Record Breakers

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Bournemouth world-record fireworks event Roar on the Shore a 'damp squib'
Simon de Bruxelles
timesonline.co.uk[/align]
Tens of thousands of spectators who lined Bournemouth seafront to watch a world record firework display were left asking “Was that it?” when the event lasted just six seconds. Organisers were aiming to set off 114,000 fireworks in less than a minute but in the event they all went off at the same time in a spectacular, but very brief, explosion. The fireworks were set off on a barge moored between Boscombe Pier and Bournemouth Pier, which itself caught fire.

Around 175,000 people turned up for the event billed as Roar on the Shore but it turned out to be a damp squib. Instead of thousands of rockets shooting into the air the metal barge just appeared to explode, with flames spreading across the deck. Visitors then found themselves gridlocked in traffic jams of up to three hours as they tried to leave the resort.

Ruth Downing, 33, from Bournemouth, said: "It looked like the barge just exploded and then caught fire. I think the wind might have caused problems. It was very disappointing not so much a roar as a growl. We thought it would be rockets exploding in the sky in this amazing fireworks display, but instead if you blinked you would have missed it. It was just a big bang, a blinding flash and then flames. That was probably the most exciting bit because it looked like the barge was on fire."

Colleen Gallagher, a hypnotherapist from Bournemouth, was watching from the beach at Boscombe Pier. She said: "I felt so sorry for the organisers because it was obvious everything went off in one hit. It was a big silvery spray which lit up the beach and then there was just a big cloud of smoke and a few squiggly, short rockets that went up randomly from the fire. There had been such a build up, everyone held their breath with anticipation for this roar but then there was nothing. Never mind under 60 seconds, more like six seconds. It was a bit of a damp squib."

Auditors claimed last night that a new record had been set and it will now be verified by Guinness World Records. The current Guinness World Record for the most fireworks set off in record time was set in 2006 with 56,645 fireworks in Plymouth.

A spokeswoman for Bournemouth Tourism said that experts at Fantastic Fireworks, which conducted the fireworks display, used a shorter fuse for safety reasons because of the strong winds. "A huge explosion over a longer period of time could have blown on to shore," she said. "It went off quicker than they thought it would due to the wind and weather conditions. It didn't meet everybody's expectations which is unfortunate but we did break the record which is absolutely fantastic. It's not something you can practise, there's an element of surprise involved. We have never seen that many people along the whole of the seafront for any event over the last 15 years. Maybe that's why we had some disappointed faces. Nobody has ever seen 110,000 fireworks set off in under 60 seconds."

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Chanel, the world's oldest dog, dies at 21
Peanut butter-loving dog from New York passes on her canine crown[/align]
The world's oldest dog has passed away. Chanel, variously described as a wire-haired dachshund or dachshund mix, was 21 – or 147 in dog years. She died of natural causes last Friday, at her owners' home in Port Jefferson Station, a suburb of New York. Denice and Karl Shaughnessy yesterday described Chanel as one of "God's angels" as they spoke of her penchant for wearing tinted goggles and jumpers – to combat cataracts and her aversion to the cold.

Chanel was nominated by Karl for the title of world's oldest dog after her keen-eyed owner noticed the Guinness World Records book had no record. Officials presented the dachshund with a certificate recognising her as oldest living canine at a Manhattan bash in May. Denice said today that Chanel had loved the party, and particularly enjoyed the cake – which Denice fondly recalled as having a peanut butter flavour and had been made especially for dogs.

"Dogs are God's angels sent here to look out for us," Denice asserted, rather eerily. But Chanel didn't survive on peanut butter dog-cake alone. She reputedly kept herself in shape with a regime of daily exercise and ate home-cooked chicken with her dog food. But like so many in old age, Chanel had retained some vices. Denice recalled how, as a younger bitch, Chanel would steal butter from the kitchen, and was also partial to chocolate.

"She once ate an entire bag of Reese's peanut butter cups and, you see, she lived to be 21, so go figure," said Denice.

