All articles tagged with #guinness world records
117-year-old Ethel Caterham, the world’s oldest person, celebrated her birthday at a Surrey care home with family, afternoon tea, and a Frank Sinatra tribute; her life has spanned two world wars, the sinking of the Titanic, and six British monarchs. She says she has longevity secrets, though the article doesn’t list them, and she’s hopeful for the year ahead.
Britain’s Ethel Caterham, a resident of a Surrey care home, celebrated her 117th birthday and is recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest living person; her long life spans two world wars and major 20th-century events, including surviving COVID-19. She has met King Charles and was born in 1909, placing her among the oldest people ever, though Jeanne Calment still holds the all-time record at 122.
117-year-old Ethel Caterham of Hallmark Lakeview Care Home in Lightwater, Surrey, celebrated becoming the world’s oldest living person after the previous record-holder’s death; born in 1909, she has survived the Titanic era, two world wars, Covid-19, and has even been visited by King Charles.
A 97-year-old English woman, Betty Bromage, has set a Guinness World Record as the oldest female wing walker, completing her sixth wing walk (including an upside-down flight) and raising funds for Cheltenham General Hospital after a stroke last year.
Florida’s Nathan Thomas has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s youngest professor after teaching engineering at Miami Dade College at 18 years, 346 days in August 2023, breaking a 306-year-old record held by Colin Maclaurin; now 21, he teaches online while pursuing a University of Miami Law degree (to graduate 2028) after earning an associate degree at 14 and bachelor’s/master’s in electrical engineering from FIU; he also beat the previous youngest professor, Alia Sabur, by 16 days; he enjoys helping students grasp concepts and notes age doesn’t factor into the classroom.
Paul Alexander contracted polio at six and spent more than 70 years in an iron lung, becoming the world’s longest-known survivor to rely on the device. He learned glossopharyngeal breathing to spend more time out of the machine, earned a UT Austin education and a law degree, and ran a Dallas practice with a devoted network of family and caregivers. After a 2015 replacement iron lung was found, Guinness World Records recognized him in 2023 as the longest-living iron-lung user; he died in 2024 at 78. His life illustrates polio’s history, the vaccine era, and the resilience of independence-seeking individuals with disabilities.
Shane Gillis sold 76,212 tickets for his July 17 Lincoln Financial Field show, earning a new Guinness World Record for the most tickets sold for a comedy show by a solo comedian, with attendance tallies also aiming to surpass the current largest-audience mark (held by Mario Barth); Gillis has topped venue attendance records and sold over 1 million tickets across 100+ headline shows.
DC’s Freedom 250 fireworks were pitched as a Guinness World Records attempt for the largest pyrotechnics display, planning more than 850,000 shells, but as of Sunday evening officials had not confirmed a record. The current record stands at 810,904 shells set by a Philippines church in 2016. The show, tied to the Salute to America 250 on the National Mall, followed typical Fourth of July patterns (roughly 17,000 shells, 17–20 minutes, about $270,000) and raised air-quality concerns, with Guinness not yet commenting.
Joseph McGrail-Bateup of Canberra won a Guinness World Record for the loudest shout, delivering 122.4 decibels in a May 2 recording in a Canberra radio studio with an acoustic engineer and witnesses; the achievement follows his prior world-record feats, and he says records are meant to be broken.
Jonathan, a Galapagos giant tortoise living on Saint Helena and believed to be about 190 years old, is still alive and has been recognized by Guinness as an icon, highlighting his status as the oldest known living land animal.
In London, about 100 Italian chefs assembled at Chelsea Town Hall to craft a 440.6-meter tiramisu, surpassing Milan’s 273.5-meter record. The dessert used 50,000 ladyfinger biscuits and more than 3,000 eggs and was assembled live on site under Guinness World Records validation, finished with a golden crown to honor the King and Royal Family.
Indian singer Asha Bhosle died in Mumbai at 92 after a chest infection, closing an eight-decade career that earned global acclaim. She was the Guinness World Records’ most-recorded artist with over 11,000 songs, was nominated for two Grammys, and received India’s Dadasaheb Phalke Award and Padma Vibhushan. Sister to Lata Mangeshkar, she collaborated with international artists like Boy George, and tributes from leaders and artists flowed as her funeral was set for Monday.
Scientists unveil SeaRex, a 150-million-year-old pliosaur skull found lodged high in a cliff along England’s Jurassic Coast; at ~95% complete with about 130 teeth, it’s been dubbed the most complete skull of its kind by Guinness World Records, recovered after a drone survey pinpointed the site and rope-access excavation suggests more bones remain in the surrounding rock.
PHL set a Guinness World Record for the longest cheesesteak line at 1,200 feet, built by 100 volunteers using 990 pounds of steak and 225 pounds of cheese sauce, with the finished sandwiches donated to TSA staff after authentication by Guinness.
Saudi Arabia’s 149-mile stretch of Highway 10 is the world’s longest straight road, but a civil engineer warns its unchanging, repetitive driving can cause fatigue and highway hypnosis, making it riskier than it sounds.