 

and the Eagles' (USA) Their 

Greatest Hits (1971-1975) 

have been certified 29x 

platinum by the Recording 

Industry Association of 

America (RIAA) and are joint 

holders of the best-selling 

album in the USA. 

According to the Official 

Charts Company, the bestselling 

album in the UK 

is Queen's Greatest Hits 

(1981). In 2014, it became 

the first album to sell 

6 million copies in the UK. 

49.0 

47.0 

46.3 

56.2 

66.8 

66.2 

64.2 

62.9 

75.5 

more than 300 million 

albums in her career. 

Her earnings of $125 m 

(£82 m) for Jun 2012- 

Jun 2013 were also 

the highest annual 

earnings ever for 

a female pop star, 

dwarfing those of 

record holder Celine 

Dion for 1998 - 

$56 m ($80 m, or 

£49 m, today). 

Index accounts for earnings, social media presence, video views and 

search hits, as of 6 Mar 2014; benchmarked to Lady Gaga = 100. 

Most searchedfor 

pop star 

According to Google, 

Miley Cyrus (USA) 

was the most searchedfor 

pop star in 2013. No.5 

on the overall list, her internet 

popularity peaked after 

she "twerked" with Robin 

Thicke at the 2013 MTV 

Video Music Awards. 

Most weeks on US singles 

chart (one single) 

"Radioactive", by the 

US rock band Imagine 

Dragons, spent a total of 

86 non-consecutive weeks 

on the US Hot 100 singles 

chart between 18 Aug 

2012 and 3 May 2014. 

It reached a peak chart 

position of No.3. 

audience size. 

FACT 

The UK's Glastonbury 

festival began in 1970, 

attracting 1,500 fans. 

Fast forward to 2013: all 

135,000 tickets were sold 

in just 1 hr 40 min.


Pop vid eos 

After Robin Thicke performed "Give it 2 U" at 2013's MTV MVAs, the single's sales leapt by 251 % 

1958: First music videos 

The Big Bopper, aka Jiles 

Perry Richardson (USA), 

booms "Hello, baby! " in 

his "Chantilly Lace" video 

of 1958, miming into a 

prop phone. He was the 

first to use the term "music 

video", only weeks before 

he died in the plane crash 

that also claimed Buddy 

Holly. The Bopper filmed 

clips for three songs on 

the same day. 

1981 : First music video 

shown on MTV 

On 1 Aug 1981 , MTV used 

"Video Killed the Radio Star" 

by The Buggies (UK duo 

Geoff Downes and Trevor 

Horn) as its opening track. 

On 27 Feb 2000, the same 

video was the millionth to be 

broadcast by the channel. 

1982: First music video 

banned by MTV 

Tame by today's standards, 

Queen's "Body Language" 

was full of sweaty, writhing, 

Lycra-clad bodies in a 

dimly lit steam room. 

While the band was fully 

clothed, the flesh and 

alleged "homoerotic 

undertones" worried MTV. 

1982: First Grammy 

for Video of the Year 

Elephant Parts (Pacific Arts, 

1981) was an hour-long mix 

of five songs with comedy 

by former Monkee Michael 

Nesmith (USA) that won at 

the 1982 Grammys. Shortand 

long-form video awards 

were separated in 1984. 

1986-99: Most wins at the 

MTV Music Video Awards 

Madonna (USA) has won 

a total of 20 MTV Music 

Video Awards (MVAs): Video 

Vanguard Award (1986); 

one for "Papa Don't Preach" 

(1987); three tor "Express 

Yourself" (1989); one for "Like 

a Prayer" (1989); three for 

"Vogue" (1990); one for The 

Immaculate Collection (1 991); 

two for "Rain" (1993); one for 

"Take a Bow" (1995); five for 

"Ray of Light" (1 998); one for 

"Frozen" (1998); and one for 

"Beautiful Stranger" (1999). 

1987: Most MTV MVAs 

for a single video 

In 1987, Peter Gabriel's 

(UK) "Sledgehammer" 

(1986) won nine awards, 

TOP OF THE POPS: MOST VIEWED AND TOP TRENDING MUSIC VIDEOS OF 2013 

1 

Ylvis - "The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)" 265 million 

PSY - 

Gentleman MIV 598 million 

2 

Kenneth HAkonsen - "Harlem Shake (Original Army Edition)" 95 million 

Mtley C y rus 

Wrecktng Ball " 393 moll ion 

3 

4 

5 

Mtley Cyrus - "We Can"! Stop · 304 molloon 

SteveKardynal - "Wrecking Ball (Chatroulette Version) " 67 million 

K.:tty Perry - 

Ro


including Best Special 

Effects and Video of 

the Year. Lady Gaga, 

aka Stefani Germanotta 

(USA), is second with 

seven awards for "Bad 

Romance" (2009). 

1991: Largest TV 

audience for a music 

video premiere 

An estimated 500 million 

people in 27 countries 

watched "Black or White" 

by Michael Jackson (USA) 

on 14 Nov 1991. The 

11-min clip was filmed 

by "Thriller" director and 

movie-maker John Landis. - 

2004: First official 

fan-made music video 

Placebo (BEL/SWE/UK) 

were so impressed by fan 

Gregoire Pinard's (ZAF) 

claymation clip for "English 

Summer Rain" that they 

adopted it as the official 

promo video for the song. 

2010: Most product 

placement in a video 

Lady Gaga has 

approximately a dozen 

brands on show in 

"Telephone" (featuring 

Beyonce), including Virgin 

Mobile, Beats Electronics, 

Polaroid, Chanel sunglasses, 

Wonder bread, Kraft salad 

dressing and Diet Coke cans 

imaginatively utilized as her 

hair rollers. 

2013: First video in space 

On 12 May 2013, 

Commander Chris Hadfield 

(CAN) posted a video 

of himself singing David 

Bowie's "Space Oddity" 

on board the International 

Space Station. Read an 

interview with Chris on p.17. 

2013: Longest video 

Pharrell Williams (USA) 

released the "world's first 

24-hour music video". 

Happy features fans dancing 

to the four-min track of 

the same name, which is 

looped 360 times. Pharrell 

appears in the video on 

the hour every hour. 

2013: Longest wait 

for an official video 

An interactive video for 

Bob Dylan's (USA) "Like a 

Rolling Stone" appeared 

on his website on 

19 Nov 2013, more than 

48 years after the song 

was a hit. Viewers could 

flick through different 

"channels" to watch 

artists lip-sync the song. 

--- . 

Take your partners: biggest dances 

Record attempts can be inspired by music 

videos. Pictured right is the largest "Thriller" 

dance, in which 13,597 "zombies" pulled 

Michael Jackson moves in Mexico City, Mexico, 

on 29 Aug 2009. "Harlem Shake" by Baauer 

inspired the highest Harlem Shake (below left), 

danced at an altitude of 19,000 m ona British 

Airways plane on 10 Mar 2013. "Cha Cha Slide" 

(OJ Casper, 2000) prompted 3,231 dancers 

to achieve the largest Cha Cha Slide (above 

left) at the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, UK, 

on 8 Oct 2011. 


Works t----f . 


of art 

On 21 Aug 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from Paris's Louvre 

Most frequently 

stolen painting 

The Ghent Altarpiece - also 

known as The Adoration of 

the Mystic Lamb - is a large, 

early-15th-century Flemish 

panel painting by Hubert 

and Jan van Eyck. It has 

been stolen seven times 

since it was first unveiled. 

Police are still searching 

for one missing panel. 

< Most expensive sculpture 

A 1.8-m-tall (6-ft) bronze 

sculpture entitled 

L'Homme qui marche I 

(The Walking Man I) 

(1960), created by Alberto 

Giacomelli (CHE), sold 

to an anonymous bidder 

at Sotheby's in London, 

UK, for £65 m ($104 m) 

on 3 Feb 2010. 


sculpture (living artist) 

On 12 Nov 2013, the 3.6-m-tall (12-ft) 

stainless steel sculpture Balloon Dog 

(Orange) by Jeff Koons (USA) sold 

for $58.4 m (£36.8 m) at Christie's 

in New York City, USA. 


painting 

The Card Players, painted 

by Paul Cezanne (FRA), was 

sold to the royal family of 

Qatar for $250 m (£158.3 m) 

in 2011. The painting, 

created in the early 1890s, 

is one of five in a series 

by the renowned post 

Impressionist. 

A 

Oldest painting 

Discovered in the 1870s, 

paintings of animals and 

handprints from a cave 

called El Castillo in Puente 

Viesgo in the province of 

Cantabria, Spain, have now 

been proved to be at least 

40,800 years old. 

1 70


Largest 

Rubik's Cube mosaic 

Created by Josh Chalom 

(USA), the largest mosaic 

made out of Rubik's 

Cubes measured 68.78 m 

(225 ft 7 in) long by 4.03 m 

(13 ft 2 in) high and was 

unveiled at One Central 

Macau, China, on 7 Dec 

2012. The mosaic depicted 

famous views in Macau and 

comprised 85,626 cubes. 

created to promote touriSm 

Germany, on 4 Aug 2012. Above left is the largest anamorphic print: a 

4,227.5-m2 (45,504-sq-ft) image commissioned by Renault Trucks (FRA) 

and realized by FranQois Abelanet (FRA) in Lyon, France, on 6 Jul 2013. 

Smallest 

hand-made sculpture 

Golden Journey is a gold 

sculpture measuring just 

0.1603 mm (0.006 in) long. 

It was hand-crafted by 

artist Willard Wigan (UK) 

and sits in a hollowedout 

section of a single hair. 

The measurement was 

verified in Birmingham, 

UK, on 19 Jun 2013. 

A 

Longest wood sculpture 

Designed by Zhang Chunhui (CHN), the 

lengthiest wooden carving measures 12.28 m 

(40 ft 3 in) and was unveiled in Putian, Fujian, 

China, on 14 Nov 2013. It took the record holder 

and his 20 co-workers four years to complete 

the highly intricate work from camphor wood. 



Pub 1shin 

Harry Potter creator J K Rawling does not have a middle name 

BEST-SELLING ... 

Fiction book 

Owing to a lack of audited 

figures, it is impossible to 

state which single work 

of fiction has the highest 

sales. However, Charles 

Dickens' (UK) A Ta le of Two 

Cities (1859) is believed 

to have sold in excess of 

200 million copies. 

Children's book series 

J K Rawling's (UK) sevenpart 

Harry Potter saga 

began in 1997 and ended in 

2007, with Harry 

Potter and the Deathly 

Hallows. By 2008, the series 

had sold a combined total 

of c. 400 million copies. 

The best-selling 

children's trilogy is 

Suzanne Collins' (USA) 

Hunger Games ; during 

2012 alone, the three books 

-Hunger Games (2008), 

Catching Fire (2009) and 

Mockingjay (2010) - sold a 

total of 27.7 million copies 

across both printed and 

digital formats. 

Non-fiction book 

Even without exact sales 

numbers, there is little doubt 

that the Bible is the world's 

best-selling and most widely 

distributed book. A survey by 

the Bible Society concluded 

that around 2.5 billion copies 

were printed between 1815 

and 1975, but more recent 

estimates put the number 

at more than 5 billion. 

Regularly updated book 

The Xinhua Zidian (New 

China Character Dictionary) 

is the world's most popular 

reference work. Originally 

published in 1953, the 

dictionary has been 

revised 11 times, had 

over 200 print runs and 

sold well in excess of 

400 million copies. 

Pride 

hybrid of Jane Austen's 19tlh-caiitlrkv 

period romance and Seth Grahame 

Smith's (left) alternative-universe 

zombie horror - reached No.3 on the 

New York Times best-seller list in 2009. 

Bob's collection 

weighs an estimated 

7.6 tonnes - about 

the same as 118 

adult men! 

FIRST ... 

Encyclopedia 

Speusippus compiled 

the earliest known 

encyclopedia in Athens, 

Greece, in c. 370 sc. As of 

2014, it would have been 

compiled 2,384 years ago. 

Detective novel 

According to the British 

Library, The Notting Hill 

Mystery (1863) by Charles 

Felix (UK) was the first 

detective novel. Starting with 

a murder, the plot reveals 

the twists and turns leading 

up to the crime, establishing 

many features• of the nowubiquitous 

detective genre. 

Digital library 

Currently offering around 

133,000 free eBooks, 

Project Gutenberg was 

established in 1971 with 

Largest comic-book collection 

Bob Bretall (USA) has amassed a collection 

of 94,268 comic books. The tally was made at 

his home in Mission Viejo, California, USA, on 

1 May 2014 and includes unique comic books 

only. Bretall began collecting comics at the 

of eight years old, when he purchased 

The Amazing Spider-Man #88. 

HIGHEST-GROSSING LITERARY CREATIONS AT THE MOVIES 

Based on total film gross of each creation, measured in billions of dollars 

Harry Potter 

(J K Rowling) 

James Bond 

(lan Fleming) 

The Lord of 

the Rings 

(J R R Tolkien) 

Shrek 

(William Steig) 

Jurassic Park 

(Michael 

Crichton) 

The Hunger 

Games 

(Suzanne 

Collins) 

Robert Langdon/ 

The Da Vinci Code 

(Dan Brown) 

The Twilight The Chronicles John McClane/ 

Saga (Stephanie of Narnia Die Hard (based 

Meyer) (C S Lewis) on Detective 

Joe Leland 

in Nothing 

Lasts Forever 

(Roderick Thorp) 

.. .. .. .. 

i.l! i.l! :,. j., 

CD II) (,) "" 

for his memoir, My Life 

FACT 

Self-published author 

John Locke (USA) has 

sold more than 2 million 

Kindle-formatted eBooks 

on Amazon using the 

Kindle Direct Publishing 

service. He passed the 

1-million milestone in 

Jun 2011, and to date has 

published 21 novels plus 

one non-fiction book, 

entitled - appropriately 

enough - How I Sold 

1 Million eBooks in 

5 Months.


MOST ... 

The illustrated reference book Flowers of the 

Four Seasons measures 0.74 x 0.75 mm (0.02 x 

0.02 in) and was printed by Tappan Printing Co. 

Printing Museum in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. 

making 10,000 of the most 

consulted books available to 

the public at little or no cost. 

Graphic novel 

The term "graphic novel" first 

appeared in 1976 on the dust 

jacket of Bloodstar by Richard 

Corben and Robert E Howard 

(both USA). 

Author to earn $1 bn 

In 2004, J K Rawling (UK) 

- one of only five self-made 

female billionaires - became 

the first author to 

earn $1 bn 

(£519 m). Her Harry Potter 

books have been published 

in at least 55 languages. 

Author to sell 

one million eBooks 

By 6 Jul 2010, James 

Patterson (USA), creator 

of Alex Cross and 

Women's Murder 

Club, had exceeded 

sales of one million 

eBooks. 

Prolific computerassisted 

author 

With a little help from 

computers, a team of 

programmers and a clever 

software algorithm that he 

designed, Philip M Parker 

(USA) has "written" in 

excess of 200,000 books. 

His algorithm gathers 

information freely available 

in the public domain and 

compiles it into book form. 

Digital files are produced 

in around 13 min and 

printed on demand. Given 

the specialist nature of the 

content, cover prices are 

often high -for example, 

£795 ($1 ,300) in the case 

of The 2007-2012 World 

Outlook for Floor Lamps. 

Booker Prize wins 

Awarded since 1969, 

the Booker Prize has 

been won twice by 

four authors as of 

2013: J G Farrell (UK), 

J M Coetzee (ZAF), 

Peter Carey (AUS) 

and Hilary Mantel 

(UK). 

Pseudonyms 

A total of 325 pen 

names were listed 

for humorist 

Arsenievich Mikhailov (RUS) 

in the 1960 Dictionary of 

Pseudonyms. Most were 

abbreviations of his real name. 

Translated author 

According to the Index 

Translationum - UNESCO's 

book translation inventory 

-Agatha Christie (UK) has 

had an astonishing 6,598 

translations of her novels, 

short stories and plays. 

Blank pages in a 

published book 

Sheridan Simove's (UK) 

book What Every Man 

Thinks About Apart from 

Sex ... (201 1) contains 

196 blank pages. 

Largest book 

A photography book 

measuring 5.01 x 8.08 m (16 ft 

5 in x 26 ft 6 in) was created 

by Samsung Electronics 

in Berlin, Germany, on 

7 Sep 2013. The 16-page 

book consists of 28,000 

photos sent via Facebook 

to Samsung. It was 

unveiled in the Museum 

fur Kommunikation Berlin. 

in Literature 

Literature has been 

awarded to 110 authors 

since 1901 . According 

to Alfred Nobel's will, 

the winner should have 

produced " ... the most 

outstanding work in an 

ideal direction ... " Doris 

Lessing (UK, 191 9-2013) 

was the oldest recipient 

of the Literature Prize, 

winning it in 2007 aged 



• Fastest-selling nonfiction 

book (UK): My 

Autobiography, by retired 

soccer manager Sir Alex 

Ferguson (UK), published 

on 24 Oct 2013 - first week 

sales of 115,547 copies. 

• Fastest-selling 

videogame guide (UK): 

Grand Theft Auto V 

Signature Series Strategy 

Guide, published on 

17 Sep 2013-first week 

sales of 21 ,530 copies. 



Most pirated TV programme 

Game of Thrones retains the No.1 spot of Torrent 

Freak's top 10 list of most pirated TV shows, with 

some 5,900,000 downloads per episode in 2013. 

One reason is HBO's refusal to license the series 

to Netflix; HBO and Warner Bros executives also 

stated, controversially, that "receiving the title 

of 'most-pirated' was better than an Em my", 

creating a "much-needed cultural buzz". 

Longest career 

as a TV news 

anchor (same 

programme) 

Guillermo Jose Torres 

(USA) worked on 

WAPA-TV's Noticentro 

in Guaynabo, Puerto 

Rico, for 43 years 

303 days, until 5 Aug 

201 3. He was awarded 

his GWR certificate 

as a surprise during 

his final telecast. 

Largest 

TV drama 

simulcast 

At 7:50 p.m. (GMT) on 

23 Nov 2013, the 50thanniversary 

episode of Doctor 

Who (BBC, UK) was broadcast 

in 98 countries across six 

continents. Themed around a 

Time War between Timelords and 

Daleks, the episode featured 

three Doctors, played by Matt 

Smith, David Tennant and 

John Hurt (main picture, 

right). The inset picture 

shows (left to right) 

Executive Producer Steven 

Moffat, Matt Smith and 

Jenna-Louise Coleman, 

who plays the Doctor's 

companion, Clara. 

FACT 

The first US president to 

appear on television was 

Franklin D Roosevelt, 

on 30 Apr 1939. 

TV gets a cool 

reception 

There were no television 

broadcasts in Iceland 

during July until 1983. 

And Icelanders had to 

wait until 1987 before 

state television broadcast 

on Thursdays. 

1 (;] Arts & me d ia


Highest annual 

earnings for a TV 

actress (current) 

Modern Family star Soffa 

Vergara (COL} celebrates her 

second year as the best-paid 

actress on TV, with earnings 

estimated at $30 m 

(£19.7 m) by Forbes. This 

makes her the highest 

paid actor in absolute 

terms - earning 

more than her male 

counterpart, Ashton 

Kutcher (see left). 

LONGEST-RUNNING TV SERIES BY CATEGORY 

Documentary series: Meet the Press (NBC, USA), 6 Nov 1947-present 

eey:ro 118d•r 

" D 'oh!" 

Sports programme: Hockey Night in Canada (CBC, CAN), 11 Oct 1952-present 

Children's magazine programme: Blue Peter (BBC, UK), 16 Oct 1958-present 

Cookery show: Hasta La Cocina (Canal 4, MEX), 1 Dec 1960-present 

Soap opera: Coronation Street (lTV, UK), 9 Dec 1960-present 

Quiz show: It's Academic (NBC4, USA), 7 Oct 1961-present 

Variety show: Sabado Gigante (Univision Television Network, CHUUSA), 8 Au 

Educational show: Teleclub (Canal 13, CRI), 8 Feb 1963-eresent 

Animated series: Sazae-san (Fuji Television Network, JPN), 5 Oct 1969-present 

Medical drama: Casualty (BBC, UK), 6 Sep 1986-present 

10 

;r; 

:il 

"' 

:g 

"' 

 

"' 

., 

CD 

"' 

0 

Iii 

.. 

.. 

"' 

i 

"' ! 

g 

"' 

81 _ .. 145 doyo 

55 yeera 140 daya 

53 yeera 84 deys 

53 yoa .. 88 diiY8 


44 years 151 da y s 


.. 

 

: g g 0 

Longest running sitcom 

(episodes): The Simpsons 

(FOX, USA), 546 episodes, 

17 Dec 1989-30 Mar 2014 

Most guest stars in a 

TV series: The Simpsons, 

671 guest stars, 17 Dec 

1989-30 Mar 2014 

Most Em my Awards 

won by an animated 

TV series: The Simpsons, 

29 awards, 1990-2013 

000 

the hlgheet-pald 

per episode, who picks up 

$750,000 for each Instalment 

of Two and a Half Men. 

St


r 1Vid eogamers 

According to the ESA, 58% of Americans play videogames 

Longest NHL videogame marathon . 

Hockey-mad Canadians James Evans (left) and Bruce Ashton (right) 

racked up a thumb-numbing 24-hr 2-m in game of NHL 10 (EA, 

2009) in Orillia, Ontario, Canada, from 30 to 31 Jul 2011. Bruce's 

Winnipeg Jets fantasy team won the 45-game series against 

James and his Detroit Red Wings by a score of 32-1 3. 

A 

Longest marathon 

on a dance videogame 

Carrie Swidecki (USA) 

danced herself into the 

record books with a bodypumping 

49-hr 3-m in 

22-sec session on 

Just Dance 4 

(Ubisoft, 2012) 

at Otto's Video 

Games & More! 

in Bakersfield, 

California, USA, 

between 15 and 

17 Jun 2013. 

Youngest 

pro gamer 

Born on 6 May 1998, 

"Lil Poison", aka Victor 

De Leon Ill (USA), 

picked up a Dreamcast 

Controller aged just 

two to play NBA 2K 

(Sega). In 2005, aged 

seven, he signed an 

exclusive deal with the 

organizers of Major 

League Gaming. 

Largest competitive 

Pokemon gaming family 

Pokemon's family-friendly 

charm is amply affirmed 

by the five-strong Arnold 

family from Frankfort, 

Illinois, USA, 

who take part in 

official Pokemon 

videogame world 

championships. 

Pictured from 

left to right are 

Ryan, mum Linda, 

Ryan's twin David, 

dad Glenn and 

Most international Street 

Fighter competition wins 

Ryan Hart (UK) won more 

than 450 Street Fighter 

events from 1998 to 2011. 

On 27 Mar 2010, he also set 

the record for the longest 

winning streak on Street 

Fighter IV with 169 unbeaten 

matches at GAME in Hull, 

UK. Hart is pictured here with 

"Kayane", aka Marie-Laure 

Norindr (FRA) - the first 

woman to win a pro 

Street Fighter event.


Highest score 

at Level 1-1 of 

"Poached Eggs" on 

Angry Birds for Chrome 

Stephen Kish (UK) notched 

up 37,510 points at this level 

on Angry Birds for Chrome 

(Rovio, 2011) in East Sussex, 

UK, on 23 Aug 2011. 

On the same day, he also 

ran up the highest score on 

World's Biggest PA C-Man 

(Soap Creative, 2011), with 

5,555,552 points. 

Fastest completion of Batman: Arkham City 

On 27 May 2012, Sean "DarthKnight" Grayson (USA) flew through 

Batman: Arkham City in just 2 hr 3 min 19 sec. The game settings 

were single-segment (played without stopping) and "normal" difficulty 

(including Catwoman DLC story-driven episodes). 

The Joker is voiced 

in the game by Mark 

Hamill, who played 

Luke Skywalker 

in the original 

Star Wars trilogy. 

Fastest completion of 

Super Mario Kart Circuit 1 

Speedy Sami Qetin (UK) took 

the chequered flag for the fastest 

completion of the iconic Circuit 1 

on the first game in the series, 

Super Mario Kart (Nintendo, 1992). 

Sami holds the record on both the PAL 

and NTSC versions of the game, 

with times of 58.34 sec and 

56.45 sec respectively. 

Largest joypad 

Officially verified in 

Aug 2011 as the largest 

console gamepad, this 

fully functional NES pad 

measures 3.66 x 1.59 x 

0.51 m (12 ft x 5 ft 3 in x 

1 ft 8 in). Its main creator 

is engineering student 

Ben Allen (right), who was 

helped by Stephen van't 

Hof and Michel Verhulst, all 

students at Delft University 

of Technology in the 

Netherlands at the time. 

Highest score 

on Guitar Hero Ill 

(female} 

On 30 Sep 2010, at her 

home in San Francisco, 

California, USA, Annie 

Leung achieved a record 

score of 789,349 - the 

highest by a female gamer 

- playing the DragonForce 

track "Through the Fire 

and Flames" on Guitar 

Hero Ill: Legends of Rock 

(Neversoft, 2007). 

A 

to vldeogamlng. 

Look out for Gamer's 

Edition 2015 - packed 

with new gaming 

achievements and 

coming soon! 


;Te chno o 


& enoi 11 

Frederick's 

titanic trolley 

has a capacity of 

27,332,836 cma, 

making it 227 

times bigger than a 

typical 120,000-cma 

shopping cart. 

Diamond anniversary edition


Contents 

Largest motorized shopping trolley 

Powered by a 7,439-cc engine, this mammoth cart measures 8.23 m (27 ft) 

long, 4.57 m (15 ft) tall and 2.43 m (8 ft) wide and incorporates 3,265 kg 

(7,200 lb) of stainless steel. Built by Frederick Reifsteck (USA), it was 

displayed in South Wales, New York, USA, on 20 Apr 2012. 

It's not the largest shopping trolley overall, though. That honour goes 

to a 9.6-m-long (31-ft 5-in), 13.6-m-tall (44-ft 7-in), 8.23-m-wide (27-ft) 

behemoth created by Migros Ticaret A.$. (TUR) in Istanbul, Turkey, 

and unveiled on 14 Jun 2012. 

Flashback: Telecoms 

revolution 

Roller-coasters 

Bridges & tunnels 184 

186 

Urban transport 188 

Alternative transport 190 

Wacky wheels 192 

Military hardware 194 

Architecture 196 

Castles 198 

Sports architecture 200 

Cutting-edge science 202 

Robots &AI 204 

Top tech 206 

00 



1984 Forst successful PC 

usmg a graphical user 

mterface (GUI) 1s the Apple 

Macintosh Microsoft s DOS 

mterfacc IS text-only 

FACT 

It was Ray Tomlinson, 

sender of the first email 

(see right), who decided 

to use the @ symbol to 

separate the recipient's 

name and location. 

(Integrated Services 

Digital Network) standard 

defined by the International 

Telecommunication Union to 

allow digital transmission over 

copper telephone wires 

1987 Forst MMORPG (multoplayer 

online v1deogame) w•th graphiCS 

A1r Wamor IS released by Kesrna1 

on the GEn1c (USA) serv1ce


2012 First neutrino message 

On 13 Mar 2012, it was announced that scientists 

working at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, USA, had 

used a beam of neutrinos to send a message 

to a detector for the very first time. The word 

"neutrino" was sent across 1 km - 240 m of 

which was solid rock - at a data rate of 0.1 bits 

per sec. Subatomic neutrinos pass through 

matter easily, as they rarely interact with it, but 

require massive equipment to be detected so 

are unlikely to replace email any time soon! 

2008 Frrst onhne legal 

summons served by lawyers 

Mark MacCormack and Jason 

Olrver (bot11 ALJS) on 1-acPbook 

Gr1a\\ 

200? Screntrsts at Essex University. UK, 

transr111t data


asters 

the world: 3,186 steel and 174 wood 

FACT 

When looping the 

loop, acceleration is 

stronger than gravity 

at the top, keeping 

you In your seat. 

Largest roller-coaster loop 

Full Throttle at Six Flags Magic Mountain In 

Valencia, California, USA, has the largest loop, 

at 38.75 m (127 ft 1 in). Its name doesn't lie: 

riders accelerate into the record-breaking 

loop at a fearsome 110 km/h (70 mph) and are 

turned upside down twice in less than a minute . 

Most rollercoasters 

in one country 

The nation with the 

greatest number of 

coasters of any kind is 

China, which has 824. 

Next up is the USA with 653 

and then Japan with 212. 

ridden in one 24-hour period 

is 74. On 9 Aug 2001, Philip 

A Guarno, Adam Spivak, 

John R Kirkwood and Aaron 

Monroe Rye (all USA) rode 

cars in 10 parks in four US 

states, using helicopters to 

travel between them. 

Most naked people 

on a theme park ride 

On 8 Aug 2010, 102 coaster 

fans bared all on the Green 

Scream roller-coaster 

at Adventure Island in 

Southend-on-Sea, UK. 

Most costumed riders 

on a theme park ride 

Dorney Park & Wildwater 

Kingdom in Allentown, 

Pennsylvania, USA, saw 

330 costumed riders - all 

dressed as zombies - enjoy 

the Steel Force roller-coaster 

on 18 Aug 2011. 

Longest marathon 

on a roller-coaster 

Richard Rodriguez (USA) 

rode the Pepsi Max Big 

One and Big Dipper rollercoasters 

at the Pleasure 

Steepest steel 

roller-coaster 

The Takabisha ride at 

Fujikyu (aka Fuji-Q) 

Highland amusement 

park, Fujiyoshida City, 

Japan, stands 43 m 

(141 ft) at its highest. 

Its steepest drop - at 

an angle of 121° down 

a 3.4-m (11-ft 2-in) 

stretch - takes a mere 

0.38 sec. 

in one theme park 

As of 20 Jan 2014, Six 

Flags Magic Mountain in 

Valencia, California, USA, 

has 18 operating rollercoasters. 

The theme 

opened on 29 May 1971. 

Most roller-coasters 

ridden in 24 hours 

1: A linear G-force 

(G for gravity) launch of 

0-120 mph in under 5 sec 

pushes riders back, and 

fear and adrenaline kick in. 

5: Bumpy corners make you 

feel the lateral G-force that - 

when uncontrolled, such as 

in car crashes - can result 

in whiplash injuries. 

4: Just the right amount 

of negative G-force 

makes your insides float 

momentarily (too much 

would make your eyeballs 

explode). 

Stletchlng 45 1an along the 

Atlantic Ocean is Virginia 

Beach In Virginia, USA, 

which offers 147 hotels and 

2,323 campsites. Back in 

1955, the record was held by 

Coney Island in New York, 

USA. "As well as its five-mile 

beach it features more than 

350 business and amusement 

places ... An estimated 

50 million visit Coney Island 

and each spends about $1.25 

(Ss 11d [45p])." 

182 Technology & engineering 

Source: "Roller coasters: feeling /oopy", washingtonpost.com, 1 Ju/ 2013


built at Lakemont Park in 

Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA, 

in 1902. It closed, seemingly 

for good, in 1985, but funds 

were raised for its restoration 

and it reopened in 1999. 



Expedition Everest at Walt 

Disney World Resort in 

Florida, USA, opened in 2006 

at a cost of $100 m (£51 m). 

The concept is a train journey 

through the Himalayas via 

Forbidden Mountain, wherein 

lies a huge Yeti: a 6.7-m-tall 

(22-ft) audio-animatronic 

beast covered in 93 m2 

(1 ,000 sq ft) of fur. 

Steepeat wooden 


Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City in Branson, 

Missouri, USA, has a drop at an angle of 81°. 

The coaster - which can achieve a reported 

speed of 109 km/h (68 mph) - has been open 

since 15 Mar 2013 and is estimated to have 

cost more than $10 m (£6.6 m) to build. 

LONGEST ... 

After going from 

G-'lj)O kmlh (62 mph) In 

2 see, the steel Formula 

Rossa at Ferrari World 

Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, 

can accelerate to 

240 krri/h (149 mph) 

and move 52 m (170 ft) 

upwards - higher than, 

the Statue of Liberty - 

in just 4.9 sec. 

Beach in Blackpool, UK, 

for 405 hr 40 min from 

27 Jul to 13 Aug 2007. 

Fastest accelerating 


Dodonpa, the 52-m-tall 

(170-ft 7-in) steel rollercoaster 

at Fuji-Q Highland 

in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi 

Prefecture, Japan, 

accelerates its eight riders 

from 0 to 172.03 km/h 

(106.9 mph) in 1.8 sec. 

Oldest roller-coaster 

operating continuously 

The Scenic Railway, a 

traditional wooden coaster 

at Luna Park in St Kilda, 

Victoria, Australia, opened 

on 13 Dec 1912 and has 

been running ever since. 

Oldest roller-coaster 

fully restored 

Leap-the-Dips, another 

old wooden ride, was 

Biggest roller-coaster drop 

Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure 

near Jackson, New Jersey, USA, includes 

a drop of 127.4 m (418 ft) and sees riders 

reach 206 km/h (128 mph) just seconds 

after launch. Kingda Ka is no ordinary ride 

-at 139 m (456 ft), it's the world's tallest 

roller-coaster. 

Roller-coaster 

Don't hold your breath 

on Steel Dragon 2000 at 

Nagashima Spa Land in 

Kuwana, Mie, Japan - it's 

2.48 km (1 .54 mi) long. 

Flying roller-coaster 

Six Flags Magic Mountain 

in Valencia, California, 

USA, has the longest flying 

coaster, Tatsu, measuring 

1.09 km (0.68 mi), as well 

as the longest stand-up 

coaster, The Riddler's 

Revenge, which is 1.33 km 

(0.82 mi) long. 

Floorless roller-coaster 

The Dominator at Kings 

Dominion in Doswell, 

Virginia, USA, continues 

for 1.28 km (0.79 mi). 


The 2.28-km (1.40-mi) 

Beast, at Kings Island 

in Ohio, USA, lasts for 

3 min 40 sec. 

Track records: coasters identified 

In addition to the typical "sit down" coaster (which you 

ride above the track in a seated position), look out for: 

Flying: riders are strapped parallel to the track, as if 

flying (top left: Ta tsu, Six Flags, Valencia, California, USA) 

Fourth dimension: riders sit either side of the track, 

allowing seats to rotate (bottom left: Eejanaika, Fuji-Q, 

Yamanashi, Japan) 

Floorless: riders are seated above the track but with 

their legs dangling (top right: Griffon, Busch Gardens, 

Williamsburg, Virginia, USA) 

Inverted: seats are suspended under the track 

{bottom right: Wicked Twister, Cedar Point, Ohio, USA) 

The deadly 

coaster 

In 2010, Julijonas Urbonas, 

a student at the Royal 

College of Art in London, 

UK, drafted plans for 

the Euthanasia Coaster: 

a thrill ride designed to 

kill its passengers. This 

controversial coaster - 

thankfully just a concept 

kills by subjecting riders to 

seven 1 0-g inversions and 

cutting the oxygen supply 

to the brain. It is, says 

Urbonas, "engineered to 

humanely - with elegance 

and euphoria - take the life 

of a human being". 



Bnd es & tunne s 

The bridge that inspired Winnie the Pooh's Pooh sticks cost £30,000 to renovate 

Largest ferris wheel bridge 

The Tianjln Eye on the Yongle Bridge is 120 m 

(394 ft) high. Opened on 5 Apr 2009 in Tianjin, 

China, the wheel bisects the bridge and road 

itself. The bridge has two layers: the upper for 

six lanes of traffic and the lower for pedestrians 

and the entrance to the Eye. 

Most bridges in a city 

Hamburg in Germany has 

between 2,300 and 2,500 

bridges - more than Venice, 

Amsterdam and London 

combined. The oldest is 

Zollenbrucke (1663). A more 

accurate figure is hard to 

find, partly because bridges 

are added and destroyed all 

the time and partly because 

sources disagree on how big 

a river, stream or channel 

has to be to qualify for 

needing a bridge. 

Turkey. It would have been 

the longest bridge in the 

world but Ottoman Empire 

ruler Sultan Bayezid II 

believed the bridge wouldn't 

work and it was not until 

2001 that the design was 

realized. It was finally built 

as a footbridge, measuring 

1 00 m (328 ft) long and 8 m 

(26 ft 3 in) wide, over the E18 

motorway in As, Norway. It 

was created by artist Vebj0rn 

Sand (NOR) with Norway's 

National Roads Authority. 

Highest sky bridge 

A double-decker bridge 

connects the Petronas Twin 

Towers in Kuala Lumpur, 

Malaysia, at the 41st and 

42nd floors. (The buildings 

are distinct, rather than 

one structure as with other 

contenders.) The bridge is 

170 m (558 ft) above the 

ground, 58 m (190 ft) long 

and weighs 750 tonnes 

(1 .65 million lb). 

Largest spiral 

bridge access 

Traffic approaches the 

Nanpu Bridge over 

the Huangpu river 

in Shanghai, China, 

via a sweeping swirl 

of an elevated road 

section that minimizes 

the steepness of the 

gradient. The final 

section is 180 m (590 ft) 

in diameter, 7.5 km 

(4.66 mi) long, and 

cars complete two full 

rotations on the way up. 

The road, opened in 

1991, was designed by 

the Shanghai Municipal 

Engineering Design 

Institute and Tongji 

Architectural Design 

and Research Institute. 

Longest canal bridge 

The Mittellandkanal 

and Elbe-Havel canals 

in Germany are joined 

by the Magdeburg 

Water Bridge over the 

Elbe river. The bridge is 

918 m (3,012 ft) long 

was opened on 10 Oct 

2003. The 43-m-wide 

(142-ft) structure 

contains 24,000 

(52.9 million lb) of 

and carries ships of 

to 1,350 tonnes 

(2.9 million lb). 

Longeet: llild .. 

over water 

(continuous) 

The lake Pontchartraln 

Causeway -joins 

Mandeville and 

Metairie in Louisiana, 

USA. It is 38.42 km 

(23.87 mi) long and 

was completed 

in 1969. It runs 

alongside a slightly 

shorter bridge that 

was opened in 

1956 - each has 

two lanes for 

traffic. 

First Leonardo da Vinci 

bridge to be built 

Italy's master artist and 

inventor Leonardo da Vinci 

designed the Golden Horn 

bridge in 1502 to cross 

the Bosphorus in Istanbul, 

The Causeway 

withstood the effects 

of Hurricane Katrina 

in 2005 when nearby 

bridges were destroyed. 

Longest roed bridge: 54 km 

Bang Na Expressway, Bang Na-Bang Pakong Highway, Thailand 

Longest bridge over water (aggregate): 42.50 km 

Qingdao Haiwan road bridge, Jiaozhou Bay, Shandong, China 

Longest M/necrwft tunnal: 10.001 km 

Eric McCowan's (USA) tunnel created In the M/necraft vidaogama 

covered 10,001 blocks, equating to 10.001 km 

LongMt r811 tunnel: 57.00 km 

Gotthan:l Rail Tunnel, Switzerland 

Longaat road tunnel: 24.50 km 

l.a!rdal Tunnel, Aurland-l.a!rdal, Norway 

longest roecl 

tunnel was 4.6-kmlong 

Bir11enheacl (aka 

Queensway or Mersey) 

Tunnel joining Liverpool and 

Birkenhead in Merseyside, 

UK. It was later determined 

that, between 1948 and 

1964, the record was, In 

fact, held by the Vielha 

Tunnel in Catalonia, Spain, 

at 5.23 km. (The Birkenhead 

Tunnel, however, was 

the longest underwater 

tunnel as of 1955.) 

184 Technology & engineering


against a South Vietnamese 

government backed by the 

USA in the 1960s. At their 

peak, the claustrophobic, 

snake-and-spider-infested 

tunnels stretched for 250 km 

(150 mi), an extent of which 

has been preserved to be 

explored by tourists. 

Longest multicoloured 

light tunnel 

The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel 

connects East Nanjing Road and Pudong in 

Shanghai, China: a distance of 646 m (2,121 ft). 

Tourists ride on driverless trains through the 

tunnel, illuminated with different coloured lights 

and accompanied by sound effects. 

Longest self-anchored 

suspension span bridge 

While a suspension bridge 

is anchored in the ground, 

a self-anchored bridge is 

secured to the road deck 

ends. This latter form was 

chosen to replace the 

eastern span of the San 

Francisco-Oakland Bay 

Bridge, USA, which centres 

on Yerba Buena Island. The 

span is 624 m (2,047 ft) 

long, supported from a 

1 60-m-high (525-ft) tower. 

Largest system of military 

infiltration tunnels 

The tunnels of Cu Chi in 

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 

became a key part of the 

Viet Gong insurgency fight 

First tunnel under a 

navigable waterway 

The Thames Tunnel was 

365 m (1 ,300 ft) long and 

completed in 1843 by 

engineer Sir Marc Brunei 

(FRA) to connect 

Rotherhithe and Wapping 

in London, UK. On the 

opening day, 50,000 

people paid a penny 

each to wander through 

the attraction and within 

10 weeks one million 

had visited it, although it 

was never used for traffic. It 

is today part of the London 

rail network. The tunnel used 

the first tunnelling shield, 

also developed by Brunei, to 

act as a temporary support 

structure. The basic idea is 

still used to allow workers 

to install permanent 

support systems in 

unstable conditions. 


rail tunnel 

The rail link underneath the 

English Channel between the 

UK and France was opened 

in 1994 at a total cost of 

• • 

Longest bndge-supported a1rport runway 

A runway extension to accommodate larger aircraft at Madeira Airport was 

built partially over the sea. A bridge supporting this part is 1,020 m (3,346 ft) 

long and 180 m (591 ft) wide, and sits on 180 pillars. It cost a total of 520 m 

!!!!!!!'••••---- 

around £12 bn ($2o bn), 

:nudin9, tain stock5h 

e 

1n 

f t k 

(3 a uns e; 

7.6 m (25 ft) in 

euros (£432.75 m; $707.76 m) and was opened in Dec 2011. - diameter and one 

4.8-m-diameter (16-ft) 

service tunnel that runs 

-?? between them. 

k¥£;sw 

First curtlng 

brtdge 

Rather than opening 

up rigidly, the Rolling 

Bridge curls up its 

eight segments like 

a scorpion's tail 

to let boats pass. 

Thomas Heatherwick 

(UK) designed the 

pedestrian bridge and 

it was built in 2004 in 

London's Paddington 

Basin, UK. 

