On Saturday, 14 February 2009 – Valentine’s Day – 39,897 people gathered in the Plaza de la Constitucion, the main square in Mexico City, Mexico, to beat the record for the most people kissing simultaneously.
From 10 a.m., Mexico City Town Hall offered multiple activities to the visitors. DIF-DF, Culture and Tourism Secretaries, and Youth and Woman Institutes set up stands in order to promote a culture of respect, plurality and love, which they hoped would last longer than for just this 14 February, through information, conferences and recreational activities.
From 4 p.m., the presenter Gabriela Ruffo was in charge of warming the attendance
up and inviting passers-by to join the event. There were also performances by Tiaré Scanda, Carlos Payés and DJ Martín Parra
After Susana Zabaleta’s performance of that internationally famous song Bésame Mucho by Consuelito Velázquez, and in front of 40,225 Mexicans and tourists at the Plaza de la Constitución of Mexico City, the countdown to the record attempt began.
For a 10-second period, couples, families and friends, sent a message of peace, freedom, diversity, respect and non-violence to the world through hugs and kisses of every kind. “The City of Mexico has shown to the country and to the entire world that here life can be lived with no fear and you can breath tolerance. In this city you can go out and be kissed, you can show your affection,” stated the Secretary of Tourism of Mexico City Government, Mr Alejandro Rojas Díaz Durán.
That Saturday, at 7 p.m. Guinness World Records Adjudicator Carlos Martínez announced: “It is official: the new Guinness World Records™ record for the most people kissing simultaneously has just been broken in Mexico City, Plaza de la Constitucion, with 39,897 participants.”
Carlos Martínez also added that the official figures showed a total of 40,225 people in the square 20 minutes before the record attempt; more and more people were gathering in the Plaza de la Constitución all the time, but as not all attendants kissed, not all of them could be included in the final official figure for the record. However, more than 95% of people participated, with a figure large enough to break the previous record set in Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom, last June, with 32,648 people kissing at one time.
After the record attempt was over, the Fair named “Amor es... sin Violencia, Bésame mucho” (“Love is… no Violence, Kiss me much”) which ended with a concert by Mexican singer Vicente Fernández, attended by more than 200,000 people.
On Saturday, 23 May 2009, a new world record was achieved in the heart of east London, UK. A total of 1,675 people participated over a period of 12 hours to set a new record for the most people to run a 100 m relay in 12 hours.
The event took place in Mile End Stadium in east London and was organized by the IF Charity. The funds raised from the event are going towards Save the Children’s Gaza Appeal, which provides humanitarian aid for the children in Gaza.
The Guinness World Records™ attempt was supported on the day by other activities and attractions for all members of the family, including a football tournament hosted by the London Tigers, poetry readings and comedians performing live on stage.
Politicians and celebrities joined thousands of people, who came from all across the UK to take part in the world record attempt.
Jim Fitzpatrick MP opened the event followed by Baroness Pola Uddin. Jeremy Corbyn MP also joined in, along with the Deputy Leader for Tower Hamlets, Josh Peck. Former stars from the TV show The Apprentice – Tre Azam, Ghazal Asif and Syed Ahmed – also took part in the relay.
Rizwan Khaliq, CEO of IF Charity, declared that the event had been a great success and a large amount of money had been raised for Save the Children’s Gaza Appeal. He added: “This was a huge challenge, and to achieve this world record right here in the heart of London’s East End where, in four years’ time, we will host the biggest sporting event in the world – the 2012 Games – is a fantastic achievement for London and the UK.”
The record attempt was verified by official Guinness World Records Adjudicators Aleksandr Vypirailenko and Aadil Ahmed.
It has been brought to the attention of Guinness World Records™ that 28-year-old Anandita Dutta Tamuly has attempted to set a new record by eating 51 Bhut Jolokia, or "ghost chilis" in two minutes, in the Northern Indian state of Assam last Thursday 9th April.
Guinness World Records had no prior knowledge that this event was taking place. No claim for this record was received by our organisation prior to this event, and no Guinness World Records™ representative was present.
Guinness World Records™ has acknowledged the chili pepper Bhut Jolokia, belonging to the Capsicum chinense as the hottest spice. It was measured at 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), at the New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA, on 9 September 2006.
Historically, however, all claims for eating this chili - both in terms of volume, and volume by time - have been rejected.
