ROUND-UP78.34 x 21.98 m (239 ft
4 in x 257 ft x 72 ft 1 in),
achieved by Dubai Miracle
Garden (UAE) in Dubai,
UAE, on 2 Dec 2016.
Largest human
image of an organ
On 6 Dec 2016, a group of
3,196 students from GEMS
Cambridge International
School (UAE) came
together to form the shape
of a pair of human lungs in
Abu Dhabi, UAE. The event,
sponsored by Novartis
Middle East FZE (UAE), was
held to raise awareness
of chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD).
Most people wrapping
presents simultaneously
On 13 Dec 2016, a total of
876 employees of UK firm
Jewson wrapped presents
in Birmingham, UK.
Most expensive seal
sold at auction
A seal belonging to Emperor
Qianlong (1735–96) of the
Qing dynasty was sold to an
anonymous buyer for $22 m
(£17.34 m) on 14 Dec 2016.
Qianlong had reportedly
owned 1,800 similar seals.
Most people playing
Monopoly (single venue)
On 12 Jan 2017, a total
of 733 people played
the classic acquisitional
board game at an event
organized by Rustic Cuff
and Addicted 2 Cuffs (both
USA) at the Renaissance
Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
USA. Participants played
the officially licensed Rustic
Cuff edition of Monopoly,
with properties designated
as jewellery pieces.
First trio to row
the Atlantic Ocean
From 14 Dec 2016 to 2 Feb
2017, team American
Oarsmen – comprising Mike
Matson, David Alviar and
Brian Krauskopf (all USA)
- rowed the Atlantic east
to west from La Gomera
to Antigua in 49 days
14 hr 4 min. They covered
a distance of 4,722 km
(2,550 nautical mi) on
board Anne.
Most horror-
movie sequels
With the simultaneous
release of Witchcraft XIV:
Angel of Death,
Witchcraft XV: Blood
Rose and Witchcraft XVI:
Hollywood Coven in
Jan 2017, the Witchcraft
horror series (USA) boasts
15 direct sequels to the
original. It began in 1988.Longest ODI career
(female)
The 90-match One-Day
International (ODI) career
of Clare Shillington (IRL)
spanned 19 years 195 days,
from 8 Aug 1997 to 19 Feb- She had scored
1,276 ODI runs in 79 innings
at an average of 17.72,
registering six 50s and a
top score of 95 not out.
Most burpees in
one hour – female
Fitness trainer Kathryn
Beeley (AUS) completed
1,321 burpees in 60 min
on 27 Feb 2017 at the
MissFit gym in Brisbane,
Queensland, Australia.
Beeley beat the previous
best of 1,272, set by fellow
Australian Eva Clarke
in 2015 (see p.76).Fastest 100 m on a space
hopper – female
On 9 Mar 2017, Ali Spagnola
(USA) bounced her way to
100 m glory in 38.22 sec
at UCLA’s Drake Stadium
in Los Angeles, California,
USA. Spagnola beat the
existing time of 39.88 sec
set by Dee McDougall
(see p.80).Tallest stack of tortillas
Ben Leventhal (USA)
created a stack of tortillas
measuring 58.03 cm
(22.85 in) high at Mashable
House at SXSW in Austin,
Texas, USA, on 10 Mar 2017.Largest bust (sculpture)
The “Adiyogi” Shiva, created
by the Isha Foundation
(IND), is a statue of
the Hindu deity Shiva
measuring 34.24 m high,
24.99 m wide and 44.9 m
long (112 ft 4 in x 81 ft 11 in
x 147 ft 3 in), as verified
on 11 Mar 2017 in Tamil
Nadu, India. The statue was
unveiled by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 24 Feb.Longest professional
ice hockey match
During the playoffs of the
GET-ligaen in Norway, a
match between Storhamar
Hockey and Sparta
Warriors on 12–13 Mar 2017
lasted 217 min 14 sec. The
marathon tie, played at
Hamar OL-Amfi in Hamar,
Norway, went to an eighth
period of overtime beforeStorhamar’s Joakim
Jensen finally netted
the winner. This beat the
previous professional
record of 176 min 30 sec,
achieved by the NHL’s
Detroit Red Wings and
Montreal Maroons, who
played six overtime periods
on 24–25 Mar 1936.Largest Easter egg tree
On 16 Mar 2017, an Easter
egg tree consisting of
82,404 painted hen
eggs was presented
by Associação Visite
Pomerode (BRA) at the
90 Osterfest in Pomerode,
Santa Catarina, Brazil.Youngest club DJ
On 20 Mar 2017, Itsuki
Morita (JPN, b. 26 Nov
2010) played a set at the
restaurant and bar L&L in
Osaka, Japan, aged 6 years
114 days. Itsuki used the
Pioneer XDJ-AERO DJ
system for his hour-long
performance, played to a
30-strong audience.Largest human image
of an airplane
To celebrate the
11th anniversary of the
ESTACA Graduate School
of Aeronautical and
Automotive Engineering in
Laval, France, 474 students
dressed in blue came
together to depict an
airplane on 21 Mar 2017.