As Chanel's all-too-brief reign as the world's oldest dog comes to an end then, the search is on for the next holder of the title. An early contender is a dog called Max, currently residing in Louisiana, who is allegedly 26 years old. World record officials are investigating.

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It doesn't look much like a dachshund to me - more like a terrier of some sort

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World's oldest person Gertrude Baines dies aged 115 after suffering suspected heart attack in LA hospital
12th September 2009[/align]
The world's oldest known person has died in Los Angeles at 115. Gertrude Baines is thought to have suffered a heart attack. She was born in 1894 in Shellman, Georgia, and became the world's oldest living person when Maria de Jesus, 115, died in Portugal in January.

Earlier this year Mrs Baines was pictured voting for Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential elections. She received a letter from Mr Obama when she turned 115 on April 6.

Mrs Baines died peacefully in her sleep sometime between 6am and 7am local time (1300 and 1400 GMT) at the Western Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles, where she had spent the past decade of her life.

'She's a very dignified lady,' Emma Camanag, the hospital's administrator, told Reuters. 'It has truly been a blessing and an honor for us to take care of her over the last 10 years and we will greatly miss her. It's just like we lost a relative.'

Baines had no living relatives, Ms Camanag said, but was popular at the home and at her church, where she attended services every Sunday until she became too ill to leave her room. Ms Camanag said parishioners at the church often visited Mrs Baines, who became the world's oldest person when 115-year-old Maria de Jesus of Portugal died in January. Japan's Kama Chien, 114, is now the oldest person in the world.

As a Black woman, Mrs Baines grew up in the South during the time of Jim Crow laws, which required Blacks to use separate and often inferior public facilities, She was celebrated in the media when she voted last November for Obama, the first African American elected president of the United States. She had only voted once previously, for John F. Kennedy, and told the Los Angeles Times at the time that she supported Obama 'because he's for the coloured'. She kept a signed picture of Obama on her wall, the LA Times reported.

Mrs Baines, who was born during the administration of Grover Cleveland, married young and later divorced. Her only child, a daughter, was born in 1909 and died of typhoid at the age of 18. She worked as a maid in Ohio before moving to Los Angeles and lived on her own until she was well over 100. According to the LA Times, when Mrs Baines was asked by reporters her secret for living a long life, she would reply 'Ask God.'

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Earlier this year she voted for Obama? Amazing!

[SpursFan1902]

When you are 115, you can do what ever you want!!

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Matchstick oil rig took 15 years to build
By ROSS MCGUINNESS
October 20, 2009
metro.co.uk[/align]
When David Reynolds decided to build a scale model from more than 4million matchsticks there was only one thing on his mind. Forget the Taj Mahal or Empire State Building. He chose the Brent Bravo North Sea oil rig.

John Major was still prime minister when Mr Reynolds began in 1994 and he has spent 32,000 hours creating what is now officially the world's biggest matchstick model. Apart from costing him £5,000 in wood and glue, it has left things a bit strained in the Reynolds household. The model weighs a tonne, is 3.6m (12ft) tall and 6.4m (21ft) long and at one stage had to be split into 14 sections.

'It just started as a bit of a hobby but I guess it got out of hand,' said retired oil rig engineer Mr Reynolds, 51. 'People sit in front of the television for five or six hours a night but I get bored, so I'd just nip off for a few hours here and there to work on it. It's good fun and keeps the grey matter working. I've had a few museums contact me to say they want to buy it and there's even been an offer from Hollywood.'

Wife Julie, 49, is less effusive. 'I am absolutely sick to death at the sight of a matchstick but I think there is still more to come, unfortunately,' she said from their Southampton home. 'But at least I know where he is and what he's doing, so I'd rather have him there than down the pub.'

It beats the previous Guinness world record for a matchstick model held by a 3.5million match replica of the Titanic. Mr Reynolds has already started work on an armada of ships.