Guinness World Records™ will consider evidence submitted in relation to this event, pending an official claim for the record through our website.
Monday 18 May 2009 - Don't miss Paul and his guests, Matt Lucas and the boys from Madness, attempting two brand new Guinness World Records records live at 5 pm on Channel 4 tonight!
On Thursday, 19 February, employees of the health club chain Esporta broke a record for the most people static cycling simultaneously. 412 cyclists achieved this feat at Esporta’s annual conference, staged at the Gloucestershire Health & Rackets Club in Gloucester, United Kingdom.
The employees came from all over the UK and were assembled into four groups across the floor space of a massive inflated sports hall. After a day of powerpoint presentations, and before the evening presentations continued, employees of all ranks and levels of fitness streamed into the hall and prepared themselves for an energetic 45 minute spinning workout. They were spurred on by four members of their executive management team and led by their Chief Executive officer and Class Instructor, all of whom were on a stage at the front of the hall, while other members of the conference handed out much-needed supplies of water.
Everyone who took part was determined to finish the whole workout, and so claim back their record from last year. There was a huge uproar at the end of the session, and when it was announced that the record had been achieved, confetti cannons fired and fireworks exploded on the screens to either side of the stage.
This is one record that had been achieved through pure sweat and toil – trust me Guinness World Records Adjudicator, Nadine Causey as a witness to that fact!
On Monday, 15 December 2008, Guinness World Records™ were proud to touch down in Dubai, UAE, to measure an attempt to manufacture the world's largest coin-like medallion. The item in question was made by Damas LLC, Dubai, one of the Middle East’s leading jewellery retailers, for the 10th anniversary of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Awards for Medical Sciences. It was presented to H. H. Sheikh Hamdan himself in a grand ceremony that was attended by top scientists and doctors from all over the world.
Guinness World Records is delighted to confirm that the attempt was successful: the coin measured 1 m (3 ft 2 in) across and weighed in at a hefty 185.88 kg (409.8 lb). It was made of solid silver and then plated in gold. A team of 85 dedicated staff had been assembled to complete the unique masterpiece within just 30 days.
This was the latest in a long list of new records achieved in Dubai and Guinness World Records hopes there are many more to come.
Rob Molloy from Guinness World Records was on site to award the certificate for this outstanding achievement.
Keeping up with the pace of the games industry is a full-time job, never mind recording and writing about it as well. So it’s a good thing that we have the internet to save us the effort of waiting next to fax machines for press releases or cold-calling Microsoft every day to see if Radiant Silvergun is going to be released for Xbox Live. Here’s a round-up of the best and brightest that the web has to offer for those who follow the scene. Best for News – Kotaku Kotaku is a great example of how a videogames blog can really work. A small editorial team spread wide across the globe from the US to Australia and Japan means they can post news 24/7 from every corner of the games industry. They’re often the first to break stories, particularly big (and not-so-big) Japanese game announcements and while some of their reporting is little more than sensationalist gossip, their sense of humour means they almost always get away with it.
Best for Reviews – Eurogamer Eurogamer’s team of experienced games hacks take their reviews very seriously. Big game releases will be minutely examined over the course of several pages with the title’s every intimate nuance made public in explicit detail, and even smaller titles get more in-depth analysis than many sites are able to supply. This almost voyeuristic approach to games journalism keeps Eurogamer at the front of any sensible gamer’s mind when it comes to investing their hard-earned cash.
Best for Debate – The Escapist Running completely at odds with the disposable-media culture of the internet is The Escapist, a gaming site that updates weekly with a handful of well-written features and goes beyond the standard preview/hands-on/review of most games portals. A fierce battleground in the ‘But, are games art?!?’ debate, this site’s varied mix of writers allows it to keep its content fresh and thought-provoking. Budding videogame philosophers are advised to subscribe to their weekly email to avoid missing an issue.
Best for Humour - Hardcasual Hardcasual’s off-beat sense of humour may not be to everyone’s taste but its three writer’s surreal take on the games industry’s characters makes for unmissable reading. Pitched half-way between news review and creepy fanfic with occasional departures into the disturbing, soul of the obsessive gamer in all of us, Hardcasual is the magic mirror for gamers who aren’t afraid to laugh at themselves, and each other. Best community - Guardian Gamesblog While the Gamesblog rarely breaks news first, its three writers manage to strike a good balance of reporting that isn’t afraid to delve into gaming’s less glamorous facets, in particular social worlds and mobile gaming. What sets this blog apart from so many others is how most of the community manages to stay on topic and many even have informed, interesting opinions. Perhaps it’s because of the newspaper’s overt liberal leanings, but the Guardian Gamesblog is one of very few oases of relative civility while the rest of teh internets burn in fanboy flamewars.