FACT 

The Channel Tu nnel 

between England 

and France was 

first proposed in 

1802, by rench 

engineer Albert 

Mathieu-Favier. 

It was finally 

completed in 1994. 

Changing channels: bridge tunnels 

The longest bridge tunnel is the Chesapeake 

Bay Bridge Tunnel, which was opened to traffic on 

15 Apr 1964, extending 28.40 km from the Eastern 

Shore region of the Virginia Peninsula to Virginia 

Beach, Virginia, USA. Bridges on each side give 

way to a tunnel, allowing ships access from the 

Atlantic along the Thimble Shoals and Chesapeake 

shipping channels. The longest bridge section is 

Trestle C at 7.34 km and the longest tunnel is the 

Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel at1.75 km. 

• Deepest road tunnel: 

Eiksund road tunnel, 

Norway, 287 m below 

sea level 

• Most expensive road 

tunnel: Central Artery/ 

Tunnel Project, Boston, 

USA, $14.6 bn (£7.3 bn) 

• Longest sewage 

tunnel: Chicago TARP 

(Tunnels and Reservoir 

Plan), currently 176 km 

(extending to 211 km when 

completed in 2029) 0 0 0

cars 


Every year, commuters in the USA spend an average of 38 hr stuck in traffic 

FACT 

Drifting was the 

subject of Justin 

Lin's hit action movie 

The Fast and the 

Furious: Tokyo 

Drift (2006). 

Jakub Przygoflskl (POL) drifted at a speed of 

217.97 km/h (135.44 mph) at Biata Podlaska 

Airport near Warsaw, Poland, on 3 Sep 2013. 

Largest producer 

of vehicles 

Toyota (JPN) ended General 

Motors' 77-year winning 

streak as the biggest maker 

of cars in 2008, and the 

two companies have traded 

places twice since. In 2013, 

Toyota sold 9.98 million 

vehicles across all its 

divisions, again ahead of 

General Motors (9.71 million) 

and just short of 10 million 

units - a figure as yet 

never reached by a 

manufacturer in a 

single year. 

Best-selling twoseater 

sports car 

The Mazda MX-5 

(known as the Miata in 

North America) has held 

the record for best-selling 

two-seater since 1999. By 

the first half of 2014, it had 

sold over 940,000 units. 

First folding car 

An electric car with a chassis 

that folds itself up, the 

Hiriko Fold shrinks from a 

length of 2.63 m (8 ft 7 in) 

to 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in). Three 

Hirikos can park in the same 

space as one four-door 

saloon. The twoseater 

The 2.18-m euro 

(£1.77-m) "Rembrandt", 

right, is named after 

founder Ettore Bugatti's 

younger brother. 

· 

car was invented by the 

Massachusetts Institute 

of Technology (USA) and 

developed by Denokinn 

(ESP), but as of Apr 2014 

this model is yet to be 

launched commercially. 

First hydrogen-powered 

production car 

Hydrogen-powered 

cars are good for the 

environment in that they 

create no carbon emissions 

once they are on the 

move. The Honda FCX, 

introduced in 2002, was 

the first hydrogen-powered 

production car. Although 

only a handful are currently 

on the road, manufacturers 

such as Toyota and Honda 

Prices for cars in Bugatti's six-part •Legends" 

series range from 2.09 m euros (£1.76 m) for the 

"Meo Costantini" to 2.35 m euros (£1.91 m) for 

the "Ettore Bugatti", the final edition to be 

unveiled. The Legends series - based on the 

Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse - is limited to 

just three cars per edition. Prices exclude tax and 

transportation. 

are planning to have 

more affordable versions 

available by 2016. 

Highest vehicle mileage 

On 18 Sep 2013, Irvin 

Gordon (USA) clocked 

up his three-millionth mile 

(4.28 million km) in the 1966 

Volvo P1800S that he had 

driven continuously for 

48 years. By 1 May 2014, 

the retired science teacher 

had driven 3,039,122 mi 

(4.89 million km). lrv now has 

a brand-new XC60R 

AWD, and plans 

to "give my 

1800 a 

break". 

KEY: 

National Motor Museum - and, 

as of Apr 2014, is still in working 

order. Robert Neville Grenville 

of Somerset, UK, designed the 

self-propelled vehicle, which 

.boasts a top speed of 24 km/h. 

- 

J]======d_ 

---- 

x1=4oocar;s==J - 

holds four passengers and 

186 Technology & engineering 

In 2010, there were an 

estimated 6.75 vehicles 

in operation for every 

human on Earth (see 

right). According to 

predictions made 

by the International 

Monetary Fund, by 

2050 the number of 

cars on the road will 

have risen to 3 billion 

worldwide. C02 

emissions from cars 

could contribute 8.1 % 

to the overall figure 

of emissions.


Most expensive car at auction 

A 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO racer was sold to a 

private buyer in Oct 2013 for $52 m (£32 m). 

The competition car was formerly owned by 

US collector and racer Paul Pappalardo. Only 

39 of the GTO cars were made, with an original 

retail price of around $18,000 (£4,623; today's 

equivalent would be $135,000; £83,500). 

Longest fuel range 

(standard tank) 

Marko To mac and Ivan 

Cvetkovic (both HRV) drove 

a Volkswagen Passat 1.6 TDI 

BlueMotion for 2,545.8 km 

(1 ,581 .88 mi) on one tank of 

fuel between 27 and 30 Jun 

2011 in Croatia. 

Longest journey by car 

in a single country 

Durga Charan Mishra 

and Jotshna Mishra (both 

IN D) toured continuously 

throughout India between 

23 Feb and 1 Apr 2014, 

clocking up 18,458 km 

(11 ,469 mi). They started 

and finished their epic 

38-day road trip in Puri in the 

state of Odisha, averaging 

485.7 km (301. 7 mi) per day. 


veteran car 

Only cars built before 1905 

are classed as "veteran" 

- qualifying for entry in 

the UK's annual London 

to Brighton Veteran Car 

Run. A Rolls-Royce built in 

1904 was sold for £3.52 m 

($7.24 m) in the UK 

Three cars h8d 8rigli1e!i' Of 

_ 

(823.8-cu-in) - the Pierce--Arrow 6-66 Raceabout 

(1912-1 8, above), the Peerless 6-60 of 1912-14 

and a 1918 Fageol (all USA). But big is not always 

better. Their power output was 49 kW (65.7 hp), 

roughly the same as a typical modern family car 

with a capacity of 1.3-2 litres (79.3-1 22 cu in). 

on 3 Dec 2007. It 

has the serial number 

20154 and is the oldest 

existing Rolls-Royce. 

Tightest parallel parking 

of two cars 

On 9 Jan 2014 in the city of 

Jiangyin, China, Tian Linwen 

and Xia Hongjun (both CHN) 

drove into a parking space 

that was just 42 em (16.5 in) 

longer than their two cars 

combined. This is the length 

of an A3 sheet of paper. 

Fastest automated 

parking facility 

At Volkswagen's Autostadt 

in Wolfsburg, Germany, cars 

fresh from the production 

line are retrieved and 

delivered by an automated 

system that travels at up to 

2 m/sec (3 ft 3 in/sec). The 

entire parking process from 

the entrance of the Autostadt 

to the farthest parking box 

takes 1 min 44 sec. 

Largest automated 

parking facility 

The car park at Emirates 

Financial Towers in Dubai, 

UAE, stores up to 1,191 cars 

in an area of 27,606.14 m2 

(297,150 sq ft) . 

Driving seat: big producers 

China was the largest producer of cars in 

2013, making 18,085,213 of a total of 65,386,596 

automobiles (excluding commercial vehicles). 

This contributes to 2013 being the biggest year 

on record for car sales, according to data from 

the International Organization of Motor Vehicle 

Manufacturers. Japan was in second place, with 

8,189,323 sales, and Germany came in third 

with 5,439,904. According to industry experts 

WardsAuto, the number of vehicles on the road 

(including commercial traffic) hit 1 billion in 2010, 

rising from 250 million in 1970. 

. .. .... 100: 

students from ESSCA 

Nlness school in Paris, 

France, on 2 Apr 2011. 

a claMic model Mini 

Cooper: 25 people 

organized by Virgin Mobile in 

Johannesburg, South Africa, 

on 2 Oct 2013. 

a new model Mini: 28 people 

organized by Dani Maynard and 

the David Lloyd Divas (UK) in 

London, UK, on 15 Nov 2012. 

a Smart car: 20 people 

organized by Glendale College 

Cheerleading Team (USA) in Los 

Angeles, USA, on 28 Sep 2011. 



Urban trans ort 

of the 51 busiest train stations in the world; almost half are in Tokyo alone 

Longest driverless 

metro network 

The two lines of the 

driverless Dubai Metro 

have a combined length 

of 74.69 km (46.41 mi). 

They were constructed 

by the Roads & Transport 

Authority in DubaJ, UAE, 

and officially inaugurated 

on 9 Sep 2011. 

At 52.1 km (32.3 mi) in 

length, the Dubai Metro 

Red Line is the longest 

driverless metro line. The 

second line, Green Line, 

is 22.5 km (13.9 mi) long . 

The longest metro 

system by total length 

is the Seoul Metropolitan 

Subway in South Korea, with 

940 km (580 mi) of routes 

across 17 lines as of 2013. 

Largest underground 

train depot (metro) 

Singapore's Kim Chuan 

Depot, which opened in 

2009, measures 800 m 

(2,624 ft) long, 160 m 

(524 ft) wide and 23 m 

(75 ft) high, and has a 

volume of 2.9 million m3 

(1,057 million cu ft). 

The depot took five years 

and 295 million Singapore 

dollars (£131 m; $209 m) 

to construct. It houses 

equipment and stabling 

.. 

First congestion scheme 

In 1975, Singapore 

implemented the Area 

Licensing Scheme (ALS). 

Owners of vehicles entering 

the Central Business 

District or the "Restricted 

Zone" had to buy a special 

paper licence. In 1998, the 

system was upgraded to 

the Electronic Road Pricing 

(ERP) programme. 

Busiest underground 

network (current) 

The To kyo Metro served 

a ridership of 3.102 billion 

passengers in 2012. The 

city's underground system 

stretches 310 km (190 mi) 

altogether and caters to 

a metropolitan area of 

35 million residents. It 

incorporates 13 lines and 

290 stations in total. 

The Moscow 

Metro is the busiest 

underground 

network ever, with 

3.3 billion passenger 

journeys in a year at 

its peak, although 

by 1998 the figure 

had declined to 

2.55 billion. The 

system has been 

serving the Russian 

capital since 1935, and 

incorporates 3,135 carriages 

covering 159 stations and 

212 km (132 mi) of track. 

Most cyCle rickshaws 

in one city 

There are some 500,000 cycle rickshaws 

in Dhaka, Bangladesh (above). In this 

city of 15 million people, they account 

for nearly 40% of all trips. 

As of 2012, an estimated 120,000- 

160,000 autorickshaws were active in Mumbai, 

India (inset), the most autorickshaws in one 

city. They are used by up to 85% of residents. 

In Japan, some metro 

cars are set aside for 

women, to provide 

greater personal safety. 

tramways, Including some 

underground. The lines were 

finally discontinued to save 

money and make way for buses. 

Today's most extensive tram 

system is more than three times 

smaller. Located in Melbourne, 

Victoria, Australia, it runs to 

"just" 250 km, with 487 trams, 

1,763 tram stops and 30 routes. 

All of London's black-cab 

drivers have to pass "The 

Knowledge", to test their 

familiarity with 320 routes, 

across 25,000 streets, in 

the capital. The training can 

take four years to complete.


argest ships 

by capacity 

Although other ships 

can potentially carry 

more passengers, the vessels with the largest 

"standard" passenger loads are the Staten Island 

Ferry sister ships Andrew J Barberi and Samuel / 

Newhouse in New York City, USA, each of which 

can carry 6,000 passengers. They are 95 m 

(310 ft) long and 21 m (69 ft 10 in) wide, with a 

service speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 19 mph). 

and provides maintenance 

facilities for up to 70 threecar 

driverless trains. 

Most expensive public 

transit commute 

According to the UBS Price 

and Earnings Report 2012, 

which assessed 72 cities in 

58 countries, Oslo in Norway 

has the most expensive 

transit ticket fare (based 

on a 10-stop bus, tram or 

subway trip): £3.21 ($5.12). 

The same report 

also noted that Zurich 

in Switzerland offers the 

most expensive taxi ride, 

at £18.17 ($28.93). This 

calculation is based on a 

taxi journey over a distance 

of 5 km (3 mi), taken during 

the day within the city limits. 

Farthest distance by a 

battery-powered tram 

(one charge) in 24 hours 

Stadler Pankow GmbH (DEU) 

ran the battery-powered 

Variobahn tram 18.98 km 

(11. 79 mi) on a single charge 

at Velten/Hennigsdorf 

rail-test track near Berlin, 

Germany, on 25 May 2011. 

The most southerly 

tramway terminus is at 

Brighton East in Melbourne, 

Victoria, Australia, on route 

--_...-c:::::. . 

---...c.-- 

Longm lntraCity 

tram route 

The 501 Queen route in Toronto, 

Canada, is 24.5 km (15.2 mi) long, 

and averages 52,000 passengers 

daily, 24 hr a day, seven days a 

week. It runs from Long Branch in 

the west to Neville Park in the east. 

number 64 at the junction of 

Hawthorn Road and Nepean 

Highway. 

The longest tram route 

is the Kusttram service that 

runs along the Belgian coast 

from Knokke in the north to 

Adinkerke in the south - a 

distance of 68 km (42 mi). 

Largest bus rapid transit 

(BRT) system 

The TransJakarta bus rapid 

transit system in Jakarta, 

Indonesia, boasts some 

194 km (120 mi) of dedicated 

busways. It carries more 

than 300,000 passengers 

daily on 12 "corridors". 

Oldest railway tunnel 

British engineer Benjamin 

Outram (UK) built a 

27-m-long (88-ft) railway 

tunnel at Fritch ley near Crich 

in Derbyshire, UK, in 1793. 

It remained in use until 1933. 

Both ends were sealed in 

the 1960s. 

As of Jan 2014, the 

oldest railway workshop 

in continuous operation 

is the Boston Lodge Works 

of the Ffestiniog Railway 

near Minffordd, UK. Wagon 

maintenance began there 

in 1838 with a blacksmith's 

shop, from which the current 

complex has grown. 

Liverpool Road station 

in Manchester, UK, is the 

oldest railway station. 

It opened on 15 Sep 

1830 and closed 

Largest rail 

freight yard 

Bailey Yard in North 

Platte, Nebraska, USA, 

is 12.8 km (8 mi) long 

and covers an area of 

11.5 km2 (4.4 sq mi). 

It is operated by the 

Union Pacific Bilt>ad. 

Metro mania: station masters 

For some, going underground provides a direct 

route to breaking records. Chris Solarz and Matthew 

Ferrisi (both USA, top left) achieved the fastest 

time to travel to all New York City Subway 

stations (22 hr 52 min 36 sec) from 22 to 23 Jan 

2010. Tim Littlechild and Chantel Shafie (both UK; 

Chantel seen bottom left) recorded the fastest 

time to travel to all Hong Kong metro stations 

(8 hr 18 min 8 sec) on 30 Dec 2013. Geoff Marshall 

and Anthony Smith (both UK, right) set the fastest 

time to travel to all London Underground 

stations (1 6 hr 20 min 27 sec) on 16 Aug 2013. 

th8 Swaneea 

Railway, In Swan8ea, UK, 

began on 25 Mar 1807. 

'Firat motorized taxicab 

servlca: operated by the 

Daimler Motorized Cab 

Company in Stuttgart, 

Germany, in 1897. The 

taxi was able to travel 

70 km a day. The fleet was 

increased to seven vehicles 

just two years later.


A ternative trans ort 

Highest cable car 

above ground 

The Peak 2 Peak Gondola 

in Whistler, British 

Columbia, Canada, rises 

to 436 m (1 ,430 ft). The 

three-cable gondola lift 

runs for around 4.4 km 

(2. 7 mi) and connects the 

peaks of the Whistler and 

Blackcomb mountains. 

The vertiginous ride als0 

incorporates the longest 

unsupported span 

between two 9,.&blecar 

towers - a leng h 

of 3,024 m (9,921 ft). 

Longest funicular 

The Sierre to Crans 

Montana funicular is 

4.192 km (2.604 mi) 

long. It connects 

passengers to the 

ski resort of Crans 

Montana from the 

Swiss city of Sierre 

and was built in 1911 

as two separate 

funiculars. The two 

lines were merged and 

rebuilt as one system 

in 1997. The funicular 

travels at speeds of 

8 m/sec (26 ft/sec) and 

completes the journey 

in 12 min. 

Longest cable car 

beneath sea level 

A 1 ,328-m-long (4,359-ft), 

12-cabin cable car connects 

Elisha's Spring with the 

Mount of Temptation in 

Jericho, Palestine. The lower 

station is 21 9.86 m (721 ft 

3 in) below sea level; the 

upper station is 50.29 m 

(164 ft 11 in) below sea level. 

Longest cable car ever 

A cable car of approximately 

96 km (60 mi) in length 

was first opened in 1943 

to transport ore from 

Kristenberg to Boliden in 

Sweden. Constructed in 

:--lieu of a road, owing to the 

-----...-._....-., of rubber and 

operation today, it is now 

used as a 13.2-km-long 

(8.2-mi) tourist ride. 

Longest non-stop 

aerial tram 

Wings of Tatev, constructed 

in collaboration with the 

National Competitiveness 

Foundation of Armenia, 

is a non-stop cable-car 

tramway measuring 5,752 m 

(18,871 ft) long. It links 

the Tatev monastery and 

Halidzor, Armenia. 

Highest ascent by a 

non-stop cable car 

The Ba Na Hills singletrack 

cable car in Da Nang, 

Vietnam, opened on 29 Mar 

T'l'le· 1


Measuring 15.2 km (9.45 mi), the Chiba Urban 

Monorail near Tokyo, Japan, is the longest 

suspended monorail train system. The first 

3.2-km (1.98-mi) stretch opened on 20 Mar 1979, 

although the line has been expanded three times 

since then. The monorail has 18 stations, and an 

average of 120 trains run on the system per day. 

Birmingham International 

Airport and the nearby 

Birmingham International 

Interchange in West 

Midlands, UK, from 1984 

to 1995. It was taken out of 

service due to the high cost 

of replacing worn parts and 

succeeded by a conventional 

cable-drawn shuttle system. 

Fastest maglev train 

A MLX01 maglev train 

operate


- Wac k whee s 

Wheels were already being used for transport 5,500 years ago, · 

FACT 

Matt smashed his own 

record for this feat - 

a mere 73.61 km/h 

which he had 

set during the 

previous month. 

Fastest motorized 

shopping trolley 

Bringing a whole new meaning to the 

words "fast food", Matt McKeown 

(UK) reached 113.2 km/h (70.4 mph) 

in a shopping trolley at Elvington Airfield 

in North Yorkshire, UK, on 18 Aug 2013. 

Fastest toilet 

The Bog Standard 

consists of a motorcycle 

and sidecar hidden under 

a bathroom set comprising a 

Victorian-style throne toilet, 

bathtub, sink and laundry 

bin. Created by Edd China 

(UK), this mobile restroom 

can reach a speed of 

68 km/h (42.25 mph). 

A past master in mobile 

furniture, Edd has also made 

the fastest garden shed 

(94 km/h; 58 mph), bed 

(111 km/h; 69 mph) and 

office (140 km/h; 87 mph)! 

Smallest caravan 

The QTvan is just 2.39 m (7 ft 10 in) long, 1.53 m (5 ft) high and 79 em 

... (2 ft 7 in) wide. It was manufactured by the Environmental Transport 

Association (UK) and measured in Aylesbury, UK, on 5 Jun 2013. 

Below, designer Yannick Read (UK) shows off his compact creation. 

Lowest 

roadworthy car 

The Mirai car measures just 

45.2 em (1 ft 5 in) from the 

ground to its highest part. 

Students and teachers of 

the Automobile Engineering 

Course of Okayama Sanyo 

High School in Asakuchi, 

Japan, unveiled it on 15 Nov 

2010. "Mirai" means "future" 

in Japanese. 

V 

Heaviest 

rideable tricycle 

Wouter van den Bosch 

(NLD) has constructed 

a tricycle that's truly off 

the scale, weighing in at a 

colossal 750 kg (1 ,650 I b). 

Wouter took his heavyweight 

creation for a 

ride in Arnhem, 

Netherlands, 

in May 2010. 

< Smallest 

roadworthy car 

The ideal complement for 

the smallest caravan, this 

diminutive car measures 

63.5 em (2 ft 1 in) high, 

65.4 em (2 ft 1 . 75 in) wide 

and 1.26 m (4 ft 1.75 in) 

long. It was made by 

Austin Coulson (USA) and 

measured in Carrollton, 

Texas, USA, on 7 Sep 2012.


 

Largest 

monster truck 

Bigfoot 5 is 4.7 m (15 ft 6 in) 

tall with 3-m-high (10-ft) tyres 

and weighs in at more than 

17 tonnes (38,000 lb). It is 

one of a fleet of 17 Bigfoot 

trucks created by Bob 

Chandler (USA) and was 

built in 1986. Permanently 

parked in St Louis, Missouri, 

USA, Bigfoot 5 makes 

occasional exhibition 

appearances at local shows. 

Tallest limousine car 

Gary and Shirley Duval 

(both AUS) have made a 

lofty limo that measures 

3.33 m (10 ft 11 in) tall. 

The record-breaking car 

has an eight-wheel 

independent suspension 

system and sits on eight 

monster truck tyres. It has 

eight-wheel steering, two 

engines and took a little 

over 4,000 hours (166 days) 

to complete. 

The Hamster was 

built to highlight the 

dangers cyclists 

face on busy roads. 

It's louder than a 

clap of thunder! 

Loudest bicycle horn 

Not content simply with 

creating the smallest 

caravan (left) , the 

Environmental Transport 

Association has developed 

a bicycle horn capable of 

emitting a honk measuring 

136.2 dB(A) (decibels) 

from a distance of 2.5 m 

(8 ft 2 in). The Hamster 

uses a modified freight 

train horn powered by a 

scuba-diving tank and was 

demonstrated by Yannick 

Read on 13 Feb 2013 in 

Weybridge, Surrey, UK. 

For wild wheel 

skills, flip to p.114 

From bumper to bumper, the longest golf cart stretches an impressive 

9.62 m (31 ft 6 in) and was created by Mike's Golf Carts (USA). The cart 

was measured in Perry, Georgia, USA, on 30 May 2013. 



Mil itary hardware 

On average, there are 88.8 firearms per 100 people in the USA 

ceramic or glass containers. 

The use of grenades 

spread, with evidence 

found In a Chinese military 

writing from 1044, Wujing 

Zongyao (Compilation of 

Military Classics). 

IN THE AIR 

First air-to-air 

refuelling by hose 

On 27 Jun 1923, at Rockwell 

Field in San Diego, California, 

USA, a successful refuelling 

of one aircraft from another 

Concepts, ba8ed 1n Austin, Texas, 

produc8d a 30-printed gun using laserslntering 

- a process that creates objects from 

powders, in this case metal powders. The gun is 

a replica of the 1911 Browning pistol and has fired 

50 rounds successfully. The purpose of 

the project was to demonstrate 

that 30 metal printing 

provides strong, 

reliable and accurate 

products. 

ON LAND 

First javelin 

A study published by the 

journal PLOS ONE on 

13 Nov 2013 dated the use 

of projectile weapons akin to 

javelins to more than 279,000 

years ago. An examination 

of fossils indicated that 

pointed stone artefacts were 

used on throwing weapons. 

The stone -tipped weapons 

were found at Gademotta 

In Ethiopia, suggesting that 

eastern Africa was a source 

of more modem culture 

and biology than previously 

thought. The weapons 

ultimately allowed humans 

to leave Africa and outcompete 

Neanderthals. 

First hand grenades 

Grenades appeared in the 

Eastern Roman (Byzantine) 

Empire in c. AD 741 , when 

soldiers realized that Greek 

fire - a buoyant incendiary 

weapon - could also be 

thrown at the enemy in stone, 

chemical weapons, following Syria's agreement 

to surrender them. The Field Deployable 

Hydrolysis System works by splitting chemical 

weapon molecules into small fragments that can 

then be disposed of like normal hazardous waste. 

took place. An Airco DH.4B 

passed 284 litres (75 gal) of 

gasoline through a hose to 

a craft of the same type. 

First manned missile 

In 1944, duri[lg World War II, 

German V1 missiles were 

found to lack accuracy. This 

led the German Research 

Institute for Sailplane Flight 

to design a manned missile. 

The Fieseler Fi 103R-4 

Reichenberg could be 

guided to its target by a 

pilot, who would bail out. 

The plan was abandoned, 

as getting out of a 650-km/h 

(400-mph) speeding missile 

was impossible without 

death or serious injury. 

..... ... 

... 121-m.lelng 

World War 11 1-400 

Jar,lane8e aubmarinea of 

the Sen-Toku class (1946) 

L.ongeat-range .tealth 

mini-submarine: 

Torpedo SEAL, 2013, 

capable of transporting 

------------------------------------ KEY: two divers and equipment 

x1 

at 4 knots (7.4 km/h) over 

= 30,000,000 manpower 

a range of 10 nautical mi 

..-x1 = 5,000 land vehicles 

(18.5 km) 

Newest class of 

submarine: Iran's 

Fateh class, 2013, a 

diesel-electric submarine 

FACT 

The total known land 

area occupied by 

US nuclear weapons 

bases and facilities 

is 40,544 km2.


• 

. unmanned 

aerial system was 

launched from a 

submerged submarine. 

It can undertake video 

reconnaissance and 

intelligence missions, 

and relay its output to 

its command centre. 

First pilotless aircraft to 

cross the Pacific Ocean 

On 23 Apr 2001, the Northrop 

Grumman RQ-4A began 

its flight at the Edwards Air 

Force Base in California, 

USA. The unmanned aerial 

vehicle (UAV) flew for 22 hr 

non-stop across the Pacific 

Ocean before landing at the 

Royal Australian Air Force 

Base in Edinburgh, Adelaide, 

Australia. 

By 2012, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Ughtnlng Joint 

Strike Fighter had costs of $336 bn (£207 bn) - 

a 52.8% increase from 2001 - with some reports 

putting it as high as $392 bn (£242 bn), for the 

USA. This 50-year, multinational programme has 

an estimated sustainment cost for the USA of 

$0.85-1 .5 tr (£530-927 bn) over its lifetime. 

Most expensive UAV 

A US General Accountability 

Office Report in Mar 2013 

gave the Northrop Grumman 

Global Hawk a unit cost of 

$222 m (£146 m), making it 

the most expensive UAV yet. 

IN THE SEA 

First sea mine 

A reference to sea mines 

can be found in Huolongjing, 

a Chinese military manual 

from the early Ming Dynasty 

(1368-1644). It describes the 

"Submarine Dragon King" - a 

wrought-iron mine weighted 

by stones with an explosive 

contained in an ox bladder, 

ignited via a joss stick 

enclosed in a goat's intestine. 

First successful 

combat submarine 

On 17 Feb 1864, during 

the American Civil War, the 

H L Hunley became the first 

combat submarine to sink 

Longest-serving bomber 

an enemy warship when it 

sunk the USS Housatonic off 

Charleston in South Carolina. 

The 12-m-long (40-ft) 

H L Hunley - which sank 

minutes after engagement 

- was recovered in 2000 

and, after restoration work, 

displayed in Jan 2013. 

First self-propelled 

torpedo 

In 1866, Robert Whitehead 

(UK) developed a new 

weapon in the shape of 

a self-propelled underwater 

torpedo, which was fired via 

compressed air. Whitehead's 

weapon could hit a target as 

far away as 640 m (2,100 ft) 

with an 8-kg (18-lb) charge 

of explosive, at a speed of 

7 knots (13 km/h; 8 mph). 

The first ship sunk by 

a self-propelled torpedo 

was lntibah in Jan 1878. 

Whitehead torpedoes 

launched from Russian 

torpedo boats sank the 

Turkish ship during the 

1877-78 Russo-Turkish War. 

__ 

The Boeing B-52 jet bomber, which entered service with the US Air Force in 

1954, is the longest-serving currently operational bomber aircraft. 

With 60 years of service already, it is scheduled to 

remain in use until 2044 and will 

receive a further 

$24.6 m (£14.9 m) 

of upgrades to 

increase its ability to 

carry smart weapons. 

0 

Mouse droppings: aerial assault 

The snake population on the island of Guam 

in the Pacific grew to some 2-3 million 

following their arrival in freight from Australia 

and Papua New Guinea. The snakes threatened 

native fauna and cost the Guam Power Authority 

up to $4 m (£2.4 m) annually in repairs. The 

solution? The largest aerial assault by 

paramice. On 1 Dec 2013, 2,000 dead mice 

tied to miniature parachutes (left) were airdropped 

on to Guam by US authorities. Each 

mouse contained 80 mg of the over-the-counter 

painkiller paracetamol: a fatal dose for snakes. 


• Most common fighter 

aircraft (current): 

US F-16 Fighting Falcon, 

made by US General 

Dynamics and Lockheed 

Martin: 2,281 combat 

aircraft (15% of global total) 

• Largest air force 

by number of fighter 

aircraft (current): 

USA: 2,271 active fighters/ 

interceptors, according 

to globalfirepower.com 

(see full table, left) 0 0 0


Architecture 

"Skyscraper" originally referred to a triangular sail at the top of a ship's mast 

OLDEST ... 

Continuously 

inhabited city 

Archaeologists have 

discovered settlements 

in Jericho, part of the 

Palestinian territories, that 

date back to 9000 sc. The 

city, located near the Jordan 

River in the West Bank, is 

today horne to approximately 

20,000 people. Its population 

in 8000 sc is thought to have 

numbered 2,000 to 3,000. 

The planetarium of Nagoya City Science Museum 

In Japan has a hemispherical dome with an 

internal diameter of 35 m (114 ft 10 in). The 

almost perfectly spherical section that houses 

the planetarium measures 39.2 m {129 ft) tall and 

is suspended 11.4 m {37 ft) above the ground. 

Largest architectural 

practice (employees) 

According to the "2013 

World Architecture 100" 

survey by the UK's Building 

Design magazine, the largest 

firm of architects in terms of 

the number of employees is 

Gensler, with a 1 ,468-strong 

workforce on its books. 

Gensler's headquarters 

are in San Francisco, USA, 

but it also has 43 offices in 

14 countries worldwide. 

Logically enough, 

according to the "Top 300 

Architecture Firms" list 

compiled by US magazine 

Architectural Record, the 

largest firm of architects 

by revenue is also Gensler, 

with earnings of $807 rn 

(£499 m) in 2012. 

Minaret 

The Great Mosque of 

Kairouan in Tunisia houses 

a minaret that was largely 

built in the 9th century and 

completed by AD 836. It 

is 31 .5 m (1 03 ft 4 in) high 

and rests on a square base 

measuring 10.7 x 10.7 m 

(35 ft 1 in x 35 ft 1 in). 

Surviving skatepark 

The Albany Skate Track in 

Albany, Western Australia, 

was completed in Mar 1976. 

It consists of a 140-m-long 

Largest glass greenhouse 

The Flower Dome greenhouse at 

Gardens by the Bay in Singapore covers 

1.28 ha {3.16 acres) under its glass roof. 

Designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre, 

the column-free gridshell and arch shape 

allow for maximum sunlight and climate 

control. Along with the smaller Cloud 

Forest conservatory, it 

was completed 

in Jun 2012. 

(459-ft) concrete "snake run" 

with steeply banked sides, 

varying from 6 m to 8 m 

(19 ft 8 in-26 ft 2 in) wide. 

The facility cost AUS$15,000 

(£9,700; $18,600). 

LARGEST ... 

Airport passenger 

terminal roof 

The roof of the Hajj terminal 

at King Abdulaziz 

International Airport 

near Jeddah, 

Saudi Arabia, 

covers 260,129 m2 

(2.8 million sq ft). 

Designed by 

Skidmore, Owings 

Propartfes, the 

828-m-tall (2 ,716-ft) 

Burj Khallfa opened 

. 

\.JAE, on 

.fi* 0. Almost 

26,000 hand-cut glass 

panels were used in 

the exterior cladding of 

the building, which has 

residential, office and 

hotel use. 

Biome: in the wild, 

a significant local or 

worldwide community 

defined by its climatic 

conditions and its 

prevailing plant life. 

Examples include desert 

and grassland. The biomes 

at the Eden Project are 

climatically controlled 

environments in which 

plants and crops from 

specific ecosystems are 

cultivated. 

The Eden Project, near St Austell in 

Cornwall, UK, is the largest greenhouse. 

It comprises two giant transparent domes 

{"biomes"), the larger of which - the humid 

tropics, or rainforest biome - is 55 m tall, 

covers 25,390 m2 and has a volume of 

41 5,730 m3. The smaller warm temperate, or 

Mediterranean, biome has 6,540 m2 of floor 

space and a volume of 85,620 m3. Both are 

made of steel frames carrying hexagons and 

pentagons of flourine-based plastic. The site 

also features an unroofed outdoor biome. 

196 Technology & engineering


& Merrill, the Teflon-coated 

roof modules are supported 

by 45-m-high (147-ft) pylons. 

Basket-shaped building 

Completed in 1997, the 

seven-storey headquarters 

of the Longaberger basket 

company in Ohio, USA, 

Vertical garden 

Keppel Land Limited 

completed a 2,125.56-m2 

(22,879.33-sq-ft) green 

wall in Singapore's 

Ocean Financial Centre 

on 13 Sep 2013. It took 

three years to create the 

garden, which features 

25 species of plants. 

The Piano House in Huainan, China, is around 

16 m (52 ft) tall. It was designed by students 

of Hefei University of Technology in 2007. 

Visitors enter through a "violin", then proceed 

via an escalator that takes them into the main, 

piano-shaped section of the building. 

resembles a giant basket 

and has 16,722 m2 

(180,000 sq ft) of floor 

space. With a maximum 

length of 63.4 m (208 ft) and 

a width of 43.3 m (142 ft), 

it is 160 times larger than 

Longaberger's "Medium 

Market Basket". 

Opera house 

Designed by architect 

Wallace K Harrison, the 

Metropolitan Opera House 

at the Lincoln Center in 

New York City, USA, can 

accommodate an audience 

of 3,975 - based on 3,800 

seats and 175 standingroom 

places. It cost $45.7 m 

(£15.9 m) and was opened 

on 16 Sep 1966. 

officially completed on 

16 May 2012. The total floor 

space measures 473,000 m2 

(5,091 ,300 sq ft) - equivalent 

to 85 American football 

fields - and includes areas 

for news and programme 

production, TV broadcasting 

and parking. Beijing residents 

have nicknamed the building 

the "giant shorts" owing to 

its unique shape. 

Tallest 

twisted tower 

The Cayan Tower in 

Dubai, UAE, stands 

307.3 m (1 ,008 ft) tall 

and features a goo twist. 

Each floor has a 1.2° 

rotation, which creates 

a helix shape. It was 

developed by Cayan 

Real Estate Investment & 

Development and opened 

on 10 Jun 2013. 

The first twisted 

skyscraper was the HSB 

Turning Torso in Malmo, 

Sweden (2005). 

Television building 

The China Central Television 

building in Beijing is 234 m 

(768 ft) tall, contains 54 floors 

and cost 850 million euros 

(£702 million) to construct. 

It was designed by architects 

Office for Metropolitan 

Architecture (NDL) with 

engineers Arup (UK), and 

and West Palace Gate 

Complex in Hubei Province, China, were lfft8d 

15 m (50 ft) - from an elevation of 160 m (524 ft) 

to 175 m (574 ft) - between 15 Aug 2012 and 

16 Jan 2013 to avoid the risk of flooding 

from a water-diversion project. 

So far, work has 

only begun on its 

foundations, but when 

completed - possibly 

by 2019, and at a cost 

of around £726 m 

the Kingdom ;rower 

will become the first 

building ever to break 

the 1-km barrier. 

Its sloping exterior 

and triangle-shaped 

footprint are designed 

to help reduce the 

impact of wind on the 

super-tall building. 

 

J 

 

iii 

2 

 

J 

! 

GE 

...: 

., 

s 

a; a; 

C.c: 

ts 

·i 

=-g. 

0 

I 

ie 

g., 

-c: ... 

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castles 

lis usually turn clockwise, giving right-handed swordsmen an advantage in attac 

Oldest castle 

The earliest recorded castle 

is located in the old city 

of Sana' a, Yemen. Known 

as Gomdan or Gumdan 

Castle, it dates from before 

AD 200 and is believed to 

have originally comprised 

20 storeys. 

ffl ln . a Ce 

near Postojna, Slovenia, is built in the entrance to 

a cave system (inset). Set halfway up a 

123-m-high (403-ft) cliff face, the 

castle dates back to at least the 

13th century, and was rebuilt 

in a Renaissance style in 1570. 

FACT 

Predjama's most famous 

resident was a "robber 

baron" named Erazem. 

The castle's defensive 

advantages enabled him 

to withstand a siege by 

Austrian Habsburg troops 

for a whole year before a 

servant betrayed him. 

Largest inhabited castle 

The royal residence of 

Windsor Castle at Windsor, 

Berkshire, UK, is originally 

of 12th-century construction 

and takes the form of a 

waisted parallelogram 

measuring 576 x 164 m 

(1 ,890 x 540 ft). The entire 

site covers 53,000 m2 

(570,000 sq ft) - larger than 

seven soccer pitches - in 

the centre of which stands 

the iconic 65.5-m-tall (214-ft) 

Round Tower topped off with 

gothic-style battlements. 

Largest non-palatial 

residence 

St Emmeram Castle (or 

Abbey) in Regensburg, 

Germany, has 517 

rooms and a floor 

area of 21 ,460 m2 

(231 ,000 sq ft) . 

Originally a Benedictine 

monastery (founded in 

AD 739), it was acquired 

Largest brick castle 

Poland's Malbork Castle was built largely in 

the 13th and 14th centuries by Teutonic Order 

crusader knights. It encompasses a 21-ha 

(52-acre) site and is built almost entirely from 

locally made bricks of a distinctive red hue. 

Its grandiose Knights' Hall refectory could 

house up to 400 visiting knights and guests. 

in 1812 by the Thurn und 

Taxis family, who built up a 

fortune from their exclusive 

control of the mail service 

in Bavaria over the course 

of 200 years. Princess 

Gloria von Thurn und Taxis 

still uses the castle as her 

primary residence. 

Longest castle siege 

The cathedral fort of 

lshiyama Hongan-ji, in what 

is today Osaka, Japan, first 

came under attack from 

the renowned warrior Oda 

Nobunaga in Aug 1570, 

but the defending lkko-ikki 

warrior monks under Abbot 

Kosa held out for a decade 

until Aug 1580, when the 

complex was finally burned 

to the ground. Osaka Castle 

was constructed on the 

site and continues to be a 

popular tourist destination. 

Northernmost castle 

At a latitude of 64.2295°, 

Kajaani Castle in Finland is 

the most northerly castle. 

One of the smallest stone 

castles in Europe, it was built 

on a river island between 

1604 and 1619 and first used 

as a prison. Today, it is 

a roofless ruin. 

Castle: specifically, a 

defensively constructed 

residence for rulers, 

often with state-of-theart 

military hardware. 

Sometimes a generic term 

for fortified structures. 

Citadel: a fort or fortress 

used to defend a town 

or city. 

Fort: a heavily defended 

military outpost but not 

always designed as a 

residence for royalty or 

aristocracy. 

Palace: the non-fortified 

residence of a leader. 

ANATOMY OF A CASTLE 

Lower 

bailey 

Gateway to 

middle bailey 

Forebulldlng 

Upper 

bailey 

FACT 

In all, 40 monarchs have 

lived in Windsor Castle, 

from Henry I to the 

present British queen, 

Elizabeth II. 

Narrow 

advantage 

The term "loophole" 

originally referred to the 

narrow slit in a castle wall 

through which arrows 

could be fired. 

198 Technology &


Largest ancient castle 

Prague Castle in the Czech Republic was 

constructed in the 9th century. It is an oblong 

irregular polygon with an axis of 570 m (1,870 ft) 

and an average transverse diameter of 128 m 

(420 ft), resulting in a total surface area of 

7.28 ha (18 acres). 

Largest inflatable 

(bouncy) castle 

Designed by Dana 

Caspersen and William 

Forsythe (both USA) and 

produced in three weeks by 

Southern lnflatables, UK, 

the largest inflatable castle 

stands 12 m (39 ft) tall and 

is 19 m2 (62 sq ft) at the 

base. Made from 2,725 m2 

(29,330 sq ft) of white-PVCcoated 

polyester, it takes 

6 hr to fully construct and 

15 min to fill with 385 m3 

(13,500 cu ft) of air. Between 

24 Mar and 11 May 1997, it 

served as an architectural 

Oldest museum 

The Royal Armouries 

museum in the Tower of 

London (UK) - the city's 

most famous castle - 

is the oldest museum. 

It first opened its doors 

to the public in 1660, 

although it was possible 

to view the collection 

by appointment for up to 

eight years prior to this date. 

Tallest theme-park castle 

The Cinderella Castle at 

Disney's Magic Kingdom 

in Florida, USA: is 57.3 m 

(1 89 ft) high. Partly based 

on picturesque real-life 

castles such as those at 

Neuschwanstein (Germany), 

Segovia (Spain) and Moszna 

(Poland), the "forcedperspective" 

design of the 

steel, concrete and fibreglass 

structure makes it 

seem even taller than it is. 

It opened in 1971 . 

Wewelsburg Castle 

has been claimed 

as the inspiration 

for the videogame 

Wolfenstein 3D (iD 

Software, 1992). 

Wewelaburg Castle in BOren, eetn·,constructed 

between 1603 and 1609. The 

Renaissance-style structure has a total perimeter 

of 240 m (787 ft). Originally used by the Prince 

Bishopric of Paderborn, it later became notorious 

as one of the centres for the Nazi SS under 

installation in Camden, 

London, UK. Since then, it 

has been used at a range 

of events worldwide. 

A more modest inflatable, 

measuring 3.6 x 4.5 m (12 x 

15 ft) at the base, was used 

for the longest marathon 

on a bouncy castle by 

a team. Eight bouncers 

from the logistics company 

Wincanton and the Tesco 

supermarket in Rugby, 

Warwickshire, UK, clocked 

a time of 37 hr 14 sec on 

30-31 Aug 2013. 