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[SpursFan1902]

I guess it keeps him off of the streets...It's not like he has top flight football to watch!! Seriously, it is pretty cool. I don't have the determination to stick to something for that long...just look at my weight history!

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Industrial cranes are needed to move the rope into place

World's biggest tug-of-war has 656ft rope
The Ryukyu Kingdom Festival in Naha, Japan, sees thousands pulling on a monster rope
By TED THORNHILL
October 29, 2009[/align]
The world's biggest tug-of-war competition takes place at an annual festival in Japan, featuring thousands of people and a monster 656ft rope. Hundreds of workers in the Okinawa region spend months weaving together rice straw to assemble the colossal rope, at a cost of £103,000.

The event takes place at The Ryukyu Kingdom Festival in Naha, and pits the western half of the city against the eastern half. Each 'team' consists of around 15,000 people. Obviously they'd be capable of quite a 'tug' in an ordinary tug-of-war, but the rope they're heaving is so big it needs industrial cranes to manoeuvre it into place.

After the competition, which encourages fertility in the people and the fields, the rope is shredded and bits are collected by locals as good luck symbols.

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Amazing picture of world's largest rubber band ball
It took Joel Waul six years to assemble the huge ball
By TED THORNHILL
October 30, 2009[/align]
This is Joel Waul, springing into action as he climbs on top of the colossal rubber band ball he made. The 27-year-old spent six years carefully wrapping, linking and stretching rubber bands of various sizes into the ball shape. And his endeavours paid off, because the Guinness Book of World Records declared his masterpiece the world's largest rubber band ball in 2008.

It sits on the driveway of his home in Lauderhill, Florida.

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No matter how hard he tries, this is never going to be cool until he rolls it off the edge of a hill or something!

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[align=center]Guinness World Records Day
competitors around the world take part

Datca, Turkey: Ali Bahcepete broke the world record for most concrete blocks smashed in a minute, with a total of 1,077

London, England: Manjit Singh, 59, pulled a double decker bus 21.2 metres using ropes attached to his hair, a new world record

Tirana, Albania: A mosaic made of paintbrushes standing on end depicts the king of pop Michael Jackson. Albanian artist Saimir Strati took 28 days to finish the 10m by 2.6m mosaic, the largest ever, using 233,000 paintbrushes

Helsinki, Finland: The record for the fastest 40m human wheelbarrow race is 17 seconds, achieved by Adrian Rodrigues Buenrostro (Mexico) and Sergiy Vetrogonov (Ukraine)

Auckland, New Zealand: The furthest distance to blow a malteser with a straw was set at 11.29m Alistair Galpin

Helsinki , Finland: A new record for the most people in a sauna was set. It was 57, it is now 76, thanks to multinational students and staff at Haaga Helia university in Helsinki

London, England: Early morning commuters at St Pancras station take a minute to stop and embrace en route to work. The number of people hugging for one minute was 112 - a new Guinness World Record

Milan, Italy: The longest platform-to-platform bicycle jump was 4.02m by Italian Vittorio Brumotti in Fiera Milano, smashing the past record of 2.95m

Denmark: The fastest time to peel and eat 3 lemons was 28.5 seconds now belongs to Jim Lyngvild

Memphis, Tennessee: The Universal Cheerleaders Association set the largest cheerleading dance record, with 297 participants, smashing the previous record of 225 for the UCLA Intramural Field, Los Angeles

Fort Worth, Texas: The record for the most people lassoing simultaneously is 23, courtesy of the Stockyards Championship Rodeo

Beirut, Lebanon: The tallest matchstick model record was set Toufic Daher at the City mall in Beirut. The model measured 6m 53cm and used approximately 6m matches (150 boxes, each with 40,000 matches)

Milan, Italy: Italian Ernesto Cesario set the record for the fastest time to eat a bowl of pasta, gorging it down in 1min 30sec at the Restorante Sant'Eustorgio
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[web]https://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/p ... 284567.stm[/web]

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New World Pie Eating Champion crowned after 43 second scoff
The world of competitive pie eating was stunned today after a rank outsider scooped the title.
15th December 2009[/align]
Barry Rigby, 36, amazed judges by polishing off his meat and potato pie in 43 seconds. His performance delighted crowds who had turned out to watch the World Pie Eating Championships at a bar in Wigan at midday - known locally as "pie noon".But it was not quick enough to beat the world record of 35.86 seconds, set by Adrian Frost in 2007.