Best Podcast- One Life Left Ste Curran, Simon Byron and Ann Scantlebury offer their entertaining and chaotic take on games radio, combining nerdy banter, interviews with the heavyweights of the UK gaming scene and obscure remixes of the theme tunes to 8-bit classics. I’ve promised I’ll let them attempt a gaming world record one day, and am sure I’ll get round to it. Sorry guys.
Krefeld is located in Germany on the west bank of the Lower Rhine River, not far from the Netherlands, and is a beautiful mix of the old and new, with a spacious plaza and pedestrian area at the centre of the city.
The World’s Largest Postcard
In a bid to increase the profile of the area and bring a sense of pride to its residents, the people of Krefeld, led by the Mayors Office, embarked on the monumental task of breaking a Guinness World Records achievement that has not been challenged since 1994 – the world’s Largest Postcard (previously held by the Canadian National Defence Headquarters for a postcard measuring 28.8 m2; 310 ft2).
An advertising campaign was launched whereby the locals were asked to send in photographs for use on a postcard illustrating the beauty of Krefeld. Project Managers Sven Vaders, Joachin Kammer and Nadine Tillmanns were overwhelmed with the response, receiving 7,813 photos. In the end, 6,367 photos were selected for the final postcard, which measured a whopping 42.69 m2 (459.511 ft2).
Achieving the size was the first challenge – the more difficult task, however, was sending it. Working with TNT, the global express mail service, the postcard was stamped and franked at Stadthaus, 15 minutes from Krefeld’s city centre, and was addressed to the Mayor from the people of Krefeld. The postcard itself weighed over 300 kg (661.386 lbs) and was transported on a lorry specially designed for this purpose. Guinness World Records adjudicator Kelly Garrett, along with local police and members of TNT, escorted the postcard to the city centre where it was signed for and received by the Mayor of Krefeld, Gregor Kathstede (Germany).
Against a backdrop of beautiful sunny skies and in honour of this fantastic achievement, a Guinness World Records certificate was presented to the people of Krefeld.
On 19 December 2008, the patron’s day of Prilep, the town of Prilep in the Republic of Macedonia, officially became part of Guinness World Records.
80,191 cabbage rolls or ‘sarma’, were prepared for every citizen of town; thus Prilep attempted to set a Guinness World Record under the category of largest cabbage dish.
The traditional sarma was prepared by the skillful hands of 160 women volunteers of the Prerodba women association, NGO Mother-Tradition and the VMRO-DPMNE Union of women. The sarma, which the size of a hazelnut, was prepared in the EURO Restaurant, and within the course of 6 hours the 160 women prepared the 80,191 cabbage rolls.
In order to be authentic in taste and size, the sarmas were in miniature dimensions, 10x10 mm. It takes an enormous amount of skill to make them, since in a very small cabbage leaf one should wrap enough grains of rice to be boiled in the best way possible.
Talal Omar, Guinness World Records adjudicator, weighed the container which contained the sarmas and made sure that everything took place according to Guinness World Records guidelines. The net weight of the cabbage dish was exactly 544 kg (1,221 lbs).
“This is my first time in Macedonia and I am really excited by the entire event, I’ve also tasted your famous sarma and I can say it is really delicious,” Talal Omar said.
Il a fallu a Dylan, un garçon de 12 ans venant de Lyon, plus de 6 mois pour finir 400 guirlandes de poupées en papier; mais beaucoup d’autres enfants ont participé à cette tentative de record proposée par le magazine Sciences et Vie Découvertes à l’occasion de leur 10ème anniversaire.
Le défi lancé par le magazine à ses lecteurs : créer la plus longue guirlande de poupées en papier, record étant détenu par la Chine avec une chaîne longue de 775 mètres, incluant plus de 5.000 poupées en papier. Dans ce but, les lecteurs ont donc chacun reçu une chaîne de 10 poupées dans les numéros de Sciences et Vie Découvertes.