Largest can sculpture 

A 5.5-m-tall (18-ft) 

reproduction of Yoshida 

Castle in Toyohashi, Japan, 

was built from 104,840 

aluminium drinks cans by 

Junior Chamber International 

in Toyohashi Park, Aichi, 

Japan, on 21 Sep 2013. 

Spell-binding school: Hogwarts 

One of the most instantly recognizable 

castles is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft 

and Wizardry from J K Rawling's Harry 

Potter series. The largest model of 

Hogwarts castle was made by the art 

department of Warner Bros (UK) in 2011. The 

1 :24-scale model (pictured right, with model 

supervisor Jose Granell) is 15.25 m wide and can 

be visited at the Warner Bros studio tour in London. 

The largest model of Hogwarts made from 

LEGQ® was created by Alice Finch (USA, left) in 2012; 

4 m long, it used around 400,000 bricks. 

In 

LeedS, UK 

M08t expenstw au1t of 

armour sold at auction: suit 

of armour made for Henri II in 

1545 by Giovanni Negroli, sold 

for £1,925,000 on 5 May 1983, 

from Haver Castle collection, 

Kent, UK 

Tallest suit of armour: 

2.05 m high, dated to c. 1535, 

in the White Tower at HM 

Tower of London, UK 



s orts architecture 

A UK home valued at £70 m in 2005 boasted a squash court, bowling alley and five pools 

of Rome's temples. First 

begun in the 6th century sc, 

the Circus Maximus 

reached its largest form 

under Trajan in AD 103. 

It remains most famous 

for the chariot races 

that were recreated in 

Ben-Hur (USA, 1959), as 

well as for athletics and 

gladiator combat. The 

last race in the Circus 

Maximus was recorded 

in AD 550. 

Largest marble stadium 

The Panathenaic Stadium is 

unique in being constructed 

almost entirely out of white 

marble. It was first built in 

Largest soccer stadium 

The Rungnado May Day Stadium is on an island 

in the middle of the Taedong River in Pyongyang, 

North Korea. It was inaugurated on 1 May 1989 

and is also used for the Arirang Festival (inset, 

the 2013 event) that celebrates the country's late 

leaders. It has a current capacity of 150,000. 

spectators in a 

triple-banked 

structure 

measuring 

some 610 m 

(2,000 ft) long 

and 200 m 

(650 ft) wide. 

Writer Pliny t e 

Younger said it 

rivalled the beauty 

Largest 

solar-powered stadium 

The National Stadium in Kaohsiung, Chinese 

Taipei, is topped with 8,844 solar panels covering 

14,1 55 m2 (152,362 sq ft). They can generate 

1 .14 million kWh of electricity every year: 80% of the venue's needs. 

If it were powered by traditional power stations, 660 tonnes (1 .45 million lb) 

of carbon dioxide would be released annually. Designed by Toyo Ito (JPN), 

the stadium's shape is said to be based on that of a curled dragon. 

329 sc by Lycurgus, and 

has been enlarged and 

renovated many times 

since. It hosted the 

first modern Olympic 

Games in 1896. 

Highest-capacity 

Olympic stadium 

Stadium Australia 

was constructed to hold 

approximately 110,000 

people for the Sydney 

Olympics of 2000, but more 

than 114,000 spectators 

crammed into the stadium 

for the closing ceremony. 

Also known as the ANZ 

Stadium, the venue is still 

used, although with a 

reduced capacity of 

83,500. Four other 

Olympic cities 

have had 

Building for top sports 

comes at a cost. Portugal 

spent 536.5 m euros 

{£380 m) to host soccer's 

Euro 2004, with seven new 

stadia in a country about 

the size of Indiana, USA. 

For the 2002 soccer World 

Cup, Japan spent ¥526 bn 

{£2.7 bn) on new venues 

and renovations. For the 

Olympics, Greece's 2004 

Games cost 9.4 bn euros 

{£6.6 bn) and China spent 

¥293 bn {£29.6 bn) in 2008. 

tYPIC&II.Y watching more 

than 40,000 gymnaata. 

Today, the StrahoY's 

grand gymnastic dlspla 

are a distant memory 

and the record holder is 

the Indianapolis Motor 

Speedway in Indiana, USA, 

with 257,325 seated. The 

future for Prague's striking 

monolith of the Communist 

era remains uncertain.


18 curves. Riders can 

reach speeds as high as 

135 km/h (83.9 mph). 

To play the 14th hole of the COeur d'Alene gdlf 

course in Idaho, USA, you have to take a boat 

trip. Measuring some 1,390 m2 (15,000 sq ft), the 

green is on a computer-controlled island that 

can be moved between 75 m (246 ft) and 175 m 

(574 ft) from the shore. Golfers reach the island 

by an electrically powered water taxi in a course 

that was completed in 1991. 

capacities of more than 

100,000: Los Angeles, 

USA (101 ,574 in 1932); 

Berlin, Germany (1 10,000 in 

1936); Melbourne, Australia 

(100,000 in 1956); and 

Moscow, Soviet Union 

(103,000 in 1980). 

Largest sumo stadium 

The Ryogoku Kokugikan in 

Tokyo, Japan, has a capacity 

of 11,908. Spectators in the 

suna-aburi-seki ringside 

seats are so close to the 

action in the dohyo central 

ring that they are often 

sprayed with sand during 

bouts. The venue opened 

in Jan 1985 and holds three 

of the country's six official 

sumo tournaments. 

Longest bobsled track 

The 2014 Winter Olympics 

track at the Sliding Center 

Sanki in Sochi, Russia, is the 

most fiendish yet. It has a 

competition length of 1.5 km 

(0.93 mi) and drops 131.9 m 

(432 ft 8 in) at an average 

grade of 9.3% over its 

Tallest ski-flying hill 

Ski-flying is a more 

extreme version of skijumping. 

The ski-jump 

facility at Vikersundbakken 

in Vikersund, Norway, is 

partly man-made and partly 

modified natural hill. It 

reaches a dizzying height of 

225 m (738 ft) - almost twoand-a-half 

times the height of 

the Statue of Liberty. Begun 

in 1935, Vikersundbakken 

had been modified into its 

current form by 2011. On 

11 Feb of that year, Johan 

Remen Evensen (NOR) set 

the longest competitive 

ski jump on the hill, with a 

distance of 246.5 m (809 ft) . 

Newest real tennis court 

The court may be new, but 

the game is old. Real tennis 

is a precursor of modern 

First retractable grass pitch 

The GelreDome in Arnhem, Netherlands, opened 

on 25 Mar 1998. Home to soccer club Vitesse 

Arnhem, its playing surface sits in a concrete tray 

that takes 5 hr to slide outside the stadium (inset) 

to prepare for concerts. 

The largest retractable 

roof covers the Toronto Blue 

Jays' Rogers Center (formerly 

SkyDome) in Toronto, Canada. 

It spans 209 m (685 ft) and 

covers 3.2 ha (8 acres). 

tennis, played on a hard 

court surrounded by four 

walls. Fewer than 50 courts 

exist today; their numbers 

were swelled in 2012 by the 

Racquet Club of Chicago, 

Illinois, USA. 

The oldest surviving 

real tennis court is at 

Falkland Palace 

UK. It was constructed 

for James V of Scotland 

between Apr 1539 and late 

1541 and is home to the 

Falkland Palace Royal Tennis 

Club, which was founded 

in 1975. 

, 

G 

Sky-high sports: top courts 

You'd need serious danger money to be a ball boy 

on the highest tennis court, 211 m above the 

ground. The court was temporarily installed on the 

helipad of the Burj AI Arab hotel in Dubai, UAE, 

on 22 Feb 2005 as Roger Federer (CHE) and Andre 

Agassi (USA) played a friendly game to promote the 

ATP's Dubai Duty Free Men's Open. "Do you think 

I can knock this guy off his boat?" joked Agassi as 

they paused to peer over the side of the sheer drop to 

the shallows far below. If you were ever on the beach 

in Dubai and wondered where that tennis ball came 

from - it was from former world No.1 Andre Agassi! 

Longest Formula One 

circuit (all time): Pescara 

Circuit (used for F1 racing 

1959-61), at 25.7 km 

Shortest Formula One 

circuit (all time): Circuit 

de Monaco, Monte Carlo 

(used for F1 racing since 

1929), 3 km (1929-79) 



Cutti ng-edge scienc 

As helium was first discovered on the Sun, it was named after Helios, the Greek sun god 

(JILA) - a project initiated by the University 

of Colorado and the US National Institute of 

Standards and Technology - have used the 

element strontium to create an atomic clock that 

will neither gain nor lose a second in 4.5 billion 

years. The research was announced on 22 Jan 

2014. Because the Sl definition of the second 

is based on the caesium atom, caesium clocks 

were previously regarded as the most accurate. 

First country to 

mine gas hydrates 

Gas hydrates, aka "flammable 

ice", are a solid resembling 

water ice. They contain 

methane gas trapped in a 

crystalline structure and 

occur beneath sediments 

on the ocean floor. 

In Mar 2013, Japan 

announced that it 

had successfully 

extracted 

methane gas 

from hydrate 

deposits in 

the Nankai Trough, 50 km 

(30 mi) offshore from Japan. 

Scientists estimate that there 

could be enough hydrate 

deposits in the Nankai 

Trough to meet Japan's 

energy needs for a decade. 

First photon Interaction 

In Sep 2013, researchers 

from Harvard University 

and the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology 

(both USA) completed 

an experiment that 

compared the interaction 

of protons to the 

behaviour of lightsabers, 

the fictional weapons used 

in Star Wars. Researchers 

observed an attractive force 

between two photons - the 

basic particles that 

form light - which 

interacted 

to form a 

joined, two-photon molecule. 

This indicated that photons 

could be manipulated to 

create a solid "blade" of light, 

like a lightsaber. 

Highest man-made RPM 

Scientists at the University 

of St Andrews in the UK 

created a tiny sphere of 

calcium just 4 micrometres 

(0.004 mm; 0.00015 in) 

across, around 10 times 

narrower than a human hair. 

They suspended the sphere 

using laser light inside a 

vacuum and made it spin 

by altering the polarity of 

the light. On 28 Aug 2013, 

the team published the 

results of their research, 

which observed the calcium 

sphere reaching 600 million 

revolutions per min (RPM) 

before disintegrating. 

Thinnest 

•tat computer 

$Up8rCOmputer "Tianhe-2", 

i diiiNOPEid by China's National 

University of Defense Technology, 

performs at 33.86 petaFLOPS 

on the Unpack benchmark (see 

below). The list of the most powerful 

supercomputers was announced on 

17 Jun during the opening session of the 2013 

International Supercomputing Conference. 

/ 

A supercomputer's 

performance 

is measured in 

FLOPS - Floatingpoint 

Operations Per 

Second. A floatingpoint 

operation is 

the calculation of a 

mathematical equation, 

so a petaFLOP, as 

used to measure the 

fastest supercomputer 

(above), means 

1,000,000,000,000,000 

calculations per sec. 

1955 1960 1985 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015


In-GeneVa. . 

had · Nve&ted ttie existence of the Higgs boson. 

The confi""ation of this elementary particle 

- known as the "God particle" - is the most 

important discovery in physics for decades. 

It strengthens the idea of the Standard Model: 

a unified theory about the nature of the universe 

that connects fundamental particles and the 

forces acting between them. 

of carbon, graphene can 

exist as a single sheet of a 

theoretically infinite size. 

In Jan 2012, researchers 

from the University of 

California in Riverside 

(USA) showed that when 

just 10% graphene was 

added to other materials, a 

23-fold increase in thermal 

conductivity was seen - 

the highest increase in 

thermal conductivity 

by a material. 

composite rnatel1ale have 

potential for use as thermal 

interface materials; for 

example, they are used in 

electronic devices to avoid 

overheating, by absorbing 

the heat generated. 

 

transiStor is 

'' tJfiiJI one atomic layer in 

height. It Is termed a "single 

atom transistor". 

Highest projectile velocity 

Scientists at the Naval 

Research Laboratory in 

Washington, DC, USA, 

have used the Nike krypton 

fluoride laser to 

propel a sphere 

less than 300 micrometres 

(12-thousandths of an 

inch) in size to velocities 

in excess of 1 ,000 kmls 

(621 mils). This figure is 

some 300 kmls (186 mils) 

faster than previous 

attempts. 

Largest 

neutrino detector 

lceCube is a US-led 

international telescope 

designed to detect neutrinos 

- subatomic particles with 

almost no mass. Located 

at the Amundsen-Scott 

South Pole Station in 

Antarctica, it consists of 

5,160 detectors in 86 vertical 

cables buried 1,450-2,450 m 

(4,750-8,050 ft) below 

sea level, where the ice 

is optically clear. 

Airy aerogel: least dense solid 

Department of Polymer Science and Engineering 

at Zhejiang University in China have 

produced graphene aerogel with a density 

of just 0.16 mg/cm3• The team freeze-dried 

solutions of carbon nanotubes and large 

sheets of graphene oxide, then chemically removed 

oxygen to leave a conductive, elastic, solid foam. 

Aerogel is lighter than air itself and has numerous 

applications, from mopping up oil spills to capturing 

dust from comet tails. The breakthrough was 

announced in Nature magazine on 27 Feb 2013. 

Caesium: an alkali metal 

element (55Cs) that provides 

the basis of the Sl unit 

of measurement for the 

second; one second equals 

9,192,631,770 oscillations 

of a caesium atom with an 

atomic weight of 133 atomic 

units (13355Cs). 

Carbon nanotube: 

an allotrope of carbon (8C) 

in which the molecules are 

in the shape of a cylinder 

50,000 times smaller than 

a human hair. 



g Robots & AI 

In the Middle East, robot jockeys are replacing children in camel racing 

First public reference 

to robots 

The word "robot" was 

introduced into English by 

Karel Capek (CZE) in his 

1921 play R.U.R. (Rossum's 

Universal Robots). The 

story features "artificial 

people" who have been 

designed to enjoy hard 

work. The word, suggested 

by the playwright's brother 

Josef, derives 

from the Czech 

word "robota", 

meaning slave 

labour. 

First computer to 

play in the Draughts 

World Championship 

Chinook, a computer 

program designed 

to play draughts, was 

developed at the 

University of Alberta, 

Canada, in 1989. In 

1990, it won the right to 

compete in the Draughts 

World Championship by 

being rated second in the 

US nationals behind Marion 

Tinsley (USA), one of the 

greatest draughts players 

of all time. Chinook won the 

World Championship in 1994, 

following Tinsley's retirement 

due to ill health. 

Most dexterous 

robot band 

Z-Machines is a band 

created by engineers at the 

University of Tokyo, Japan, in 

2013. As well as keyboardist 

Cosmo, the group 

consists of guitarist 

Mach (who boasts 

78 "fingers") and 

drummer Ashura {who can 

play with 22 drumsticks). 

The group released 

their debut album, 

composed by the UK 

electronic music artist 

Squarepusher, in Apr 2013. 

Longest journey by 

an unmanned autonomous 

surface vehicle 

On 14 Feb 2013, "Benjamin 

Franklin" the Wave Glider® 

- developed by Liquid 

Robotics (USA) -finished a 

14,703-km (7,939-nautical 

mile) journey across the 

Pacific Ocean from San 

Francisco in California, USA, 

to Lady Musgrave Island in 

Queensland, Australia. It is 

one of four Wave Gliders; 

they convert wave energy into 

thrust and use solar energy 

to generate electricity for 

sensors, communications 

and navigation. 

Largest planetary rover 

The Curiosity rover landed 

on Mars on 6 Aug 2012 as 

part of NASA's Mars Science 

Laboratory mission. It is 

3 m (9 ft) long and weighs 

900 kg (1 ,900 lb), including 

80 kg (176 lb) of scientific 

instruments. As of Mar 2014, 

the rover had travelled 

TERMES robots are 

thelt design, 

by Harvard University, USA, was inspired by 

termites. As reported on 14 Feb 2014, TERMES 

robots are able to use blocks to construct towers, 

pyramids and other structures. They require 

no centralized command, operating as 

a swarm to complete 

the task collectively. 

Dennis Aabo Serensen (DNK) was the test 

subject for a prosthetic hand that was wired 

into his nerves. According to a report issued on 

5 Feb 2014 by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de 

Lausanne in Switzerland, he was able· to tell how 

hard he was grasping and to distinguish between 

objects, including their shape and softness. 

almost 5 km (3 mi). Curiosity 

uses an arm and "hand" 

to collect samples; having 

analyzed them, it sends the 

resulting data back to Earth. 

Scientists believe that its 

current location may have 

once been a river bed. 

Hello, world: machines answer back 

Artificial narrow 

intelligence: typically 

focused on a narrow 

task, such as playing 

chess or fulfilling 

requests, as Apple's 

Siri does in iOS. 

Artificial general 

intelligence: theory of 

human-like intelligence, 

including the ability to 

display reason, strategy, 

planning and make 

complex judgements. 

000 

In 2011, IBM's Wa tson (right) responded in real time 

to questions to record the highest score by a 

computer on the TV game show Jeopardy! 

(USA, 1964-present). Its $77,147 (£49,914) total 

beat the show's two human contestants. IBM also 

built Deep Blue, the first computer to beat a 

world chess champion under regular time 

, controls, defeating Garry Kasparov (RUS) on 

· 11 May 1997 (below right). Mike Dobson and David 

Gilday (both UK) built CUBESTORMER 3 (left), which 

achieved the fastest time to solve a Rubik's Cube 

by a robot, taking just 3.253 sec on 15 Mar 2014. 

204

.- r 


First person to control a 

robot hand with the mind 

Matthew Nagle (USA), 

who had been paralyzed 

from the neck down, had a 

BrainGate - an experimental 

brain-computer interface 

- attached to the surface 

of his motor cortex in 2004 

in Massachusetts, USA. 

The implant was linked to a 

computer and used his brain 

waves to allow him to open 

and close a robotic hand. 

Ughtest . 

flying robot 

RoboBee Is a fly-like 

robot weighing 80 mg 

(0.0028 oz), with 

wafer-thin, 3-cm-wide 

(1 -in) wings that can 

flap 120 times per sec. 

Harvard University, 

USA, published details 

of the first flight of 

the RoboBee in 2013, 

saying future uses for 

the penny-sized robot 

may include artificial 

crop pollination. 

Deadliest 

anti-personnel robot 

South Korea deploys 

Super aEgis 2 robot 

sentries that can lock on to 

targets up to 3 km (1 .8 mi) 

away. They are deployed 

in the demilitarized zone 

between North and South 

Korea, picking off intruders 

on sight using heavyduty 

machine guns 

and grenade 

launchers. 

Farthest distance by 

a quadruped robot 

BigDog, developed by 

Boston Dynamics (above), is 

a four-legged robot designed 

to be a "pack mule" for 

soldiers. In Feb 2009 

it was announced 

that BigDog had 

walked 20.5 km (12.8 mi) 

autonomously by following 

a GPS tracking system. 

Largest 

automated factory 

In 2011, Grupo Modelo 

(MEX) opened a fully 

automated bottling factory 

that uses robots and laserguided 

trolleys to achieve 

production capabilities 

of 6,000 or 144,000 

bottles per hr. 

Largest stock market 

crash caused by 

automated trading 

"Algorithmic trading" refers 

to AI computers executing 

thousands of trades per sec. 

On 6 May 2010, the US Dow 

Jones plunged by more than 

600 points, with algorithmic 

trading thought to be to 

blame. The index recovered 

20 min later, leading to the 

event being nicknamed the 

"flash crash". 

Atlas is 1.9 m tall and has 

been designed to resemble 

a full-sized adult with joints 

that facilitate near-human 

No robot job 

too small 

Smallest robotic lunar rover: 

Jade Rabbit (CHN). 1.5 m in 

length, landed on 14 Dec 2013. 

Smallest robotic 

minesweeper: RoboC/am, 

designed by Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology, USA, 

based on Atlantic razor clam, 

burrows 1 em per sec and can 

dig to a mine to detonate it. 

Smallest robotic tweezers: 

University of Toronto, Canada, 

developed tweezers that 

can sense how to move 

a 10-micrometre heart cell 

with the correct force.

To 


tech 

"Gadget": may originate from French - gachette (lock tumbler) or gagee (tool) 

Apple reported opening-weekend 

sales of the iPhone 5c and 5s in 

Sep 2013 of 9 million units, breaking its 

own record of 5 million for the iPhone 5 

in 2012 and becoming the fastest-selling device 

capable of playing videogames. Apple's sales 

were boosted by releasing two models rather 

than one, and for the first time debuting in China 

on the same day as the USA. 

First bluetooth gloves 

commercially available 

In Oct 2012, Italian company 

hi-Fun released a range of 

knitted and leather gloves 

with built-in bluetooth 

communication for 

phones. Users can 

mobile calls by 

into the glove's little 

finger and listening 

via the thumb. 

Highest power drawn 

from a fruit battery 

Da Vinci Media (DEU), an 

educational TV channel, 

generated 1.21 watts by 

connecting 1,500 lemons 

together in Budapest, 

Hungary, on 27 Apr 2013. 

Largest animated 

mobile phone mosaic 

At the inaugural China 

Smart Device Games 

- held at the National 

Olympic Sports Centre 

in Beijing on 13 Jul 2013 

-China Unicom, Sohu 

IT and HTC created 

an animated mobile 

phone mosaic using 400 

smartphones. The devices 

were linked via China 

Unicorn's WCDMA HSPA+ 

network; each screen 

showed a different video 

that, in combination with 

the others, formed a video 

advert. 

CERTIFICATE 

r· -....,...._.,.. ...,....,. 

.. , ..... - .. 

..., ... .. . '!"' 

ro.o; r . .. ._ 

. ...._ .. 

Fastest time to type a 

text message blindfolded 

Mark Encarnaci6n (USA) used a smartphone 

to type a specified text message in 25.9 sec in 

Redmond, Washington, USA, on 24 Apr 2013. 

Without a blindfold, the fastest time to type 

a text message on a smartphone is 18.44 sec, 

achieved by Gaurav Sharma (USA), who was 

also in Redmond, on 16 Jan 2014. 

Most consumer 

electronics recycled 

in 24 hours 

Sims Recycling Solutions 

(USA) recycled electronics 

weighing a total of 57,308 kg 

(126,344 lb) at seven 

locations in the USA and 

Largest loop-the-loop by a 

remote-controlled vehicle 

Canada on 20 Apr 2013. 

The event, staged as part 

of Earth Day 2013, saw 

the company collecting 

unwanted electronics 

from locations in California, 

Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, 

New Jersey and Ontario. 

On 15 Jun 2013, Jason Bradbury - host of The Gadget Show 

(Channel 5, UK) and pictured left with co-host Rachel Riley 

- guided a remote-controlled car in a 3.18-m-wide 

(10-ft 5-in) loop-the-loop. Other records from the 

show include the heaviest machines moved 

using a brain-control interface (in which cranes 

weighing 56.2 tonnes (123,899 lb) were used 

to move a car with an electromagnet in 2011, 

bottom left) and the largest architectural 

projection-mapped game (a game of 

PAC-Man covering 2,218.65 m2 (23,881 sq ft) 

played in London, UK, in 2013, below right) . 

""'U.!!!!: !Y' J, We catiCUI&Reo 

this provided 31 phones pet' 

100 population, adding that 

Canada made the most calls, 

with an annual average of 

459. By 2011, according to the 

International Telecommunication 

Union (ITU), the world had 

gone mobile, with 6 billion 

subscriptions (these were for 

sim cards rather than phones). 

The Oxford Dictionary 

recognized "selfie" 

as 2013's word of the 

year, defining this as 

"a photograph that one 

has taken of oneself, 

typically one taken 

with a smart phone 

or webcam, and 

uploaded to a social 

media website". It 

beat competition from 

"twerk", "binge-watch", 

"whackadoodle" and 

"showrooming". 

206 

Source: G/oba/Weblndex survey, Aug 2013


First 3D-printed 

titanium alloy bicycle frame 

Empire Cycles (UK) designed a bike frame that 

was constructed by UK manufacturing firm 

Renishaw from titanium. The 30 laser melting 

process ensured that there was less waste, and 

made it easier to create a more organic form. 

The MX-6 Evo prototype frame of 2014 weighs 

1.4 kg (3 lb), making it 33% lighter than 

conventional frames. 

30 PRINTING Largest 3D object from 

Fastest ultra-highresolution 

3D printer 

Researchers have developed 

a printer that can make 

models the size of a grain 

of sand. The super-fast 

nano printer at the Vienna 

University of Technology in 

Austria uses a liquid resin, 

which is hardened by a laser 

beam. The applications for 

the printer's nano models in 

the future include biomedical 

technology and 

nanotechnology. 

a desktop 3D printer 

Skylar Tibbits, Marcelo 

Coelho (both USA), Natan 

Linder and Yoav Reches 

(both ISL) used a desktop 3D 

printer to create "folded" 

items within a print 

chamber measuring 

12.4 x 12.4 x 16.5 em 

(4.9 X 4.9 X 6.5 in). 

The 2013 project 

linked each part of 

the larger structure in a 

chain and the team created 

a chandelier approximately 

five times larger in volume 

than the printer's chamber. 

Most 3D printers 

operating simultaneously 

Students of Dr Jesse French 

(USA) in 2013 were required 

to make a 3D printer as 

part of their engineering 

course at LeTourneau 

University in Longview, 

Texas, USA. A total of 

102 undergraduates 

assembled with their printers 

on 4 Apr 2014 and printed 

a special coin designed 

for the event. 

As of 1 May 2014, the Micro printer by M3D 

had attracted pledges of $3.15 m (£1.98 m) 

- towards an initial goal of $ 50,000 (£31,300) - 

on the crowdsourcing website kickstarter.com. 

As 30 printing is becoming increasingly popular, 

it is used to create everything from plastic 

ornaments to whole houses, and the price 

of printers has been coming down. The 

Micro is aimed at the consumer market, 

with a cube-shaped printer chamber 

measuring 18.5 em (7.3 in) 

on each side. It costs 

$299 (£187). 

-· 

-&Jl 

-· 

.. _ 

- 

.. "-"' 

Christchurch 

First 3D-printed complete 

lower-jaw implant 

In Jun 201 1, an 83-yearold 

woman underwent 

surgery at the Orb is medical 

centre in the Netherlands, 

during which she was 

implanted with a lower jaw 

"printed" from titanium 

powder fused together 

using a laser. It was 

created by LayerWise 

in collaboration 

with scientists at 

Need for 30: real printing 

The first 3D-printed football cleat shoes (left) 

were tailored by Nike in 2013 for NFL American 

footballers. Nike's Vapor Laser Talon boots have 

soles made by "selective laser sintering", in which 

lasers fuse small particles of plastic. The first 

3D-printed record (above right) was made in 2013 

by researcher Amanda Ghassaei (USA), who wrote 

code to transform audio files into 3D files. And 

Blizzident (ESP) produced the first 3D-printed 

toothbrush (right) in 2013, in which 400 bristles 

are mounted in a plastic mould made from scans 

of your mouth; you brush using a chewing motion. 

Longest ramp jump by a 

remote-control car: 36.9 m by 

a Carson Specter 6S, controlled 

by Thomas Strobel (DEU) on 

30 Jul 2011. 



spo rts 

On average, a tennis game lasts for two-and-a-half hours - of which the ball is in action for just 20 min 

at Meadows in USA, on- 

8 Sep 2013. And on 27 Ocr 2013, aged 32 

years 31 days, she became the oldest female 

tennis player to be ranked world No.1 . 

What's more, she has enjoyed the 

longest span of Grand Slam titles in 

the open era, male or female. Her win 

over Victoria Azarenka at the US Open on 

8 Sep 2013 came 13 years 362 days after 

her maiden Slam against Martina Hingis, 

in the same tournament, on 11 Sep 1999. 



American football 

Athletics 212 

Ball sports 214 

Baseball 216 

Basketball 218 

Combat sports 

Cricket 

Cycling 

Golf 

Ice hockey 

Marathons 

Motors ports 

Rugby 

Soccer 

Tennis & racket sports 240 

242 

Winter sports 244 

Sports round-up 

Serena's sister Venus 

shares a world record 

with Brenda Schultz 

McCarthy (NLD) for 

the fastest tennis 

serve (female) - an 

incredible 207.6 km/h. 


Am 


ican footba 

Bowl was watched on TV by 164.1 million people 

Kansas City Chiefs and 

Minnesota Vikings. 

Andersen also scored 

records for the most points 

(2,544), most successful 

field goals (565) and most 

attempted field goals 

(709) in an NFL career. 


games played 

Jeff Feagles appeared in 

352 consecutive games 

between 1988 and 2009 

while playing for the 

New England Patriots, 

Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona 

Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks 

and New York Giants. 

Saints on 22 Dec 2013, tying the single-game 

NFL record set by David Harris of the New 

York Jets, playing against the Washington 

Redskins, on 4 Nov 2007. 

NFL 

Most seasons played 

George Blanda played 

for four different teams 

across 26 NFL seasons. 

He first played in 1949 

and ended his career 

with the Oakland Raiders 

in 1967-75. 

Most seasons played 

for the same team 

Jason Hanson spent 

21 seasons (1992 to 2012) 

with the Detroit Lions. 

Most 

games played 

Between 1982 

and 2007, placekicker 

Morten 

Andersen 

(DNK) played in 

382 games with 

the New Orleans 

Saints, Atlanta 

Falcons, 

New York 

Giants, 

Most NFL career yards 

gained by interception return 

Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans and New 

York Jets star Ed Reed accumulated 1,590 

interception return yards from 2002 to 2013. 

He also recorded the longest interception 

return for a touchdown, with 107 yards 

while playing for the Ravens against the 

Philadelphia Eagles on 23 Nov 2008. He 

broke his own record of 106 yards, set against 

the Cleveland Browns on 7 Nov 2004. 

Most points by 

a player in a season 

San Diego Chargers' 

LaDainian To mlinson scored 

186 points in 2006. In the 

same year, the 

.,. 

running back 

secured the most 

touchdowns in 

a season, with 31. 

team in a season 

Colorado's Denver 

Broncos scored 606 points 

during the 2013 season. 

Most points in a game 

Ernie Nevers scored 

40 points for the Chicago 

(now Arizona) Cardinals on 

28 Nov 

1929. Also 

in 1929, 

Nevers 

racked 

up the most 

touchdowns in 

an NFL game 

(six), a feat matched by 

William "Dub" Jones in 1951 

and Gale Sayers in 1965. 

Most NFL career 

interception 

returns for 

touchdown 

Rod Woodson scored 

12 touchdowns after 

intercepting a pass 

during an NFL career 

played with the 

Pittsburgh Steelers, 

Baltimore Ravens 

and Oakland Raiders 

from 1987 to 2003. 

Most consecutive games Most yards 

scoring a touchdown rushing in a game 

Two footballers managed 0 4 1\Jov 2007, Minnesota 

at least one touchdown-.-- ''ikings running back Adrian 

Peterson gained 296 yards 

rushing in a game. The 

2007 season saw Peterson 

Tomlinson in 2004-05. named NFL Offensive 

Rookie of the Year. 

Most field goals 

in a season 

David Akers kicked 44 field 

goals in the 2011 season for 

the Sarr 49ers. In 

the same year, he recorded 

the most field goals 

attempted in a season (52). 

Most pass completions 

in a play-off game 

Drew Brees completed 40 

passes for the New 

Saints in a play-off ga 

gainst the San Francis't:o 

49ers on 14 Jan 2012. 

Sports


SUPER BOWL GAME RECORDS 

Most yards gained I 407 I St Louis Rams (2000) 

passing 

Most yards gained 280 

rushing 

Most yards gained 172 

by interceptions 

Most rushing 

attempts 

57 

Washington Redskins (1988) 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2003) 

Pittsburgh Steelers (1975) 

CFL 

Most touchdown 

passes in a career 

Anthony Calvillo has thrown 

455 touchdown passes in 

his CFL (Canadian Football 

League) career. He played 

for the Las Vegas Posse and 

Canada's Hamilton Tiger 

Cats and Montreal Alouettes 

from 1994 to 2013. 

Most interceptions 

Most field goals 


Most career 

return touchdowns 

Devin Hester and Deion 

Sanders have achieved 

19 return touchdowns each. 

Most career receiving 

yards by a tight end 

Tony Gonzalez gained 

15,127 receiving yards for 

the Kansas City Chiefs 

and the Atlanta Falcons 

from 1997 to 2013. 

SUPER BOWL 

Most games played 

Mike Lodish has played 

in six Super Bowl games: 

four for the Buffalo Bills in 

1991-94 and two for the 

Denver Broncos in 1998-99. 

Most points in a game 

Four players have 

scored 

18 points 

Bowl game: Roger Craig 

in 1985, Jerry Rice twice, 

in 1990 and 1995, Ricky 

Watters in 1995 and Terrell 

Davis in 1998. 

Most career touchdowns 

Jerry Rice racked up eight 

touchdowns in Super Bowl 

games, as well as the most 

career NFL touchdowns 

(208) in 1985-2004. 

Most career field goals 

Adam Vinatieri scored seven 

field goals in Super Bowl 

games in 2001-06. 

Most yards rushing 

in a game 

During Super 

Bowl XXII 

(1988), the 

Washington 

Redskins' 

Timmy Smith 

gained 

204 yards 

rushing. 

Highest pass completion 

percentage in a season 

Ricky Ray completed 

77.23% of his passes (234 

of 303) for the Toronto 

Argonauts (CAN) in 2013. 

Most career 

pass completions 

From 1994 to 2013, 

Anthony Calvillo set 

many CFL records, 

including 5,892 

pass completions and 

the most pass attempts 

in a career (9,437). 

Most yards rushing 

in a Grey Cup game 

The 101st CFL Grey 

Cup on 24 Nov 2013 

saw Kory Sheets run for 

197 yards while leading 

the Saskatchewan 

Roughriders (CAN). 

First player to record 

200 receiving yards in 

consecutive NFL games 

Josh Gordon of the Cleveland 

Browns recorded 237 receiving yards 

on 24 Nov 2013 and then 267 receiving yards 

on 1 Dec 2013. It marked the first time in NFL 

history that a player had logged consecutive 

200-yard receiving games. 

Longest NFL 

field goal 

Denver Broncos' Matt Prater set the NFL field goal 

record by kicking a 64-yard goal in a game against the 

Tennessee Titans on 8 Dec 2013. The previous mark of 63 yards 

was set by New Orleans Saints' Tom Dempsey in 1970 and had 

later been tied three times. 

originally made from 

natural materials, most 

commonly a pig's bladder 

wrapped in leather.


Ath etics 

If he could sustain his peak speed, it would take Usain Bolt 44 days to sprint around the globe 

Most IAAF Athlete of 

the Year trophies won 

Male: Usain Bolt (JAM) 

has won the International 

Association of Athletics 

Federations' {IAAF) Athlete 

of the Year trophy five times, 

in 2008-09 and 2011-13. 

Female: The women's 

record belongs to Yelena 

lsinbayeva (RUS) with three 

wins, in 2004-05 and 2008. 

DIAMOND LEAGUE 

Youngest meeting winner 

Male: Conseslus Kipruto 

(KEN, b. 8 Dec 1994) won 

the 3,000-m steeplechase 

Diamond League title 

in 2012 aged 17 years 

225 days old. 

Female: Francine 

Niyonsaba (BDI, 

b. 5 May 1993) is 

the youngest female 

winner, taking the 

800-m crown on 

7 Sep 2012, 

at the age of 

19 years 

126 days. 

Oldest 

meeting winner 

Male: Discus-thrower 

Virgilijus Alekna (LTU, 

13 Feb 1972) was 

175 

won the pole vault from 

2010 to 2013 and Milcah 

Chemos Cheywa (KEN) 

won four 3,000-m 

steeplechase events 

between 2010 and 2013. 

OLYMPICS 

Most northerly 

Summer Games 

The XV Olympiad (1952) 

in Helsinki, Finland, was 

located at 60.1° latitude and 

24.6° longitude. By contrast, 

the 1956 Summer Games 

in Melbourne, Australia, 

were the most southerly, 

at a latitude of 37.5° and 

a longitude of 144.6°. 

The highest altitude 

Summer Games were 

the XIX Games in Mexico 

Highest indoors 

pole vault (male) 

Renaud Lavillenie {FRA) 

achieved 6.16 m {20 ft 2.5 in) 

in the indoors pole vault at 

Pole Vault Stars in Donetsk, 

Ukraine, on 15 Feb 2014. 

The previous record of 

6.15 m {20 ft 2.12 in), set by 

pole vault legend Sergey 

Bubka, had stood for 

almost 21 years. 

City, Mexico, 2,250 m 

(7,380 ft) above sea level, 

on 12-27 Oct 1968. 

Most athletics golds 

Male: Paavo Nurmi (FIN) 

won nine athletics golds in 

1920-28. Carl Lewis (USA) 

matched his feat between 

1984 and 1996. 

OUTDOOR TRACK EVENTS (MALE) 

Event 

Time , Name (Nationality) 

100 m 9.58 Usain Bolt (JAM) 16 Aug 2009 

200 m 19.19 Usain Bolt (JAM) 20 Aug 2009 

400 m 43.18 Michael Johnson 26 Aug 1999 

(USA) 

800 m 1:40.91 David Lekuta Rudisha 9 Aug 2012 

(KEN) 

1,000 m 2:11.96 Noah Ngeny (KEN) 5 Sep 1999 

1,500 m 3:26.00 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 Jul 1998 

(MAR) 

1 mile 3:43.13 Hicham El Guerrouj 7 Jul 1999 

(MAR) 

2,000 m 4:44.79 Hicham El Guerrouj 7 Sep 1999 

(MAR) 

3,000 m 7:20.67 Daniel Komen (KEN) 1 Sep 1996 

5,000 m 12:37.35 Kenenisa Bekele 31 May 2004 

(ETH) 

10,000 m 26:17.53 Kenenisa Bekele 26 Aug 2005 

(ETH) 

20,000 m 56:26.00 Haile Gebrselassie 27 Jun 2007 

(ETH) 

25,000 m 1:12:25.4 Moses Cheruiyot 3 Jun 2011 

Mosop (KEN) 

30,000 m 1:26:47.4 Moses Cheruiyot 3 Jun 2011 

Mosop (KEN) 

3,000 m 7:53.63 Saif Saaeed Shaheen· 3 Sep 2004 

steeple- 

(QAT) 

chase 

110 m 

hurdles 

400 m 

hurdles 

4 x 100 m 

relay 

4 x 200 m 

relay 

4 x 400 m 

relay 

4 x 800 m 

relay 

4x 

1,500 m 

relay 

12.80 Aries Merritt (USA) 

46.78 Kevin Young (USA) 

36.84 Jamaica 

1:18.68 Santa Monica Track 

Club (USA) 

2:54.29 USA 

7:02.43 Kenya 

14:36.23 Kenya 

7 Sep 2012 

6 Aug 1992 

11 Aug 2012 

17 Apr 1994 

22 Aug 1993 

25 Aug 2006 

4 Sep 2009 

Statistics correct as of 12 Mar 2014


OUTDOOR TRACK EVENTS (FEMALE) 

Event I Time I Name (Nationality) 

100 m 

I 

10.491 Florence Griffith- 

Joyner (USA) 

200 m I 21.34 I Florence Griffith- 

Joyner (USA) 

400 m 

I 

47.60 I Marita Koch (GOA) 

BOO m 

I 

1 :53.28 1 Jarmila Kratochvil ova 

(TCH) 

1,000 m I 2:28.98 I Svetlana Masterkova 

(RUS) 

1,500 m I 3:50.461 Yunxia Qu (CHN) 

1 mile 

I 4:12.56 I 

Svetlana Masterkova 

(RUS) 

2,000 m 5:25.36 Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL) 

3,000 m 8:06.11 Junxia Wang (CHN) 

5,000 m 14:11.15 Tirunesh Dibaba 

(ETH) 

10,000 m 29:31.78 Junxia Wang (CHN) 

20,000 m 1:05:26.6 Tegla Loroupe (KEN) 



3,000 m 8:58.81 Gulnara Samitovasteeple- 

chase 

Galkina (RUS) 

100 m 12.21 Yordanka Donkova 

hurdles 

(BGR) 

400 m 52.34 Yuliya Pechenkina 

hurdles 

(RUS) 

4 x 100 m 40.82 USA 

relay 

4 x 200 m 1:27.46 USA "Blue" 

relay 

4 x 400 m 3:15.17 USSR 

relay 

4 x 800 m 7:50.17 USSR 

relay 

4x 17:09.75 Australia 

1,500 m 

relay 

 

OUTDOOR FIELD EVENTS (FEMALE) 

High jump I 

1 (Nationality) 

2.09 Stefka Kostadinova 

(BGR) 

Pole vault I 5.06 Yelena lsinbayeva 

(RUS) 

Long jump I 7.52 I Gal ina Chistvakova 

Date 

16 Jul 1988 

29 Sep 1988 

Sanya Richards-Ross (USA) 

and Allyson Felix, who 

added to their tallies in 2012. 

PARALYMPICS 

Most athletics medals 

6 Oct 1985 Male: Heinz Frei (CHE) 

26 Jul 1983 

competed in 14 Paralympic 

competitions between 1984 

and 2012 - both Winter and 

23 Aug 1996 

Summer games. He won 34 

medals in total, 22 of which 

11 Sep 1993 were in athletics events. 

14 Aug 1996 

8 Jul 1994 

13 Sep 1993 

6 Jun 2008 

8 Sep 1993 

3 Sep 2000 

21 Sep 2002 

6 Jun 2003 

17 Aug 2008 

20 Aug 1988 

8 Aug 2003 

10 Aug 2012 

1 29 Apr 2000 

I 

1 Oct 1988 

I 

I 

5 Aug 1984 

25 Jun 2000 

-- 

Date 

30 Aug 1987 

28 Aug 2009 

11 Jun 1988 

Most points in Diamond 

League athletics meetings 

Female: The most points scored in a Diamond 

League career is 94, by Valerie Adams (NZ, above) 

in the shot put in 2010-1 3. An athlete scores 

points by finishing in the top three at a meeting. 

Male: Renaud Lavillenie (see left) has scored 

the most points for a man. By the end of the 

2013 Diamond League season he had 86 points. 

Female: Chantal Petitclerc 

(CAN) won 21 Paralympic 

athletics medals between 

1992 and 2008 in track 

distances between 100 m 

and 1,500 m. 

