Episode 95: The Wild, The Crazy & The Bizarre- The Guinness World Records

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 Ian: Hey everyone, you are listening to “Coffee with Gringos.” I'm Ian Kennedy.

Paige: And I'm Paige Sutherland.  

Ian: So today, Paige and I are going to be discussing the Guinness World Records. And for those of you listeners who aren't aware of the Guinness World Records, it's a record organization that was started in 1955 in England by Sir Hugh Beaver, and Ross McWhorter. Essentially, the idea of this was to find the most incredible, ridiculous, bizarre, and amazing feats and world records of people attempting crazy things. So, this could be anything in the world from incredible feats of athleticism to eating the most food to building the largest buildings. I mean, the possibilities are absolutely endless. Every year, the world records are updated. And so, every year, people have a chance to try to outdo the last record. So, it's something really interesting. So, Paige, do you have any experience with reading the book of the Guinness Book of World Records?

Paige: Yeah, of course. Growing up, we would always, in elementary school, had a bookstore day where people would come in and they would sell all these books. And the Guinness Book of World Records was always the best seller because as an eight-year-old you want to read the weirdest things ever. And they were these elaborate books, they were big, very colorful, very shiny and it was always like you said, the weirdest stuff like the largest pumpkin or the person to wear the most stilts. It was always like, how did you come up with that? Why were you doing that? They're very bizarre but, like you said, there are some really impressive ones where not everyone can do it.

Ian: Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned as a child too. As a kid, for me, it was always fun going to the school book fair and seeing the newest year, the Guinness Book of World Records. And me and my friends would look through the pages and see the man with the longest fingernails or the person with the longest beard or the person who they crawled across an entire continent, or just these incredible things that really spark your imagination as a child to what's possible. So, for me, every time I see these it's like a little bit of nostalgia.

Paige: I think me and my friends would always be like, “we could do this.” And then we never followed through though—we never tried—but were always like, “we could think of something we could do.”

Ian: But they’re really funny and they’re interesting, and they span all over the globe. So, it's a really great way to see everybody's talents. So recently, they actually released the latest year of the Guinness World Records for 2020. And so, we thought it'd be fun to share with our listeners some examples of this previous year of who won what records. So, Paige, how about you start us out with the first one that you see.

Paige: I really like the athletic ones and I saw that this lady, basically, [took] one of the longest bike rides. I actually just got into biking—so this is really far—but she, basically, went for 124 days and 11 hours, she cycled 29,000 kilometers, which for people that know miles, more than 18,000 miles. I mean, that is so far. I don't know how her legs are doing, I wonder. I mean, also I have so many questions about these records because it's like what job does she have that she can just be away for 124 days cycling the world.

Ian: Yeah, it's crazy. That's a long time to be away.

Paige: And did she do it alone? How did she map it out? Where did she stay? Lots of questions.

Ian: Yeah, that's incredible. I can't imagine going that far in such a short amount of time. 18,000 miles in 124 days? Crazy.

Paige: Yeah. I mean, I'm not good at math but that's a lot of miles per day. A lot of biking when she just bingeing “Coffee with Gringos” the whole time?

Ian: Hey, could have. Yeah, that would have been a good idea.

Paige: What about you, Ian? Which one did you see?

Ian: So, the one that I see that, actually, has been a world record, I think, for quite a long time, but is still being held this year is the most tattooed man. So, there's this guy—I believe he's from Australia—his name is Lucky Diamond Rich, and he's been the most tattooed man for more than 10 years. So, his entire body is covered in tattoos—I think it said 200%—and they even say 200% because that includes his eyelids, his gums, his mouth, inside his nose. Every possible space on his body has been tattooed and he said that he completely covered his body by the age of 28, and since 28, he's just been layering tattoos on top of each other. So, he just has layers and layers and layers of tattoos and, I mean, his total body—top of his head. It's incredible to see. And in addition to that, he's a street performer. So, of course, with this kind of body, this kind of strange feat, you got to have a strange job. So, he does chainsaw juggling, unicycling, word swallowing—an incredible performer. It'd be something I'd love to see in person.

Paige: Well, I mean, for listeners that can't see this man, you should Google him. He looks like a villain from a movie.

Ian: Yeah, he really does—he looks scary.

Paige: He looks very scary because you think of tattoos, you think, kind of, more like roses and quotes, but he basically just looks like a blue man.

Ian: He does. He looks like a blue man, he looks, kind of, like a lizard, sort of.

Paige: His whole face is just blue.

Ian: Yeah, it's really crazy. I can't imagine. I don't even have one tattoo, let alone my entire body covered, so I can't even imagine.

Paige: I wonder if he's married.

Ian: Are you interested? Your kind of guy, Paige?

Paige: Yeah, that's my type. I just really have a thing for people that throw chainsaws. That's my type.

Ian: Definitely. You like the dangerous man. I understand. Well, good. So, what's another example that you’ve seen?

Paige: Another one, going a little in the direction of very odd things that, I feel like, people just think like, “Oh, I want to do a Guinness record that hasn't been done.” This woman, she is from the US, and she spun the largest hula hoop. So, the hula hoop, like the toy that you spin around in, is usually, probably like three feet, right? And this is 17 feet, it looks like the size of a garage and a house—it's huge.