Le gagnant, envoyant le plus de farandoles, serait invité par la suite à Paris afin d’assister à la remise du certificat avec les juges officiels de Guinness World Records : Lucia Sinigagliesi et Justine Bourdariat.
Ainsi, mercredi 10 juin , ces dernières ont quittés les quartiers officiels de Londres pour aller mesurer la guirlande d’une longueur finale de 790 mètres et en enfin remettre le certificat à Dylan ainsi qu’aux organisateurs de l’événement. Et en effet, avec plus de 20,000 poupées en papier sur longueur de 790 mètres, le record a été explosé !
Ce record était réalisé dans le cadre du projet organisé par Aide et Action ayant pour but de construire des bibliothèques au Vietnam. Chaque poupée a ainsi généré une donation de 3 Euros par Sciences et Vie Découvertes et les Editions La Martinière – aboutissant à un montant de total de 6.000 euros.
Lucia Sinigagliesi a dit: « Ce record est très significatif dans le sens où beaucoup d’enfants ont travaillé ensemble pour une bonne cause»
Justine Bourdariat a ajouté: « c’est un message très positif car cela montre que les enfants peuvent eux-même faire une différence au niveau mondial. Pour ma part, en tant que juge française, il était aussi important d’encourager les Français à établir des records du monde leur permettant par la suite d’entrer dans l’édition internationale du Mondial des records.»
In threatening weather they came. Through early morning thunderstorms and lunchtime rain. To Twickenham Stoop, home of the Harlequins (rugby team – union and league, for the uninitiated) to do what no group of men had done before: strip to their underwear, and form the word “Cosmo” on the Stoop’s playing surface.
On Sunday, 7 June – on what should have been a warm summer's day – 146 men braved the cold and broke the record for largest gathering of people wearing underpants, as officiated by Guinness World Records™ Adjudicator Paul Kenny. Organized by Cosmopolitan magazine (who have never shied away from asking men to strip for good causes) and supported by Ted Baker London (who donated hundreds of pairs of very classy underwear in five vibrant colours), the event was a fundraiser for Everyman, the male cancer charity who work tirelessly to build awareness of testicular and prostate cancer.
There were all ages, sizes and shapes on display, but they were united by a constant sense of humour, great cheer and patience, as the photographer – on a 24-m (80-ft) crane – snapped them from every possible angle. On hearing that the previous record of 116 people had been beaten, the crowd's jubilation was undeniable – especially among the sea of female partners, friends and supporters who'd come to leer and cheer. It was a record with a difference: it took a lot of... well, you know what I'm going to say, and it was a really fun day out for everyone involved.
The eagerly awaited movie adaptation of the graphic novel The Watchmen has broken its first Guinness World Record: its opening in 3,611 theatres is the widest ever opening for an R-rated film.
We have yet to see evidence that it will become the one-day highest-grossing R-rated opener a record currently held by Matrix Reloaded, which earned $42.5 million on its first day (and which also has the record for the widest R-rated opening, on 3,603 screens). The midnight movie opening on Thursday, however, was shown on an impressive 1,600 screens, 124 of which were IMAX. This is more than double the openings for director Zack Snyder's 300, the second highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. It would appear that we've not heard the last of the Watchmen... Watch this space!
On the 4th of July 2009 I went to adjudicate the record attempt for 'The Steepest Roller Coaster Made From Steel'
When I arrived at Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo, in Malton (UK), I could see the massive, brightly coloured structure from the top of the park
I had visited the theme park as a young boy and could remember it very well, once I had started looking around the park I couldn’t believe what I saw, the park has expanded and changed so much from what I could remember, it was even bigger and better than before with a number of big new coasters
The new record breaking ride has already attracted people from all over the world to Flamingo Land, which now means they can compete with any other theme park across the globe
The record breaking ride called 'Mumbo Jumbo' has a lot more involved than just the massive record breaking 112° angle of decent, at over 30 meters tall and creating just under 4 G’s of force onto your body it really is one that takes your breath away
This new Guinness World Records achievement for “The Steepest Roller Coaster” is truly not one to be missed.
To a soundtrack of rock music pumping throughout the Club Phoenix gym in Victoria, British Colombia, a well-conditioned, superbly-focused Arran McLellan faced not just one, two, nor three challenging obstacles…but a staggering 1,805 on his way to establishing the Guinness World Record for most step ups completed in one hour with a 40 lb pack, as verified by Guinness World Records adjudicator Danny Girton Jr.