Chantal also holds 

the record for the most 

Paralympic athletics gold 

medals (14), a record she 

shares with male athlete 

Franz Nietlispach (CHE). 

IAAF WORLD 

CHAMPIONSHIPS 

Most appearances 

Male: Spanish 50-km 

walker Jesus Angel Garcia 

competed in 11 IAAF World 

Championships between 

1993 and 2013. 

Female: Susana Feit6r 

(POR) also appeared 

11 times, contesting 

three different events 

:J 

between 1991 and 2011: the 

10,000-m walk, 10-km walk 

and 20-km walk. 

Most gold medals 

Four athletes - three men 

and one woman - have won 

eight gold medals at the 

World Championships. Carl 

Lewis (USA) was the first in 

1983-91 , a feat matched 

by Michael Johnson (USA, 

1991-99), Allyson Felix 

(USA, 2005-11) and Usain 

Bolt (2009-13). 

Most 200-m wins 

Female: Allyson Felix won 

three consecutive 200-m 

golds, in 2005-09. 

Male: Usain Bolt matched 

her record in 2009-13. 


4 x 400-m relay wins 

LaShawn 

Merritt (USA) 

won gold in four 

World Championships in 

a row in 2007-13. 

Most medals won at the 

IAAF World Championships 

Male: The most medals accumulated by a man at the 

World Championships is 10, by Carl Lewis (below) , 

who wo eight gold, one silver and one bronze 

between 1983 and 1993. His feat was equalled 

by Usain Bolt (left), who won 

eight gold and two silver medals 


Femal: Merlene Ottey (JAM) won 

14 medals - three gold, four silver and 

seven bronze - from 1983 to 1997.


spo rts 

A brutal Mayan ball game played 3,000 years ago may have 

Most wins of the men's 

African Cup for Nations 

The field hockey African Cup 

for Nations is a qualifier for 

the World Cup and in some 

years the Olympic Games. 

The greatest number of wins 

is seven, by South Africa 


used severed human heads 

New dMd · · M 

of netball's top competition, aka Netball FastS, 

when they beat Australia on 10 Nov 2013. The 

Ferns won by 29, with a final score of 56-27. 

Largest attendance 

for a netball match 

The All phones Arena in 

Sydney, Australia, recorded 

an official attendance of 

14,339 for the Australia vs 

New Zealand international 

game on 13 Nov 2004. 

Australia won 54-49. 

Most World Polo 

Championships won 

Argentina have won the 

World Championships four 

times since its inauguration 

in 1987 - taking the crown in 

1987, 1992, 1998 and 2011. 

FIELD HOCKEY 

Highest total score in 

a women's World Handball 

Most World Cups 

Female: The Dutch 

Championship final women's team won the field 

On 14 Dec 2003, France hockey World Cup six times 

and Hungary met in the between 1974 and 2006. 

World Championship final in Male: Pakistan hold the 

Croatia. France won by 32 record for the most men's 

points to 29 for an aggregate World Cup wins with four 

score of 61. between 1971 and 1994. 

Most international 

goals scored 

Defender Sohail Abbas 

(PAK) scored 348 goals 

between 1 Mar 1998 

and 5 Aug 2012. 

Largest 

winning margin in a 

men's World Handball 

Championship final 

The biggest score difference in an 

International Handball Federation men's 

World Championship final is 16 goals. 

It was achieved by Spain, who beat 

Denmark 35-19 in the 2013 final at the 

Palau Sant Jordi stadium in Barcelona, 

Spain, on 27 Jan. Pictured is pivot 

Julen Aguinagalde (ESP, left) vying with 

Denmark's left-back Mikkel Hansen. 

Largest margin of victory 

in an Olympic match 

Male: The third men's field 

hockey match at the 1932 

Olympics in Los Angeles, 

California, USA, saw India 

beat the home team 24-1 . 

Female: South Africa beat 

the USA 7-0 at London 

2012 on 6 Aug. 

GAA 

Most All-Ireland Hurling 

championships won 

The GAA (Gaelic Athletic 

Association) sport of 

hurling is a fast-moving Irish 

stick-and-ball sport (not 

unlike a free-form version of 

hockey). Kilkenny won its top 

competition - contested by 

inter-county teams - 34 times 


Most All-Ireland Senior 

Carnegie championships 

Camogie is hurling, but 

played by women. Dublin 

have the greatest number 

of All-Ireland titles with 26. 

Most All 

Ireland Hurling 

championships \ 

won (individual) 

Henry Shefflin (IRL) 

secured nine medals 

- and countless battle 

scars - while playing for 

Kilkenny in 2000, 2002-03, 

2006-09, 2011 and 2012. 

One of the game's greats, 

Waterford-born Shefflin 

(nicknamed "King Henry") 

is a centre-forward and 

works as a bank official 

when not winning trophies. 

Most All-Ireland Gaelic 

Football championships 

Gaelic football is roughly a 

cross between rugby and 

soccer. Kerry have won 

36 championships - more 

than any other side. 

KORFBALL 

Highest score in a mixed 

World Championship final 

Korfball is a mixed-gender 

sport similar to netball 

and basketball. The final 

on 5 Nov 2011 saw the 

Netherlands score 

32 points against 

Belgium in 

Shaoxing, China. 

Most Europa Cup titles 

Dutch team PKC won the 

Europa Cup seven times, 

in 1985, 1990, 1999-2000, 

2002, 2006 and 2014. 

The Dutch national 

team have the most World 

Games titles (8) having won


Most FIVB Volleyball 

World League 

participants (men) 

In 2013, 18 countries from 

four continents took part 

in the FIVB Volleyball World 

League. Russia were the 

eventual winners, seeing 

off Brazil 3-0 in the final. 

Most appearances by 

a pair in men's FIVB 

beach volleyball events 

Norwegian duo Vegard 

H0idalen and Jmre 

Kjemperud recorded 

135 appearances in 

FIVB beach volleyball 

events between 1987 

and 2010. 

FIVB World Grand Champions Cup twice when 

they triumphed in Tokyo, Japan, on 17 Nov 2013. 

The first five editions were won by different 

countries; Brazil had previously won it in 2005. 

every korfball tournament at 

the World Games between 

1985 and 2013. 

LACROSSE 

Most men's World 

Championship titles 

Between 1967 and 2010, 

the men's USA team 

won nine World Lacrosse 

Championship titles. The 

USA also hold the record 

for most women's 

Lacrosse World Cup 

titles, with seven golds 


Fastest shot 

Mike Sawyer (USA) recorded 

183 km/h (114 mph) in 

Charlotte, North Carolina, 

USA, on 13 Jul 2013. 

VOLLEYBALL 

Most men's FIVB Volleyball 

World League titles 

The Federation Internationals 

de Volleyball World League 

is an annual event in 

which teams compete 

in pools before the best 

sides progress to the final 

round. The most men's 

World League wins is nine, 

by Brazil in 1993, 2001 , 

2003-07 and 2009-1 0. 

FACT 

In 1363, hqckey was 

banned in England by 

King Edward Ill, along 

with soccer and other 

"idle games". 

Career games 

Consecutive games 

426 

244 

Career goals 1,360 

Goals in a season 150 

Michael Tuck (1972-91) 

Jim Stynes (187-98) 

Tony Lockett (1983-2002) 

Bob Pratt (1934) 

Peter Hudson (1971) 

Goals in a game I .18 1 Fred Fanning (1947) 

CANADIAN FOOTBALL: Moat ... 

Career games 408 Lui Passaglia (1976-2000) 

Consecutive games 353 Bob Cameron (1980-2000) 

Career touchdowns 147 Milt Stegall (1992-2008) 

Touchdowns (season) 23 Milt Stegall (2002) 

Touchdowns (game) 6 Eddie James (1932) 

Bob McNamara (1956) 

Most tournament titles in 

women's beach volleyball 

Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA) has the most 

tournament wins with 113. This total comprises 

.. 6 7 domestic and 46 international wins from May 

2001 to 28 Oct 2013. Walsh Jennings has won 113 

· (60%) of the 189 tournaments she has entered, 

most of which were alongside Misty May-Treanor 

(USA), whose record she broke on 28 Oct 2013. 

5


o Baseba 

To improve grip for pitchers, every MLB baseball is rubbed in mud from a secret site in New Jersey 

Most grand-slam home 

runs in a MLB career 

A grand-slam home run is 

a homer hit with batters on 

all the bases. Since 1994, 

Alex Rodriguez has hit 

24 of them for the Seattle 

Mariners, Texas Rangers 

and New York Yankees. 

MOST GAMES ... 

Finished in a career 

Playing for the New York 

Yankees between 1995 and 

2013, Mariano Rivera (PAN) 

was the last pitcher for his 

team in 952 games. With the 

Yankees, he also recorded 

the most games pitched 

with one team: 1,115. 

431 home runs, playing for the Minnesota 

and the Boston Red Sox since 1997. His 47 home 

runs for the Red Sox in 2006 represent the most 

home runs by a designated hitter in a season. 

His overall home run total was 54. 

Most combined 

wins and saves 

Andy Pettitte (USA) 

and Mariano Rivera 

(PAN) combined 

for a win and a 

save 72 times while 

pitching for the 

New York Yankees 

from 1996 to 2013. 

Oldest player to hit 

a walk-off home run 

A walk-off home run is 

a game-ending homer 

on the final pitch of 

the game that results 

in a victory for the 

home team. At 42 years 

202 days old, Jason 

Giambi (USA, b. 8 Jan 

1971) is the oldest player 

in MLB history to perform 

such a feat. Giambi 

accomplished the record 

with a pinch-hit homer in 

the ninth innings to defeat 

the Chicago White Sox 

on 29 Jul 2013. 

Most doubles 

hit in a season 

Earl Webb (USA) 

hit 67 doubles 

playing for the 

Bostor> Red Sox 

in 1931. The most triples 

hit in a season by an 

individual player 

is 36, by "Chief" 

Wilson (USA) for 

the Pittsburgh 

Pirates in 1912. 

Won consecutively 

by a pitcher 

Masahiro Tanaka (JPN) 

won 30 successive games 

pitching for Japan's Tohoku 

Rakuten Golden Eagles from 

26 Aug 2012 to 27 Oct 2013. 

Tanaka also recorded 

the most consecutive 

baseball games won by 

a pitcher 

during 

regularthe 

Tohoku Rakuten Golden 

Eagles, from 26 Aug 2012 

to 8 Oct 2013. For the same 

team, Tanaka set the most 

consecutive baseball 

games won by a pitcher 

in a season (24), from 2 Apr 

to 8 Oct 2013. 

Won consecutively 

by a pitcher in the MLB 

Roger Clemens (USA) won 

20 consecutive 

games for the 

Toronto 

Youngest player to hit 

30 home runs and steal 

30 bases in a season 

At the age of 21 years 53 days, Mike Trout (USA, 

b. 7 Aug 1991 , left) became the youngest MLB player 

ever to hit 30 or more home runs and steal 30 or more 

bases within just one season. He accomplished this 

feat while playing for the Los Angeles Angels of 

Anaheim in 2013. Before Trout, the youngest person 

to do this had been 22-year-old Alex Rodriguez, 

while playing for the Seattle Mariners in 1998. 

Blue Jays and New York 

Yankees from 3 Jun 1998 

to 1 Jun 1999. 

MOST 

HOME RUNS ... 

By a catcher 

Mike Piazza (USA) hit 396 

home runs (with an overall 

total of 427) while playing 

for the Los Angeles Dodgers, 

Florida Marlins, New York 

Mets, San Diego Padres 

and Oakland Athletics 

from 1992 to 2007. 

By a switch hitter 

Playing for the New York 

Yankees from 1951 to 

1968, Mickey Mantle 

(USA) hit 536 

home runs.


of the six-game American 

League Championship 

Series in 2013. 

Football League and the National Hockey league) 

lasted 820 games. The Boston Red Sox set it with 

every home game at Fenway Park in Boston, 

USA, from 15 May 2003 to 10 Apr 2013. 

By a second baseman 

Jeff Kent (USA) scored 

351 home runs as a second 

baseman (with an overall total 

of 377) with the Toronto Blue 

Jays, New York Mets, 

Cleveland Indians, 

San Francisco 

Giants, Houston 

Astros and LA Dodgers 

from 1992 to 2008. 

The most home runs 

in one season hit by a 

third baseman stands at 

52 (with an overall total that 

season of 54), scored by 

Alex Rodriguez (USA) for the 

New York Yankees in 2007. 

MOST 

STRIKEOUTS ... 

By a batter 

in a post-season 

Alfonso Soriano (DOM) 

struck out 26 times in 

17 games while playing 

for the New York Yankees 

in the 2003 post-season. 

By a pitching staff 

in a post-season series 

Detroit Tigers pitchers 

struck out 73 Boston Red 

Sox batters over the course 

By a batter in a season 

The MLB record for most 

strikeouts by a batter in 

a season is 223, by Mark 

Reynolds (USA) for the 

Arizona Diamondbacks 

in 2009. In doing so, he 

surpassed his own mark of 

204, established in 2008. 

By a pitcher in a career 

Nolan Ryan (USA) recorded 

5,714 strikeouts while playing 

for the New York Mets, 

California Angels, Houston 

Astros and Texas Rangers 

from 1966 to 1993. 

By a team in a season 

Houston Astros (USA) 

batters struck out 

1,535 times 

during the 

2013 

Most 

saves in 

a career 

The MLB record 

for most career saves is 

652, achieved by Mariano 

"Sandman" Rivera (PAN) playing 

for 19 seasons with the New York 

Yankees from 1995 - when he made 

his MLB debut - to his retirement 

in 2013. New York mayor Michael 

Bloomberg declared 22 Sep 2013 

"Mariano Rivera Day" in his honour. 

First siblings to hit home runs 

in successive at bats 

On 23 Apr 2013, 8 J Upton and his brother 

Justin (USA, above) struck back-to-back home 

runs for the Atlanta Braves against the Colorado 

Rockies, becoming only the second pair of 

siblings to do so. The first were Lloyd and Paul 

Waner (USA) of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who hit 

successive homers on 15 Sep 1938. The Uptons' 

feat marked the 27th time in MLB history that 

brothers had homered in the same game. 

season, surpassing the 

previous mark of 1 ,529 by 

the Arizona Diamondbacks 

in 2010. 

By batters in a 

post-season (team) 

Boston Red Sox (USA) 

batters struck out 165 times 

in 16 play-off games during 

the 2013 post-season. 

in a season 

Major league 

batters struck 

out 36,710 

times in the 

2013 regular 

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL (MLB) WORLD SERIES RECORDS 

Team 

Most titles (first awarded in 1903) 

27 I New York Yankees 

Most consecutive titles 5 I New York Yankees, 1949-53 

Largest cumulative attendance I 420,784 I Six games between Los Angeles Dodgers 

and Chicago White Sox, 1-8 Oct 1959; 

Dodgers won 4-2 

Individual 

Most home runs, one series 

5 I Chase Utley (USA) of Philadelphia Phillies, 2009 

World Series against New York Yankees 

"Reggie" Jackson (USA) of New York Yankees, 

1977 World Series against Los Angeles Dodgers 

Rivera was the last 

baseball player to wear 

a number 42 shirt in 

baseball history. The 

shirt was retired across 

the major leagues on 

15 Apr 1997, in memory 

of baseball legend Jackie 

Robinson of MLB's 

Brooklyn Dodgers. 

Most games pitched 

Most MVP (Most Valuable 

Player) awards 

24 I Mariano Rivera (PAN) of New York Yankees, 

1996, 1998-2001 ,2003, 2009 

2 

Statistics correct as of the end of the 2013 season


sketba 

The late "Chick" Hearn is credited with coining the phrase "slam dunk" 

rebounds aged just 27 years 

130 days old. He took the 

record while playing for the 

Los Angeles Lakers in a 

game against the Houston 

Rockets on 17 Apr 2013. 

Most games in an NBA career 

Robert Parish played 1,611 NBA (National 

Basketball Association) regular-season games 

from 1976 to 1997. His 21-season career saw him 

play for the Golden State Warriors (1976-80), 

Boston Celtics (1980-94), Charlotte Hornets 

(1994-96) and Chicago Bulls (1996-97). 

Oldest player to record 

20 rebounds in a game 

On 2 Mar 2007, at the age of 

40 years 251 days, Dikembe 

Mutombo (COD, b. 25 Jun 

1966) of the Houston 

Rockets became the oldest 

player in NBA history to get 

more than 20 rebounds in 

a game, with 22. 

Most free throws 

attempted in a game 

Dwight Howard equalled 

his own record of 39 while 

playing for the Los Angeles 

Lakers on 12 Mar 2013. 

NBA 

Most career minutes 

During Kareem Abdui 

Jabbar's 20-year NBA procareer, 

he spent 57,446 min 

on court for the Milwaukee 

Bucks and the Los Angeles 

Lakers (1969-89) - that's 

almost 40 days! 

First players to win an 

NBA and Olympic title 

in one year 

In 1992, Michael Jordan 

and Scottie Pippen won the 

NBA finals playing with the 

Chicago Bulls, then won an 

Olympic basketball gold as 

part of the USA team. 


games played 

A C Green played in 

1,192 consecutive 

games for the Los 

Angeles Lakers, 

Phoenix Suns, 

Dallas Mavericks 

and Miami Heat 

from 19 Nov 1986 

to 18 Apr 2001 . 

FACT 

The NBA three-point 

line is 7.23 m from the 

middle of the basket, 

while the WNBA 

line is 6.75 m from the 

top of the key. 

Most consecutive games 

scoring a three-pointer 

Kyle Korver's run of scoring 

a three-pointer per game hit 

127, ending on 5 Mar 2014. 

It began on 4 Nov 2012, and 

beat Dana Barros' 89-game 

record on 6 Dec 2013. 

Most three-pointers 

in a game 

Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles 

Lakers) and Donyell Marshall 

(Toronto Raptors) each 

scored 12 three-pointers, 

on 7 Jan 2003 and 13 Mar 

2005 respectively. 

Youngest player to 

the 3 

reach 9,000 rebounds 

Dwight Howard 

season, 891 of which were successful - the most 

(b. 8 Dec 1985) had three-pointers scored in a season. The Knlcks 

recorded 9,000 

also hold the record for the longest post 

'-.., season losing streak, with 13 consecutive 

playoff games lost from 2001 to 2012. 

Two players have been named NBA 

Defensive Player of the Year four times, 

as of the end of the 2014 season. 

Dikembe Mutombo (COD) won for the 

Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks and 

Philadelphia 76ers between 1994 and 

2001 , and Ben Wallace {above left) was 

awarded the title for the Detroit Pistons 

, 

...,.. between 2001 and 2006. 

...::...;.., 


Most three- 

-inasei.:asgon:!,. 

 

-· pointers in an 

Step en Curry accumulated NBA Finals 

7.:2 lllree- oint field goals Danny Green scored 

while playing for the Golden 27 three-point field 

State Warriors during the goals in the 2013 NBA 

2012-13 season, surpassing Finals. Green was 

the 269 recorded by Ray playing for the San 

Allen in 2005-06. 

Antonio Spurs against 

As of 16 Apr 2014, Allen Miami Heat in the 

still holds the record for the Finals, which lasted 

most three-point field seven games. He beat 

goals in a career, with Ray Allen's 22 with the 

2,973 sunk since 1996. Allen Boston Celtics in 2008. 

joined Miami Heat in 2012 .

NBA & WNBA - CAREER RECORDS Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 

Most points I Kareem Abdui-Jabbar 38,387 Tina Thompson 7,488 

(1969-89) (1997-present) 

Most rebounds Wilt Chamberlain 23,924 Lisa Leslie 3,307 

(1959-73) (1997-2009) 

Most field Kareem Abdui-Jabbar 15,837 Tina Thompson 2,630 

goals made (1969-89) (1997-present) 

Most assists John Stockton 15,806 1 Ticha Penicheiro 2,599 

(1984-2003) 

(PRT, 1998-2012) 

Most free 

throws made 

Karl Malone 

(1985-2004) 

9,787 

Tamika Catchings 1,709 

(2002-present) 

Most blocks 

Hakeem Olajuwon 

(NGA, 1984-2002) 

3,830 

Margo Dydek 877 

(POL, 1998-2008) 

Most steals 

I 

Boston Celtics 

(1957, 1959-66, 1968-69, 

1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 

1986 and 2008) 

Most Finals Los Angeles Lakers 

appearances (1949-50, 1952-54, 

1959, 1962-63, 1965-66, 

1968-70, 1972-73, 1980, 

1982-85, 1987-89, 1991, 

2000-02, 2004 and 

2008-10) 


The most threepointers 

in a game by a 

team is 23, a record shared 

by the Orlando Magic (13 Jan 

2009) and the Houston 

Rockets (5 Feb 2013). 


in a quarter 

Joe Johnson scored eight 

three-pointers for 

the Brooklyn 

Nets on 16 Dec 

2013, equalling 

Michael Redd's 

2002 record. 

WNBA 

3,265 

17 

31 

Tamika Catchings 930 

(2002-present) 

WNBA 

Most games in a career 

As of 20 Dec 2013, Tina 

Thompson had played in 

496 Women's National 

Basketball Association 

(WNBA) games. Her career 

began in 1997 with the 

Houston Comets; she has 

since played with the 

Los Angeles Sparks 

and is currently with 

Seattle Storm. 

Houston Comets 4 

(1997-2000) 

Houston Comets 4 

(1997-2000) 

Detroit Shock 

(2003 and 2006-08) 

New York Liberty 

(1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002) 

Thompson has also 

clocked up the most 

minutes played in a 

WNBA career, with 16,088 

- the equivalent of more 

than 11 days on court. 

Most free throws 

attempted in a game 

Two women have attempted 

24 free throws in 

a game: Cynthia 

Cooper did so 

on 3 Jul 1998, 

and Tina Charles 

Longest basketball shot 

On 11 Nov 2013, Corey "Thunder" Law of the 

Harlem Globetrotters threw a basketball 33.45 m 

(109 ft 9 in) into the net. His record-breaking 

basket occurred at the US Airways Center in 

Phoenix, Arizona, USA, in celebration of GWR 

Day 2013. Three fellow Globetrotters gave it 

their best shot, but fell short of Law's length. 

Highest rebounds 

per game average 

Tina Charles - playing for 

the Connecticut Sun since 

2010 - also holds the record 

for rebounds per game: an 

unrivalled average of 10.8. 


in a career 

Katie Smith had scored 906 

three-pointers as of 12 Feb 

2014, since her career began 

in 1999. Smith has played for 

five teams: Minnesota Lynx, 

Detroit Shock, Washington 

Mystics, Seattle Storm and 

New York Liberty. 

On 8 Sep 2013, Riquna 

Williams scored the most 

three-pointers in a game, 

with eight for the Tulsa 

Shock. Williams equalled 

the mark set twice by 

Diana Taurasi for Phoenix 

Mercury, on 10 Aug 2006 

and 25 May 2010. 


com bat s orts 

Size matters: there are no weight divisions in pro sumo wrestling 

WRESTLING 

Most freestyle wrestling 

world titles (male) 

Two men have won seven 

freestyle wrestling world 

titles: Aleksandr Medved 

(BLR) in the over-100-kg 

class between 1962 

and 1971 , and Valentin 

Jordanov (BGR) in the 

55-kg class between 

1983 and 1995. 

boxing title. Tomokl won the bantamweight 

title, Koki secured the WBA bantamweight 

crown and Daiki started the brothers' success 

by winning the WBA flyweight title. 

FENCING 

BOXING 

Most world title fights 

Julio Cesar Chavez (MEX) 

won 31 of his 37 fights 

contested between 1 984 

and 2000 in the super 

featherweight, lightweight and 

light welterweight divisions. 

Most flash KOs 

in a pro career 

Mike Tyson (USA) 

managed nine 

under-60-sec 

knockouts during 

his career. 

Shortest world title fight 

Just 17 sec was all it took 

for Daniel Jimenez (PRI) 

to knock out Harold Geier. 

Jimenez was defending his 

WBO super bantamweight 

title at Wiener Neustadt in 

Austria on 3 Sep 1994. 

Most career 

matches won by 

a sumo wrestler 

Kai6 Hiroyuki (JPN) 

won 1,047 (of 1,731) 

bouts between Mar 

1988 and Jul 2011. 

Remarkably, Kai6 

initially doubted if he 

was good enough 

to make it 

as a sumo 

wrestler. 

Emmanuel "Manny" 

Yarborough of Rahway, New 

Jersey, USA, stands 203 em 

(6 ft 8 in) tall and weighs 

319.3 kg (704 lb). 

Most arm wrestling 

matches in 24 hours 

On 12 Feb 2012, world 

champion lon Oncescu 

(ROM) contested 

1 ,024 arm wrestles 

in Bucharest, 

Romania. He won 

every match. 

Most individual 

world fencing titles 

Male: Christian d'Oriola 

(FRA) won six foil titles in 

World Cham ' pionships and 

Olympics between 1947 and 

1956. Russian Stanislav 

Pozdnyakov matched this 

feat with six sabre 

wins from 

1996 to 

2007. 

Highest-selljng 

pay-per-view boxing match 

The junior middleweight fight between Saul "EI Canelo" Alvarez (MEX, 

left) and Floyd Mayweather Jr (USA, right) on 14 Sep 2013 grossed $150 m 

(£91 m) from 2.2 million TV viewers. In addi ion, the venue in Las Vegas, , 

Nevada, USA, sold out and a further $20 m (£12 m) was taken in gate receipts.


The L6pez family (USA) won three gold medals at 

the World Taekwondo Championships in Madrid, 

Spain, in Apr 2005. Steven won the welterweight 

title, younger brother Mark the featherweight 

crown, and sister Diana took featherweight gold. 

Their coach was dad Jean. 

Female: Valentina Vezzali 

(ITA) won nine individual foil 

titles: three Olympic golds 

and six at the World Fencing 

Championships. She won 

the titles in 1 999-201 1. 

Most golds at the World 

Championships (country) 

In 2013, Italy became the 

first nation to win more than 

100 golds at the Fencing 

World Championships. As 

of the end of 2013, their tally 

stood at 101 gold, 97 silver 

and 114 bronze medals. 

MARTIAL ARTS 

Most World Taekwondo 

Championships wins 

Male: Steven L6pez (USA) 

won five Championships: 

lightweight in 2001 and four 

welterweights in 2003-09. 

Female: Jung Myung-suk's 

(KOR) three heavyweight 

wins came in 1993-97, a feat 

equalled by Brigitte Yague 

(ESP), who won finweight 

in 2003 and 

Most single-leg martial 

arts kicks in one minute 

Raul Meza (USA) performed 

335 single-leg kicks at 

Meza's Karate America in 

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 

USA, on 17 Nov 2011. 

Most gold medals 

won at the World 

Combat Games 

Russia's tally from 2010 

in Beijing, China, and 

2013 in St Petersburg, 

Russia, is 65. The 

latter featured 97 

nations and 135 events. 

Shown here is Nikita 

Selyanskiy in the 71-kg 

full-contact kickboxing 

category. 

Most men's team 

kumite World Karate 

Championships wins 

The first World Karate 

Championships were held 

in 1970. Since then the 

French men's team have 

won the kumite title seven 

times, in 1972, 1994, 1996, 

1998, 2000, 2004 and 2012. 

UFC 

Most fights 

won by decision 

Georges St-Pierre (CAN) 

won 12 Ultimate Fighting 

Championship (UFC) fights by 

decision from 16 Apr 2005 to 

16 Nov 2013. St-Pierre also 

holds the record for the most 

UFC wins - 19 -from 31 Jan 

2004 to 16 Nov 2013. 

Most fights won by KO 

Anderson "The Spider" Silva 

(BRA) secured 20 knockout 

champion 

(male) 

World 1 46 years 

champion 61 days 

(female) 

wins between 2000 and 

2012. Silva also has the 

most consecutive UFC 

wins - 17-in 2006-12. 

heavyweight 

(9 Mar 2013) 

Alicia Ashley 

I 

WBC super 

(USA/JAM, bantamweight 

b. 23 Aug 1967) (23 Oct 2013) 

champion 

Benitez (USA, 

(male) 

I welterweight 

b. 12 Sep 1958) (6 Mar 1976) 

World 18 years Ju Hee Kim IFBA light 

champion 342 days (KOR, b. 13 Jan flyweight 

(female) 1986) (19 Dec 2004) 

Correct as of 23 Jan 2014 

Shortest average 

contest time 

The shortest average UFC 

contest time is 2 min 20 sec, 

achieved by Drew McFedries 

(USA) in 17 fights from 8 Sep 

2001 to 25 Jan 2013. 

Tallest UFC fighter 

Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve 

(NLD), who competes as 

a heavyweight in the UFC, 

measures 211 em (6 ft 11 in); 

he also reportedly has a 

phenomenal 2.13-m 

(7-ft) reach. 

The only rules for the 

freestyle combat sport 

of pankration (recorded 

in the Olympic Games 

of 648 sc) were no biting 

and no eye-gouging. 

Longest total fight time 

in a UFC career 

The longest overall time spent in the octagon 

(the eight-sided enclosure where Ultimate 

Fighting Championship bouts take place) is 

5 hr 28 min 21 sec, achieved by Georges St 

Pierre (CAN) between 25 Jan 2002 and 16 Nov 

2013. Pictured is St-Pierre (left) - fighting Jake 

Shields - on his way to successfully defending 

the welterweight title on 30 Apr 2011 .


cricket 

With c. 3 billion fans, cricket is the world's second most popular sport 

Longest cricket ban 

In Sep 2013, Indian bowler 

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth 

was handed a lifetime ban 

from cricket. He was found 

guilty of spot-fixing in the 

Indian Premier League 

match between Rajasthan 

Royals and Kings XI Punjab 

on 9 May 2013. 

Fastest delivery 

of a cricket ball 

Shoaib Akhtar (PAK) 

bowled a ball at a speed of 

161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) 

on 22 Feb 2003, during a 

World Cup match against 

England in Cape Town, 

South Africa. 

Most wins of a domestic 

first-class cricket 

competition 

New South Wales won 

Australia's Sheffield Shield 

45 times between 1895-96 

and 2007-08. 

WICKETS 

Most wickets without 

conceding a run in a 

women's 001 

Two women have taken three 

wickets without conceding 

a run in an ODI (One-Day 

International). Olivia Magno 

(AUS) snapped up three 

tail-end wickets in 

1.4 overs on 

Cricketers batting in 

positions 8 to 11 are 

known as the lower 

order or "tail". 

Most Champions League 

Twenty20 wins 

The annual Champions 

League Twenty20 (T20) 

is contested by leading 

domestic teams from seven 

countries. Mumbai Indians 

(IND) are the only team to 

have won the title twice. 

Their first win came on 9 Oct 

201 1, and most recently they 

claimed a 33-run win against 

Rajasthan Royals (IN D) in 

Delhi, India, on 6 Oct 2013. 

Highest single-day 

Test match attendance 

A crowd of 91 ,092 people 

packed out the Melbourne 

Cricket Ground in Australia 

on day one of the fourth 

Ashes Test between 

Australia and England 

on 26 Dec 2013. 

runs, by Australian Aaron 

Finch against England at the Ageas Bowl in 

Southampton, UK, on 29 Aug 2013. Opening 

batsman Finch hit 14 sixes in his 63-ball innings 

to guide Australia to a formidable 248 for 6. 

14 Dec 1997, a feat matched 

by England's Arran Brindle in 

two maiden overs in Mumbai, 

India, on 5 Feb 2013. 

RUNS 

Highest Test match 

10th-wicket partnership 

Australians Ashton Agar 

(98) and Phillip Hughes (81 

not out), batting at 11 and 

6 respectively, made 163 

runs in 31.1 overs in the 2013 

Ashes at Trent Bridge in the 

UK on 11 Jul. 

Most runs in a T20 match 

Chris Gayle (JAM) finished 

on 175 not out - the highest 

score by a player in any 

professional T20 innings - for 

Royal Challengers Bangalore 

in the Indian Premier League 

on 23 Apr 2013. Gayle hit 

100 runs in 30 balls - the 

fastest T20 century - and 

13 fours and 17 sixes, the 

most T20 runs scored 

in boundaries (154). 

Fastest 

international century 

Corey Anderson (NZ) hit 

a century from just 36 

balls in an ODI against the 

West Indies on 1 Jan 2014. 

Anderson struck 14 sixes 

Most catches by a wicket-keeper in a Test series 

Australia gloveman Brad Haddin broke a 30-year-old Test record when he 

claimed 29 catches in the 2013 Ashes series between hosts England and 

Australia - despite his team losing the five-match series 3-0. Haddin pouched 

the record on 25 Aug 2013 - day five of the fifth Test - from another Australian 

wicket-keeper, Rod Marsh, who took 28 catches in five Test 

matches in 1982-83.

223 

l Test matches (men) 

Most runs 15,921 Sachin Tendulkar (IND), 1989-2013 

Most wickets 

Free ebooks I ==> www.ebook777.com 

800 Muttiah Muralitharan (LKA), 

1992-2010 

' 

Most catches 210 Rahul Dravid (IN D). 1996-2012 

Test matches (women) 

Most runs 1,935 Janette Brittin (ENG), 1979-98 

Most wickets 77 Mary Duggan (ENG), 1949-63 

25 

Most catches 

Carole Hodges (ENG), 1984-92 

I One-Day Internationals (men) 

Most runs 18,426 Sachin Tendulkar (IND), 1989-201 2 

Most wickets 534 Muttiah Muralitharan (LKA), 

1993-2011 

Most catches 201 Mahela Jayawardene (LKA), 

I 

1998-2013 

Most in a Test match 

innings 

Wasim Akram (PAK) scored 

12 sixes in an innings of 257 

not out against Zimbabwe in 

Sheikhupura, Pakistan, on 

19-20 Oct 1996. 

Most in an IPL career 

At the conclusion of the 

2013 Indian Premier League 

tournament on 26 May 

2013, Chris Gayle (JAM) 

had scored a total of 180 

maximums in his five-season 

career (2009-13). 

Source: www.espncricinfo.com, as of 4 Feb 2014 

(catches excluding wicket-keepers) 

Highest match aggregate 

in a T20 International 

England made 209 for 6 

in reply to Australia's 248 

for 6 at the Ageas Bowl in 

Hampshire, UK, on 29 Aug 

2013, for a match aggregate 

of 457 runs. 

SIXES 

Highest aggregate in 

a Test match series 

In the five-match 2013-14 

Ashes series between 

Most sixes by 

a player in a firstclass 

innings 

Jamaican cricketer 

Chris Gayle cleared 

the boundary 17 times 

on his way to a 

Twenty20 record of 

175 not out. His set 

of sixes came in the 

record-breaking 

Indian Premier League 

match on 23 Apr 

2013 (see left). 

Australia and England, 

65 sixes were recorded. 

Australia, who won the 

series 5-0, contributed 

40 maximums - the 

most sixes by one 

team in a Test 

match series. Chief 

contributions came 

from Aussies Brad 

Haddin (nine) and 

George Bailey (eight), 

with six each from 

Shane Watson (AUS), 

lan Bell and Stuart 

Broad (both ENG). 

Bailey hit three of his 

sixes in one over during 

the third Test in Perth 

on 16 Dec 2013, when 

he equalled the 28-run 

record for the most 

runs scored off an 

over in a Test match. 

West Indies batsman 

Brian Lara had aQhleved 

the feat on 14 Dec 2003. 

Most in an ODI 

Rohit Sl"larnlB (IND) hit 

16 sixes lh 88ngl;llore, 

India, on 2 IJS. 

Opening batsman 

Sharma made 209 

the second 

The Sporting Times mourned 

the death of English cricket 

in 1882, when England lost to 

Australia on home soil for the 

first time. The mock obituary 

of English cricket read: "The 

body will be cremated and 

the ashes taken to Australia." 

series between Engfand 

Australia In Aug 2013. Captained 

by Charlotte Edwards, hosts 

England clinched the series by 

12 points to 4 and regained the 

Ashes crown that they had lost 

on Australian soil in 2011. 

Most Test matches played 

Batsman Sachin Tendulkar (IND) - known 

by his fans as the "God of Cricket" - 

retired on 16 Nov 2013 after a 24-year 

career, but not before playing a record 

200th Test, against the 

West Indies at Mumbai's 

Wankhede Stadium. 

Tendulkar has 20 Guinness 

World Records titles to 

his credit, the highlights 

of which are listed in the 

tables above. 

38 

Most by a team in 

a T20 International 

The Netherlands struck 19 

sixes in a World T20 group 

match against Ireland at 

Sylhet Stadium, Bangladesh, 

on 21 Mar 2014, reaching 

their target of 190 with 37 

balls to spare to progress 

the Super 1 0 stage of 

tournament.


c c1n 

Most bicycles are "right-handed": the chain is typically located on the right of the frame 

175, during the 2012 Vuelta 

a Espana (Tour of Spain) 

from 18 Aug to 9 Sep 2012. 

Fastest 4-km 

pursuit (women) 

The Great Britain team 

consisting of Katie Archibald, 

Elinor Barker, Danielle 

King and Joanna Rowsell 

completed the 4-km team 

pursuit in 4 min 16.552 sec 

to win gold at the Union 

Cycliste lnternationale (UCI) 

Track Cycling World Cup 

in Aguascalientes, Mexico, 

on 5 Dec 2013. 

Oldest Olympic road cycling 

gold medallist 

When Kristin Armstrong (USA, b. 11 Aug 1973) 

successfully defended her time trial title at the 

2012 Games in London, UK, on 1 Aug, she 

became the oldest road cycling winner. Aged 

38 years 356 days, Kristin rode the 29-km 

(18-mi) course in 37 min 34.82 sec. 

Greatest distance 

cycled in 12 hours 

Marko Baloh (SVN) cycled 

475.26 km (295.31 mi) solo 

and unpaced in 12 hr at the 

Montichiari Velodrome in 

Brescia, Italy, on 8 Oct 2010. 

He completed 1,901 full laps 

of the 250-m (820-ft) course 

in the allotted time. 

Baloh continued his solo, 

unpaced cycling for another 

12 hr and went on to achieve 

the greatest distance 

cycled in 24 hours with 

903.76 km (561.57 mi), 

or 3,615 full laps. 

Largest cycling race 

The 2004 Cape Argus 

Pick n Pay Cycle Tour held 

in Cape Town, South Africa, 

on 14 Mar 2004 began with 

42,614 entrants, 31,219 of 

whom finished the race. 

Most riders to 

finish a Grand Tour 


cyclists to complete an 

edition of a Grand Tour is 

On tour 

The cycling Grand Tours 

are: the Tour de France, 

the Giro d'ltalia and the 

Vuelta a Espana, which 

date from 1903, 1909 and 

1935 respectively. 

OLYM PICS 

Most cycling medals 

The greatest number 

of Olympic cycling 

medals won by an 

individual is seven, by 

Bradley Wiggins and 

Chris Hoy (both UK). 

Wiggins won four 

gold, one silver 

l=!llt'!aftA aged 41 Y4il8l'$ dayS In 

Madrid, Spain, on 15 Sep 2013. He also became 

the oldest winner of a stage In a Grand Tour 

when he took stage 10 of the race aged 41 years 

314 days in Alto de Hazallanas, Spain, on 

2 Sep 2013. 

and two bronze medals 

in 2000-12. Hoy's seven 

came from six golds and 

one silver, also between 

2000 and 2012. 

Chris Hoy's six golds 

give him the record for 

the most Olympic track 

cycling gold medals. He 

picked up gold in the 1-km 

time trial at Athens 2004, 

the individual sprint, 

team sprint and Keirin 

at Beijing 2008, and the 

team sprint and Keirin 

at London 2012. 

Most cycling gold 

medals won at one 

Olympic Games 

On 5 Aug 1904, at the 

Olympic Games in St Louis, 

USA, Marcus Hurley (USA) 

won four gold medals, in 

the quarter mile, third mile, 

half mile and 1 mile events. 

Most medals won at 

both Summer and Winter 

Olympics (female} 

Canadian athlete Clara 

Hughes won a total of six 

medals across both Summer 

and Winter Games. She 

-bl:llllUJ!!ll.ies in Atlanta, 

USA, before switching to 

speed skating. In this new 

discipline, Hughes won a 

bronze medal at the 2002 

Winter Olympics in Salt 

Lake City, USA, a gold and 

silver medal at the 2006 

Games in Turin, Italy, and 

another bronze medal at 

the 2010 Winter Olympics 

in Vancouver, Canada. 

First to win the Tour de 

France and Olympic gold 

in the same year 

Bradley Wiggins capped 

a memorable summer for 

British cycling when he eased 

to victory in the men's time 

Most podium 

finishes in the 

Tour de France 

Raymond Poulidor 

(FAA) finished in the 

top three of the To ur 

de France eight times. 

He came second on 

three occasions (1964, 

1965 and 1974) and 

third five times (1962, 

1966, 1969, 1972 

and 1976). 

224 Sports


!Men Start Time/Distance Name & Nationality Place Date I 

. 200 m flying 

9.347 

Fran9ois Pervis (FRA) Aguascalientes, Mexico 6 Dec 2013 

500 m flying 24.758 Chris Hoy (UK) La Paz, Bolivia 13 May 2007 

1 km standing 56.303 Fran9ois Pervis (FRA) Aguascalientes, Mexico 7 Dec 2013 

4km standing 4:10.534 Jack Bobridge (AUS) Sydney, Australia 2 Feb 2011 

Team standing 3:51 .659 Great Britain (Steven Burke, Ed Clancy, London, UK 3 Aug 2012 

4km 

Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas) 

1 hour standing 49.7 km Ondfej Sosenka (CZE) Moscow, Russia 19 Jul 2005 

!Women Start Time/Distance Name & Nationality Place Datal 

200 m flying 10.384 Kristina Vogel (DEU) Aguascalientes, Mexico 7 Dec 2013 

500 m flying 29.481 Olga Streltsova (RUS) Moscow, Russia 29 May 201 1 

3km standing 3:22.269 Sarah Hammer (USA) Aguascalientes, Mexico 11 May 2010 

1 hour standing 46.065 km Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel (NLD) Mexico City, Mexico 1 Oct 2003 

Statistics correct as of 7 Dec 2013 

I 

Most World Championships 

in cyclo-cross (female) 

Marianne Vos (NLD) has won six cyclo-cross 

World Championships, in 2006 and consecutively 

in 2009-1 3. The championships began in 2000. 