Ian: That's incredible.

Paige: I actually can't really hula hoop the normal hula hoops, so I wonder how she did it. Also, how did she build it? Where do you buy a hula hoop that big?

Ian: Yeah, do you just put a bunch of them together? I guess you have to have a custom-made?

Paige: It looks custom-made, yeah.

Ian: That's incredible though. I can't imagine having the body strength even to move your hips to get a hula hoop that big to move around.

Paige: I’m assuming it probably took several takes. That would be my guess.

Ian: And just a quick reminder, if you are interested in taking private classes with Dynamic English, go ahead and check out our website at dynamicenglish.cl. There you can sign up for private classes in your apartment, in your house, or in your office. You can even now take classes online. Sitting on your couch, you can log on and practice English. It’s very easy. So, if you're interested, check us out also on social media through Facebook or Instagram.

Paige: Okay, another one that you saw, Ian?

Ian: Yeah, so another one that I saw going back to you were talking about—an athletic feat earlier with a woman riding a bike. And so, I've seen another one that's an incredible physical feat. It's actually the farthest wheelchair ramp jump. This guy is a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie—Aaron “Wheels” Fotheringham from the US—he had the farthest wheelchair ramp jump this last year, and he went 21.3 meters, which is 70 feet in the air on a halfpipe ramp. For those who don't understand, that is a really high jump. I mean, for an able-bodied person on a skateboard or a bike or something, this would be a really high jump. So, the fact that it's being done by someone disabled—in a wheelchair—I find it to be incredible.

Paige: So, he landed on his wheelchair from 70 feet?

Ian: Yes, that's what he did. And it looks like he actually had a few attempts before this and he actually holds some other wheelchair records. So, he currently holds the first landed wheelchair backflip, which he did in 2008, the highest ramp jump by a wheelchair he had in 2010, and he also had the longest duration balancing a side wheelie of 18.22 seconds in 2002. So, this guy, he's a Guinness World regular—he's one of their regulars getting into the book. So yeah, he's just the most recent one. Yeah so, he's all about it. So, I think this is just the recent one.

Paige: It sounds dangerous—70 feet. I mean, landing in a wheelchair, I don't know. I mean, that doesn't seem safe.

Ian: I don't think so. It looks like he has a wheelchair that's, it looks like it's super durable that can really handle the stress of those jumps, but that's still incredible.

Paige: Another one I saw was the fastest autonomous car. For listeners, you can't see it, but it basically looks like the Batmobile. And so, it's driverless, and, I mean just looking at it, looks really fast. It's called “Robocar” and it can go up to 282 kilometers per hour. Which, for people who better know miles, it's 175 miles per hour, which is really fast—dangerously fast.

Ian: Yeah, definitely. That could probably outdo the Batmobile.

Paige: Yeah, well we should test that out. I think so.

Ian: I think it's worth it. I wonder what it costs to put this kind of car together? The engineering, the parts—I'm sure it's really expensive.

Paige: I bet so much. And, I mean, I've always had shitty cars, so I guess I can't relate.  But every car that I've ever owned, if I go like 100 [miles per hour], it starts to shake—it's unsafe. I almost feel like my doors are going to fall off like just the engine will pop out. So, going double that almost, what does that look like?

Ian: Exactly, yeah that's crazy. I can't imagine.

Paige: What about you? Do you have any other ones that you saw that were interesting?

Ian: Yeah, so here's one that's pretty interesting and something I would be too afraid to ever try, personally. But, it's the most fire-eating extinguishes in one minute, which is held by a performer from the United Kingdom named Isabel Midnight. And she swallows torches that are on fire and puts them out with her throat. And her current record is she holds the record of in one minute, she put out 78 flame torches with her mouth. That's incredible.

Paige: Does she have a mouth? Does she have feelings in her tongue? I don't get it.

Ian: She probably has no taste buds, right? She probably isn't able to taste food anymore, you would imagine.

Paige: Right? Because if you look at this photo, for our listeners, it is on fire—these are flames. This isn't like putting really roasted marshmallow straight up in your mouth…78 times in a minute.

Ian: That's incredible. I wonder how she feels afterward. It sounds terrible.

Paige: I bet she has intense heartburn.

Ian: I bet. Wow, that's crazy.

Paige: I always think about these Guinness World Records like how do you try it first? You put one flame in your mouth and then it's like, “Fuck, that really hurt my mouth.” How do you know that you can handle it and what's your limit? And what's too much?

Ian: Yeah, you start at one flame and just work your way up, I guess. Get a taste for the fire…pun intended.

Paige: Well, it's funny. In Chile, I was always really impressed that a lot of the street performers, they would do some pretty sophisticated stuff, such as not eating flames but were throwing flames which, I would not attempt to do that. It seems really dangerous.