Father-of-two Mr Rigby, from Beech Hill, Wigan, only entered the competition on a whim, after he noticed the contest advertised in his local paper. He said: "I was really surprised to win, I think my two boys will be very proud of me. The pie tasted great. I am a big pie fan, I eat between 10 and 20 a week at least." The Asda supermarket worker vowed to return next year to compete again in the contest, which dates back to 1992. He easily beat last year's winner Fred Wyatt, a 61-year-old warehouse packer, who came second this time around.

Gravy is banned from the culinary showdown, held at Harry's Bar, because organisers say it gives too much lubrication. "It is very difficult without gravy, it is very tough to get it all down," Mr Rigby said.

The cooked dimensions of the official pie are 12cm (4.7in) in diameter and a depth of 3.5cm (1.4in), while they must have a 66% meat content. Organisers revamped the competition three years ago in response to a government drive to cut obesity. First prize had always gone to the contestant who could munch through the most pies in three minutes, but now it is handed to the quickest pie scoffer.

The "pie-eater" term given to Wiganers dates back to the 1920s, when miners in the town were forced back to work before the end of a strike. As a result they were said to have eaten "humble pie".

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That 'humble pie' phrase is a lot older than the 1920s - it was mentioned in 'The Worst Christmas Jobs In History' as being what small boys who worked in kitchens would get as their meal, as far back as the 18th century at least.

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The world's biggest art work is a nine mile circle in the sand[/align]
The art is etched onto the desert sands of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada The art is etched onto the desert sands of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. Big enough to fit more than 176 Wembley Stadiums, the giant landmark is visible from 12km (7.5 miles) up and airline passengers have been stunned by its beauty. Even Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson called to congratulate designer Jim Denevan on his ambitious work.

The artist and three colleagues took 15 days to complete the project, working day and night. It features more than 1,000 individual circles, which they painstakingly ‘drew’ by dragging a roll of chain fencing 2m (6ft) wide behind a 4x4 repeatedly to etch markings into the desert sand. The darkest lines are 8.5m (28ft) wide and almost a metre deep in places. Using GPS technology to help them create a perfect circle, the team braved intense heat and night-time cold to build their masterpiece in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.

‘We began at what we termed our centre point and worked out diametrically from there,’ said Mr Denevan at his home in Santa Cruz. ‘We had to dig out each line four or five times to mould it into the sand. It was tough, tiring but of course it was ultimately fun.’ The design is based on a mathematical theorem called an Apollonian Gasket and features triples of circles at tangents to others. ‘I set out to build the largest artwork in the world and I am extremely proud that I have managed to do this,’ said the artist. ‘This individual piece is larger than the famous lines of Nazca in Peru and that is something that excites me,’ added Mr Denevan.

The 48-year-old has been creating sand art for the past 17 years and sees this as a step to realise his dream to draw patterns on Mars. He discovered his talent when he picked up a stick and drew a 3.6m (12ft) fish.

‘In the future I would love to see if Nasa would let me use their Mars rovers,’ the artist explained. But for now, Mr Denevan is turning his attention to the Antarctic. ‘There is an extremely exciting trip being lined up and I cannot wait to push the boundaries,’ he added.

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[SquareEyes]

If they can do this, then why are the Nazca drawings done by Eric Von Dannikens alien buddies? Somebody is telling porkies.

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Isn't the question about the Nazca drawings how they managed to scale them so large without some kind of overview? And why do them at all if you can't see them unless you're in the sky?

But this thread isn't about that...

[SquareEyes]

But I am in the sky... I have Google Earth :p