She also won Olympic gold in different cycling 

events at the Beijing and London games. 

trial in 50 min 39 sec at the 

London Olympics on 1 Aug 

2012 - just 10 days after 

becoming the first Brit to 

win the Tour de France. 

TOUR DE FRANCE 

Longest 

In 1926, the Tour de France 

totalled 5,745 km (3,569 mi) 

and was won by Lucien 

Buysse (BEL). 

and 1974 ; Bernard Hinault 

(FRA) in 1978-79, 1981-82 

and 1985; and Miguel 

lndurain (ESP) in 1991-95. 

With 34 victories, Merckx 

also enjoyed the most Tour 

de France stage wins, 


Closest 

In the 1989 Tour de France, 

after 3,267 km (2,030 mi) 

ridden over a period of 

23 days (1-23 July), Greg 

LeMond (USA) finished the 

race in 87 hr 38 min 35 sec, 

beating Laurent Fignon 

(FRA) by only 8 sec. 


at a sporting event 

The most spectators at 

any sporting event is an 

estimated 12 million people 

over a three-week period 

for the 2012 Tour 

de France. The 

Tour took place 

in Belgium, 

Switzerland and 

France from 

30 June to 22 July. 

The organizers 

estimate that 80% of 

spectators were French 

and that 70% were men. 

2001-02 and 2004, 

and Shanaze Reade (UK) 

in 2007-08 and 2010. 

Most Olympic medals 

BMX was first incorporated 

into the Olympics in 2008. 

Since t)len, only one rider 

has won ·two medals. 

Maris Strombergs (LVA) 

won the individual 

men's event in 2008 

and 2012. 

UCI Mountain Bike 

Marathon World 

Championships a total 

of three times, in 2007, 

2011 and 2013. 

Most wins 

Four riders have won the 

Tour five times: Jacques 

Anquetil (FRA) in 1957 

and 1961-64; Eddy 

Merckx (BEL) in 1969-72 


Male: The most UCI BMX 


won by an individual is 

three, by Kyle Bennett 

(USA) in 2002-03 

and 2007. 

women have 

won three 

titles: Gabriela 

Diaz (ARG) in 

First person to win the 

cycling Triple Crown 

The inaugural winner of cycling's Triple 

Crown was Eddy Merckx (BEL}, who won 

the To ur de France, Giro d'ltalia and UCI 

Road World Cycling Championships in 1974. 

The only other person to achieve this feat 

was Stephen Roche (IRL} in 1987.

Go f 


1 The word "caddy" comes from the French cadet, meaning junior or student 

was part of the 18 Tour 

titles that Nelson won in 

the same year. He turned 

professional in 1932 and 

retired from full-time golf 

in the 1946 season, 

by which time he had 

amassed a career 

total of 52 PGA titles. 

Most PGA Player 

of the Year awards 


PGA Player of the Year 

awards won by an individual 

golfer is 11 , by Tiger Woods 

(USA) in 1997, 1999-2003, 

2005-07, 2009 and 2013. drive at the hole (par 3) at the K Club In 

Inaugurated in 1948, this 

award is based on a points 

Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland, on 23 Sep 

2006. Incredibly, the feat was repeated by Scott 

system, including variables Verplank (USA) the next day at the same hole 

such as wins, top 10 finishes, 

on the final day of the tournament. The Ryder 

performances in major 

Cup is contested every two years 

..._...,_.__...--------'-" between the USA and Europe. 

• 

1 

Longest golf hole 

The seventh hole (par 7) 

of the Satsuki gold course 

in Sana, Japan, measures 

881 m (964 yd) long. 

Longest hole-in-one 

in a PGA Tour event 

On 25 Jan 2001, Andrew 

Magee (USA) shot a 303-m 

(332-yd) hole-in-one on the 

17th hole (par 4) in the first 

round of the Phoenix Open 

at TPC of Scottsdale in 

Arizona, USA. 

The longest hole-inone 

in the US Masters 

is 194 m (213 yd), by 

Jeff Sluman (USA) at 

the par-3 fourth hole at 

Augusta National Golf 

Club in Georgia, USA, 

on 9 Apr 1992. 


PGA Tour titles won 

Byron Nelson (USA) won 

11 PGA Tour titles in a row 

in 1945. The run, commonly 

referred to as "The Streak", 

MOST WINS AND LOWEST SCORES (72 HOLES) 

--- 

· 

British Open 

Most wins 6 

Lowest total score 267 

US Open 

Most wins 4 


US PGA 

Most wins 5 


US Masters 

Most wins 6 


Statistics correct as of 24 Feb 2014 

·.. 

Harry Vardon (UK) 

Greg Norman (AUS), 1993 

Willie Anderson (USA) 

Bobby Jones Jr (USA) 

Ben Hogan (USA) 

Jack Nicklaus (USA) 

Rory Mcilroy (UK), 2011 

Walter Hagen (USA) 


David Toms (USA), 2001 


Tiger Woods (USA), 2007 

- 

i'' 

l 

 

r"-c 

FACT 

The 2014 Humana 

Challenge had a total 

prize purse of $5.7 m 

(£3.4 m), with $1 .026 m 

(£0.62 m) going to 

Patrick Reed for 

winning the event. 

Lowest score 

below par after 

54 holes in a 

PGA Tour event 

tournaments and scoring 

average. Woods has almost 

twice as many awards 

as his nearest rival, Tom 

Watson (USA), who won 

the award on six occasions. 

LOWEST ROUNDS 

Lowest single-round 

score (18 holes) 

in the US Masters 

Two players have each 

recorded a single-round 

score of 63 at the US 

Masters, which is played at 

the Augusta National Golf 

Club. They are Nick Price 

(ZWE) in 1986 and Greg 

Norman (AUS) in 1996. 

Lowest score 

at the British Open 

Eight players have played 

a round of 63 at the British 

Open golf championships: 

Patrick Reed (USA) scored 

27 under par after 54 holes 

during the 2014 Humana 

Challenge on the PGA West course in 

La Quinta, California, USA, on 16-1 8 Jan. 

Reed received a congratulatory call 

afterwards from former US President 

Bill Clinton. The tournament is held in 

partnership with the Clinton Foundation.


same tournament two days 

beforehand, aged 14 years 

169 days. His final score 

was 300 (73, 75, 77, 75). 


by a pair in the Ryder Cup 

The most frequent pairing in Ryder Cup history is 

that of Spaniards Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros 

(above right) and Jose Maria Olazabal (above 

left), who played together 15 times for Europe 

in foursomes and four-ball from 1987 to 1993. 

The duo ended with an overall record of 

11 wins, two draws and two losses. 

Mark Hayes (USA) at 

Turnberry, South Ayrshire, 

in 1977; lsao Aoki (JPN) 

at Muirfield, East Lothian, 

in 1980; Greg Norman 

(AUS) at Turnberry in 1986; 

Paul Broadhurst (UK) at 

St Andrews, Fife, in 1990; 

Jodie Mudd (USA) at 

Royal Birkdale, Southport, 

in 1991 ; Nick Faldo (UK) 

and Payne Stewart (USA), 

both at Royal St George's, 

Sandwich, in 1993; and 

Rory Mcilroy (UK) at 

St Andrews in 2010. 

Lowest score under par 

in a pro golf tournament 

(single round) 

Richard Wallis (UK) shot 59 

at the PGA Southern Open 

Championship OOM Pro-Am 

on the par-73 course at The 

Drift Golf Club, East Horsley, 

Surrey, UK, on 2 Jun 2013. 

This represents a score of 

14 under par. 

Lowest below-age score 

Two golfers have had a 

score of 17 below their ages. 

James D Morton (USA) hit 

a 72 at Valleybrook Golf 

and Country Club, Hixson, 

Tennessee, USA, on 21 Apr 

2001 , aged 89 years, and 

Keith Plowman (NZ) hit 

72 at Maungakiekie Golf 

Club, Auckland, New 

Zealand, also aged 89, 

on 20 Nov 2007. 

Youngest golfer 

to score their age 

Tsugio Uemoto (JPN, 

b. 3 Jul 1928) scored 68 

at the Higashi Hiroshima 

Country Club, Hiroshima, 

Japan, on 22 Oct 1996. 

The oldest player 

to score their age is 

C Arthur Thompson (CAN, 

1869-1975), who scored 

103 on the 5,682-m 

(6,215-yd) Uplands Golf Club 

course in Victoria, British 

Columbia, Canada, in 1973. 

Youngest 

Ryder Cup captain 

Arnold Palmer (USA) was 


when he captained the US 

Ryder Cup team at East 

Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, 

Georgia, USA, in 1963. 

won a 

eight Ladies Professional Golfers' Association 

(LPGA) Player of the Year awards. Her victories 

came in 1995, 1997-98 and 2001-05. 

The oldest Ryder Cup 

captain is Tom Watson 

(USA, b. 4 Sep 1949), who 

was selected on 13 Dec 

2012, at the age of 63 years 

100 days, to lead the US 

team. The 2014 Ryder Cup 

at Gleneagles in Scotland, 

UK, begins on 26 Sep 2014, 

at which point Watson will 

be 65 years 22 days old. 


to play in the Ryder Cup 

Sergio Garda (ESP, b. 9 Jan 

1980) competed for Europe 

in the Ryder Cup in 1999, 


The oldest golfer to 

play in the Ryder Cup 

is Raymond Floyd (USA 

b. 4 Sep 1942), who 

competed in the 1993 

tournament aged 51 years 

20 days. Floyd retired from 

professional golf in Apr 2010, 

but Tom Watson recruited 

him as a vice-captain for 

his 2014 Ryder Cup team. 

Oldest golfer 

to score a hole-in one 

Switzerland's Otto Bucher 

(b. 12 May 1885) hit a holein-one 

on the 119-m (130-yd) 

12th hole at La Manga in 

Spain on 13 Jan 1985, at the 

age of 99 years 244 days. 

Released in 2013, 

Forbes' Celebrity 100 

list ranks Tiger Woods 

(USA) as both the 

highest-earning golfer 

and the highestearning 

athlete. His 

earnings for 2012-13 

came to an estimated 

$78 m (£51 m). 

YOUNGEST 

AND OLDEST 


to make the cut 

at the US Masters 

Aged 14 years 171 days, 

Guan Tianlang (CHN, 

b. 25 Oct 1998) made the 

cut with 4 over par after 

18 holes at the 77th US 

Masters on 13 Apr 2013. 

The tournament was staged 

at Augusta National Golf 

Club in Georgia, USA. 

Guan had already become 

the youngest golfer to 

play at the US Masters 

when he teed 

Oldest golf club president 

Jack Miles (UK, b. 10 Mar 

1913), who is the president 

of Wimbledon Common 

Golf Club, celebrated his 

101st birthday in 2014. 

Jack has been an active 

playing member of the 

club since 1947. 

The female equivalent 

of the Ryder Cup is the 

Solheim Cup, held every 

two years since 1990. 

The USA has won eight 

times to Europe's five.


Ice hocke 

Pucks used to be made from frozen cow dung 

FACT1 

goals In his National Hockey League (NHL) 

career. He has also scored the most regularseason 

NHL career goals in overtime, with 

18 for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington 

Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers 

and New Jersey Devils from 1990 to 2013. 

Longest undefeated 

run by an NHL team 

From 14 Oct 1979 to 6 Jan 

1980, the USA's Philadelphia 

Flyers had an unbeaten run 

of 35 games, with 25 wins 

and 10 ties. (For the longest 

NHL winning streak, see 

the table below right.) 

Most career games in 

professional ice hockey 

Canadian right-winger 

Gordon "Gordie" Howe 

{b. 31 Mar 1928) featured 

in 2,421 professional games 

over 26 seasons from 

1946 to 1980, including 

NHL and WHA 

(World Hockey 

Association) games. 

When Howe retired in 

1980, he was 52 years 

old, an age that made 

him the oldest player 

in NHL history. 

Most wins in 

an NHL season 

The Detroit Red Wings 

(USA) won 62 times in the 

1995/96 NHL season. 

Most assists in 

an NHL season 

Wayne Gretzky (CAN) made 

163 assists playing for the 

Edmonton Oilers during 

the 1985/86 NHL season. 

the Philadelphia Flyers on 

11 Mar 1979, Canadian 

Randy Holt racked up 

67 penalty minutes. 

The player with the 

most penalty minutes 

in NHL history, however, 

is Dave "Tiger" Williams 

(CAN), with 3,966 in 17 

seasons between 1974 and 

1988, playing for the Toronto 

Maple Leafs, Vancouver 

Canucks, Detroit Red 

Wings, Los Angeles Kings 

and Hartford Whalers. 

Fastest NHL 

hat-trick 

On 23 Mar 1952, 

Canadian right-winger 

Bill Mosienko scored 

a hat-trick in 21 sec 

for the Chicago 

Blackhawks vs the 

New York Rangers 

at Madison Square 

Garden, New York 

City, USA. The 

Blackhawks went 

on to triumph 7-6. 


NHL games played 

Doug Jarvis (CAN) played 

964 games for the Montreal 

Canadiens, Washington 

Capitals and Hartford 

Whalers from Oct 1 975 

to Oct 1987. 


games played by 

an NHL defenceman 

Jay Bouwmeester (CAN) had 

featured in 635 consecutive 

NHL regular-season games 

as of the end of the 2012/13 

season. Chris Chelios (USA) 

played the most career 

regular-season games 

by an NHL defenceman, 

with 1,651 for various teams 

from 1983 to 2010. 

Most shoot-out wins 

by an NHL goaltender 

Henrik Lundqvist (SWE) 

achieved 44 shoot-out 

wins while playing for the 

New York Rangers - more 

than any other INHL goalie. 

Most tickets sold 

for an NHL match 

A total of 105,491 tickets were sold for the 2014 

Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic game between 

the Detroit Red Wings (USA) and the Toronto 

Maple Leafs (CAN). The match was held at the 

University of Michigan Football Stadium in Ann 

Arbor, Michigan, USA, on 1 Jan 2014.


1956, 1963-71, 1973-75, 

1978-79, 1981-83, 1986 

and 1989-90) and four 

wins as Russia (in 1993, 

2008-09 and 2012). 

. recorded a .941 save 

percentage while playing for the Ottawa Senators 

during the 2012/13 season, surpassing the 

previous mark of .940 set by Brian Elliott (CAN) 

of the St Louis Blues in 2011-12. 

Most women's ice hockey 


The women's liHF World 

Championships was first 

held in 1990 and has been 

staged annually since 

then apart from Olympic 

years and in 2003, during 

the SARS outbreak. The 

Canadian team have won 

10 titles in total : in 1990, 

1992, 1994, 1997, 1999- 

2001 , 2004, 2007 and 2012. 

Most overtime goals 

in an NHL season 

The NHL record for overtime 

goals in a season is five, 

by Steven Stamkos (CAN) 

in the 2011/12 season for 

Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Most shoot-out goals 

in an NHL career 

Zach Parise (USA) has 

scored 34 shoot-out goals 

in the service of the New 

Jersey Devils and Minnesota 

Wild since 2005. 

Most goals by a rookie 

in an NHL season 

In the 1992/93 NHL season, 

Finland's Teemu Selanne 

racked up 76 goals for the 

Winnipeg Jets. 

Most goals on 

an NHL debut 

On 9 Oct 2010, Derek 

Stepan (USA) became 

only the fourth player to 

score a hat-trick on his 

NHL debut, playing for 

the New York Rangers 

in a 6-3 victory over the 

Buffalo Sabres. The others 

are: Alex Smart (CAN) on 

14 Jan 1943, Real Cloutier 

(CAN) on 10 Oct 1979 and 

Fabian Brunnstrom (SWE) 

on 15 Oct 2008. 

Most men's ice hockey 


The men's liHF (International 

Ice Hockey Federation) 

World Championships were 

first held in 1920. The Soviet 

Union/Russia have won 

more times than any other 

nation, with 22 victories as 

the Soviet Union {in 1954, 

Most individual wins 

of the Stanley Cup 

Henri Richard (CAN) won the Stanley Cup 

11 times with the Montreal Canadians from 

1956 to 1975. The shorter sibling of legendary 

right-winger Maurice "The Rocket" Richard , 

Henri was nicknamed "The Pocket Rocket". 

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE 

Longest winning streak 

Youngest captain of a 

Stanley Cup-winning team 

At 21 years 309 days, 

Sidney Crosby (CAN, 

b. 7 Aug 1987) became 

the youngest captain of 

any team to win the Stanley 

Cup when the Pittsburgh 

Penguins beat the Detroit 

Red Wings in the 2009 finals. 

Fewest goals conceded in 

a Stanley Cup finals series 

The fewest goals conceded 

by a goaltender in a Stanley 

Cup finals series is eight, 

by Tim Thomas (USA) for 

the Boston Bruins vs the 

Vancouver Canucks in 2011. 

Gordie Howe (CAN), for the Detroit Red Wings 

and Hartford Whalers, 1946-80 

17 I Pittsburgh Penguins (USA), from 9 Mar to 

10 Apr 1993 

894 I Wayne Gretzky (CAN). for the Edmonton 

Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St Louis Blues and 

New York Rangers 

7 I Joe Malone (CAN), for the Quebec Bulldogs 

vs Toronto St Patricks on 31 Jan 1920 

16 I Montreal Canadians, in a 16-3 victory over the 

Quebec Bulldogs (both CAN) on 3 Mar 1920 

92 I Wayne Gretzky (CAN), for the Edmonton Oilers 

in 1981-82 

446 1 Edmonton Oilers (CAN), 1983-84 

Most saves by a goaltender 

27,312 1 Martin Brodeur (CAN), for the New Jersey 

Devils, 1993-present


Marathons 

London Marathon runners have raised some £663 m for charity 

> 

MalmtiOil ()l'l 

2003 in 2 hr 15 

25 sec, making her 

the fastest female 

marathon runner of 

all time. She also ran 

the fastest Chicago 

Marathon (female), 

on 13 Oct 2002, 

finishing in 2 hr 17 min 

18 sec. 

Deepest marathon 

The Crystal Mine 

Underground Marathon is run 

in an old salt mine located 

500 m (1 ,640 ft) below 

sea level. It has taken 

place in Sondershausen, 

Thuringia, Germany, 

annually since 2002. 

Coldest marathon 

In 2001, the Siberian Ice 

Marathon in Omsk, Russia, 

registered a temperature of 

-39°C (-38°F), making it the 

coldest regular marathon. 

Some 94°C (169°F) 

warmer, the hottest 

marathon is the Badwater 

Ultramarathon held between 

Death Valley and Mount 

Whitney in California, USA, 

which registers temperatures 

of 55°C (131°F). 

Most northerly marathon 

The North Pole Marathon 

held at the geographic North 

Pole has been run annually 

since 2002. In 2007, Thomas 

Maguire (IRL) ran the 

fastest men's North Pole 

marathon in 3 hr 36 min 

10 sec. A year later, Cathrine 

Due (DNK) recorded the 

fastest women's in 5 hr 

37 min 14 sec. 

The most southerly 

marathon is the Antarctic 

Ice Marathon, held on the 

Antarctic mainland at a 

latitude of 80° south. 

2014 VIRGIN MONEY LONDON MARATHON: NEW WORLD RECORDS 

Fastest aggregate World 

Marathon Majors time 

The "World Marathon Majors" 

comprise the Olympic 

and World Championship 

marathons as well as those 

held in Berlin, Boston, 

Chicago, London and New 

York City. Kjeii-Erik Stahl 

(SWE) completed the seven 

Majors in an aggregate time 

of 15 hr 36 min 47 sec. His 

record-breaking sequence 

began at the Moscow 1980 

Olympic Games 

and ended in 

Berlin in 1991. 

Fastest Olympic marathon 

Female: On 5 Aug 2012, Tiki Gelana (ETH) 

clocked 2 hr 23 min 7 sec to take gold in the 

women's marathon at the London 2012 Games. 

However, the Olympic record isn't her personal 

best: she ran the Rotterdam Marathon in the 

Netherlands in 2 hr 18 min 58 sec on 15 Apr 2012. 

Male: Samuel Wanjiru (KEN) won the marathon 

in Beijing in 2 hr 6 min 32 sec on 24 Aug 2008. 

While marathon running is a serious business for elite athletes, such as those featured above, for others it is a great excuse to 

have some fun and raise money for charity - and where better to have it than at the world's premier marathon event: the London 

Marathon! Pictured below are some of the colourful characters who took part this year, listed in order of their running times. 

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BIGGEST MARATHONS 

. - -- 

Marathon st finishers 1 Fastest (male) Fastest (female) 

Berlin, Germany 

I 

36,544 Wilson Kipsang (KEN), Mizuki Noguchi (JPN), 

29 Sep 2013 2:03:23, 29 Sep 2013 2:19:12, 25 Sep 2005 

Boston, 35,868 Geoffrey Mutai (KEN), Rita Jeptoo (KEN), 

Massachusetts, USA 15 Apr 1996 2:03:02, 18 Apr 2011 2:18:57, 21 Apr 2014 

Chicago, 39,122 Dennis Kimetto (KEN), Paula Radcliffe (UK), 

Illinois, USA 13 Oct 2013 2:03:45, 13 Oct 2013 2:17:18, 13 Oct 2002 

London, UK 36,672 Wilson Kipsang (KEN), Paula Radcliffe (UK), 

22 Apr 2012 2:04:29, 13 Apr 2014 2:15:25, 13 Apr 2003 

New York City, 50,062 Geoffrey Mutai (KEN), Margaret Okayo (KEN), 

New York, USA 3 Nov 2013 2:05:06, 6 Nov 2011 2:22:31, 2 Nov 2003 

Osaka, Japan 

27,674 Ser-Od Bat-Ochir (MNG), Lidia imon (ROM), 

27 Oct 2013 2:11:52, 25 Nov 2012 2:32:48, 30 Oct 2011 

Paris, France I 38,690 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), Feyse Tadese (ETH), 

7 Apr 2013 2:05:04, 6 Apr 2014 2:21 :06, 7 Apr 2013 

Tokyo, Japan I 35,308 Dickson Chumba (KEN), Tirfi Tsegaye (ETH), 

24 Feb 2013 2:05:42, 23 Feb 2014 2:22:23, 23 Feb 2014 

Statistics correct as of 30 Apr 2014. The IAAF rules the Boston course ineligible to set world records 

in Antarctica and ended when 

he crossed the line of his last 

ultramarathon in South Africa, 

with a total time of 41 days 


Andrei Rosu (ROM) 

set the fastest time to 

run a marathon and an 

ultramarathon on each 

continent in 1 year 217 days. 

He started with the Australian 

Outback Marathon on 31 Jul 

2010 and ended with the 

Supermaratona Cidade do 

Rio Grande ultramarathon 

in Brazil on 4 Mar 2012. 

gold, two silver and one 

bronze from 1992 to 1999. 

The record was equalled by 

Javier Gomez (ESP), with 

three golds, three silvers 

and one bronze in 2007-1 3. 

Fastest time to complete 

the Hawaiian lronman 

Male: The lronman World 

Championship, aka the 

"Hawaiian lronman", was 

first held on 18 Feb 1978 in 

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, USA. 

It was described as "Swim 

2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 

26.2 miles! Brag for the rest 

of your life!" Craig Alexander 

(AUS) holds the oourse 

record of 8 hr 3 min 56 sec, 

which he set on 8 Oct 2011 

with a 3.8-km swim in 51 min 

56 sec, a 180-km cycle in 4 hr 

24 min 5 sec and a marathon 

run in 2 hr 44 min 2 sec. 

wheelchair marathon "Grand Slam" in 2013. 

The feat comprises wins of the wheelchair 

marathons in Boston, London, Chicago and New 

York in a single year. Tatyana also recorded the 

fastest women's wheelchair London Marathon 

in a time of 1 hr 46 min 2 sec on 21 Apr 2013. 

Female: On 12 Oct 2013, 

Australia's Mirinda Carfrae 

recorded the fastest 

women's time, in 8 hr 52 min 

14 sec. Her nearest rival was 

more than 5 min behind. 

The oldest person to 

complete the Hawaiian 

lronman is Lew Hollander 

(USA, b. 6 Jun 1930), who 

was aged 82 years 129 days 

when he crossed the finish 

line on 13 Oct 2012. 

Fastest time to run 

an ultramarathon 

on each continent 

Ziyad Tariq Rahim (PAK) 

ran seven 50-km (36.6-mi) 

ultramarathons - one on 

each continent from 26 Jan 

to 8 Mar 2014. The timing for 

this record began when Ziyad 

started his first ultramarathon 

Fastest time to complete 

10 marathons in 10 days 

Male: Adam Holland (UK) 

ran the 2010 Brathay 10 in 10 

challenge in Cumbria, UK, 

from 7-1 6 May. His total time 

was 30 hr 20 min 54 sec. 

Female: Sally Ford (UK) 

ran the same challenge two 

years later on 11-20 May, 

taking 36 hr 38 min 53 sec. 

Fastest 

marathon barefoot 

Male: Abebe Bikila (ETH) ran 

the 1960 Olympic marathon 

in his bare feet. He set a time 

of 2 hr 15 min 16.2 sec in 

Rome, Italy, on 10 Sep 1960. 

Female: It took just 2 hr 

29 min 45 sec for barefooted 

Kenyan Tegla Loroupe to 

run the Olympic marathon 

in Sydney, Australia, on 

24 Sep 2000. 

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M otors ports 

on to win the 2013 MotoGP 

World Championship at 

Circuit Ricardo Tormo in 

Spain, becoming the 

youngest MotoGP 

world champion, 

at 20 years 266 days, 

on 10 Nov 2013. 

Isle of Man 

TT Superbike race 

Michael Dunlop (UK) 

set a time of 1 hr 45 min 

29.98 sec on his 1000-cc 

TT Legends Honda in a sixlap 

Isle of Man TT Superbike 

race in Douglas, Isle of Man, 

UK, on 2 Jun 2013. 


Motocross des Nations 

Staged on off-road circuits, 

the Motocross des Nations, 

between 2006 and 2010. His streak ended when 

Tony Stewart (USA) won in 2011, but Johnson 

regained the title in the 2013 series. This brings 

his total to six series titles overall in 2006-13. 

BIKES 

Most MotoGP 

championships won 

MotoGP is one of the three 

classes in the Road Racing 

World Championship Grand 

Prix, motorcycling's premier 

road-racing competition 

since it replaced the 500-cc 

class in 2002. The greatest 

number of victories in the 

MotoGP championships 

is six and was achieved 

by Valentino Rossi (ITA) in 

2002-05 and 2008-09. 

The most wins of the 

MotoGP championships 

by a constructor is seven, 

achieved by 

Honda (JPN) in 

2002-04, 2006 

and 2011-13. 

Youngest rider to achieve 

a MotoGP pole position 

On 20 Apr 2013, Marc 

Marquez (ESP, b. 17 Feb 

1993) took pole position at 

the 2013 Motorcycle Grand 

Prix of the Americas at the 

Circuit of the Americas in 

Austin, Texas, USA, aged 20 

years 62 days. 

The next day, Marquez 

won the race, becoming 

the youngest MotoGP 

race winner, at the age of 

20 years 63 days. He went 

Most leaders in an 

Indianapolis 500 race 

There were 14 different leaders of the 2013 

edition of the Indianapolis 500 race at 

Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, USA, 

on 26 May 2013. In order, they were: Carpenter, 

Kanaan, Andretti, Hunter-Reay, Power, 

Jakes, Visa, Munoz, Allmendinger, Tagliani, 

Bell, Hinchcliffe, Castroneves and Dixon. 

The race was won by Tony Kanaan. 

also known as the "Olympics 

of Motocross", has been 

contested annually since 

1947. The team with the 

most wins is the USA, with 

22 between 1981 and 2011. 

CARS 

Most F1 victories 

by a constructor 

The greatest number 

of Formula One (F1) 

Grand Prix wins by one 

manufacturer is 221, by 

Italian constructor Ferrari 


The team's first victory came 

at the 1951 British Grand 

Prix held at Silverstone, 

Northamptonshire, 

UK, which was won by 

Argentinian driver Jose 

Froilan Gonzalez. Ferrari 

has also recorded the most 

consecutive F1 Grand 

Fastest lap for a TT superbike 

at the Isle of Man TT 

In a TI Superbike-class race in Douglas, Isle of 

Man, UK, on 2 Jun 2013, John McGuinness (UK) 

completed a lap on a Honda CBR1000RR 

in just 17 min 11.57 sec. McGuinness 

set the record with his sixth and 

final lap of the Mountain Course, 

during which he maintained 

an average speed of 

211.90 km/h (131.67 mph).


Formula One World 

Constructors' Championship 

Road Racing World 

Championship Grand Prix 

Ferrari (ITA) in 1961, 1964, 1975-77, 1979, 

1982-83, 1999-2004 and 2007-08 

15 I Giacomo Agostini (ITA) 500-cc in 1966-72 

and 1975; and 350-cc in 1968-74 

Motocross World Championship 

10 I Stefan Everts (DEU) 125-cc in 1991 ; 250-cc in 

1995-97; 500-cc in 2001-02; MXGP in 2003; 

and MX1 in 2004-06 

Formula One World Drivers' 

Championship 

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 

Drivers' Championship 

7 I Michael Schumacher (DEU) in 1994-95 

and 2000-04 

7 I Richard Petty (USA) in 1964, 1967, 1971-72, 

1974-75 and 1979 

Dale Earnhardt, Sr (USA) in 1980, 1986-87, 

1990-91 and 1993-94 to win at least one Grand 

Prix in the eight successive 

seasons up to and including 

his victory at the Grand Prix 

in Sepang, Malaysia, on 

30 Mar 2014. 

Statistics correct as of 25 Mar 2014 

Prix points finishes by 

a constructor. The team 

enjoyed 71 successive 

points finishes between 

the German Grand Prix 

staged on 25 Jul 2010 and 

the Chinese Grand Prix on 

20 Apr 201 4. Since 2010, 

a driver must finish in the 

top 10 to earn points for 

both themselves and their 

Most points by a driver 

in an F1 career 


points in an F1 career is 

1 ,647, by Fernando Alonso 

(ESP) between 9 Mar 2003 

and 20 Apr 2014. 

Most F1 Grand Prix wins 

by a driver in a season 

Michael Schumacher (DEU) 

won 13 Grands Prix in 

the 2004 season. His 

feat was equalled by 

Sebastian Vettel 

(DEU) in 2013. 

Most consecutive seasons 

to win an F1 Grand Prix 

from debut 

British driver Lewis Hamilton 

made his F1 Grand Prix 

debut in 2007 and his first 

win was in Canada that year. 

He went on 

 

- 

Most wins in a NASCAR 

Sprint Cup Series season 

In the 1967 season, Richard 

Petty (USA) recorded 27 wins 

in the NASCAR Sprint Cup 

Series. In the same year, he 

set the mark for the most 

consecutive NASCAR 

race wins, with 10 victories 

from 12 Aug to 1 Oct 1967. 

- 

First F1 driver to 

finish every debut 

season Grand Prix 

Max Chilton (UK) 

completed all 19 races 

during his debut 

season in 2013, driving 

for Marussia. True, he 

didn't secure a single 

point, but he became 

the first rookie 

in the 64-year 

history of the F1 

championship 

to finish every 

race. 

Most WRC points in a season by a driver 

Sebastien Ogier (FRA) scored 290 points driving for Volkswagen during the 

2013 World Rally Championship (WRC) season. Ogier ended Sebastien Loeb's 

record run of nine consecutive championships by winning the 2013 season, 

and in the process scored 14 more points than Loeb amassed in 2010.


first international rugby match 

Bernard Norman (all AUS), 

playing for Annandale 

in the New South Wales 

Rugby League (the 

predecessor of the NRL) 

in the 1910 season. More 

than 1 00 years later, the feat 

was equalled by Sam, Luke, 

Tom and George Burgess 

(all UK), who played for 

South Sydney Rabbitohs 

against Wests Tigers at the 

Allianz Stadium in Sydney, 

Australia, on 30 Aug 2013. 

LEAGUE 

Fastest try 

Tim Spears (UK) scored 

for Featherstone Rovers 

just 7.75 sec into a game 

against Wakefield Trinity 

Wildcats at Post Office 

Road in Featherstone, West 

Yorkshire, UK, on 12 Jan 

2014. This (just) beat the 

previous record of 7.9 sec 

set by Rochdale Hornets' 

Danny Samuel (UK) in 2010. 


at a World Cup final 

A crowd of 74,468 fans 

watched the Rugby 

League World Cup final 

between Australia and 

New Zealand at Old Trafford 

in Manchester, UK, on 

30 Nov 2013 (see right). 

Most siblings to play in 

the same NRL team 

Four brothers have played 

for the same National 

Rugby League (NRL) 

team twice in 

history. The first 

set of brothers 

to achieve 

this was Ray, 

Roy, Rex and 

Longest drop-kick 

Joseph "Joe" Lydon (UK) 

scored a 56-m (183-ft) 

drop-kick for Wigan against 

Warrington in a Challenge 

Cup semi-final held at Maine 

Road in Manchester, UK, 

on 25 Mar 1989. 

Highest margin of victory 

in a World Cup final 

Australia's 32-point win over New Zealand 

in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup 

final on 30 Nov 2013 represents the 

greatest victory margin ever recorded 

in this competition, which has been 

held since 1954. 

Kevin Sln1teld (UK) scored 3,498 points for 

Leeds Rhinos from 13 Sep 1998 to 14 Mar 2014. 

In 2012, the loose forward won the coveted 

Rugby League World Golden Boot Award, given 

to the player judged to be the best in the world. 

Most points in 

an international career 

Between 5 May 

2006 and 30 Nov 

2013, Australia's 

Johnathan Thurston 

Oldest player with 

an international cap 

in union and league 

Tom Calnan (b. 22 Oct 

1976) is the oldest person 

to have won a "double 

cap" in international rugby, 

by playing in both codes. 

Calnan was aged 36 years 

50 days when he made 

his debut for the UAE 

rugby union side against 

Hong Kong in Dubai, UAE, 

on 11 Dec 2012. He had 

previously represented the 

UAE rugby league 

side in a match 

against Pakistan 

on 30 Mar 2012. 

Youngest 

international player 

Gavin Gordon (b. 28 Feb 

1978) played for Ireland vs 

Moldova on 16 Oct 1995 at 

Spotland in Rochdale, UK, 


He scored a hat-trick of tries 

in this debut game, which 

Ireland won 48-26.


Bloemfontein in South Africa. 

During this match, the All 

Blacks scored 21 tries. 

Farrell's debut, aged 

just 17, for Saracens 

against the Llanelli 

Scarlets in 2008 made 

him the youngest player 

in English professional 

rugby at that time. 

Youngest 

World Cup player 

On 30 Sep 2007, Thretton 

Palamo (b. 22 Sep 1988) 

played for the USA vs South 

Africa, aged 19 years 8 days, 

at Stade de Ia Mosson in 

Montpellier, France. 

Most penalties scored in 

the Heineken Cup by a player 

Owen Farrell (UK) kicked 10 penalties for 

Saracens vs Racing Metro 92 in the Heineken 

Cup match held at Stade de Ia Beaujoire in 

Nantes, France, on 12 Jan 2013. 

UNION 

Fastest try 

Just 7.24 sec into a game 

on 23 Nov 2013, Tyson 

Lewis (UK) scored a try for 

Doncaster Knights vs Old 

Albanians at Woollam Playing 

Fields in St Albans, UK. 

Fastest sending-off 

in an English 

Premiership match 

London Scottish player Mike 

Watson (UK) was sent off 

after 42 sec against Bath 

at the Recreation Ground 

in Bath, UK, on 

15 May 1999. 


international wins 

• 

Cyprus had 21 successive l 

victories from 29 Nov 2008 

to 30 Nov 2013. 


World Cup defeats 

Namibia suffered 15 Rugby 

Union World Cup losses in 

a row between 1 Oct 1999 

and 26 Sep 2011. 

Highest aggregate score 

in a World Cup match 

New Zealand beat Japan 

145-17 on 4 Jun 

1995 at 

Jonah Lomu (NZ) icolecl 15 tries in the 1995 and 

1999 Rugby Union World Cups. His top tally In a 

single match was four tries, in a 45-29 win against 

England on 18 Jun 1995. Above, Lomu is shown 

playing in the 1999 World Cup, in what proved 

to be a commanding 101-3 win over Italy. 

Most successive matches 

to score a try in the 

English Premiership 

Mark Cueto (UK) scored 

tries in eight consecutive 

games for Sale Sharks from 

9 Apr to 25 Sep 2005. 

Most Heineken Cup 

points scored by a player 

Ronan O'Gara {IRL) scored 

1,365 points in Heineken Cup 

matches for Munster from 

7 Sep 1997 to 27 Apr 2013. 

The most Heineken Cup 

tries scored by a player is 

35, by Vincent Clerc (FRA) for 

Stade Toulousain 

from 13 Oct 2002 

Most tries in 

a Super Rugby career 

Doug Howlett (NZ) scored 

59 tries for the Auckland 

Blues from 1999 to 2007. 

Oldest 

international player 

Mark Spencer {b. 21 May 

1954) was 57 years 

340 days old when he 

played for Qatar in the 

Asian 5 Nations competition 

against Uzbekistan in Dubai, 

UAE, on 25 Apr 2012. Mark 

was born in the USA but 

took up Qatari residency, 

allowing him to represent 

the national 

Most consecutive international rugby union 

matches unbeaten in a calendar year 

New Zealand's All Blacks remained unbeaten for 14 international matches 

during 2013, from 8 Jun to 24 Nov. Not only was the team undefeated, 

but it also won all of the 14 matches played. In 2003, England won 

more games (16) but were not unbeaten, having lost one match.


cub soccer 

soccer worldwide 

The Copa Libertadores 

and Champions 

League are the most 

prestigious continental 

competitions in South 

America and Europe 

respectively. 

by 4.7 billion people across 

212 territories. The total was 

boosted by its broadcast 

on terrestrial TV in China. 

Most goals in a single 

national top-division 

season by an individual 

Archibald Stark (UK) scored 

67 times for Bethlehem Steel 

in the American Soccer 

League between 15 Sep 

1924 and 18 May 1925. 

On 11 Dec 2013, Barcelona"s NIMII'I'Vilf' 

scored a hat-trick in a Champions game 

at the Nou Camp in Spain. Having previously 

achieved the feat in the Copa Libertadores on 

7 Mar 2012 for Brazilian side Santos, he became 

the first player to score hat-tricks in both contests. 

Most valuable soccer club 

According to Forbes, as of 

17 Apr 2013 Real Madrid was 

valued at $3.3 bn (£2.15 bn). 

The Spanish side, who won a 

32nd La Liga title in 2011/12, 

ended Manchester United's 

run at the top of the rich list. 

Most red cards in a game 

In an Argentine Primera D 

match between Club Atletico 

Claypole and Victoriano 

Arenas on 27 Feb 2011, 

36 players (both sides and 

all substitutes) were sent off 

by Damian Rubino (ARG). 

First player to hold 

four major continental 

trophies simultaneously 

When Chelsea won the 

Europa League on 15 May 

2013, Fernando Torres 

and Juan Mata (both 

ESP) held four of soccer's 

most prestigious titles: 

the World Cup, European 

Championship, Champions 

League and Europa League. 

DOMESTIC 

Most viewed domestic 

soccer league (global) 

In 2010/1 1, the English 

Premier League was viewed 


for the same club 

Most consecutive topdivision 

league titles 

Skonto FC, from capital city 

Riga, won the Latvian Higher 

League 14 consecutive times 

from 1991 to 2004. 

Most hat-tricks in La Liga 

Telmo Zarra (ESP) scored 

22 hat-tricks for Athletic 

Bilbao from 1940 to 1953. 

Alfredo Di Stefano (ARG/ 

ESP) matched the feat 

playing for Real Madrid and 

Espanyol from 1953 to 1966. 

Most MLS championships 

Two teams have won the 

USA's Major League Soccer 

Cup four times: Washington's 

DC United (1996-97, 1999 

and 2004) and LA Galaxy 

from California (2002, 2005 

and 2011-12). 

Most consecutive losses 

A home defeat by Rothwell 

Corinthians saw Woodford 

United FC (UK) record 

Rogerio Ceni (BRA) appeared in 1,081 competitive 

matches for Sao Paulo Futebol Clube between 

7 Jul 1993 and 27 Nov 2013. Keeper Ceni 

regularly takes free kicks and penalties, securing 

him the record for most goals by 

a goalkeeper (1 13) as of 

13 Nov 2013. 

Longest unbeaten streak 

in the Bundesliga 

Bayern Munich were unbeaten in the Bundesliga 

- the top division in German soccer - for 53 games 

from 3 Nov 2012 to 29 Mar 2014. The run finally 

ended on 5 Apr 2014 against Augsburg, who 

beat them 1-0. The previous record of 36 games 

unbeaten had been set by Hamburg in 1983. 

62 consecutive losses. 

The United Counties League 

match finished 6-2 at Byfield 

Road stadium in Woodford 

Halse, UK, on 26 Oct 2013. 

Youngest man to play in 

all four English Football 

League divisions 

Jack Hobbs (UK, b. 18 Aug 

1988) made his debut for 

League One side Leicester 

City on 9 Aug 2008 aged 

19 years 357 days. Hobbs 

had previously played for 

Lincoln City in League Two, 

Liverpool in the Premier 

League and Scunthorpe 

in the Championship. 

Most appearances in 

the English top division 

Goalkeeper Peter Shilton 

(UK) recorded 848 

appearances for Leicester 

City, Stoke City, Nottingham 

Forest, Southampton and 

Derby County from 3 May 

1966 to 11 May 1991 .

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-- - 

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,. --- 

Real Madrid Spain European Cup/Champions League 9 

AI Ahly Egypt African/CAF Champions League 8 

AC Milan Italy European Cup/Champions League 7 

lndependiente Argentina Copa Libertadores 7 

Boca Juniors Argentina Copa Libertadores 6 

Cruz Azul Mexico CONCACAF Champions' Cup/League 6 

America Mexico CONCACAF Champions' Cup/League 5 

Auckland City New Zealand OFC Champions League 5 

Bayern Munich Germany European Cup/Champions League 5 

Liverpool England European Cup/Champions League 5 

Peiiarol Uruguay Copa Libertadores 5 

Zamalek Egypt African/CAF Champions League 5 

Statistics correct as of 25 Apr 2014 


weeks leading La Liga 

Barcelona spent 59 weeks at the top of La Liga, 

the Spanish top division, from 19 Aug 2012 to 

27 Jan 2014. Barcelona also hold the record for 

the most consecutive La Liga victories. They 

racked up 16 wins in a row between 16 Oct 2010 

and 5 Feb 2011, outscoring their opponents by 

60 goals to 6 during the streak. 

