Contrary to popular misconception, not every record holder included in the Guinness Book of World Records is akin to Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. Over the years, several lesser-known — but equally impressive — feats have turned folks into record holders, accomplishments ranging from pulling a 6,000-pound train by the beard to assembling a Mr. Potato Head in a handful of seconds.
From the most amount of underpants put on in a single minute to just how far one man could yeet a washing machine, here are 22 of the most absurd feats that have made their way into the Guinness Book of World Records.
1
In September 2023, Jan Schillay and Jim Niebler — who are both producers on ‘Live With Kelly and Ryan’ — worked together to put on 22 pairs of underpants in a single minute, landing themselves a Guinness World Record title.
2
Johan Espenkrona currently holds the world record for the fathest throw of a washing machine after yeeting the appliance 14 feet and 7 inches in 2022.
3
In August 2022, Lim Kai Yi accomplished what no toddler — nor human — had before, assembling a Mr. Potato Head in a record-breaking 5.43 seconds.
4
The Guinness World Record for heaviest train pulled with a beard goes to Ismael Rivas Falcon, who successfully pulled a 6,069-lb train using his beard in 2001.
5
Ever wonder how many M&Ms you could eat in a minute while blindfolded … and using chopsticks? Ask Avery Chin, who broke the Guinness World Record for most M&Ms eaten in a single minute after scarfing down 25 candies within the allotted time.
6
In 2021, Budimir Šobat held his breath underwater for 24 minutes and 37 seconds, earning himself a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
7
While we all may wear a lot of hats in our day-to-day life no one wears quite as many hats as Anthony Kelly, who earned the Guinness World Record for tallest stack of hats worn at once after sporting a 3 foot 6 inch stack of various hats.
8
“Dallas grocery store breaks Guinness World Record with over 300,000 avocados.”
9
“I ran into the Guinness World Record holder for biggest hand on the subway tonight; 13 inches thumb to pinky, his name was Big Jerry.”
10
“Friend's cat has world record amount of toes; 28!.”
11
“In 2007 in Bismarck, N.D., the Guinness World Record for simultaneous snow angels was set at 8,910.”
12
“Set a Guinness World Record by collecting 887 four leaf clovers in 8 hours.”
13
“Guinness World Record holder for the largest female mouth, Samantha Ramsdell.”
14
“Over 3,000 people in dinosaur costumes broke the world record in Drumheller, Alberta."
15
“World's Longest Cucumber (113.4 cm / 3 ft 8.6 in), Guinness World Record.”
16
"Just two years after first breaking the record for the deepest underwater model photoshoot, Steve Haining and his underwater photography crew have gone even deeper. On 19 September [2023], photographer Steven Haining, model Mareesha Klups, and safety diver Mario Medarevic staged an underwater photoshoot 30 m (98 ft) below the surface of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada, beating their previous record by 23.6 m (77 ft).”
17
“Longest marathon on a swing. Richard Scott, a dad-of-three from the UK, claimed this record after spending 36 hours and 32 minutes by going back and forth on a swing set!”
18
“Friend of mine and his team just broke the Guiness World Record for the largest ever Skittles Mosaic [using roughly 50,000 Skittles.”
19
“In 1989 China national flag won Guinness World Record for world's largest flag. 400 people worked together to unfurl this huge 800kg flag measuring 126 meters long, 84 meters wide.”
20
Colonel Meow, seen above, is a Himalayan-Persian cat who held the Guinness World record for longest hair on a cat, clocking in at nine inches.
21
“This is the OmniVision OV6948, the world's smallest camera has just famously entered the Guinness Book of Records, measuring just 0.575 x 0.575 x 0.232mm: it's good for 40,000-pixel color images using an RGB Bayer back-side-illuminating chip.”
22
“The rope used in Okinawa's Guinness World Record Tug-O-War weighs over forty tons. It is 251 meters long, 2.2 meters thick, and is the largest rope ever made.”