They beat the 350 mark
set by Ethiopian Airlines
on 29 Jun 2016 (see p.124).Largest tree hug
On 21 Mar 2017, a total of
4,620 people hugged trees
in Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala, India. The attempt,
organized by the news
broadcaster Asianet
News Network and the
Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical
Botanic Garden and
Research Institute, was
held on the United Nations’
“International Day of
Forests”. Each participant
had to hug one tree for at
least 60 sec to qualify.Most haikus about
one town
The Luton Haiku team,
led by Tim Kingston and
also including Andrew
Kingston, Stephen Whiting
and Andrew Whiting (all
UK), have been posting
weekly online haikus about
Luton in Bedfordshire, UK,
since 23 Jan 2007. The
collected poems of ClodMagazine numbered 2,700,
as of 24 Mar 2017, and
have been bound up
in a series of printed
volumes.Highest score in
figure skating –
total score (women)
On 31 Mar 2017, Evgenia
Medvedeva (RUS, see
p.242) won the women’s
title at the International
Skating Union (ISU) World
Championships in Helsinki,
Finland, with a combined
score of 233.41.
The next day, Yuzuru
Hanyu (JPN) achieved
the highest score in
figure skating – long
programme: 223.20.
On his way to the title,
he skated to “Hope and
Legacy” by Joe Hisaishi.Fastest University
Boat Race (women’s)
On 2 Apr 2017, Cambridge
secured the Women’s Boat
Race Trophy by beating
Oxford in a time of 18 min
33 sec in London, UK.Most Pulitzer Prizes
and citations
On 10 Apr 2017, The New
York Times received Pulitzer
Prizes for International
Reporting, Breaking
News Photography
(Daniel Berehulak, AUS)
and Feature Writing
(C J Chivers, USA). This
took the newspaper’s total
prizes and citations to 122.Longest duration
holding weight
(outstretched arms)
On 11 Apr 2017, Anatoly
Ezhov (BLR) held a
20-kg (44-lb) kettlebell
with outstretched
arms for 2 min 35 sec
in Arkhangelsk, Russia.
Strongman Ezhov beat his
existing record by 2 sec.Longest frame
in a professional
snooker match
On 12 Apr 2017, Fergal
O’Brien (IRL) and David
Gilbert (UK) played a
deciding frame lasting 2 hr
3 min 41 sec during the
final qualifying round of
the Betfred World Snooker
Championship at the
Ponds Forge International
Sports Centre in Sheffield,
South Yorkshire, UK. It
was O’Brien who emerged
from the marathon frame
victorious, winning it 73–46
and the match 10–9.Largest origami
rhinoceros
On 19 Apr 2017, Liu Tong
and The MixC (both
CHN) created an origami
rhinoceros measuring
7.83 m (25 ft 8 in) long
and 4.06 m (13 ft 3 in)
high in Zhengzhou, Henan
Province, China. The paper
used measured 14 x 14 m
(45 ft 11 in x 45 ft 11 in)
and weighed more than
100 kg (220 lb).Highest pinfall in
tenpin bowling in
24 hours by a pair
On 22 Apr 2017, Trace and
Steve Wiseman (both USA)
knocked down 35,976 pins
in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Trace passed the previous
best at 7.12 p.m., using his
great-grandfather’s ball.Largest permanent
hedge maze
The Butterfly Maze at the
Sunhu tourist resort in
Ningbo, Zhejiang Province,
China, has a total area of
33,564.67 m^2 (8.29 acres)
and a total path length of
8.38 km (5.2 mi). Inspired
by the Chinese story “The
Butterfly Lovers”, the maze
features towers, bridges
and underpasses. It was
opened on 22 Apr 2017.Most popular raccoon
on Instagram
Pumpkin the raccoon had
1.1 million followers on
the photo-sharing social
media site, as of 3 May 2017.
She lives with two dogs,
Oreo and Toffee, and their
owners Laura and William
Young in The Bahamas.Most retweeted
message on Twitter
In his attempts to secure a
lifetime supply of Wendy’s
Chicken Nuggets, Carter
Wilkerson (USA) had
a message retweeted
3,430,655 times, as verified
on 9 May 2017. This was
more than the famous
“Oscar selfie” taken by
Ellen DeGeneres.Mosaics are
always popular
here at GWR - there
are largest variants
made from batteries,
éclairs, socks, soap,
umbrellas, popcorn,
shoelaces and
dumbbells, among
many others!