EUROPEAN 

Oldest player to make a 

Champions League debut 

Mark Schwarzer (AUS, 

b. 6 Oct 1972) took to 

the pitch aged 41 years 

66 days in his Champions 

League debut for Chelsea 

against Steaua Bucharest at 

Stamford Bridge in London, 

UK, on 11 Dec 2013. 

Tottenham keeper Brad 

Friedel (USA, b. 18 May 

1971) was 42 years 305 days 

old when he played against 

Benfica on 20 Mar 2014, 

making him the oldest 

player in the UEFA 

Europa League. 

FACT 

Ronaldo is a recordbreaker 

off the pitch too. 

He has the most Twitter 

followers for an 

athlete, with 25,229,560 

as of 1 Apr 2014. 

Most appearances in 

the Champions League 

Ryan Giggs (UK) has racked 

up 151 appearances for 

Manchester United in the 

UEFA Champions 

League. His 

debut came in 

Sep 1993, and 

more than 

20 years later, 

on 1 Apr 2014, he played 

in a quarter-final match 

against Bayern Munich. 

Most Europa League 

appearances 

Ola Toivonen (SWE) 

appeared in 36 UEFA 

Europa League games for 

PSV Eindhoven between 

30 Jul 2009 and 

12 Dec 2013. 


wins by an individual 

Spanish midfielder Xavi 

won 83 matches playing 

for Barcelona from 16 Sep 

1998 to 12 Mar 2014. 


Champions League 

matches with a goal 

Real Madrid scored in 

35 consecutive Champions 

League games from 3 May 

2011 to 2 Apr 2014. 

Highest total score in a 

European Cup match 

A first-round European Cup 

match between Feyenoord 

(NLD) and KR Reykjavik 

{ISL) saw a total of 14 goals 

scored. The match, which 

took place on 17 Sep 1969, 

saw a Dutch 12-2 victory. 

The most goals in 

a single Champions 

'7 


goals in a calendar year 

Cristiano Ronaldo (POR) found the back of the 

net 15 times for Real Madrid between 13 Feb and 

10 Dec 2013, beating the record of 13 goals set 

·by his Barcelona rival Lionel Messi in 2012. 

happened. The ball, caught by the wind, flew 

over the head of the Southampton keeper, 

scoring Begovic a goal from 91.9 m (301 ft 6 in) 

away. Only Ledley King has scored 

faster in the Premier League, his 

goal coming after just 10 sec. 

League match is 11, and 

was achieved when Monaco 

(FRA) beat Deportivo La 

Corufia (ESP) 8-3 at home 

on 5 Nov 2003.


lnternationa socce 

The average soccer player runs 11 km in a 90-min match 

do MaracanA In Rio de -a 

team of amateur players - had been surprise 

qualifiers following their victory in the 2012 

Oceania Football Confederation Nations Cup. 

Most international caps 

Kristine Lilly (USA) won 

352 caps during her 

international career - 

more than any other man 

or woman. Her first cap 

came in 1987 and her last 

was on 5 Nov 2010. 

The record for the 

most international 

caps by a man 

belongs to Ahmed 

Hassan (EGY), 

who won 184 caps 

between 29 Dec 

1995 and 

22 May 

2012. 

Most international 

wins by a player 

Goalkeeper lker Casillas 

racked up 112 wins playing 

in 153 games for Spain 

between 3 Jun 2000 

and 5 Mar 2014. 

Youngest player 

to reach 100 caps 

South Korea's 

Cha Bum-Kun 

(b. 22 May 1953) 

was aged 24 years 

139 days playing his 

100th game on 9 Oct 

1977 against Kuwait. 

Oldest international player 

On 31 Mar 2004, MacDonald 

Taylor Sr (VIR, b. 27 Aug 

1957) played for the US 

Virgin Islands at the age 


Most teams in UEFA 

European Championship 

qualifying 

Following Gibraltar's addition 

to the Union of European 

Football Associations 

(UEFA) in 2013, a record 

53 teams will attempt to 

qualify for the 2016 European 

Championship. 

Most consecutive losses 

On 4 Sep 2004, San Marino 

began a losing streak of 

57 matches in a row. Their 

most recent match, on 15 Oct 

2013, saw an 8-0 hammering 

by Ukraine. Prior to Gibraltar 

joining UEFA, San Marino was 

Longest unbeaten run in 

competitive internationals 

Most international goals 

Most tournaments won 

Spain went unbeaten for 29 games 

The Brazilian men's team 

between 21 Jun 2010 and 27 Jun 2013. Their 

have won five World Cups, 

winning streak came to an end at the hands 

taking the crown in 1958-62, 

of Brazil in the 2013 Confederations Cup 1970, 1994 and 2002. 

final. If friendly matches were included, The most Women's 

Spain and Brazil World Cup wins is two, first 

would share achieved by the USA in 1991 

and 1999 and then matched 

--...,.,'ll!:by Germany in 2003-07. 

No soccer player - male or female - has scored 

more international goals than American striker 

Abby Wambach (left). As of 12 Mar 2014, she had 

167 goals to her name, scored since 9 Sep 2001 . 

Wambach surpassed her old team-mate Mia 

Hamm's record of 158 goals to take the record 

in Jun 2013 with four goals against South Korea 

in Harrison, New Jersey, USA. 

the smallest side competing 

in European soccer, with a 

population of just 30,000. 

Most hat-tricks in the 

Confederations Cup 

Fernando Torres (ESP) is the 

only player to have scored 

two hat-tricks in the FIFA 

(Federation I nternationale 

de Football Association) 

Confederations Cup. Torres 

scored them on 14 Jun 

2009 and 20 Jun 2013. 

FIFA WORLD CUP


Asian Football Confederation (AFC): 

Asian Cup 

Confederation of African Football 

(CAF): African Cup of Nations 

7 I Egypt 

Confederation of North, Central I 6 I Mexico 

American and Caribbean Association 

Football (CONCACAF): Gold Cup 

Union of European Football 

Associations (UEFA) : 

European Championship 

Confederaci6n Sudamericana de 

Futboi/Confederayao Sui-Americana 

de Futebol (CONMEBOL): 

Copa America 

I 

3 Spain 

Germany 

I 15 1 Uruguay 

Oceania Football Confederation 

(OFC): Nations Cup 

Sudamericano Femenino 

4 I New Zealand 

Australia 

level; hoWever, 

has represented three Balkan 

countries as political borders have 

shifted. He played in three World 

Cups, representing Yugoslavia 

in 1998 (above), Serbia and 

Montenegro in 2006 (above inset) 

and Serbia in 2010 (right). 

Highest goal average 

at a World Cup finals 

The 1954 World Cup in 

Switzerland saw an average 

of 5.38 goals scored per 

match. The lowest goal 

average at a World Cup 

finals was 2.21 per game 

in 1990. 

Most goals scored 

Men: Brazilian striker 

Ronaldo, aka Ronaldo Luis 

Nazario de Lima, scored 

15 goals across three 

World Cup tournaments 

in 1998-2006. 

Statistics correct as of 11 Mar 2014 

Women: Birgit Prinz (DEU) 

scored 14 goals at four 

World Cups between 1995 

and 2007. Marta (BRA) 

matched the feat over three 

World Cups in 2003-11 . 

Highest margin of victory 

Women: The very first 

match at the Women's World 

Cup on 10 Sep 2007 saw 

Germany put 11 goals past 

the Argentinian defence. 

Germany went on to lift the 

trophy, beating Brazil 2-0. 

Men: On 17 Jun 1954, five 

Hungarians scored in a 9-0 

thrashing of South Korea. 

Subsequently, Yugoslavia 

defeated Zaire 9-0 in 

1974 and Hungary beat 

El Salvador 10-1 in 1982. 

Most players sent off 

in one finals match 

Nicknamed "The Battle 

of Nuremberg", a match 

between the Netherlands 

and Portugal at the 2006 

World Cup had four players 

seeing red, two from each 

side, in Nuremberg, Germany, 

on 25 Jun. 

Most qualifiers played 

Between 4 Mar 1934 and 

20 Nov 2013, the Mexican 

men's team participated 

in 141 World Cup qualifying 

matches. Mexico won 92 

of the games - the most 

World Cup qualifiers won. 

West Germany recorded 

the most consecutive 

World Cup qualifiers 

won, with 16 in a 


Confederations Cup 

The Brazilians have won the FIFA 

Confederations Cup four times, in 1997 

and 2005-13. They also have the most 

consecutive Confederations Cup 

match wins, with 12 from 25 Jun 2005 

to 30 Jun 2013. 

Cup 

competitors 

The Confederations 

Cup is contested every 

four years by the winners 

of the six FIFA confederation 

championships (see table 

above), the FIFA World Cup 

holder and the host nation.

Te nni 


racket s orts 

Wimbledon is the only 

tennis Grand Slam tournament still played on grass 

Graf won 22 Grand 

Slam singles titles, 

starting and ending 

with the French 

Open in 1987 

and 1999. 

BADMINTON 

Most Sudirman Cup wins 

The Sudirman Cup - held 

every two years since 

1989 - is the mixed-team 

world championship. China 

accumulated nine wins 


The 2013 final also saw 

China record the most 

consecutive Sudirman 

Cup wins: five triumphs 

in a row (2005-13). 

Most Thomas Cup wins 

Also known as the World 

Men's Team Championships, 

the Thomas Cup was won 

13 times by Indonesia 


Most singles BWF World 

Championships titles 

Male: When China's 

Dan Lin won the singles 

title at the Badminton World 

Federation (BWF) World 

Championships on 

11 Aug 2013, he did 

so for the fifth time. 

Female: Four Chinese 

women have won the singles 

title twice: Li Lingwei, Han 

Aiping, Ye Zhaoying and, 

most recently, Xie Xingfang 

in 2005 and 2006. 

Longest rally 

in competition 

On 18 Mar 2010, during the 

third set of a Swiss Open 

match in Basel, 154 strokes 

were played by Petya 

Nedelcheva (BGR) and 

Anastasia Russkikh (RUS) 

vs Shizuka Matsuo and 

Mami Naito (both JPN). 

SQUASH 

Most European Team 


England hold both the male 

and female records for this 

competition with 38 and 35 

wins respectively. 

Most World 

Open wins 

Male: 

Jansher 

Khan 

(PAK) 

won a 

record eight 

Most "powerful" athlete 

Swiss sensation Roger Federer is the top 

sports star on Forbes' list of the world's most --11":.. 

powerful celebrities, ranking No.8 overall. 

Federer holds a wealth of men's tennis records 

including most Grand Slam singles titles 

(17), most Grand Slam matches won (265) 

and most weeks ranked world No.1 (302). 

Forbes' list measures fame by considering 

earnings, TV and print exposure, strength of 

internet presence, public opinion and marketability. 

Jahangir Khan and 

Jansher Khan were 

fierce rivals. However, 

they are not related. 

Nov 1981 to Nov 1986. 

Female: Heather McKay (AUS) was unbeaten in 

1962-81, and lost just two matches in her career. 

World Open titles: in 1987, 

1989-90 and 1992-96. 

Female: The women's title 

has been won seven times 

by Nicol David (MYS), in 

2005-06 and 2008-12. 

Most World Series Finals 

Male: Jansher Khan has 

had the most wins of 

the World Series Finals, 

with four titles between 

1993 and 1998. 


World Series Finals have 

been held twice. Nicol 

David won both times, 

in 2012 and 2013. 

Longest singles 

marathon 

Guy Fotherby and Darren 

Withey (both UK) endured 

31 hr 35 min 34 sec 

playing squash singles 

at Racquets Fitness Centre 

in Thame, Oxfordshire, UK, 

on 13-14 Jan 2012. Darren 

won 422 of 465 games. 

TENNIS 

Most prize money 

for a Grand Slam 

Total prize money for the 

US Open rose to $34.3 m 

(£21 .8 m) for the 2013 

tournament. The singles 

champions, Rafael Nadal 

and Serena Williams, each 

collected $2.6 m (£1.7 m). 

Most retirements in 

one day at a Grand Slam 

On 26 Jun 2013, at the 

WiiPOiedcm Championships 

London, UK, seven 

players retired mid-match 

or withdrew before making 

it on to court. Dubbed 

"Wipeout Wednesday", 

the day saw injuries 

to one shoulder, 

one arm, one 

hamstring and 

four knees.


Most singles titles won 

at one Grand Slam 

Female: No one, male or 

female, has won more open 

era (since 1968) singles 

titles at one Grand Slam 

than Martina Navratilova 

(USA). Between 1978 and 

1990, she won Wimbledon 

nine times. 

Male: Rafael Nadal won 

an eighth French Open title 

when he defeated David 

Ferrer in straight sets on 

9 Jun 2013. 

International Racquetball 

Federation (IRF} World 

Championships three 

consecutive times: 

Huczek in 2002-06, 

and Carson in 2008-12. 

First duo to win 

each Grand Slam together 

Serena Williams (USA) and Rafael Nadal (ESP) are the only duo to win 

each tennis Grand Slam singles tournament together, both claiming titles 

at the 2009 Australian Open, Wimbledon in 2010 and Roland Garros in 

2013. They completed their set at the US Open on 8-9 Sep 2013. 

MOST TENNIS GRAND SLAM SINGLES WINS 

Fastest serve 

On 9 May 2012, 

Samuel Groth (AUS) 

served an ace at 

263 km/h (163.4 mph). 

Most Grand Slams before 

first title win (female} 

Marion Bartoli (FRA) won 

her first Grand Slam title 

at her 47th attempt, 

defeating Germany's 

Sabine Lisicki in the 

Wimbledon final on 

6 Jul 2013. Her Grand 

Slam debut was 

at the 2001 

Most ITTF World Tour 

Grand Finals singles titles 

Female: Zhang Yining 

(CHN) claimed four 

International Table Tennis 

Federation (ITTF) World 

Tours, taking the singles 

crown in 2000, 2002 and 

2005-06. 

Male: Two Chinese men 

have won three ITTF singles 

titles: Wang Liqin (1998, 

2000 and 2004) and Ma 

Long (2008-09 and 2011). 

Most Olympic golds 

Male: Ma Lin (CHN) has 

won three table tennis golds, 

winning doubles in 2004, and 

singles and team in 2008. 

Female: Three Chinese 

women have won four 

Olympic golds: Yaping 

Deng at the 1992 and 1996 

Games; Nan Wang in 2000, 

2004 and 2008; and Yining 

Zhang in 2004 and 2008. 

TABLE TENNIS 

Youngest Olympic table 

Most World Table Tennis tennis gold medallist 

Championships singles On 21 Aug 2004, Chen Qi 

Female: Angelica Rozeanu (CHN, b. 15 Apr 1984) 

(ROM) won six consecutive one of the few top-ranked 

singles titles in 1950-55. Chinese left-handers - won 

Male: The men's singles the men's doubles aged 

crown was won five 

20 years 128 days with his 

times by Viktor 

partner Ma Lin (CHN). 

Barna (HUN), 

in 1930 and 

1932-35. 

-'-'= 


wins of the ITTF 

World Tour Grand 

Finals 

Female: Liu Shiwen 

(CHN, left) won 

consecutively 

from 2011-13. 

Male: Two Chinese 

men have won two 

consecutive ITTF 

Grand finals: Ma 

Long (2008-09) 

and Xu Xin 

(2012-13).


; Water s orts 

Michael Phelps eats a mammoth 12,000 calories a day during training 

SWIMMING 

First open-water swimmer to 

win a World Championships 

gold in every discipline (male) 

Thomas Lurz (DEU) was the first man to win 

a FINA World Championships gold in every 

open-water event, winning the 5, 10 and 25-km 

races between 2005 and 2013. The first female 

to achieve the same feat was Viola Valli (ITA) , 


Most nations in a FINA 


The 15th FINA (Federation 

lnternationale de Natation) 


included participants from 

181 nations. It was held in 

Barcelona, Spain, in 2013. 

DIVING 


FINA World 

Championships titles 

Guo Jingjing (CHN) won 

five 3-m diving titles in both 

individual and synchronized 

events from 2001 to 2009. 

Youngest Summer 

Olympic medallist in 

an individual event 

Nils Skoglund (SWE, 

1906-80) was just 14 years 

11 days old when he won 

silver in the plain high-diving 

event at the 1920 Olympics. 

Most Olympic medals 

Male: Dmitri Sautin (RUS) 

won eight Olympic medals, 

including two golds, in 

1992-2008. 

Female: Two Chinese divers 

have six Olympic medals: 

Guo Jingjing (2000-08) and 

Wu Minxia (2004-12). 

Most individual 

Olympic medals (male) 

Michael Phelps (USA) has 

won more individual medals 

than any other man across 

any discipline. He swam 

his way to 13 medals in 

individual events at Athens 

2004, Beijing 2008 and 

London 2012. Only one 

athlete has won more 

individual medals than him: 

gymnast Larisa Latynina 

(USSR/UKR), who won 14. 

Phelps also holds Olympic 

men's records for most 

individual event golds (11), 

most golds (18) and most 

swimming medals (22), as 

well as seven speed records 

(see table below). 

Most Olympic golds at 

one Games (female) 

Kristin Otto (GOR) won a 

sensational six swimming 

gold medals at the 1988 

Olympic Games in Seoul. 

MEN'S SWIMMING - FASTEST ••• 

Event 

I Freestyle 

Time Name (Nationality) 

Short course 

50 m 20.30 Roland Schoeman (ZAF) 

100 m 44.94 Amaury Leveaux (FRA) 

200 m 1:39.37 Paul Biedermann (DEU) 

400 m 3:32.25 Yannick Agnel (FRA) 

800 m 7:23.42 Grant Hackett (AUS) 

1,500 m 14:10.10 Grant Hackett (AUS) 

4 x 100 m 3:03.30 USA 

4 x 200 m 6:49.04 Russia 

Butterfl y 

Short course 

1 so m 21.80 Steffen Deibler (DEU) 

100 m 48.48 Evgeny Korotyshkin (RUS) 

200 m *1 :48.56 Chad le Clos (ZAF) 

I Backstroke 1 Short course 

50 m 22.61 Peter Marshall (USA) 

100 m 48.94 Nicholas Thoman (USA) 

200 m 1:46.11 Arkady Vyatchanin (RUS) 

Breaststroke Short course 

50 m 25.25 Cameron van der Burgh 

(ZAF) 

100 m 55.61 Cameron van der Burgh 

(ZAF) 

200 m 2:00.67 Daniel Gyurta (HUN) 

Medley 

Short course 

200 m 1:49.63 Ryan Lochte (USA) 

400 m 3:55.50 Ryan Lochte (USA) 

4 x 100 m 3:19.16 Russia 

. 

As of 19 Mar 2014 ( pendmg FINA approval) 

Time Name (Nationality) 

Long course 

20.91 Cesar Filho Cielo (BRA) 

46.91 Cesar Filho Cielo (BRA) 

1:42.00 Paul Biedermann (DEU) 

3:40.07 Paul Biedermann (DEU) 

7:32.12 Zhang Lin (CHN) 

14:31 .02 Sun Yang (CHN) 

3:08.24 USA 

6:58.55 USA 

Lon gc o u rs e 

22.43 Rafael Muiioz (ESP) 

49.82 Michael Phelps (USA) 

1:51 .51 Michael Phelps (USA) 

l 

24.04 Liam Tancock (UK) 

51 .94 Aaron Peirsol (USA) 

I 

: 

1:51 .92 Aaron Peirsol (USA) 

 

Long course 

Long course 

26.67 Cameron van der Burgh 

(ZAF) 

58.46 Cameron van der Burgh 

(ZAF) 

2:07.01 Akihiro Yamaguchi (JPN) 

Long course 

1:54.00 Ryan Lochte (USA) 

I 

4:03.84 Michael Phelps (USA) 

3:27.28 USA 

l 

I 

I 

I 

I

WOMEN'S SWIMMING - FASTEST 


••• 

Event Time Name (Nationality) Time Name (Nationality) 

Freestyle Short couree 

, 

Long course 

50 m 23.24 I Ranomi Kromowidjojo 23.73 Britta Steffen (DEU) 

(NLD) 

100 m 51 .01 Lisbeth Trickett (AUS) 52.07 Britta Steffen (DEU) 

200 m 1:51.17 Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 1:52.98 Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 

400 m 3:54.52 Mireia Belmonte (ESP) 3:59.15 Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 

800 m 7:59.34 Mireia Belmonte (ESP) 8:13.86 Katie Ledecky (USA) 

1,500 m '15:26.95 Mireia Belmonte (ESP) 1 5:36.53 Katie Ledecky (USA) 

4 x 100 m 3:28.22 Netherlands 3:31.72 Netherlands 

4 x 200 m 7:35.94 China 7:42.08 China 

Butterfly Short course Long course 

50 m 24.38 1 Therese Alshammar 25.07 Therese Alshammar 

(SWE) 

(SWE) 

100 m 55.051 Diane Bui Duyet (FAA) 55.98 Dana Vollmer (USA) 

200 m 2:00.78 Liu Zige (CHN) 2:01.81 Liu Zige (CHN) 

Back8troke Short couree Long course 

50 m 25.70 Sanja Jovanovic (CRO) 27.06 Zhao Jing (CHN) 

100 m 55.23 Shiho Sakai (JPN) 58.12 Gemma Spofforth (UK) 

200 m 2:00.03 "Missy" Franklin (USA) 2:04.06 "Missy" Franklin (USA) 

Breeatatroke Short course Long course 

50 m '28.71 Yulia Efimova (RUS) 29.48 Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) 

100 m '1 :02.36 Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) 1:04.35 Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) 

200 m 2:14.57 Rebecca Soni (USA) 2:19.11 Rikke Moeller-Pederson 

(DNK) 

Medley Short courae i Long course 

200 m 2:03.20 Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 

400 m 4:20.85 Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 

4 x 100 m 3:45.56 USA 

As of 19 Mar 2014 ('pending FINA approval) 

Fastest short-course 

800-m freestyle (female) 

On 10 Aug 2013, Mireia Belmonte (ESP) finished 

the 800-m short-course freestyle in a time of 

7 min 59.34 sec - the first woman to break the 

8-min barrier - in Berlin, Germany. Belmonte 

was awarded the title of Best Spanish Athlete 

of 2013, alongside tennis star Rafael Nadal. 

2:06.15 Ariana Kukors (USA) 

4:28.43 Ye Shiwen (CHN) 

3:52.05 USA 

WATER POLO 

Most Olympic golds 

Hungary won gold on 

nine occasions, including 

consecutive wins in 2000, 

2004 and 2008. Eleven men 

have recorded three Olympic 

water polo golds. Women's 

water polo was introduced 

into the Olympics in 2000, 

but no country has won 

gold more than once. 

Most Water Polo 

World League wins 

Male: The Serbian 

national team have 

collected seven 

FINA Water Polo 

She set the record at the ANA Swimming World 

Cup in Berlin, Germany, on 11 Aug 2013. Hosszu 

also holds two other short-course speed records 

(see table left). 

World League titles (two as 

Serbia and Montenegro), 


The competition was 

inaugurated in 2002. 


competition was added in 

2004 and has seen the USA 

score seven titles in 2004, 

2006-07 and 2009-12. 

SURFING 

Most ASP World Tour 

event wins 

The surfer with the most 

ASP (Association of Surfing 

Professionals) World Tour 

event wins is Kelly Slater 

(USA), with 54 titles between 

1992 and 2014. 

Slater also boarded his 

way to the most ASP World 

Championship Tour titles 

-won by the surfer with the 

most points at the end of the 

year. Slater's 11 wins between 

1992 and 2011 put him seven 

ahead of the man 

in second place: 

Mark Richards 

(AUS). 

' 

Layne 

Beachley (AUS) 

has the most 

women's ASP 

World Championship 

Tour titles, winning six 

consecutively from 1998 to 

2003 and a seventh in 2006. 

CANOEING 

Most Olympic 

appearances (female) 

Josefa Idem (ITA, b. FRG) 

has participated in eight 

Olympic Games in the 

canoe sprint -the most for 

any female athlete. Idem 

competed for West Germany 

in 1984 to 1988 and Italy 

from 1992 to 2012. During 

her Olympic career, she won 

five medals, including gold 

in the K-1 500-m event at 

Sydney 2000. 

Most individual canoeslalom 

Olympic medals 

Michal Martikan (SVK) won 

five Olympic canoe-slalom 

medals. He picked up two 

gold, two silver and a bronze 


Most canoe-slalom 

Olympic golds 

Tony Estanguet (FRA) 

claimed his third Olympic 

gold medal in canoeslalom 

on 31 Jul 2012. 

Youngest ASP World 

Tour champion (female) 

Carissa Moore (USA, b. 27 Aug 1992) 

became the youngest female ASP World Tour 

champion when she won the 201 1 Tour aged 

18 years 322 days on 15 Jul 2011. Hawaiianborn 

Carissa won the title on her second 

attempt, having finished third in 2010. She broke 

the 27-year-old record held by Frieda Zamba 

(USA), who won the 1984 title as a teenager, 

aged 19 years 164 days.


; Winte r s orts 

Downhill skiers can attain speeds of up to 250 km/h 

First shared gold medal 

in alpine skiing 

The women's downhill 

skiing event at the 2014 

Games saw Tina Maze 

(SVN) and Dominique Gisin 

(CHE) record the exact same 

time, 41 .57 sec, on 12 Feb. 

FASTEST ... 

Ski-bob 

On 19 Apr 2006, during the 

Pro Mondial speed skiing 

event at Les Arcs, Rh6ne 

Aipes, France, Romuald 

Bonvin (CHE) attained a 

speed of 204.43 km/h 

(127.03 mph) on a ski-bob. 

Oldest ski jump 

Olympic medallist 

Noriaki Kasai (JPN, b. 6 Jun 1972) won bronze 

in the men's ski jump team event aged 41 years 

256 days in Sochi, Russia, on 17 Feb 2014. He 

is also the oldest ski jump World Cup winner, 

taking gold in the ski flying event aged 41 years 

219 days in Tauplitz, Austria, on 11 Jan 2014. 

Mei:r&llflts Meryl and Chartle White 

achieved a score of 116.63 at the XXII Winter 

Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on 17 Feb 2014. Their 

high score was set in the free dance section of 

the ice dancing event, which they performed 

to Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade". 

WINTER OLYMPICS 

Most expensive Olympics 

(Winter or Summer) 

The 2014 Winter Olympics 

in Sochi, Russia, were 

widely reported to have cost 

$50 bn (£30 bn) to stage, 

including all sports-related 

and infrastructure costs. 

The Sochi Games also 

set the record for the most 

participating countries 

at a Winter Olympics: 

87 National Olympic 

Committees entered 

athletes. Of these, the 

largest Winter Olympics 

team was the USA, with 

230 athletes. 

Most medals won 

by a country 

By the close of the 2014 

Sochi Games, Norway's alltime 

haul of Winter Olympics 

medals had grown to 329: 

18 gold (the most Winter 

Olymplca gold ._..s 

won bJ'' ntry), 

111 siMir and 1 00 brOi'll!e. 

Most gold medals won 

by an individual 

Male: Two Norwegian 

Olympians have each 

won eight golds: Ole Einar 

Bjorndalen (see opposite 

page) in the biathlon in 

1998-2014, and crosscountry 

skier Bjorn Dc:ehlie 

in 1992-98. 

Female: Three Olympians 

share this record with six 

gold medals apiece: speed 

skater Lydia Skoblikova 

(USSR) in 1960-64, and 

cross-country skiers Lyubov 

Yegorova (EUN/RUS) in 

1992-94 and Marit Bjorgen 

(NOR) in 2010-14. 

First women's Olympic 

curling team to win 

every first-round game 

The round-robin format was 

introduced to curling at the 

1998 Winter Olympics in 

Nagano, Japan. Canada 

is the only women's team 

to have won every first-round 

gar)le, with nlne wlns in Sochi 

from 10 to f8 Feb 2014. 

FACT 

Snowboarding 

was first 

included in the 

Winter Olympics 

in 1998. 

Speed skating 500 m 

Male: Jeremy Wotherspoon 

(CAN) skated 500 m in 

34.03 sec in Salt Lake City, 

Utah, USA, on 9 Nov 2007. 

Female: Lee Sang-Hwa 

(KOR) took 36.36 sec to skate 

500 m, also in Salt Lake City, 

on 16 Nov 2013. 

Speed skating 1,000 m 

Male: On 7 Mar 2009, 

multiple record holder 

Shanl Davis (USA) skated 

1,000 m in 1 min 6.42 sec 

in 8alt Lake City, Utah, USA. 

Most consecutive individual Olympic medals 

Armin Zoggeler (ITA) won six consecutive individual Olympic medals from 

1994 to 2014: two gold, one silver and three bronze, all in the men's 

singles luge. The previous record was also held by a luger, 

Georg Hackl (DEU), who won five consecutive individual 

medals from 1988 to 2002. 

Female: Brittany Bowe (USA) 

skated 1 ,000 m in 1 min 

12.58 sec, also in Salt Lake 

City, on 17 Nov 2013. 

Bobsleigh skeleton 

Male: Alexander Tretyakov 

(RUS) and Sandra Stielicke 

(DEU) both reached 

146.4 km/h (90.96 mph) 

during the Winter Olympics 

in British Columbia, Canada, 

on 19 Feb 2010. 

Female: Marion Trott (DEU) 

recorded a speed 

of 144.5 kmlh (89.78 mph), 

also during the 2010 Winter 

Olympics competition at 

Whistler, on 19 Feb. 

MOST ... 

Skiing Nations' Cup wins 

The skiing Nations' Cup is 

based on the combined 

men's and women's 

results at the Alpine Ski 

World Cup. It was won 

35 times by Austria between 

1969 and 2014. 


at the Winter 

Olympics 

Two athletes have 

competed in seven 

consecutive Winter 

Olympics: ski-jumper 

Noriaki Kasai (JPN) 

and luger Albert 

Demchenko (RUS, 

above) appeared in 

every Winter Games 

from Albertville 1992 

to Sochi 2014. 

244 Sports

PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES 

,--·?::-::: www.ebook777.com 

..., .. 

.. _. 

,.. Athlla 

Medals (female) 27 Ra9nhild Myklebust (NOR) 1988-2002 

Medals (male) 22 Gerd Schonfelder (DEU) 1992-2010 

Gold medals (female) 22 Ra9nhild Myklebust (NOR) 1988-2002 

Gold medals (male) 16 Gerd Schonfelder (DEU) 1992-2010 

.. 

Tabd ,.... 

Alpine skiing (male) 22 Gerd Schiinfelder (DEU) 1992-2010 

Alpine skiing (female) 19 Reinhild Meller (DEU) 1980-98, 2006 

Cross-country skiing (male) 17 Frank Holle (DEU) 1988-2006 

Cross-country skiing (female) 16 Ra9nhild Myklebust (NOR) 1988-2002 

Ice sledge speed racing (male) 12 Knut Lundstmm (NOR) 1988, 1994-98 

Ice sledge speed racing 

(female) 

Biathlon (male) 

Biathlon (female) 

11 Brit Mjaasund 0jen (NOR) 1980-84, 1994 and Brian McKeever (CAN, above) have 8ach 

Sylva Olsen (NOR) 1980-88 

won 10 golds in Paralympic cross-country skiing. 

7 Vitaliy Lukyanenko (UKR) 2002-14 

McKeever added three golds to his tally in 2014. 

Female: Norway's Ragnhild Myklebust won 

7 Olena lurkovska (UKR) 2002-14 16 Paralympic gold medals in cross-country 

skiing between 1988 and 2002. 

,... 

 

Individual (male): Eduard 

Khrennikov (RUS) has won 

11 WSOC medals, including 

seven golds. 

Individual (female): Fellow 

Russian Tatiana Vlasova has 

taken 10 individual medals. 

Bobsleigh Skeleton World 

Cup race wins (male) 

Martins Dukurs (LVA) won 

31 bobsleigh Skeleton World 

Cup races between 8 Feb 

_ _?008 and 25 Jan 2014. 

YOUNGEST ... 

Curling rink (team) to win 

an Olympic medal (female) 

The Great Britain side of 

Eve Muirhead, Anna Sloan, 

Vicki Adams, Claire Hamilton 

and Lauren Gray had an 

average age of 23 years 

Most points in a single end 

of an Olympic curling match 

An "end" in curling is complete when both teams 

have delivered all eight rocks. The most points 

scored by a team in a single end of an Olympic 

match is seven, by Great Britain against the USA 

in Sochi, Russia, on 11 Feb 2014. Great Britain 

won the game 12-3, needing only six of 

the 10 possible ends to do so. 

255 days when they won 

bronze in Sochi, Russia, 

on 20 Feb 2014. 

World Women's 

Curling Championship 

winning skip 

Scottish skip Eve Muirhead 

(UK, b. 22 Apr 1990) led 

her team to victory aged 

22 years 336 days in Riga, 

Latvia, on 24 Mar 2013. 

OLDEST ... 

Individual Winter 

Olympics medallist 

Luge silver-medallist Albert 

Demchenko (RUS, b. 27 Nov 

1971) was 42 years 74 days 

old when he won in Sochi, 

Russia, on 9 Feb 2014. The 

oldest individual Winter 

Olympics gold medallist is 

Ole Einar Bjmndalen (NOR, 

b. 27 Jan 1974), who was 

40 years 12 days old when 

he won the 10-km biathlon 

sprint on 8 Feb 2014. 

Relay: Finland has won 

38 World Ski Orienteering 

Championships (WSOC) 

medals across the three 

relay categories (men, 

women and mixed). 

Skiing World Cup 

slalom race winner (male) 

Mario Matt (AUT, b. 9 Apr 

1979) finished first aged 

34 years 250 days in 

Val d'lsere, France, 

on 15 Dec 2013. 

Most Olympic short track 

speed skating golds (male) 

Viktor Ahn (KOR/RUS, b. Ahn Hyun-Soo) won 

three short track speed skating gold medals 

for South Korea at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, 

Italy, and a further three golds for Russia at 

the 2014 Games in Sochi. Ahn represented 

South Korea at the 2006 Games, but in 2011 

he became a Russian citizen and so represented 

Russia at the Sochi Olympics. 

www.9uinnessworldrecords.com 245


orts round u 

In 1927, the first world snooker champion received prize money of £6.50 

Most Professional 

Bowlers Association 

tour event appearances 

Between 1976 and 2013, 

Tom Baker (USA) competed 

in 840 Professional Bowlers 

Association (PBA) ten-pin 

bowling tour events. 

Carmen Salvino (USA, 

b. 23 Nov 1933) is the oldest 

ten-pin tour bowler. He 

played in the 2014 PBA 

Tournament of Champions 

aged 80 years 58 days 

at Thunderbowl Lanes in 

Michigan, USA, on 20 Jan. 

Walter Ray Williams, Jr 

(USA) has the most PBA 

ten-pin bowling titles. 

His tally stands at 47 

titles; the latest was wo 

at the USBC Masters on 

14 Feb 2010. 

of darts is nine, aka the 

nine-dart finish. Two players 

achieved this feat during 

the televised 2014 PDC 

World Darts Championship 

in London, UK: Terry 

Jenkins (UK) and Kyle 

Anderson (AUS), in 

different matches, 

on 14 Dec 2013. 

First woman to win 

the Mongol Derby 

When Lara Prior-Palmer 

(UK, b. 24 Jun 

1994) won 

the Mongol 

Derby on 

10Aug 

2013, she 

b·ElOOffla: 

Most competitive 

147 breaks in snooker 

Ronnie O'Sullivan (UK) has 

racked up 12 maximum 

breaks in competitive 

snooker matches. He 

achieved his 147s from 

24 Apr 1997 to 2 Mar 2014. 

O'Sullivan has also made 

the most century breaks 

at the World Snooker 

Championship (144), 

from 15 Apr 1995 to 

5 May 2014. 

First female snooker 

player to qualify for 

the final stages of a 

ranking event 

Reanne Evans (UK) - 

10-time ladies' world 

champion - qualified for 

the televised stages of 

China's Wuxi Classic with 

a 5-4 victory over male 

snooker player Thepchaiya 

Un-Nooh (THA) in a 

qualifying match at 

the South West 

Snooker 

Academy in 

Gloucester, 

UK, on 

28 May 

Most century breaks 

in a season 

Neil Robertson (AUS) 

made 103 century breaks 

in 22 tournaments in the 

2013-14 season that ran 

from 7 Jun 2013 to 5 May 

2014. As of 3 May 2014, 

Robertson had made 

361 century breaks as a 

professional. He is the fifth 

best all-time century-maker, 

on a list that is headed by 

Stephen Hendry (UK) 

with 775. 

Most players to score a 

televised nine-dart finish 

in one day 

The fewest throws needed to 

Most 180s in a World Darts 

Championship 

At the 2014 Professional Darts Corporation 

(PDC) World Championship, held at Alexandra 

Palace in London, UK, from 13 Dec 2013 to 1 Jan 

2014, a total of 603 maximums (180s) were 

recorded, beating the 588 achieved in the 2012 

competition. The title was eventually won by 

Michael van Gerwen (NLD, pictured), who 

hit 16 of the maximums. 

Alana Smith (USA, 

b. 20 Oct 2000) was 


old when she won 

a silver medal in the 

Women's Skateboard 

Park competition at the 

X Games in Barcelona, 

Spain, on 18 May 2013. 

To m Schaar (USA, 

b. 14 Sep 1999) is the 

youngest X Games 

gold medallist. He 

was 12 years 229 days 

old when he won the 

Mini Mega category 

on 30 Apr 2012. 

course and is the longest 

multi-horse race. Lara's 

2013 title also made her 

the youngest Mongol 

Derby winner, at the age 


Most Grade 1 victories 

by a horse 

Hurricane Fly (IRL) won 

19 Grade 1 races - the 

premium class of horse 

racing -from 30 Nov 

2008 to 26 Jan 2014. 

Archery 

came In 

2010 and 2013. The World Cup was instituted 

in 2006 and comprises four separate events 

in different locations before a final competition. 

Male: Brady Ellison (USA) has also scored 

two recurve World Cup wins, in 2010-11.


Most USASF 

Cheerleading Worlds 

international titles 

Cheer Athletics of 

Kentucky, USA, had won 

15 international All 

Star Federation 

Cheerleading 

Worlds titles 

as of the end 

of 2013. Their 

• 200-m road (female): 

Jersy Puello (COL) skated 

200 m on the road in 

17.677 sec on 27 Aug 2013 

in Ostend, Belgium. 

• 1,000-m track (male): 

art Swings (BEL) skated 

,000 m on a track in 1 min 

2.923 sec on 25 Aug 2013 

in Ostend, Belgium. 

• 1,000-m track 

(female): Barbara 

Fischer (DEU) set a track 

time of 1 min 27.06 sec 

in lnzell, Germany, 

on 27 Augt988. 

Kenzo Shirai (JPN, b. 24 Aug 1996) won the floor event 

at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships aged 

17 years 43 days in Antwerp, Belgium, on 6 Oct 2013. 

Shirai also became the first person to perform a 

quadruple twist in a major final (pictured above). 

• 10,000-m track (female): 

Yang Hochen (TWN) 

recorded a time of 15 min 

26.970 sec in a 10,000-m 

track skate in Ostend, 

Belgium, on 24 Aug 2013. 

Most appearances in the 

World Equestrian Games 

Anky van Grunsven (NLD) 

appeared in the Federation 

Equestre lnternationale (FEI) 

World Equestrian Games 

six times between 

1990 and 2010. She 

is the only rider to 

have appeared in 

every edition of the 

tournament since its 

inception in 1990. 

four-person teams to build 

a log raft and paddle the 

course in three stages 

over three days. 

FACT 

The All-Around title is 

awarded to the leading 

money winner in a 

single season in two 

or more events. 

Fastest speed skating 

• 200-m road (male): 

On 9 Dec 2012, in San 

Benedetto del Tronto, Italy, 

loseba Fernandez (ESP) 

finished the 200-m individual 

time trial in 15.879 sec. 

PARALYMPIC (IPC) POWERLIFTING 

• 10,000-m track (male): 

On 23 Aug 2013, inline 

skating world champion 

Fabio Francolini (ITA) 

covered 10,000 m ona track 

in Ostend, Belgium, in just 

14 min 23.54 sec. 

Longest raft race 

The Great River 

Amazon Raft Race 

has been staged 

annually since 1999 

between the Peruvian 

y Pesca in Bella Vista. 

The race, which covers 

some 180 km (112 mi), 

was created by Mike 

Collis (UK). It challenges 

86+ kg 

Most 

Rodeo World 

Championships 

Between 2002 and 2013, Trevor 

Brazile (USA) won 19 titles at 

the Professional Rodeo Cowboys 

Association World Championships. 

His titles were won across four 

events: All-Around, Tie-Down Roping 

. (individual and team) and Steer 

Wrestling. Brazile also has the 

most All-Around Rodeo World 

Championships titles, with 

11 wins in 12 years.

