The 2018 Guinness World Records are out and the world’s an interesting place
With humanity’s worst dominating the headlines, it’s encouraging to read about its best—or at least some of its most interesting—in the latest book of Guinness World Records, out Thursday.
In total, Ayanna Williams’ fingernails are 18 feet, 10.9 inches long. Yet the 60-year-old from Houston swears that other than hindering her ability to pull up her pants, they rarely get in the way. While we have a hard time believing texting’s not a total pain for Ayanna, we’ve got to hand it to her: a feat like that takes a special kind of commitment.
Williams is only one of the many fiercely-committed individuals and fascinating specimens of humanity (and nature in general) honored in the new 2018 collection of the Guinness World Records, which were officially announced Thursday. Others that made the list’s 63rd edition include the record-holder for the world’s oldest bodybuilder (83-year-old Jim Arrington), the world’s largest teddy bear collection (Jackie Miley owns 8,025 stuffed bears), the world’s tallest high top fade (Benny Harlem’s hair is 20.5 inches tall), and the world’s longest tail on a domestic cat (Cygnus’ tail measures 17.58 inches long), according to a Guinness release.
The annual collection of unusual features and bizarrely specific achievements (“Most coconuts smashed around a person while blindfolded in one minute”? It’s 35, by the way) is weirdly refreshing. In a time when it feels like people have turned cold and hateful (and, make no mistake, some certainly have), I like knowing there’s a woman in China who surely takes great pride in the fact that a 4.88 inch-long eyelash on her left eyelid has earned her low-key celebrity status. Growing my eyelashes to record-breaking lengths has never been a personal aspiration of mine, but to each her own.
Jackie Miley – Largest Collection Of Teddy Bears
Guinness World Records 2016
Photo Credit: Kevin Scott Ramos/Guinness World Records
This year the records are releasing two additional collections: Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2018, which celebrates the best in game-related records, and for the first time, Guinness World Records: Amazing Animals, which chronicles everything from painting dogs to surfing pigs to elephant orchestras.
Yes, there are more important accomplishments to celebrate than traveling the greatest distance with a pool cue balanced on your chin (5,472 feet, 9 inches!) but it’s still a nice reminder that there are all kinds of people out there with all kinds of passions.
Next: Sign of the Times: Nintendo decides that Mario is no longer a plumber
The world is a weird place. But weird in a good way.