As family, friends, and fitness enthusiasts cheered for McLellan, the determined athlete set about meeting this world-class challenge by methodically elevating his feet atop a standard exercise bench and back down to the gym floor 1,805 times within 60 energy-packed minutes on 21 February 2009.
As entrepreneur of New Image Personal Training and a certified Commando Krav Maga instructor, McLellan maintains “a passion to continuously improve his knowledge and understanding of the human body as well as empower others to have the mental/physical tools they need in order to encounter life’s challenges.”
El 20 de Junio del 2009, cientos de personas se reunieron en el Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid, en España, para batir un nuevo record mundial por el test a ciegas más grande del mundo.
Los participantes se congregaron en el estadio para participar en el teste entre galletas Oreo y una galleta sin marca. A la señal, los participantes fueron vendados a ciegas y llevaron a cabo el ‘ritual Oreo’ el cual consiste en abrir la galleta, comer la crema y mojando la galleta en leche. Hicieron el mismo ritual con las dos galletas sin saber cual era la verdadera Oreo.
Despues de quitarse la venda y revisas los resultados, se confirmo por la juez oficial de Guinness World Records que 1,471 personas habian participadon en el test a ciegas mas grande del mundo. Un nuevo logro para Guinness World Records.
On Saturday 23rd May 2009 Guinness World Records attended the London MCM Expo to adjudicate the record attempt for the 'largest gathering of people dressed as video game characters'.
We are pleased to announce that we witnessed a new world record with 376 cosplayers, beating the Expo's previous record of 342. We'd like to congratulate everyone that participated in the event and contributed to an incredible atmosphere, and also the organisers, who worked incredibly hard to make this happen
Once again the dedicated cosplayers of the London MCM Expo have demonstrated their commitment to breaking records. This achievement will be considered for inclusion in the next Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition.
On 25 January 2009, in Mexico City, Mexico, Philadelphia of Kraft Foods Mexico, was recognized by Guinness World Records™ as the creator of the largest cheesecake ever made.
The colossal confectionery weighed 2,133.5 kg (4,703 lb), had a diameter of 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) and was 56 cm (1 ft 10 in) tall. It was created by a team of 55 Mexican chefs from four of the most prestigious gourmet universities in Mexico and one restaurant of the city, led by Executive Chef Miguel Ángel Quezada and Chef Eli López, a desserts specialist, both of the Cordon Bleu Restaurant. his magnificent achievement took place at the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana, in the heart of Mexico City.
The recipe for the world’s largest cheesecake included 800 kg of Philadelphia cream cheese, 800 kg (1,764 lb) of yogurt, 350 kg (772 lb) of cookies, 250 kg (551 lb) of sugar, 150 kg (331 lb) of butter and 100 kg (220 lb) of strawberries, along with other ingredients.
Once the cheesecake was completed, Charles Chamouton, Marketing Manager of Kraft Foods Mexico, was presented with an official Guinness World Records certificate by Carlos Martínez. Mr Chamouton declared that, “Philadelphia was proud of making the World’s Largest Cheesecake. By taking this challenge, Philadelphia cream cheese reaffirmed its leadership in the Mexican market.”
Chef Miguel Ángel Quezada paid tribute to “the talent and enthusiasm of the 55 Mexican chefs of Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana, Centro Culinario Ambrosía, Universidad Iberoamericana, Colegio Superior de Gastronomía and Restaurante Cordon Bleu, which made possible the creation of the world’s largest cheesecake.” The Cheesecake team needed more than sixty hours of work in order to develop this huge dessert. The 55 chefs involved in the process, prepared the cookie, the mousse and were also in charge of the decoration of the World’s Largest Cheesecake, which required 100kg of strawberries placed carefully on top of the mousse.
It took the team more than 60 hours of work to develop this huge dessert. The 55 chefs involved in the process prepared the cookies and the mousse and were also in charge of the decoration of the outsize cheesecake, which required placing 100 kg of strawberries carefully on top of the mousse.
At the end of the event, after receiving the Guinness World Records certification, Philadelphia cream cheese shared the record-breaking cheesecake with all the attendants, and with members of the Alimentos para Todos I.A.P., a non-profit organization, who distributed approximately 20,000 pieces of cheesecake to various communities in the Mexico City.