0 

0 

I n d ex 


Bold entries in the index indicate assists (ice hockey) 228 birth: birth rate 82; multiple 72, caravans 192 clouds 20, 21 

a main entry on a topic; BOLD asteroids 20, 32 82-83; premature 83; career length 77 clown doctors 116 

CAPITALS indicate an entire astronauts 16-17, 148 to conjoined twins 85; weight 83 cargo ships 131 Club soccer 236-237 

chapter. The index does not list Atacama Desert 30 birthdays 83 carnivores 46-47 coaches: ice hockey 228; 

personal names. Athletics 212-213; track & field bitcoins 135, 139 carnivorous plants 69 soccer 239 

events 212-213; see also entries bites: sharks 127; snakes 126 carolling 117 cobras 44, 54 

A 

for individual sports bitterness (taste) 75 carp 56 Coca-Cola cans BEl 

aardvark 51 Atlantic Ocean crossings 152, 153 bivalves 62 Cars 186-187, 192, 193; braking cockroaches 60, 61 

abseiling 113 ATM fraud 134 black holes 18, 19, 26 distances 115; circumnavigation cocktails 100, 117 

accordions 97 attendances: cinema 162; cricket black pudding 101 156; crowdsourced design 140; coconuts 119 

Acknowledgements 252-253 222; cycling 225; netball 214; blackjack tables 95 engines 187; Formula 1 racing coffee 100 

acrobatics 106-1 07 rugby 234 blindfolded: tennis 103; 232-233; journeys 144, 156; coins 90 

actors & actresses 76, 77, 164, auctions 2-3, 139, 170 texting 206 manufacturers 137, 186, 187; colepods 58 

165, 175 Australia 132, 137 blindness 149 mileage 186; model cars 93, Collections 90-91 

adoptive parents 76 Australian Rules football 215 blogs 139 111, 207; most people crammed colour vision 58, 74 

advertising agencies 136 authors 172, 173 blue holes 40 into 187; noise 74; polar Combat sports 220-221 

aerobics 1 06 awards: BAFTA Children's Blue planet 38-39 expeditions 144; production comedy tours 108 

aerogels 203 Awards 175; Booker Prize 173; blue whales 46, 47 cars 186, 187; remote-controlled Comets 22-23 

Afghanistan 125 Defensive Player of the Year bluetooth gloves 206 206; sales 187; solar-powered comic books 172 

Africa Cup of Nations 214 Awards (basketball) 218; Emmy BMX championships 225 156; stunts 114; vehicle drift comic covers 158 

afro (hairdo) 79 Awards 175; Grammys 168; BMX megaspins 114 114, 186; veteran cars 187 commuting 189 

age 72, 76-77 IAAF Athlete of the Year 212; board games 110, 204; cashew nut trees 68 computers 180, 202, 204; 

age aggregate: parent-child 77; LPGA Player of the Year 227; see also chess casino chips 2 chess 204; draughts 204 

siblings 82 Music Video Awards 168-169; boards, wooden 94; breaking 119 Castles 198-199; bouncy 199; concerts: pop 166; 

Ahwaz, Iran 127 Nobel Prize 173; Oscars 76, boats 112; towing 105; see also self-built 199 underground 41 

air pollution 127 164; PGA Player of the Year 226 sailing; ships casualties of war 124 conch 63 

aircraft: air-to-air refuelling 194; axe juggling 109 bobsled tracks 201 catches (cricket) 222 concrete blocks 105, 119 

bombers 195; destroyed/ aye-aye 49 bobsleigh 244, 245 caterpillars 60 condors 53 

written off 126; human-powered 

Body parts 78-79 catfish 56, 57 cone shells 62 

154; microlights 156; military B 

body piercings 79 cats 44, 64, 65, 66; big cats 45 congestion schemes 188 

195; model 92, 207; paper 95; babies: three-headed 84-85; see Bollywood 164 cattle 51 Congo River 39 

pilotless 195; towing 105; also birth bombers 195 cave castles 198 console gamepads 177 

see also flight backflips 106, 107, 112; bones 74 Caves 20, 40-41 ; paintings 170 construction: robot construction 

aircraft carriers 194 minimoto 114 Booker Prize 173 Cayan Tower, Dubai 197 swarm 204; see also buildings 

airline boarding passes 90 badminton 240 bookmakers 132 celebrities, TV 174 container ships 130 

airports 196-197: model 93; Badwater Ultramarathon 230 books 172-173; balanced on head cellular phones see mobile phones continental round tour 128-129 

runways 185 BAFTA Children's Awards 175 89; blank pages 173; cookery centenarians 76 cookery books 90 

airships 190 bagpipes 90 books 90; crowdfunding 141; ceptipedes 60, 62, 63 cookies 99 

ajolotes 55 Baikal, Lake, Russia 38, 39 eBooks 172-173; for a dolls' centuries (cricket) 222 copepods 58, 59 

albatrosses 53 Baja 1000 off-road race 232 house 93; graphic novels 173 CEOs (chief executive officers) 136 coral reefs 31 

albums, music 140, 141, 166, 167 balancing acts: books on head 89; Borneo 40 ceramic slabs 119 Cordillera Blanca, Peru 37 

alien abduction 25 bottles on head 88; chainsaw botnets 139 CERN, Switzerland 202, 203 corms 68 

alphorns 96 on chin 89; lawn mower on chin bottles: balancing on head 88; cetaceans 47 Cosmic Microwave Background 

Alternative transport 190-191 108; pool cue on chin 89; treats sabering 99 CFL (Canadian Football League) (CMB) 19 

altitude: animals 57; on dog's nose 66 bounce-juggling 89 211 cost of living 137 

communications bandwidth baleen whale 47 bouncy castles 199 Cha Cha Slide 169 costumes: chanaeovers 109; see 

138; cricket 148; financial ball boys 76 box, cramming into a 106 chainsaws 108; balancing 89 a/so dressing up 

transactions 137; observatories Ball sports 214-215 boxing 220, 221 Challenger Deep 39, 58 cover versions 167 

26, 27; roller-coasters 182; balloons (party) 117; bursting 107, Boyoma Falls, DRC 39 champagne bottles 99 cows 117 

tennis courts 201 112; inflated by the nose 103 braking distances 115 Champions League 236, 237 crab cakes 100 

Amazon River 157 balls: ball baths 110; cricket ball brand names 138 Champions League Twenty20 222 crabs 58, 59, 63 

American football 210-211 delivery 222; juggling 88, 89 brand value 136, 137 Changing shapes 72-73 cranes 130, 131 

Super Bowl 167, 211 bananas 98 Brazil 126 character collections 91 craps rolls 133 

America's Cup 242 bank robbers 76 Brazilian wandering spider 60 charity donations 132 craters 20, 23, 32, 33 

amphibians 54-55 banknotes 134; forgery 135 bread 98, 101 cheeks, lifting weights with the 104 crayfish 58, 59 

anamorphic art 171 bankruptcy 137 breasts 79 cheerleading 247 cream teas 99 

Andes 36-37 banksia 69 breath, holding 118, 154 cheesecake 1 00 Cricket 222-223; high-altitude 

anglerfish 56 banquets 116 bricks 88; castles 198 chefs 174 148 

Angry Birds 177 bans: cricket 222; snooker 246 bridesmaids 83 chemical weapons destroyers 194 crime 3, 122, 127, 139, 170; 

animal traps 118 barbecues 116 bridge tunnels 185 Chesapeake Bay 38 cybercrime 135; fakes, frauds & 

animals 42-69; bites and stings Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Bridges & tunnels 184-185 chess 77, 110, 204; computer 204; forgeries 134-135 

61 , 126, 127; captive species 46; Africa 37 brine pools 39 sets 110 crisps 101 

circus acts 108; migrations 53, barefoot: cycling 154; marathons British Open 226 chest 81 croaking 54 

57, 58; new discoveries 44-45; 231 ; walking 116, 154, 156 Broad Peak 150 chewing gum 100; wrappers 102 crocodiles 54 

pets 64-67; unclassifiable barnacles 59 bromeliads 69 childbirth 72, 82-83 cross-country skiing 245 

51, 60; working 66; see also BASE jumping 76 browsers 138, 181 children 82-83; books 172; crosses 197 

individual index entries Baseball 218-217 bubble-gum 117 deadliest conflicts 124-125 Crossing the seas 152-153 

Animals in action 88-87 baseball bats 104 bubbles: bubble-gum 117; Chile 26, 27, 30 crowds see attendances; mass 

Annapurna, Nepal 150, 151 baseballs, held in baseball glove soap 108 chilli con carne 101 participation 

Antarctic Ice Marathon 230 89 budgets 124, 137 chilli peppers 98 Crowdsourcing 140-141, 163, 

Antarctica 30, 31, 36, 37 Basketball 218-219 buildings: basket-shaped 197; Chimborazo 37 207 

anti-personnel robots 205 Batman: Arkham City 177 castles 198-199; hemispherical China 82 Crustaceans 58-59 

anti-war rallies 116 bats 48, 49 21; jack-ups 197; musical chips (fries) 101 crutches 155 

ants 60, 61 batteries, fruit 206 instrument-shaped 197; painting chiropterans 48 Crystal Mine Underground 

apitherapy 61 battering ram, human 119 117; skyscrapers 196, 197 chocolate mousse 100 Marathon 230 

appetites 60 Bay of Bengal 38 Bundesliga 236 Christmas: baubles 94; candles Cullinan diamond 3 

Apple 137 bays 38 bungee jumping 112 94; crackers 94; dinner 100; Curious claimants 102-103 

apples: apple sauce 100; Be a record-breaker 4-5 burglaries 3, 170 stars 94; trees 94 curling 244, 245 

chainsawed 108; crushing beach volleyball 215 Burj Khalifa, Dubai 196 churches 196 curling bridge 185 

with biceps 104; eating and bearded dragons 64 Burma (Myanmar) 124 cicadas 60 currents 39 

juggling 98; snapping 89 beards, lifting weights with 105 buses 156, 188, 189 Cinderella Castle, USA 199 Cutting-edge science 

apps 206, 207 bears 46, 47, 108 bus rapid transport (BRT) cinnamon rolls 100 202-203 

April Fool's Day 138 beds 117, 192 systems 189; pulling 104 circumnavigation: cycling 154; cybercrime 135 

archery 246; arrow shot using bed of nails 109, 119 butterflies 60 driving 156; flying 156; sailing cycads 69 

feet 107 bees 61; bee houses 61 ; mantles buzzards 44 153 Cycling 114, 154, 224-225; 

architectural practices 196 61 ; stings 61 

Circus Maximus, Italy 200 barefoot 154; bike sharing 189; 

architectural projection-mapped beetles 60, 61 c 

circuses 108, 109 BMX 114, 225; circumnavigation 

game 206 Belgium 127 caber tossing 112 cities: continuously inhabited 196; 154; Grand Tours 224; mountain 

Architecture 198-197; see also belly dancing 106 cable cars 190 pollution 127; tourism 129 biking 113, 225; South Pole 146; 

buildings bench presses 105 cable systems 139 civil wars 124, 125 stunts 114 

arm-wrestling 105, 119, 220 betting 132-133 caecum 49 civilian deaths 124 cyclo-cross 225 

armies, fake 135 bicycle horns 193 caimans 54, 55 clams 62 cyclones 31 

arrows 107, 119 bicycles 207; motorized 156-157; cakes 99, 101 claw machines 132 

art 170-1 71 ; costly 170; fakes step climbing 115; stunts 114; camels 51 climbing: walls 149; see also D 

and forgeries 134; materials 2; see also cycling Canadian football 211, 215 mountaineering Daleks 93 

see also paintings; sculpture Big orchestra 98-97 canal bridges 184 clocks 202 dance: classes 106; marathons 

art galleries 129 Big stuff 94-95 canals 131 clonal colonies 69 165; mass participation 169; 

art nouveau 196 bills (beaks) 53 cancer 126 clothes: clothing labels 91 ; troupes 77 

arthropods 58, 59 bioluminescence 39, 62, 63 candles 94 costume changeovers 109; dark matter 19 

artifical intelligence 204-205 biomes 39 candy canes 94 dressing up 116, 117, 182; darts 246 

ARTS & MEDIA 158-177 Birds 44, 45, 52-53; eggs 52; canoeing 243 soccer shirts 95 Dead Sea 38, 39 

ascarides (roundworms) 85 flightless 52, 53; migration 53; cappuccinos 99 clothes pegs 95; on face 102 deadweight tonnage 130 

Ashes 223 nests 53 caps, international 234, 238 clouded leopards 45 Dean's Blue Hole 40 

248 Subject index


death: casualties of war 124; Endurance 154-155 fruit salad 101 hands 78 Iraq 127, 137 

causes of 84; funerals 116; engines 187 frying pans 104 bionic 204, 205 ISDN (Integrated Service Digital 

journalists 125, 127; natural English Channel 157 full-body burns 118 handstands 106 Network) 180 

disasters 127; rates 126; safety envelopes 94 Fun· with Food 98-99 Hang Son Doong cave, Vietnam 41 Isle of Man TT 232 

coffins 84 Epic journeys 156-157 funerals 116 happiness 127 It came from outer space 

deer 51 equations 25 funiculars 190, 191 Harlem Shake 169 32-33 

defence budgets 124, 137 Eritrea 125 fur 65 hat flicks 108 IVF 83 

defence equipment 134 escapology 106, 107 

hat-tricks: athletics 212; ice 

defibrillators 116 euplerids 46 G 

hockey 28; soccer 236, 238 J 

deltas 38 European Cup 237 Gaelic football 214 Hawaiian Iron man 231 jacanas 52 

Democratic Republic of the Congo Everest, Mount 20, 36, 142, 143, galactic jets 19 health budgets 137 jack-ups 197 

125, 126 148-149 galaxies 14-15, 18 hearing 74 jackhammer hops 106 

Denmark 124, 127 expensive: captive species 46; gambling 132-133 heart disease 126 James Bond memorabilia 91 

Denmark Strait Cataract 39 cars 186, 187; diamonds and Gamburtsev Mountain Range, hearts, animal 46 Japan 137 

descendants 82 jewellery 2, 3; roller-coasters Antarctica 36, 37 hedgehogs 64 javelins 194 

detective novels 172 183; sculpture 170; toys 111; game consoles 141 height: animals 64, 65; mountains jellyfish 44, 62 

diabetes, detecting 67 weddings 82 game shows 175, 204 36, 37; people 73, 80, 81 , 83; jerboas 50, 51 

Diamond League 212, 213 Explorers' Grand Slam 150 games: board games 1 10, 204; plants 69 Jericho, Palestine 196 

Diamonds 2-3 extrasolar planets 19, 24 card games 132, 133; chess 77, Heineken Cup 235 jet packs 113 

diaries 134 extrasolar signals 24 1 1 0, 204; videogames 141, 173, heptathlon 213 jet skis 152 

dice 102 Extreme bodies 80-81 176-177, 180, 206 Hercules-Corona Borealis Great jewellery, diamond 2-3 

diesel engines 131 eyes: animal 58, 59, 63; eyeball gamma-rays 18, 74 Wall 19 jogging 89 

digital effects 162 pops 78; human 74; milk Ganesha-related items 90 herons 52 Jordan River 38 

digital library 172-173 squirting 103 gangsters 122 hexagons 21 

journalists: media dangers 125, 

dioramas 93 

garden sheds 192 Higgs boson 203 127; news anchors 174 

Disney 117, 199 F 

gardens 197 high-five 117 I journeys 142-157; epic journeys 

diving 242; animals 47, 53 Facebook 133, 136, 181; likes garlic bread 101 Himalayan mountains 36 156-157; ocean crossings 

DJs 167 138, 166 gas hydrates 202 hirsutism 78 152-153; polar expeditions 

Doctor Who 90, 174 factories: abandoned 137; Gasherbrum I & II, Pakistan/ hoaxes 138 144-147; see also migration 

dog treats 66 automated 205 China 150 hockey 214, 215; ice hockey judo 221 

dogs 64-65; balancing act 66; fairies 117 gastropods 62 228-229 juggling 88, 89, 98, 109; bouncecatches 

112; on a scooter 66; Fakes, frauds & forgeries gender gap 136 Hogwarts Castle 199 juggling 89; weights 108 

working 67 134-135 gerbils 44 hole-in-ones 226, 227 jump racing 247 

dolls 111 falconets 53 Germany 82 home runs (baseball) 21 6-217 jumps: animals 54, 66; BASE 

dolls' houses 93 Family matters 82-83 gestation 48 Hong Kong 136 jumpers 76; bicycle jumps 114; 

dolphins 44, 45, 47 family reunions 82 giant pandas 46 hooded pitohui 45 bungee jumping 112; circular 

Dominican Republic 126 family trees 83 Giant Void 18 horns, human 84 107; feet to handstand 106; 

dominoes 110-111 fashion 141 gibbons 44 horses 64, 65; memorabilia 90-91 ; frog jumping 89; parachute 

donkeys 64, 65 fashion models 76 gift cards (gift tokens) 90 racing 116, 132-133, 246-247; jumps 76; ramp jumps 114, 115, 

double helix bridges 184 father-and-son duos 217 gingerbread houses 101 riding 247; sculptures 171 207; star jumps 119 

dough 116 fax machines 180 giraffes 50, 51 horsetails 68 Jupiter 21, 23, 24 

doughnuts 98, 1 01 ; dunking 112 Fed Ex Cup 226 glaciers 31 hot dog carts 94 

dragonflies 60 feet 78-79; arrows shot using 107 Glastonbury music festival, UK 167 hot dogs 101 

K 

draughts (board game) 204 fencing 220-221 goals: American football 210, 211; Hot spots 126-127 kangaroos 49 

dressing up 116, 117, 182 ferris wheel bridges 184 hockey 214, 215; ice hockey houses, pulling 105 karate 221 

drink cans 86, 112, 113; opened by festivals, music 166 228, 229; soccer 236, 237, hovercraft 156 kayaking 153 

a parrot 66; sculptures 199 fibre-optic cables 180, 181 238, 239 hula hoops 88, 107 Kazumura Cave, Hawaii, USA 40 

drinking straws 102 FIFA Confederations Cup 239 gobies 56-57 human battering ram 119 Kenya 124 

drones 125, 195 FIFA World Cup 238-239 Golden Horn bridge, Turkey 184 human body 72-73; age 72, 76-77; kettleball weights 104, 105 

drop-kicks 234 film directors 164, 165 goldsmith fraud 135 height 73, 80, 81 , 83; weight 72, keys 91 

drums 96, 97, 117 film studios 163 Golf 226-227; balls 89; carts 78, 80, 83, 84 kickboxing 221 

Dry Falls, USA 39 film & TV producers 164, 175 193; clubs 94; greens 201 ; human cannonball 108 Kickstarter 140-141, 207 

Dubai Marina 129 films see movies holes 226 human-powered aircraft 154 Kilimanjaro, Mount, Tanzania 37 

"duck" tours 191 fingernails 70-71, 78; lifting Gomdan Castle, Yemen 198 human-powered submarine 154 killer whales 46, 47 

ductile elements 203 weights with the 104 Google 138, 181 human-powered vehicles 154, 155 King Fahd International Stadium, 

dumbbells 105 fins 57 gorillas 49 humanitarian aid 125 Saudi Arabia 200 

dumplings 101 fire: locked doors, running through GPS 181 HUMANS 70-85 Kingdom Tower, Saudi Arabia 197 

dunking 99, 112 118-1 19 Grammys 168 hummingbirds 52, 53 kingfishers 52 

dwarfs 85 fire engines 156 Gran Telescopic Canarias (GTC) Hungary 126 kite surfing 156 

' fire power, global 194 

hurdles 213 knitting needles 94 

E 

firearms 194 Grand Prix 232-233 hurling 214 knitwear 95 

earnings: actors & actresses fish and chips 101 Grand Slams: baseball 217; hydraulic lifts 109 koala bears 48, 49 

164, 165, 175; art forgers 134; Fishes 42-43, 56-57; poisonous marathons 231 ; tennis 208, hydrogen 18, 21 Komi Republic 127 

athletes 208, 227; authors 172, 55, 57 240, 241 hydrogen-powered cars 186 Komodo dragons 54, 55 

173; CEOs 136; chefs 174; flags 95; human 119 Grand Tours (cycling) 224 hypertext browsers 138, 181 korfball 214-215 

movies 160, 162, 163, 164, 165, Flexible friends 106-107 grandmothers 83 hypertrichosis 78, 84 Krubera Cave, Georgia 41 

174; pop celebrities 166, 167; flight: birds 63; circumnavigation graphic novels 173 

Kumbh Mela festival 117 

27 

.. 

richest people 122-123; tourism 156; robots 205; see also graphical user interface (GUI) 180 I 

128; TV celebrities 174, 175 aircraft grass pitches 201 IAAF (International Association L 

ears 104, 105; lifting weights with floating sports platforms 200 GREAT JOURNEYS 142-157 of Athletics Federations) World La Liga 236, 237 

the 104, 105 Flower Dome, Singapore 196 Great Mosque, Tunisia 196 Championships 212, 213 La Sagrada Familia, Spain 196 

EARTH 28-41 flowers 68, 69; branched Greece 137, 200 ice 21 ; blocks 119; body contact lacrosse 215 

Earth from space 34-35 inflorescence 68; petals 154 greenhouses 196 with 118; caps 36; caves 40; Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, 

earthquakes 203 flowstone cascades 41 Greenland 33, 36, 40 subglacial mountains 37; USA 184 

eBooks 172-173 flycatchers 53 grey alien memorabilia 24 swimming under 154 lakes 38, 39 

echoes 75 flying discs 112, 113 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Ice hockey 228-229 lamps 94 

eclairs 99 flying saucers 25 126, 136, 137 ice skating 112 languages 162-163 

eclipses 35 folding cars 186 group records 83 ice-cream 99, 101 laptops 180 

economic equality/inequality 136 food 98-101, 141; appetites guest stars 175 icefalls 28 Large Binocular Telescope 27 

economic freedom 136 60; Big food 100-1 01 ; fast guinea pigs 50 Iceland 124, 136, 174 lava caves 40 

economic growth 136 food 98, 99; Fun with Food Guinness World Records 60-year identity, fake 135 lawnmowers 108 

economy 136-137 98-99; plastic food replicas 90; story 12-13 iguanas 54 lead poisoning 126 

ecosystems 44 poisoning 85; servings 101; see Guinness World Records titles 88 implants 207 leaves 68 

Eden Project, UK 196 a/so individual index entries Guitar Hero Ill 177 India 126 LEGO 199 

Editor's letter 8-11 football: American football 210- guitars 96 Indian Ocean 39; crossings 152 lemon juice 99 

education budgets 137 211; Australian Rules football Gunnbj0rn Fjeld, Iceland 36 Indian restaurants 100 lemurs 45, 48 

eels 57 215; Canadian football 211, 215; gymnastics 247 Indianapolis 500 232 Leonids 32 

eggs 98, 99; birds 52; fish 43 see also soccer gypsum caves 40 Indoor pursuits 110-111 Lesotho 137 

El Capitan, USA 155 forehead, lifting weights with the gypsum crystals 41 inline skating 155 Liberia 137; life expectancy 136 

electric guitars 96 104 ..._ insectivores 48, 49 light 19 

electric railways 191 Formula 1 racing 201, 232-233 H Insects & arachnids 60-61 light reflectivity 68 

electric vehicles 156, 157, 191 forward flips 119 haikus 254 Inside 2015 6-7 lighting, movie 163 

electrical current 19 forward rolls 88, 107 hair: animal 51 ; human 73, 79; lnstagrams 139 limbo 106 

electricity conduction 75 fossils 46, 50, 56 vehicles pulled by 105 instant messaging 181 lions 64, 108 

electron mass measurement 202 foxes 46 hairdos 79 insurance 25 listeriosis 85 

electronic calculators 90 France 128 hairdressers 77 intelligence 64 lithopedion 84 

elephant seals 47 franchises 162 hairiness 78, 84 International soccer 238-239 litter: ocean litter 39 ; 

elephants 50, 51, 65 free throws (basketball) 218, 219 Halley's Comet 23 International Space Station 17, 32 space junk 33 

email 180, 181; spam 138 Frisbee 11 2, 113 Hamburg, Germany 184 Internet 138-139, 181 ; see a/so LIVING PLANET 42-69 

emergency aid appeals 125 frog jumping 89 hamburgers 99, 100 social networks lizards 54, 55 

Emmy Awards 175 frogs 44, 54, 55 hand grenades 194 invertebrates 58, 62 leach 57 

emoticons 180 frontflips 107, 112 handball 214 investment returns 164 lobsters 58, 101 

encyclopedias 172 fruit batteries 206 handcuffs 1 07 iPads 181 London Marathon 230-231 


0 

0 

I nd ex 


London, UK 129 MODERN WORLD 120-141 NHL (National Hockey League) pelicans 53 

R 

longevity 72, 76-77 Mohican (hairdo) 79 228, 229 penalties 235 

rabbits 64 

loop-the-loop 206 mole rats 50 Niger 82 penalty minutes (ice hockey) 228 

raccoons 46 

lorises 49 molecules 75 Night Before Christmas, Th e 91 penguin fancy dress 116 

Race to Dubai (golf) 226 

lottery wins 132, 133 moles 48 night vision 59 penguins 67 

radio: internet 181; signals 24, 25; 

Louvre Museum, France 129 molluscs 62-63 nipples 49, 104, 105; lifting peregrine falcons 53 

underground brGadcasts 41 

LPGA Player of the Year 227 monarchs 122 weights with the 104, 105; Performers 108-109 

radio telescopes 24, 25, 26, 27, 

lumberjacks 104 money: banknotes 134, 135; pulling vehicles with the 104 Perth Canyon 39 

202 

lunar rovers 205 coins 90 No.1 singles 166 pet food 65 

Rafffesia arnoldii 69 

Luton Haiku 254 Money & economics 136-137 No pain, no gain 118-119 Pets 64-65 

rafting 247 

Luxembourg 126 Mongol Derby 246 Nobel Prize 173 PGA Player of the Year awards 226 

rail tunnels 1 85, 189 

Monitoring Earth 30-31 noise: bicycle horns 193; deepest PGA Tour titles 226 

rails (birds) 53 

M monitors (lizards) 55 note 19; insects 60; quietness pharmaceutical fraud 135 

railways: electric 191; freight 

macarons 100 monkeys 45, 48 74; stadium crowd roar 116; Philippines 127 

yards 189; funiculars 190, 191; 

Macau, China 132 monks 117 workplaces 74 photography: Earth from space 

gradients 190; monorails 190, 

machines, moving 206 monorail systems 190, 191 North Korea 124, 125 34-35; selfies 206, 207 

191; stations 189; underground 

Magdeburg Water Bridge, Mont 130 North Pacific Gyre 39 photon interactions 202 

188, 189; workshops 189; see 

Germany 184 Moon 34, 35; landings 16; North Pole 144-145 pianists/organists 77 

also trains 

maglev trains 190-191 rovers 16 North Pole Marathon 230 Piano House, China 197 

rainfall 30 

magnetism 19 moonrats 49 Northeast Greenland National pianos 96 

rallies (assemblies) 116 

magnetometers 30 moons 21 Park 129 piercings 79 

rallies (badminton) 240 

Malay mouse deer 50 mortgage fraud 135 noses: animal 46, 48; human 75, pig-faced ladies 84 

rally driving 233 

Malbork Castle, Poland 198 mortuaries 84 85, 104, 119; inflating balloons pigeons 53 

ramp jumps 114, 115, 207 

Mammals 46-51 ; mosaics 171, 206 103; lifting weights 104; nails piggy-back racing 89 

rats 50, 66 

unclassifiable 51 mosses 69 inserted into 119 pigs 51,64 

rattlesnakes 54 

Mammoth Cave, USA 40 Mostly molluscs 62-63 novels, graphic 173 pilates 106 

reality television 174 

Manitou Lake, Canada 39 motherhood 82; see also birth nuclear weapons 124, 194 pilgrimages 117, 154, 155 

rebounds (basketball) 218, 219 

maple syrup 91 moths 61 nudity 182 pinball 110 

recession 137 

maps 31 Motocross des Nations 232 Nurburgring, Germany 201 ping pong balls 103 

RECORDMANIA 86-1 19 

marathons (endurance): board MotoGP 232 nurses 117 piranhas 57 

records: albums 140, 141, 

games 110; bouncy castles motor-racing circuits 201 nuts, crushing 99 pirated TV programmes 174 

166, 167; No.1 singles 166; 

199; chess 110; dance 176; motorcycles; journeys 156, 157; 

pistol squats 107 

3D-printed 207 

pogo 113; roller-coasters 182; jumps 114; minimotos 114; races 0 

pistols 194 

recycling 206 

skipping 88; squash 240; 232; switchback zero rotations oarfish 56 pitch (frequency) 74 

red cards 236 

videogames 176; yoga 106 115; wheelies 115 obesity 126 pitching (baseball) 216 

referees 77 

Marathons (race) 119, 144, Motorsports 232-233 Observatories 26-27 pizza 100; boxes 90 

refugees 125; camps 124 

230-231 ; barefoot 231 ; family moult 60-61 ocean sensors 30 planetariums 196 

relay races 212, 213 

members 82; ultramarathons mountain biking 113, 225 oceans 38, 39; rowing 152-153 planets 18, 19, 20-21, 24; 

religious crowds 116 

231 ; wheelchair 231 Mountaineering 142, 148-149, octopuses 62 extrasolar 19, 24; planetary 

remote man-made objects 25 

marble stadiums 200 150-151, 155; blind climber 149; offices 192 landings 17 

Reptiles & amphibians 54-55 

Marina del Rey, USA 129 without oxygen 148, 150, 151 Officially Amazing! 12-13 planthoppers 60 

Retba, Lake, Senegal 38 

marinas 129 Mountains 20, 36-37 oil lamps 94 Plants 68-69 

retractable roofs 201 

marine plants 69 moustaches 72, 117 oil spills 127 plastic: cups 110; food replicas 90 

rhinoceroses 50, 51 

Marinelli bend position 106 mouth gape 79 oil tankers 130 Plasticine 92 

Richest people 122-123, 136 

marmosets 48 Movie makers 164-165 Oldest people 72, 76-77 plateaus 36 

rickshaws 157, 188 

marquees 95 Movies 162-163; attendances ollie 180s 115 playing cards 95 

ringmasters 109 

married couples 149 162; blockbusters 160-161, Olympic Games 212-213, 214, pleasure beaches 182 

rings 3, 95 

Mars 20-21, 25, 35; rovers 17, 204 162; book-based 172; box office 224-225, 243; medals 213, 224, plunge pools 39 

rivers 38, 39; underwater 40 

marsupials 49 takings 160-161, 162, 163, 164, 225, 241 242, 243, 244, 245; pogo stick 88, 112-1 13 

' road deaths 126 

martial arts 221 165, 174; crowdfunding 163; Paralympics 245, 247; stadiums poi weaves 108-109 

robberies 127 

mash-ups 172 digital 162; directors 164, 165; 200-201 ; Winter Olympics 201 , poison: animals 44, 45, 48, 

Robots & AI 204-20!5 

Mass participation 106, franchises 162; producers 1634; 224, 244-245; see also entries 54-55, 57, 58, 60, 61 62; ' rockets: launches 93; model 93 

116-1 17, 169 robot movies 205; swearing 163 for individual sports food poisoning 85 

rocket-powered model cars 93 

Matainaka Cave, New Zealand 40 Mr Versatility 88-89 Olympus Mons (Mars) 20 poison-dart frogs 44, 55 

rocks 33 

matchstick models 92, 102 murders 126, 127 one-minute records 102 Pokemon 176 

rocky road 100 

materials, man-made 202-203 muscles 55, 74 onesies 117 poker 132, 133 

rodents 50, 51, 66 

Mauna Kea, Hawaii 36 museums 199 online: auctions 139; legal polar bears 46, 47, 108 

rodeos 247 

media dangers 125, 127 music: albums 140, 141, 166, summons 181; poker 133; video polar expeditions 144-147 

rogue trading 135 

media tycoons 136 167; awards 168-169; advertisements 138; see also pole vault 212 

roller skis 155 

Medical bag 84-85 composers 165; concerts 41, social networks pollution 39, 126-127 

Roller-coasters 182-183 

megaphones 94 166; crowdfunding 140, 141; Oort Cloud 22 polo 214 

roller-skating 112, 113 

memorabilia: character collections orchestras 96-97; pop music opera houses 197 ponies 64, 65 

roofs: airport terminals 196-197; 

91 ; Doctor Who 90; horses 90; 166-167; robot band 204; opossums 49 poodles 64 

retractable 201 ; stadiums 200, 

James Bond 91 ; Ozzy Osbourne singles 166, 167; underground Optymistychna cave system, pool cues 89 

201 

91 ; US presidential 120 41 ; videos 17, 1 68-169 Ukraine 40 Pop music 166-167; albums 167; 

rovers: lunar 16, Martian 17, 204 

Mercury 17, 20 music festivals 166, 167 Ore Basin 39 singles 166, 167 

rowing 152-153, 157 

meteor showers 32 musical instruments, orchestras 96-97 Pop videos 168-169 

RPM (revolutions per minute) 202 

meteoroids and meteorites 32-33 underground 41 organists 77 poppies 68 

Rubik's Cube 111, 171, 204 

metro systems 188, 189 musicals 141 orienteering 246 ports 131 

Rugby 234-235; League 234; 

Miao Keng Cave, China 41 mussels 101 Oscars 76, 164 postboxes 95 

Union 235 

mice 50, 51, 195 mustard 99 ostriches 52, 53 posters 94 

Rungnado May Day Stadium, 

Mickey Mouse 111 

Outdoor pursuits 112-113 potatoes, baked 101 

North Korea 200 

microchips 180 N 

owls 45, 52 poverty 126 

running: sprinters 76, 212; 

microlights 156 nails: bed of nails 109, 119; 

powerful people: sport 208, 240; 

treadmills 118; see also 

Mid-Ocean Ridge 37 inserted into nose 119; removed p 

TV 174 

marathons 

midges 60 from wood with teeth 118 Pacific Ocean crossings 152 Prague Castle 199 

runs (cricket) 222-223 

migration 53, 57, 58 Nanga Parbat, Pakistan 36, 37, 150 pain 118-1 19 praying mantises 61 

Ryder Cup 226, 227 

mileage 186 Nanpu Bridge, China 184 paintbrushes 94 Predjama Castle, Slovenia 198 

Milestones in space 16-17 NASCAR (National Association painters, paintings 77, 170; cave prematurity 83 

s 

Military hardware 194-19!5 for Stock Car Auto Racing) paintings 170; stolen 170 presidents, US 120, 129 

safety coffins 84 

military infiltration tunnels 185 232, 233 painting (buildings) 117 press freedom 125 

sailfish 57 

military models 93 national anthems 117 Pakistan 125, 137 primates 48, 49 

sailing 242; circumnavigation 153 

military vehicles 140 national parks 129 Panathenaic Stadium, Greece 200 prison sentences 135 

St Emmeran Castle, Germany 198 

milk: bear's milk 46; squirting from National Stadium, Taipei 200 pancakes 98 prisoners 76, 126 

salamanders 55 

the eye 103 nativity figurines 94 papal crowds 116 prize money: golf 226; 

salvage operations 131 

Millennium Bridge, UK 185 natural disasters 127 papas rellenas 101 tennis 208 

samosas 100 

millipedes 63 Nauru, South Pacific 126 paper aircraft 95 projectile velocity 203 

San Francisco-Oakland Bay 

minarets 196 NBA (National Basketball paperclip sculptures 92 propellers 131 

Bridge, USA 185 

mines, sea 195 Association) 218, 219 parachute jumps 76 pseudonyms 173 

San Marino 126 

minesweepers 205 Neptune 21 parallel parking 187 public transport 188-189 

sandcastles 95 

minimotos 114 nervous system 62 Paralympics 245, 247 Publishing 172-173 

sandwiches 101 

mining 202 nests 49, 53; wasps 61 paramice 195 pufferfish 55, 57 

Santa Claus 95 

Mir space station 16, 17, 32 netball 214 parking 187 pulsars 24 

Sarawak Chamber, Borneo 40 

missiles, manned 194 Netherlands 127, 201, 214 parkour 106, 107 Puncak Jaya, Indonesia 150 

satellites 30-31, 180, 181 

MMORPG (multiplayer online neutrinos 181, 203 parrots 52, 66 push-ups 119 

Saturn 21, 35 

videogame) 180 New discoveries 44-45 party poppers 117 pygmy scalytail (flying mouse) 50 

saves: baseball 217; ice hockey 

mobile furniture 192 New Zealand 124 passenger liners 130 pythons 54, 55 

229 

mobile phones 180, 181, 206 news anchors 174 pasta 98 

saxophones 97 

mosaics 206 newspaper delivery persons 77 pastries 101 

Q 

scarves 95 

Model-making 92-93; castles newspapers 94 pavement art 171 quadbikes 156 

science 202-230 

199; remote-controlled vehicles newts 54-55 PCs 180 quadrillionaires 123 

scientific instruments, largest 202 

206, 207; ships 130 NFL (National Football League) peace 124, 126 quaking aspen 69 

scooters 156; dogs on 66 

models, fashion 76 210-21 1 peacekeeping forces 125 quietness 74 

250 Subject index


scorpions 61 solenodon 48 suspension bridges 185 towers: dominoes 111, macarons walking: backwards 155; 

Scrabble 110 somersaults 107, 109 Sutter Buttes, USA 37 100; twisted 197 barefoot 116, 154, 156; 

screenwriters 165 soup 100 swans 52 toxic threats 126 polar expeditions 144, 146 

sculpture 170, 171; drink cans 199; South Africa 136 swearing 163 toys 111 wall climbing 149 

matchstick 92; paperclips 92; South Pole 146-147 sweetness 75 tractors 156 walnuts 99 

straw 93; toothpick 92; see also South Sudan 136 swifts 53 trade routes 130 war 124-125 

towers SPACE 14-27; email from 181; swim fins 89 trading : automated 205; rogue war crimes 125 

sea caves 40 flight 16, 17, 22-23; instagrams swimming 154, 155, 157, trading 135 wasps 61 ; nests 61 

sea level rises 38 from 139; selfies in 207; tourism 242-243; synchronized 242; trains: maglev trains 190-191 ; watches 140; video phone 

Sea Lion Caves, USA 40 129; videos in 169 under ice 154 model trains 93; pulling 104 see watches 181 

sea snakes 45 space junk 33 switchback zero rotations 115 also railways water bugs 60 

seahorses 45, 56 space probes 24 sword swallowing 109 trams 188, 189, 190 water lilies 68 

search-and-rescue 67 space shuttles 17 sword/dagger rotations 109 transfer fees 236 water polo 243 

seed vaults 69 space stations 16, 17, 32, 33 Syria 124, 125 transistors 203 water, retrieving from 67 

self-publishing 172 space telescopes 140 

translations 173 Water sports 242-243 

selfies 139, 206, 207 space walks 16 T 

transport 188-191 waterfalls 28, 39 

sendings-off 235, 239 spades 95 T-shirts 141 Travel & tourism 128-129 watermelons 109 

Senegal 38 spam 138 table tennis 240-241 treadmills 118 waterskiing 112 

Senses and perception 74-715 spaniels 64 tackles 210 trees 68, 69; Christmas trees 94; waves 243 

SETI 24-25 special forces 125 taekwondo 221 fancy dress 117 wealth 64, 122-123, 136 

Seven Summits 150-151 speed: animals 46, 53, 59, 60, 61, tails: dogs 65; human 85 triangular castles 199 weather 30-31 

Shakespearean work, forgeries 67; cricket balls 222; cycling tandems 156 tricycles 192 weather satellites 30, 31 

134 114; eating 99; human-powered tapeworms 85 tries (rugby) 235 webcams 138 

Shanghai, China 131, 184 vehicles 155; land speed tapirs 45 trillionaires 123 

weddings 82, 83 

sharks 42, 45, 56, 57; attacks 127 records 17; roller-coasters 183; Tasman Sea 153 Triple Crown 225 / weight: birth weight 83; humans 

sheepdogs 64 skating 112; swimming 242-243 taste, sense of 75 Triple Seven Summits 151 72, 78, 80, 83, 84; insects 61 ; 

ship-building 130-131 speed skating 244, 245, 247 tattoos 79 triplets 83 rocks 33 

Shipping 130-131 spices 68 taxis 188, 189, 191 trucks 193; pulling 104, 105; stunts weights: juggling 108; lifting 104, 

shipping lanes 130 spiders 60, 61 tea parties 99 114, 115 105, 247 

shipping lines 130; tonnage 130 spinning tops 88 TECHNOLOGY & trumpeter, robot 204 Wewelsburg Castle, 

ships: apartment ships 128; spitting cobras 44 ENGINEERING 178-207 tube worms 44 Germany 199 

container ships 130; ferries sponge rolls 101 teeth: model teeth 94; pulling tuna 57 whale shark 42, 56 

189; lifting capacity 130; sport stacking 110, 111 vehicles by 104, 118; removing tunnelling shields 185 

whales 46, 47 

supercarriers 194; ships-in-a- SPORTS 208-247; athletics nails from wood with 118; tunnels 184, 185, 189 

/ 

wheelchairs 156; marathons 231 

bottle 92, 93 212-213; ball sports 214-215; rodents 50 Turkana, Lake, Kenya 38 Wheelie good 114-115 

shipworms 62 combat sports 220-221 ; crowd tegus 54, 55 TV 174-175 wheelies: ATVs 114;bikes 114; 

shipwrecks 131 attendances 214, 234; stadiums tektites 33 tweezers 205 motorcycles 115; skid loaders 

Shisha Pangma, Himalayas 151 200-201 ; water sports 242-243; Telecoms revolution 180-181 twerking 117, 167 114 

shopping trolleys 178-179, 192 winter sports 244-245 ; see also telephones 180; mobile phones twins 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 148, 149; wheels 192-193 

shove-its 115 entries for individual sports 180, 181, 206 conjoined 85 whip tops 88 

Show of strength 104-105 Sports architecture 200-201 telescopes 24, 25, 26-27, 27, Twitter 138, 139, 181; followers "White Christmas" 166 

shrews 48, 49 sports cars 186 202, 203 166, 237 wickets (cricket) 222 

shrimps 58 Sports round-up 246-247 television buildings 197 lyres 105; juggling 108 wild cats 46 

siblings 82: baseball 217; boxing sprinters 76, 212 temperatures 30, 31 , 61, 230; 

wild ox 45 

220; rugby 234; taekwondo 221 squash 240 oceans 31 u 

winds 21 

sieges 198 squat thrusts 119 ten-pin bowling 246 UEFA European Championship wine 137; fraud 134 

Sierra Leone 136 squats 107 tennis 240, 241 ; ball boys 76; 238 wingbeats 52, 60 

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, squid 62, 63 blindfolded 103; courts 201 ; UFOs 25 Winnie the Pooh 91, 184 

Colombia 37 squirrels 50 Grand Slams 208, 240; prize Ukraine 126 winning streaks 132, 133, 236 

sight 74 stacking, sport 110, 111 money 208; real tennis 201 ; Ultimate Fighting Championship Winter sports 244-245 

Sikhs 116 stadiums 200-201 ; crowd roar 116 serves 209 (UFC) 221 witches 117 

simulcasting 174 stalactites 41 Tennis & racket sports underground railways 188, 189 wood: roller-coasters 183; 

singing 117 stalagmites 41 240-241 underwater: cable systems 139; sculpture 171 ; spoons 95 