Ian: Yeah, it's incredible. You look at these people and you think, first, how were you either brave and or stupid enough to start doing this? And then second, how much practice does this person put in to be so good at this skill? You're totally right. In the streets of Santiago, I see people that will just make my jaw drop with their performances. It's incredible to think, wow, how much time do they have to spend practicing this activity? It's crazy.

Paige: Yeah and, like you said, you have to practice so it's like, how do you practice something that's really dangerous when you're bad?

Ian: Yeah, exactly. Wild preparations for wild attempts.

Paige: Just rip eight shots and then try.

Ian: Some liquid courage helps. So, it'll be really interesting to see which records get broken the next year. We'll see if Lucky Rich keeps his title of “most tattooed man” for another 10 years. It'll be interesting. That's what's great about it. You know, every year there's the possibility of one-upping, doing better than the previous year. So, it's always something exciting, always interesting.

Paige: I think all of us could probably say we’ve broken our own records of the longest days inside in 2020.

Ian: Yes, an involuntary record—an involuntary world record.

Paige: Well, for anyone who gets lost, check out that audio guide and transcript. Stay safe. Thanks for listening everyone.

Ian: And find a good record to try to break and we'll feature you on the podcast.

Paige: Seriously, do it. What else are you doing?

Ian: Now is the perfect time, if you're stuck inside, to try to find those records you can break. Okay, so thanks everyone for listening and we'll see you next time.

Paige: “Coffee with Gringos” was brought to you by Dynamic English, where you can learn English simply by using it. If you’re interested in taking classes or just want to learn more, go to our website at dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.

Key Vocabulary, Phrases & Slang:

 1.     bizarre (adjective): strange, different, odd, funny.

a.     That man looks so bizarre with his long beard.

2.     feat (noun): achievement requiring courage, strength, or skill.

a.     The runner achieved his greatest feat: running a kilometer in under four minutes.

3.     to outdo (verb): outperform to do something better than someone else.

a.     She always wants to outdo her sister in every activity.

4.     elaborate (adjective): detailed, complicated, complex.

a.     They needed an elaborate plan if they were going to accomplish the goal.

5.     stilts (noun): a pair of poles that allow someone to walk at a high distance above the ground.

a.     The circus performers were using stilts to walk around the stage.

6.     to crawl (verb): to move one’s body on their hands and knees close to the ground.

a.     There is a world record for a man who crawled the entire length of India.  

7.       to spark (verb): to start or excite.

a.     Reading fantasy books always sparked her imagination as a child.

8.     to span (verb): to cover to extend across an area.

a.     The world records are awarded to people who span all over the world.

9.     to binge (verb): to do something in excess.

a.     I’ve been bingeing on series ever since I got Netflix.

10.  tattooed (adjective): to have ink tattoos on one’s skin.

a.     He is the most tattooed person I’ve ever seen.

11.  to layer (verb): to put or place things on top of each other.

a.     He layers his tattoos every year so that they keep their color.

12.  chainsaw juggling (noun): throwing and catching multiple chainsaws in the air at the same time.

a.     The street performer was incredible at chainsaw juggling.

13.  unicycling (noun): riding a bike that only has one wheel.

a.     Unicycling is much more difficult than it looks.

14.  hula hoop (noun): a large circle or hoop placed around someone’s body and used to spin around using the body for exercise or play.

a.     The hula hoop was so big that I wasn’t sure that she could even play with it.

15.  custom-made (adjective): made specifically for someone or something.

a.     She had a custom-made suit made for her to break the world record.

16.  self-proclaimed (adjective): describing or claiming oneself to be something without someone else’s opinion or endorsement.

a.     She is a self-proclaimed math genius who thinks she’s really smart.

17.  adrenaline junkie (noun): a person with a desire for excitement and adventure.

a.     She is such an adrenaline junkie that she goes skydiving every year.

18.  able-bodied (adjective): someone with the full function and use of their body.

a.     Able-bodied athletes cannot compete in the Paralympic games.

19.  durable (adjective): tough, long-lasting.

a.     The durable material of the equipment allowed them to do many dangerous activities.  

20.  autonomous (adjective): self-controlling, independent.

a.     The autonomous car can control itself without anyone controlling it.   

21.  to pop out (phrasal verb): to fall outside of something, escape.

a.     She was afraid that the engine would pop out because the car was so old.

22.  extinguish (noun): the act of stopping or putting out a fire.

a.     She performed 78 extinguishes in just one minute!

23.  pun (noun): a joke used to highlight the specific meaning of a word used in a different way.  

a.     Things were getting fishy down at the port…pun intended.  

24.  to make someone’s jaw drop (idiom): to surprise someone, to be in disbelief.

a.     The street performer made my jaw drop with his amazing talents.

25.  to rip (verb): to drink something quickly or aggressively.

a.     He wants to rip a drink before we go to the club.

26.  shot (noun): a small glass used to drink strong alcohol, usually all at once.

a.     I feel terrible today because my friend kept buying me shots all night.

27.  liquid courage (noun, slang): the feeling of being more relaxed and open due to being drunk from alcohol.

a.     A little liquid courage helps with learning a new language.

28.  to one-up (verb): to do better than someone at something.

a.     I want to one-up my brother when we play soccer today.