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A30 FEATURE
Wednesday 27 May 2020
From sock feats to leapfrog, Guinness crowns record holders

By PAT GRAHAM a senior product manager
AP Sports Writer at a technology company.
Usain Bolt ran the 100 me- "I was fascinated by it and
ters in 9.58 seconds. Dr. Vi- would be like, 'Hey, I wish I
kas Saini recently put on 10 could do that.'"
socks in an official time of Jed Hockin is renowned for
9.23. his soccer skills and trick-
Both have the same title: shot artistry. Last month,
world record holder. he set a record by juggling
From sock feats to fancy a roll of toilet paper with
footwork using rolls of toi- his foot as part of an on-
let paper, records are still line challenge. This was his
being set even with many fourth Guinness record.
sports on hold due to the Next on his radar: Most soc-
coronavirus pandemic. cer (football) touches in an
Guinness World Records hour. The mark stands at
receives about 1,000 appli- 11,901.
cations each month from "I am looking to break heaps
would-be record breakers more Guinness World Re-
throughout North America. cords," Hockin wrote in an
The company has long This photo provided by David Rush shows David Rush preparing to put on T-shirts at his home in email from Toowoomba,
Boise, Idaho. Guinness World Records holds a weekly online challenge that gives everyone a
been known as the keep- chance to be crowned the world’s best. Rush recently became the record holder in the category Australia.
er of accomplishments of “fastest to put on 10 T-Shirts” with his time of 15.61 seconds during an online contest. He bruised Then there's Saini, who
ranging from the fascinat- his wrist from knocking it against his head. proved lightning quick
ing (longest fingernails) Associated Press while putting on 10 differ-
to the far-out ( most body ent socks as he sat on the
piercings ) and of course bounces in one minute: 656 lished in 1955 and by 1964 cord holder through the floor in his home in India. His
the "give-it-a-whirl" possi- (using two basketballs). a million copies had been online challenge in the strategy: Have fun with it.
bilities (walking on hands, The notion of collecting in- sold. Later, a TV series was category of "fastest to put "Amazing in the sense that
anyone?).But their recent triguing records was put in added. on 10 T-Shirts." His winning it was not thought even in
online challenges have motion by Sir Hugh Beaver Guinness also features time was 15.61 seconds. the dreams that on one
been soaring in popular- in the 1950s when he was a Hall of Fame. Among He practiced so much he fine morning I will be having
ity with many sheltering at managing director of Guin- the inductees was Robert bruised his wrist from knock- such a prestigious title for
home. Wind up as the top ness Brewery. As the story Wadlow, the world's tallest ing it against his head. exercising (a) tiny effort,"
leapfrogger, pyramid can- goes: He was attending a man who was measured at Rush is no stranger to world Saini wrote in an email.
stacker or one-handed, shooting party in Ireland 8 feet, 11.1 inches (2.72 me- records. He already holds His burst of speed with socks
crisscross LEGO builder when he and his compan- ters) in 1940. Another Hall many marks, including made him appreciate the
and, if adjudicated, earn ions began to squabble of Famer is Lee Redmond, most juggling catches on quickness of Bolt all the
the label: "Guinness World over Europe's fastest game whose fingernails famously a unicycle while blindfold- more. The iconic sprinter
Records title holder." bird. There was no quick measured more than 28 ed (30), longest duration from Jamaica lowered his
"We're inside, but we still way to solve the dispute. feet (8.65 meters). balancing a bicycle on his 100 time to 9.58 at the 2009
want to be able to inspire He asked twins Norris and In a typical year, Guin- chin (6 minutes, 1.07 sec- world championships.
creativity, lift people's spirits Ross McWhirter, who were ness receives about 47,000 onds) and most baseball "We can't imagine the all-
and just continue to pro- fact-finding researchers, record inquiries from 178 bat spins in a minute (94). out effort made by him,"
vide an outlet for people to compile a record book countries. Of those, around "I loved watching the spe- Saini wrote.
to learn about and explore featuring topics that would 8,000 are approved. cials on TV and thumbing Since the COVID-19 out-
world records," records help solve bar debates. David Rush of Boise, Idaho, through the book occa- break, Guinness officials
manager Chrissy Fernan- The first volume was pub- recently became the re- sionally," said Rush, who's have noticed more record
dez said. attempts from homes and
The online challenges are gardens. They've received
designed to be performed applications for records
with minimal equipment ranging from "most sticky
and in a way to adhere to notes stuck on the body in
stay-at-home mandates. 30 seconds" to "tallest cot-
There are also kid-friendly ton plant" to "most jumping
contests. jacks in one minute."
As for the book, who didn't Fernandez is among the
scroll through the pages Guinness records manag-
growing up in search of re- ers tasked with authenti-
cords to possibly attempt? cating world marks.
The Guinness database Last fall, she attended re-
contains more than 50,000 cord attempts by the Har-
unique marks. A sampling: lem Globetrotters. The
— The fastest hole of golf legendary exhibition bas-
by an individual is listed at 1 ketball squad set six marks
minute, 29.62 seconds. that day, including farthest
— The quickest time to run behind-the-back shot and
the 100-meter hurdles while most bounced basketball
wearing swim fins is 14.82 figure-eight maneuvers
seconds for a male and In this photo provided by Jed Hockin, Hockin poses in front of recycling cans and a basketball blindfolded in one minute.
18.523 for a female. hoop in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. These days, records are
— The most basketball Associated Press corroborated online. q