Sistema Ox Bel Ha: Mexico 40-41 stamp collections 90 tensile roofs 200 escapology 106, 107; juggling woodlice 59 

sitcoms 175 Stanley Cup 229 terns 53 88, 112; pogo stick 88; stage woodpeckers 52 

sixes (cricket) 223 star jumps 119 terrorism 125 hydraulic lift system 109; workplaces 74 

60 years on screen 160-161 Star Trek 117 Test matches 222, 223 sword swallowing 109; Works of art 170-171 

skateboarding 113, 115, 156, 246 Star Wars 91 text messages 206 tunnels 184, 185 World at war 124-125 

skateparks 196 starfish 44 Thailand 128 ungulates 50, 51 world championships: 

skating: figure skating 244; ice stars, Christmas 94 Thames Tunnel, UK 185 unhappiness 127 archery 246; badminton 240; 

skating 112; inline skating 155; statesmen: elder 77; US theatre 141 unicycles 108 boxing 220; cyclo-cross 225; 

roller-skating 112, 113; speed presidential memorabilia 120; theme parks 182-183; castles 199 Universe 18-19 diving 242; fencing 220, 221 ; 

skating 244, 245, 247 US presidential tours 129 thermal conductivity 203 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) IAAF (International Association 

skid loaders 114 step-ups 119 Thomas Cup (badminton) 240 195 of Athletics Federations) 212, 

skiing 148, 244-245; polar stick insects 60 Thor, Mount, Baffin Island 37 Urban transport 188-189 213; korfball 214-215; lacrosse 

expeditions 144, 146, 147; stilt-walking 88, 89, 109 Three Poles Challenge 144, 145 US Masters 226, 227 215; marathons 230-231 ; 

resorts 128 stings 61 3D internet broadcasting 181 US Open 226 martial arts 221 ; motor racing 

ski jumps 201, 244 stock car racing 232, 233 3D printing 194, 207 USA: budgetary expenditure 137; 233; motorcycling 232; 

ski-bob 244 stock market crashes 205 3D television 174 defence budget 124; GDP 136; mountain biking 225; Netball 

ski-flying 201 stonefish 57 "Thriller" dance 169 murder rate 127; presidential World Series 214; orienteering 

skin 78 Stop press 254-255 thunder 20 memorabilia 120; presidential 246; rugby 234, 235; soccer 

skipping 88, 119 stopples 115 Tianjin Eye, China 184 tours 129; prison population 238-239; squash 240; 

skulls 78 straitjackets 1 06, 107 Tibetan Plateau 36 126; tourism 128 surfing 243; swimming 242; 

sky bridges 184 straw sculptures 93 ticket sales: comedy tours 108; ice Usenet 180 table tennis 240; tennis 240; 

Skylab space station 33 Street Fighter 176 hockey 228; movies 160-161 , 

volleyball 215; water polo 243; 

skyscrapers 196, 197 Street View 138 162, 163, 164, 165, 174 v 

World Handball Championship 

slacklines 98, 108, 109 streetcars 189 tidal bores 38 vehicles: electric 156, 157, 191; 214; wrestling 220 

slaloms 114, 115, 243, 245 strength 1 04-105 tigers 47, 108 human-powered 154, 155; World of chance 132-133 

slingshot 113 strikeouts (baseball) 216, 217 tilting bridges 185 military 140; pulling 104, 105; World, The 128 

slot machines 133 structures, largest 19, 35 time capsules 24 remote-controlled 206, 207; World Wide Web 138; 

Slovakia 136 stuntmen 77 Titanic survivors 76 solar-powered 156; vehicle rebooting 139 

slugs 63 sturgeon 57 toads 55 drift 114; see also individual wrestling 220; arm wrestling 105, 

smartphones 181; apps 206, 207 submarines 154, 194, 195; human- toes 52; lifting weights with the 104 index entries 119, 220; sumo wrestling 220 

smell: sense of 74-75; smelly powered 154 Togo 127 venom see poison 

animals 55, 68 Sudirman Cup 240 toilet, motorized 192 Venus 20, 35 

X 

smoothies 101 Sudwala Caves, South Africa 40 tongues: animals 55, 61 ; humans 173, 176-177, Videogamers 141, X Games, 246 

snails 63 Suez Canal 131 74, 78, 79; lifting weights with 180, 206 

snakes 44, 45, 54, 55, 195; bites suits of armour 199 the 104 videos 142: advertisements 138; y 

126 summons, legal 181 tonsils 79 blogs 139; filmed in space 17 yachts 130 

snooker 246 sumo stadiums 201 toothbrushes 207 

violins 97 yard sticks 103 

- 

Snoopy 2 sumo wrestling 220 toothpick sculptures 92 vipers 54 Yarlung Zangbo 38 

snow 30; body contact with 118 sunfish 56, 57 Top tech 206-207 VLA (Very Large Array) 26 Yellowstone National Park, 

snowboarding 2'\4 Super Bowl 167, 211 tornadoes 31, 127 vocal range 73 USA 129 

soap bubbles 108 Super Mario Kart 177 torpedoes 195 

- 

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) Yemen 136, 198 

soccer 236-239; boots 207; supercarriers 194 tortoises 54 180 yo-yos 1 

referees 77; shirts 95; stadiums supercentenarians 77 Tote betting 133 voids 18 yoga chains 106 

200 superclusters 19 toucans 52 volcanoes 37 yoga marathons 106 

social networks 136, 181; see also supercomputers 202 touch, sense of 75 volleyball 215; beach volleyba/1 215 yokes 105 

Facebook; Twitter superfetation 84 fouchdowns 210, 211 Voyager 1 25, 34, 180 YouTube 139 

Solar System 20-21, 23 Superior, Lake, Canada/USA 38 Tour de France 224, 225 

solar-powered stadiums 200 Superman 117 tourism 109, 128-129; projects w 

z 

solar-powered vehicles 156 supernovas 19 129; receipts 128; space 129 Wacky wheels 192-193 zombies 117 

soldiers, toy 111 surfing 243 Tower of London, UK 199 waists 80, 84 Zumba 106 



; Ackoow edgernen_t_s 

,... ;- ---A, 

"':: 


would like to thank the 

following for their help in 

compiling this edtion: 

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(Camelot Group); Canton 

Classic Car Museum, Ohio, USA; 

Carousel Candies, California, 

USA; CCTV (Guo Tong, Wang 

Wei and all their colleagues); 

Frank Chambers; Richard M 

Christensen (Professor Research 

t"Y Emeritus, Stanford University); 

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Okamura, Tadao Sawada); Adam 

Cloke; Collaboration Inc. Japan 

Picture credits 

1 : Kevin Scott Ramos/GWR 

2: Getty Images 3: Hilary Morgan/ 

Alamy, Erik C Pendzich/Rex, V&A 

lmages/Aiamy, Getty Images, 

Lloyds of London/AP/PA, Lloyds of 

London/AP/PA, Lionel Cironneau/ 

AP/PA 5: Paul Michael Hughes/ 

GWR 7: Kevin Scott Ramos/GWR 

Paul Michael Hughes/GWR 

8 (UK): Steven Peskett 

9 (UK): Andy Chubb, Christian 

Black 10 (UK): Richard Bradbury/ 

GWR, Richard Bradbury/GWR, 

Crown Copyright 11 (UK): Alex 

Walker, Marc O'Sullivan, Paul 

Michael Hughes/GWR, Pete Jones 

8 (US): Rick Kern/Bravo, James 

Ellerker/GWR, Zef Nikolla 

9 (US): SYCO 10 (US): Peter 

Kramer/NBC, Virginia Sherwood/ 

NBC, Peter Kramer/NBC, Ross 

Hallin, Dan MacMedan/Chevrolet 

11 (US): Greg Lemaster, Heidi 

Gutman/ ABC, Rich Pedroncelli/ 

AP/PA, Kevin Scott Ramos/GWR 

9 (CAN): Kevin Scott Ramos/GWR 

10 (CAN): Mark Blinch/Reuters, 

Sergey llnitsky/Aiamy 11 (CAN): 

Dylan Martinez/Reuters, lnts 

Kalnins/Reuters 8 (AUS): Joe 

Murphy 9 (AUS): Mark Metcalfe/ 

Getty Images, M Cranna, David 

Gray/Reuters 10 (AUS): Brian Lee, 

Daniel Chew, Glen Yearbury 

11 (AUS): Ross Kummer, Jeremy 

Guzman, Richard Birch 12: Getty 

Images, Photoshot, Clive Limpkin/ 

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Michael Hughes/GWR 13: lTV/ 

Rex, John Wright/GWR 14: NASA, 

NASA/Science Photo Library, 

NASA 15: NASA 16: NASA, Getty 

Images, Alamy 17: NASA, Reuters, 

ESA, Mike Blake/Reuters 

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Aerospace Center 21 : NASA, Mark 

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iStock, Science Photo Library 

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Sci-Fi Photo Journal 24: NASA, 

Getty Images 25: Eberly College 

of Science, Zeit News, Alamy 

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their colleagues); Connexion 

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28: Thomas Senf/Mammut 

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Images, Holger Leue/Corbis 

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ESA, Curtin University of 

Technology, NOAA, Alamy, Ralph 

White/Corbis, Bill Waugh/Reuters, 

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Images 32: Australian Science, 

AP/PA, Reuters, NASA/Reuters, 

NASA, Roger Coulam/Aiamy 

33: AP/PA, Alamy, Reuters, NASA, 

Addi Bischoff, Stefan Ralew/ 

sr-meteorites.de, NASA 34 : NASA 

35: NASA 36: Getty Images, 

Maps for Free, Alamy, Royal 

Geographical Society 37: Susanna 

Wikman, Galen Roweii/Corbis, 

Dianne Bleii/Getty Images, British 

Antarctic Survey 38: Bay of Bengal 

Large Marine Ecosystem Project, 

Andrew McLachlan/Superstock, 

Massimo Brega/Science Photo 

Library, Massimo Brega/Science 

Photo Library 39: W Robert 

Moore/National Geographic, Doug 

Perrine/Corbis, Colorado State 

University, Anderson Aerial 

Photography, Alamy, Gary Bell/ 

Oceanwide Images 40: Dave 

Bunnell/Under Earth Images, 

David Kilpatrick/Aiamy, Robbie 

Shone/Aiamy 41 : Carsten Peter/ 

Getty Images, Getty Images, 

AI amy, Stephen L Alvarez/National 

Geographic 42: Martin Strmiska/ 

Alamy 44: Alamy, Getty Images, 

Nurlan Kalchinov/Aiamy, Bio-Ken 

Snake Farm, Dirk Ercken/Aiamy, 

Image Quest Marine, Image Quest 

Marine, Jodi Rowley, Tilo Nadler, 

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Nicole Dutra 45: Daniel Heuclin/ 

Nature PL, AP/PA, Bruce Rasner/ 

Nature PL, Sebastian 

Kennerknecht/FLPA, Alamy, 

Miguel Rangel Jr, Peter Kappeler, 

Public Library of Science, Knud 

Andreas J0nsson, Mahree-Dee 

White, Samuel Nienow 46: Alamy, 

Steve Bloom/Aiamy, Alamy, 

Human Dynamo Workshop 

47: Martin Strmiska/Aiamy, Alamy, 

Justin Hofman/Aiamy 48: Anup 

Shah/Getty Images, Thomas 

Marent/Corbis, H Lansdown/ 

Alamy, Corbis 49: Masahiro lijima/ 

Ardea, FLPA, Denis Palanque/ 

FLPA, Getty Images, Alamy, Dave 

Watts/Aiamy 50: Corbis, 

Photoshot, Frans Lanting/Corbis, 

Eric Nathan/Photoshot 51: Alamy, 

Donald M Jones/FLPA, Corbis, 

Barry Manseii/Nature PL 

52: Alamy, Kevin Elsby/Aiamy, 

Alamy, M Watson/Ardea, Getty 

Images 53: Jim Zipp/Ardea, 

Photoshot, Cyril Laubscher/Getty 

Images, Alamy, Steven David 

Miller/Nature PL, Chris Howarth/ 

Alamy 54: Milos Manojlovic/ 

iStock, Andrew Murray/Nature PL, 

Alamy, Dante Fenolio 55: Alamy, 

Stan Osolinski/Getty Images, 

Chris Mattison/Aiamy, A & J 

Visage/ Ala my 56: Zeb Hogan/ 

WWF, Chris Radburn/PA, Catalina 

Island Marine Institute 57: Doug 

Perrine/Nature PL, Jesse 

Cancelmo/Aiamy, Steve Bloom 

lmages/Aiamy, David Jenkins/ 

Caters News 58: Corbis, 

Getty Images, Reuters 

59: www.aphotomarine.com, Chris 

Skone-Roberts/GWR, Koen G H 

Breedveld/Spring Rivers 

Ecological Sciences, Corbis, 

Alamy, creepyanimals.com 

60: Morley Read/Aiamy, Dale 

Ward, Alamy, Caters, California 

Academy of Sciences 61: Csiro 

Ecosystem Sciences, Maximilian 

Weinzieri/Aiamy, Getty Images, 

Louise Murray/Aiamy, Natural 

History Museum, London 

62: Barry Durrant/Getty Images, 

SWNS, Alamy, Jeff Rotman/Getty 

Images, Andrey Nekrasov/Aiamy, 

Andrey Nekrasov/Aiamy 

83: snailworld.eu, Seren/Bangor 

University, MMurphy/NPWS 

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Ramos/GWR 65: James Ellerker/ 

GWR, Ryan Schude/GWR, Ryan 

Schude/GWR, Sophie Davidson/ 

GWR, Getty Images, Corbis, Elaine 

Thompson/ AP/PA 66: James 

Ellerker/GWR, Ryan Schude/GWR, 

James Ellerker/GWR, Kevin Scott 

Ramos/GWR, Howard Burditt/ 

Reuters 67: Ranald Mackechnie/ 

GWR, David Moir/Reuters, Kevin 

Scott Ramos/GWR 68: Silvia 

Vignolini/PNAS, Paul Street/Aiamy, 

Vinayaraj, Jerry Lam pen/Reuters 

69: Frans Lanting/Corbis, Redfern 

Natural History, Getty Images, 

Alamy 70: Paul Michael Hughes/ 

GWR 72: Ron Siddle/AP/PA, 

Corbis, Buddhika Weerasinghe/ 

Getty Images, John Wright/GWR, 

Corbis, Irish Independent, 

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73: John Wright/GWR, Paul 

Michael Hughes/GWR, The Burns 

Archive, Getty Images, Alamy 

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Images 76: Gary Wainwright, 

Devon Steigerwald, Reuters, 

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Hicks/Eyevine, Alamy, Reuters 

78: Drew Gardner/GWR, James 

Ellerker/GWR, Leon Schadeberg/ 

Rex 79: Kimberly Cook/GWR, 

James Ellerker/GWR, Paul Michael 

Hughes/GWR, John Wright/GWR, 

80: Rex, Tomas Bravo/GWR 

81: Hank Walker/Getty Images, 

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Corbis, Paul Michael Hughes/GWR 

83: D L Anderson, Lakruwan 

Wanniarachchi/Getty Images 

84: Corbis 85: Alamy, Getty 

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Features, John A Secoges/AP/PA 

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Howard/Getty Images, Tengku 

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Robertson/GWR, Shinsuke 

Kamioka/GWR, Richard Bradbury/ 

GWR 91 : Frank Espich/The 

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92: Kevin Scott Ramos, Pete 

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95: Fredrik Naumann/Felix 

Features 96: Richard Bradbury/ 

GWR, Ryan Schude/GWR, Ranald 

Mackechnie/GWR 97: Ranald 

Mackechnie/GWR, Kate Melton, 


98: Ryan Schude/GWR 99: Ryan 

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and Sports, University of Texas, 

USA); Matthew Tole; Anaelle 

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t""v------------------- 

Schude/GWR 100: Dan Rowlands/ 

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101: David Parry/PA, David Parry/ 

PA, Reuters 102: Ryan Schude/ 

GWR, John Wright/GWR, Rob 

Loud/Getty Images 103: Ranald 

Mackechnie/GWR, Drew Gardner/ 

GWR 104: Ryan Schude/GWR, 


105: Paul Michael Hughes/GWR, 

Ranald Mackechnie/GWR, Keith 

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GWR, Matt Crossick/GWR, John 

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112: Paul Michael Hughes/GWR 

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Strong, Alamy 114: Rick Belden, 

Capture the Moment Photography 

115: Christiane Kappes, Mirja 

Geh/Red Bull, Michael G 

Nightengale 116: Philip 

Robertson/GWR, Rentsendorj 

Bazarsukh/Reuters, Anne 

Caroline/GWR 117: Theo Cohen, 

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118: Ruud van der Lubben/PA, 

Ryan Schude/GWR, Paul Michael 

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Hughes/GWR, Mark Radford 

120: Ryan Schude/GWR 

122: Getty Images, Tim Rooke/ 

Rex, National Archives, Shel 

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Corbis 123: Alamy, Corbis, Alamy, 

Nati Harnik/AP/PA, Gus Ruelas/ 

Reuters, Keith Dannemiller/Aiamy 

124: Ahmad Masood/Reuters, 

Thomas Mukoya/Reuters, Ho 

New/Reuters, Soe Zeya Tun/ 

Reuters 125: Getty Images, 

Reuters, Reuters, Ho New/ 

Reuters, Reuters, Athar Hussain/ 

Reuters 126: Christophe Simon/ 

Getty Images, Evaristo Sa/Getty 

Images, Krishnendu Halder/ 

Reuters, Ezequiel Abiu Lopez/AP/ 

252 Acknowledgements


PA, Kern McNair/Getty Images Murat/PA, Alamy, Rodrigo de NASA, NASA 208: Stephane 

127: Global Times, Onur Caban/ Balbin Behrmann 171: WENN, Mahe/Reuters 210: Ezra Shaw/ Country codes 

Getty Images, Wim Scheire/Getty WENN, Russell Cheyne/Reuters, Getty Images, Jeremy Brevard/ 

ABW Aruba GIB Gibraltar PAK Pakistan 

Images, Mahmoud Raoul Alain Perus/L:Oeil du Diaph Reuters, Lucy Nicholson/Reuters, 

AFG Afghanistan GIN Guinea PAN Panama 

Mahmoud/Reuters 128: Ragnhild 172: Ryan Schude/GWR, Alamy Reuters 211: AI amy, Jack 

AGO Angola GLP Guadeloupe PCN Pitcairn Islands 

Gustad, Chaiwat Subprasom/ 173: Olivia Harris/Reuters, Dempsey/AP/PA, John Leyba/ 

AlA Anguilla GMB Gambia PER Peru 

Reuters 129: United States Benjamin Pritzkuleit 174: Rex Getty Images 212: John Thys/ 

ALB Albania GNB Guinea-Bissau PHL Philippines 

Geological Survey, Alamy, Features, Haut et Court, Virginia Getty Images, Dylan Martinez/ 

AND Andorra GNQ Equatorial PLW Palau 

Oleksandr Rupeta/Aiamy, Pascal Sherwood/Getty Images, Yogen Reuters, Pascal Lauener/Reuters 

ANT Netherlands Guinea PNG Papua New 

Ducept!Aiamy, Giorgio Marcoaldi/ Shah/Getty Images, Samir 213: lan Walton/Getty Images, Antilles GRC Greece Guinea 

CVN, Reuters, Manuel Silvestri/ Hussein/Getty Images 175: A & E Alamy, Alamy 214: Hannah ARG Argentina GAD Grenada POL Poland 

Reuters 130: Kristijan Vuckovic, Networks, Bob D'Amico/Getty Johnston/Getty Images, Lorraine ARM Armenia GAL Greenland PRI Puerto Rico 

National Center for Ecological Images, BBC 176: Ryan Schude/ O'Sullivan/lnpho, Lluis Gene/Getty ASM American GTM Guatemala PRK Korea, DPRO 

Analysis and Synthesis, GWR, Kevin Scott Ramos/GWR, Images, Toshifumi Kitamura/Getty Samoa GUF French Guiana PAT Portugal 

Jahre-Wallern, Michael Kooren/ Paul Michael Hughes/GWR, Ryan Images 215: Alamy, Marco Garcia/ ATA Antarctica GUM Guam PRY Paraguay 

Reuters 131 : Aly Song/Reuters, Schude/GWR, Richard Bradbury/ Getty Images 216: Ray ATF French GUY Guyana PYF French 

Marine Traffic, Reuters GWR 177: Ranald Mackechnie/ Stubblebine/Reuters, Alamy, Mike Southern HKG Hong Kong Polynesia 

132: Cameron Laird/Rex, Pablo GWR, Richard Bradbury/GWR, Cassese/Reuters 217: Martin Territories 

HMD Heard and QAT Qatar 

Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Ryan Schude/GWR 178: Kevin Thomas/ Alamy, Keith Charles/ ATG Antigua and McDonald REU Reunion 

Barbuda 

Images 133: Mark Bialek/Aiamy, Scott Ramos/GWR 180: Alcatel- Getty Images, Getty Images, Mike 

Islands ROM Romania 

AUS Australia 

Phil Mingo/Pinnacle 134: Thomas Lucent, Topfoto, HP Museum, Eric Blake/Reuters 218: Dick Raphael/ 

HND Honduras RUS Russian 

AUT Austria 

Grimm/AP/PA, Michael Urban/ Risberg/AP/PA, Getty Images, AP/ Getty Images, Ron Hoskins/Getty 

HRV Croatia Federation 

AZE Azerbaijan 

Getty Images, Paul Cooper/Rex, PA, NASA, Getty Images, Gene J Images, Joe Skipper/Reuters, 

(Hrvatska) RWA Rwanda 

BDI Burundi 

Alamy, Alamy 135: Alamy, Puskar/AP/PA, Science Photo Reuters, Mike Segar/Reuters 

HTI Haiti SAU Saudi Arabia 

BEL Belgium 

RMN-Grand Palais/Musee du Library 181: Elise Amendola/ API 219: Layne Murdoch Jr/Getty 

HUN Hungary SDN Sudan 

BEN Benin 

Louvre/Herve Lewandowski, PA, Getty Images, Rebecca Cook/ Images, Getty Images 220: Getty 

IDN Indonesia SEN Senegal 

BFA Burkina Faso 

Roger Viollet/Getty Images, Ala my Reuters, Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters, Images, Alamy, AI Bello/Getty 

IND India SGP Singapore 

BGD Bangladesh 

136: Tina Hager/Getty Images, Reidar Hahn, Getty Images, Images, Kristian Dowling/Getty 

lOT British Indian SGS South Georgia 

BGR Bulgaria Ocean Territory 

Chao-Yang Chan/Aiamy, George Kimberly White/Reuters, Denis Images 221 : David Finch/Getty 

and South SS 

BHR Bahrain IRL Ireland 

Nikitin/AP/PA, Craig Barritt/Getty Closon/Rex 182: Mathew Imaging, Images, Nathan Denette/PA 

SHN Saint Helena 

BHS The Bahamas IAN Iran 

Images 

SJM Svalbard and 

137: Toru Hanai/Reuters, Ho New/Reuters, Justin 222: Christopher Lee/Getty 

BIH Bosnia and IRQ Iraq Jan Mayen 

Alamy, Rebecca Cook/Reuters, Garvanovic/Coaster Club 183: lain Images, Philip Brown/Reuters, 

Herzegovina ISL Iceland Islands 

Yorgos Karahalis/Reuters, NASA Masterton/ Ala my, Stan Honda/ Philip Brown/Reuters, David Gray/ BLR Belarus ISR Israel SLB Solomon 

138: Dove, Google Maps, Getty Images, Craig T Mathew/ Reuters 223: Aijaz Rahi/AP/PA, BLZ Belize ITA Italy Islands 

Universal Pictures/Aiamy, Mathew Imaging, Kazuhiro Nogil Alamy, Philip Brown/Reuters BMU Bermuda JAM Jamaica SLE Sierra Leone 

Facebook, Alamy 139: lnstagram, Getty Images 184: Corbis, 224: Stefano Rellandini/Reuters, BOL Bolivia JOR Jordan SLV El Salvador 

lnstagram, AP, Lucy Nicholson/ J S Callahan/Aiamy, Alamy Reuters 225: Javier Lizon/ Ala my, BRA Brazil JPN Japan SMA San Marino 

Reuters, Andrew Kelly/Reuters, 185: Rex Features, Alamy, Getty Getty Images, John Sommers/ BRB Barbados KAZ Kazakhstan SOM Somalia 

Laurence Mathieu/The Guardian Images, Ray Roberts/Rex Corbis, PA, Corbis, Leo Mason/ BAN Brunei KEN Kenya SPM Saint Pierre 

140: Mike Goldwater/Aiamy, 186: Damian Kramski, Max Earey/ Corbis 226: Caren Firouz/Reuters, Darussalam and Miquelon 

KGZ Kyrgyzstan 

AI amy 141: Alastair Muir/Rex Newspress 187: Alamy, Canton Tami Chappell/Reuters, Daren BTN Bhutan SRB Serbia 

KHM Cambodia 

142: Everest Media Productions Classic Car Museum, Chrysler Staples/Reuters, Alamy, Alamy BVT Bouvet Island SSD South Sudan 

KIA Kiribati 

144: Afanassi Makovnev, Getty Group LLC, Alamy, Alamy, Kim 227: Phil Sheldon/Getty Images, BWA Botswana STP Sao Tome and 

KNA Saint Kitts and 

Images 145: Jarek J6epera/GWR Kyung Hoon/Reuters, Tobias Andy Lyons/Getty Images, Jim CAF Central African Principe 

Nevis 

147: Getty Images, Paul Michael Schwarz/Reuters, Reuters Young/Reuters, Harry Warnecke/ Republic SUR Suriname 

KOR Korea, 

Hughes/GWR 148: Will 188: Maciej Dakowicz/Aiamy, Getty Images, Denis Balibouse/ CAN Canada Republic of SVK Slovakia 

Wintercross 149: James Ellerker/ iStock 189: Peter Brogden/Aiamy, Reuters 228: Reuters, Antti CCK Cocos (Keeling) KWT Kuwait SVN Slovenia 

GWR 150: British Nanga Parbat Robert Nickelsberg/Aiamy, PA Aimo-Koivisto/PA, B Bennett/ Islands LAO Laos SWE Sweden 

2012 Expedition, Philip Temple, 190: Andy Clark/Reuters, Alison Getty Images, Reuters, Alamy, CHE Switzerland LBN Lebanon SWZ Swaziland 

Paul A Souders/Corbis, Frieder Thompson/Aiamy, Colombia Reuters 229: Dick Raphael/Getty CHL Chile LBR Liberia SYC Seychelles 

Blickle/Camera Press Travel, Alamy 191: Shadow Fox, Images 230: Reuters, Tobias CHN China LBY Libyan Arab SYR Syrian Arab 

151: Paul Michael Hughes/GWR Mark L Simpson/Electric Schwarz/Reuters, Chris Helgren/ CIV COte d'lvoire Jamahiriya Republic 

152: Felipe Souza, Ben Duffy Lemonade Photography, Reuters 231 : Reuters, Reuters, CMR Cameroon LCA Saint Lucia TCA Turks and 

COD Congo, DR of 

Caicos Islands 

153: Daniel Deme/GWR, Torsten Wisconsin Duck Tours, Marcia Alamy, Reuters, Alamy 232: Cody LIE Liechtenstein 

TCD Chad 

Blackwood/Getty Images, Paul Jose Sanchez/AP/PA, Rex Duncan/ AI amy, Alamy, Tannen COG Congo LKA Sri Lanka 

TGO Togo 

Michael Hughes/GWR 154: Bas 192: Paul Michael Hughes/GWR, Maury/Aiamy, Mervyn McClelland/ 

COK Cook Islands LSO Lesotho 

COL Colombia 

THA Thailand 

de Meijer, Lars Stenholt Paul Michael Hughes/GWR, Presseye 233: Adrees Latif/ LTU Lithuania 

COM Comoros TJK Tajikistan 

Kirkegaard, Lupi_Spuma, Shinsuke Kamioka/GWR, Paul Reuters, Lars Baron/Getty Images, LUX Luxembourg 

CPV Cape Verde TKL Tokelau 

Shutterstock 155: John Dickey, Michael Hughes/GWR, Ranald Dozier Mobley/Getty Images, LVA Latvia 

CRI Costa Rica TKM Turkmenistan 

Claudia Marcelloni, James Mackechnie/GWR, James Ellerker/ Lehtikuva/Reuters 234: Catha I MAC Macau 

CUB Cuba 

TMP East Timor 

Ellerker/GWR, James Ellerker/ GWR 193: Paul Michael Hughes/ McNaughton/Reuters, Alamy, MAR Morocco 

CXR Christmas TON Tonga 

GWR 157: Paul Michael Hughes/ GWR, Richard Bradbury/GWR, Alamy 235: Jean Sebastien MCO Monaco 

Island 

TPE Chinese Taipei 

GWR 158: Lionsgate/Aiamy Drew Gardner/GWR, Kevin Scott Evrard/Getty Images, Alamy, 

MDA Moldova 

GYM Cayman TTO Trinidad and 

160: MGM/Aiamy, Walt Disney Ramos/GWR 194: Solid Concepts, Reuters, Eddie Keogh/Reuters MDG Madagascar 

Islands 

Tobago 

Productions, Twentieth Century US Navy, Reuters, USAF 195: US 236: Josep Lago/Getty Images, MDV Maldives 

GYP Cyprus 

TUN Tunisia 

Fox, MGM/Aiamy, Universal, Navy, Alamy, USDA 196: Sean Michaela Rehle/Reuters, Paul MEX Mexico 

CZE Czech 

TUR Turkey 

MGM/Aiamy, Paramount, Walt Pavone/Aiamy, Gustau Nacarino/ Hanna/Reuters, Alamy Republic 

MHL Marshall 

TUV Tuvalu 

Islands 

Disney Productions/Rex, MGM, Reuters, Rory Daniel, Rex 237: Alamy, Paul Burrows/Action DEU Germany 

TZA Tanzania 

MKD Macedonia 

Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Features, Alamy, Alamy, Alamy Images, Alex Morton/Action DJI Djibouti 

UAE United Arab 

MLI Mali 

Bros. 161: Universai/Aiamy, Yash 197: Jianan Yu/Reuters, Rex Images, Susana Vera/Reuters DMA Dominica Emirates 

MLT Malta 

Raj Films, Walt Disney Pictures, Features, iStock 198: iStock, 238: Reuters, Christophe Simon/ DNK Denmark 

UGA Uganda 

MMR Myanmar 

Twentieth Century Fox/Aiamy, Postojna Cave, Jim Zuckerman/ Getty Images, Wolfgang Rattay/ DOM Dominican 

UK United 

(Burma) 

Twentieth Century Fox, Summit Alamy 199: Jorge Royan, Glenn Reuters, Getty Images, Juan Republic 

Kingdom 

MNE Montenegro 

Entertainment, Walt Disney Asakawa/Getty Images, Alice Medina/Reuters 239: Ala my, Clive DZA Algeria 

UKR Ukraine 

MNG Mongolia 

Productions, Twentieth Century Finch, Alamy 200: Khaled Brunskiii/Getty Images, Goran ECU Ecuador UMI US Minor 

MNP Northern 

Fox, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Hollywood 

Islands 

AI-Sayyed/Getty Images, Tomasevic/Reuters, Alamy, Jorge EGY Egypt Mariana Islands 

Pictures, Warner Bros., MGM/ Dominique Debaralle/Corbis, Ed Silva/Reuters 240: Adam Stoltman/ ERI Eritrea URY Uruguay 

MOZ Mozambique 

Alamy, Lucasfilm, Universal, Jones/Getty Images, Chi Po-lin, Garbis, Bob Thomas/Getty Images, ESH Western USA United States 

MRT Mauritania 

of America 

Twentieth Century Fox, Twentieth Pichi Chuang/Reuters, Christian Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Sahara 

MSR Montserrat 

ESP Spain UZB Uzbekistan 

Century Fox 162: Lionsgate, Haugen 201 : Joel Riner, Hans 241 : Darren Carroll/Getty Images, 

MTQ Martinique 

EST Estonia 

VAT Holy See 

Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures Blossey/Corbis, Cor Mulder/EPA, Stan Honda/Getty Images, Charles MUS Mauritius (Vatican City) 

163: Paramount Pictures, Warner Reuters, David Cannon/Getty Platiau/Reuters 242: Albert Gea/ 

ETH Ethiopia 

MWI Malawi VCT Saint Vincent 

Bros., Salty Features, Warner Images, David Cannon/Getty Reuters, Matthias Oesterle/Aiamy, 

FIN Finland 

MYS Malaysia 

and the 

Bros. 164: Yashraj Films, Images, Getty Images Alamy 243: Alamy, Alamy, Alex 

FJI Fiji 

MYT Mayotte 

Grenadines 

Twentieth Century Fox, Alamy, 202: Baxley/JILA, Baxley/JILA, Laurel/Red Bull 244: Lucy 

FLK Falkland 

NAM Namibia 

VEN Venezuela 

Islands 

Cross Creek Pictures, Alamy Long Hongtao/Rex, Long Nicholson/Reuters, Michael Dalder/ 

(Malvinas) NCL New Caledonia VGB Virgin Islands 

165: AI amy, Mario Anzuoni/ Hongtao/Rex, Sven Sturm/MPI for Reuters, Alamy, Fabrizio Bensch/ 

FAA France NER Niger 

(British) 

Reuters, Alamy, Walt Disney Nuclear Physics 203: ESA, Felipe Reuters, Alamy 245: Alamy, FAG West Germany NFK Norfolk Island 

VIR Virgin Islands 

Pictures, Karen B'allard/Paramount Pedreros/lceCube/NSF, Jim 

(US) 

Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters, Alamy, 

FRO Faroe Islands NGA Nigeria 

Pictures, Fred Prouser/Reuters Haugen/lceCube/NSF, Alamy 

VNM Vietnam 

Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters FSM Micronesia, NIC Nicaragua 

VUT Vanuatu 

166: Getty Images, Brian Snyder/ 204: Alamy, lberpress, Harvard 246: Lehtikuva Lehtikuva/Reuters, Federated NIU Niue 

WLF Wallis and 

Reuters 167: Lucy Nicholson/ School of Engineering and Applied Bryce Kanights/ESPN Images, States of NLD Netherlands 

Futuna Islands 

Reuters, Steven Klein, Terry Sciences, Seth Wenig/AP/PA, Alamy, Franck Fife/Getty Images, FXX France, NOR Norway 

WSM Samoa 

Richardson, Isaac Brekken/Getty Peter Morgan/Reuters 205: Kevin Getty Images, Alamy, Dan Metropolitan NPL Nepal 

YEM Yemen 

Images 168: You Tube Ma and Pakpong Chirarattananon/ Abraham, Isaac Brekken/AP/PA GAB Gabon 

NRU Nauru 

ZAF South Africa 

169: Girlguiding North West, Matt Harvard Microrobotics Lab, 254: Derek Wade Alamy GEO Georgia NZ New Zealand 

ZMB Zambia 

Crossick/GWR 170: Don Emmert/ Boston Dynamics 206: Kumar 255: Birmingham Mail, Kevin Scott GHA Ghana OMN Oman 

ZWE Zimbabwe 

Getty Images, Alamy, PA, Marijan Sriskandan/Aiamy 207: Alamy, Ramos/GWR 

I 


sto 


ress 

Most haikus 

about one town 

As of 29 Apr 2014, a total of 

1,663 haikus had been written 

about Luton in Bedfordshire, 

UK, by the local Clod 

Magazine. The Luton Haiku 

team -Andrew Kingston, Tim 

Kingston, Andrew Whiting 

and Stephen Whiting - began 

posting haikus online each 

weekday from 23 Jan 2007. 

Most pubs visited 

As of 29 Jan 2014, Bruce 

Masters (UK) had visited 

46,495 pubs and drinking 

establishments, sampling 

local brews where available. 

He began his tour in 1960, 

and visited 936 pubs in 2013 

alone. The most popular 

UK pub name so far, says 

Bruce, is the Red Lion. 

drum on the same snare drum at the 

London, London, UK, finishing on 3 May 2014. 

Largest game of "What's 

the time, Mr Wolf?" 

The playground favourite 

was played by 494 staff of 

Royal London (UK) at the 

EICC in Edinburgh, UK, 

on 6 Feb 2014. 

Largest 

charity walk 

Iglesia Ni 

Cristo (PHL} 

organized 

a walk with 

175,509 

people, starting 

at the Quirino 

Manila, 

Philippines, on 15 Feb 2014. 

Money was raised for victims 

of 2013's Typhoon Haiyan. 

Most southerly navigation 

On 27 Jan 2014, the Arctic P, 

skippered by Russell 

Pugh and owned by the 

Packer family (both AUS), 

reached the Bay of 

Whales in the Ross Ice 

Shelf of Antarctica. An 

instrument on the bow 

recorded 78°43.042'S 

163°42.069'W, the 

most southerly point. 

The latitude of the shelf 

is dynamic due to 

the ice calving - 

when ice melts 

and breaks off 

the shelf. 

Telmex triple certification 

Telmex (MEX) achieved a GWR treble at Aldea 

Digital in Mexico City, Mexico, from 11 to 27 Apr 

2014. CEO Hector Slim (centre) receives the 

certificate for largest digital inclusion event 

(258,896 people), plus those for most people 

trained in IT in one month (177,517, at the same 

event) and for most scans of an Augmented 

Reality app in eight hours (49,273, on 26 Apr). 


rolls by an aircraft 

Kingsley Just (AUS) rolled 

his Pitts Special biplane 

987 tirnes at Lethbridge 

Airpark in Victoria, 

Australia, on 1 Mar 2014. 

Kingsley rolled his aircraft 

continuously for just under 

an hour without any break. 

(Iii Rumeysa 

Gelgi 

The new record holder tells 

us: "I'm adapting everything 

to my height. It has good 

and bad sides but, anyway, 

I feel lucky myself." 

Measuring 213.6 em (7 ft 0.09 in) at full standing 

height, Rumeysa Gelgi (TUR, b. 1 Jan 1997) is 

the tallest female under the age of 18. Rumeysa, 

pictured left with niece Zeynep Ravza 

Yakut, was diagnosed with Weaver 

syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that 

causes rapid growth. She was measured 

by Dr Omer Hakan Yava:?oglu (inset) in 

Karabi.ik, Turkey, on 19 Mar 2014. 

Oldest boxing 

world champion 

Bernard Hopkins (USA, 

b. 15 Jan 1965) broke his 

own record when, aged 49 

years 94 days, he outpointed 

Beibut Shumenov (KAZ) 

for the WBA (super) light 

heavyweight, IBA light 

heavyweight and IBF light 

heavyweight titles on 

19 Apr 2014. 

Largest greetings card 

A Mother's Day card 


5 in) tall and 7.09 rn (23 ft 

3 in) wide was unveiled 

by Nestle Middle East 

FZE (UAE) at Dubai Mall, 

United Arab Emirates, 

on 21 Mar 2014.


Most siblings to 

celebrate diamond 

wedding anniversaries 

Edward Thomas and Ellen 

Jane Howell (UK) had five 

children, all of whom had 

celebrated 60 years of 

marriage as of 4 Mar 2014: 

• Gwendoline Jean Howell 

and Douglas Derek Bennett: 

61 years 

• John Edward Howell 

and Sylvia Beryl (nee 

Winter): 61 years 

• Doris Winifred Howell and 

Donald Street: 66 years 

• Stanley Frederick Howell 

and Margaret Elizabeth (nee 

Sharpe): 65 years 

• William George Howell 

and Hazel Pauline (nee 

Freeman): 60 years. 

Longest time ranked as 

chess world No.1 (female) 

As confirmed by the 

International Chess 

Federation, Judit 

Polgar (HUN) has 

been the world No.1 

female player since 

1 Feb 1989 and 

retains the spot 

as of 17 Apr 2014. 

Largest aquarium 

The whale shark tank at Chimelong Ocean 

Kingdom in Hengqin, Guangdong, China, has 

a dome with a diameter of 12 m (39 ft 4 in). The 

attraction was opened on 28 Jan 2014 and set 

five world records, including one for the largest 

underwater viewing dome (shown above). 

It uses 48.75 million litres (10.72 million UK gal; 

12.87 million US gal) of salt and fresh water. 

Most valuable 

life-insurance policy 

The identity of the 

Silicon Valley billionaire 

who holds an 

insurance policy worth 

$201 m (£120.44 m) 

remains anonymous, 

but with more than 

100 billionaires resident 

in the famous strip of 

California, USA, there is 

no shortage of candidates. 

The policy was broke red 

by Dovi Frances (ISR) of 

the advisory firm SG, LLC 

(USA), and certified by 

a public notary in Santa 

Barbara, California, USA, 

on 28 Feb 2014. This beats 

the long-standing record for 

a $100-m (£51 .8-m) policy 

sold by Peter Rosengard 

on 21 Mar 2014. He dislocated a finger and 

afterwards admitted to feeling "a bit beaten 

up, to be honest". 

(UK) for US media mogul 

David Geffen back in 1990. 

Most weight lifted by 

dumbbell rows in one 

minute with one arm 

Strongman Robert Natoli 

(USA) set five records in an 

hour at the Pacific Health 

Club in Liverpool, New 

York, USA, on 22 Mar 2014 

to raise money for the 

Patterson family, whose 

three children had been 

badly injured in a car crash 

that claimed the life of their 

mother. He lifted 1,975.85 kg 

(4,356 lb) with dumbbell 

rows and recorded the 

most pull-ups in one 

minute with a 40-lb pack 

(23); the most step-ups 

in one minute with 

Tallest teenager 

an 80-lb pack (41); the 

most step-ups in one 

minute with a 100-lb 

pack (38); and the most 

knuckle push-ups in 

one minute (58). 

In a separate charity 

event in Oswego, New 

York, USA, on 4 Apr 2013, 

Natoli achieved two further 

records: the most step-ups 

in one minute with a 40-lb 

pack (52) and 

the most 

step-ups in 

Brae Brown (USA, b. 15 Apr 1997) measured 

217.17 em (7 ft 1.5 in) tall when verified in Apr 

2014. A student at Vandercook Lake High School 

in Jackson, Michigan, USA, Brae was diagnosed 

with Sotos syndrome and his condition has 

resulted in frequent hospital stays.

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