Top 10 Craziest World Records OF ALL TIME!
Getting your name in the history books isn't easy, but breaking a world record is one way to ensure that you'll be remembered forever. With that said, for these guys breaking a record just wasn't enough, they had to complete the most dangerous or outlandish feats imaginable. Here's our list of the top 10 craziest world records people have broken.
10-Most bees on a human body
A lot of people are afraid of bees, but you don't have to be scared of them to think this looks terrifying. In fact, that's what makes this story so impressive, Gao Bingguo allowed 1.1 million bees to cover his face and body to break the record, and he didn't even break a sweat. The officials must have broken a sweat counting all those bees though. Seriously, that's dedication, although they must have got that number from just weighing him with the bees and calculating from there. The 55-year-old even managed to smoke a cigarette while the bees piled onto him, and he kept smoking until his mouth was the only thing left uncovered. He has been nicknamed the 'Bee King' of Taishan and has even been called China's number one beekeeper. Not only that, but he'd been training to break the record for years, starting by placing 12 queen bees on his body and working up from there. It might sound crazy, but apparently, bees are rather chilled out insects that refrain from stinging more than you'd think. That said, he didn't escape totally unharmed. In fact, he was stung over 2000 times. Not bad considering he had over a million bees on him though. Not only that, but the swarm weighed over 240 pounds, so it was probably even more of a relief to get them all off him.
9-Heaviest Weight Pulled By Eye Sockets
Feats of strength are some of the most common world records to try and break, but this one is a little more unusual. Chayne Hultgren, also known as the Space Cowboy, isn't exactly a stranger to wild and crazy stunts, but this one tested even his limits. Using his lacrimal bones, those are the bones under your eyes, Hultgren pulled over 907 pounds of weight across the set of Lo Show Dei Record in Milan, Italy. He did this by hooking fishhooks onto the bones and connecting the other ends to a rickshaw, which was loaded with over 100 kilograms in metal weights. As if that wasn't enough, he also invited three ladies to sit in the rickshaw too, upping the weight even more. With all that said, Hultgren has over 30 world records, including one for the most sword throws and catches while blindfolded on a unicycle, so I guess he didn't find this one all that scary by comparison.
8-Most Live Rattlesnakes Held In Mouth
This is one of those world records that I'm not sure has a reason to exist, because it sounds more like a crazy drunken bet than a legitimate challenge. However, that didn't stop one crazy American from deciding way back in 2009 that he wanted to give it a try, and he still holds the record for the highest number of live rattlesnakes in his mouth at once. Jackie Bibby needed three other men to help him corral the snakes, but in the end, he managed to hold 11 in his mouth at the same time. He even managed to keep them there for a whole 10 seconds and walked away without being harmed at all. In fact, the snakes themselves seemed more confused than scared by being picked up in someone's mouth, even if they all hissed so loudly that you could easily hear them on camera.
7-Longest Time Submerged In Ice
This might come as a surprise to some people, but often it's the most unpleasant world records that end up being the most competitive. For example, Wim Hof, a Dutch athlete also known as the Ice-man, held onto his record for longest full body contact with ice for years, upping the time and beating his own record over 16 times. By the end, he'd managed to stay submerged in ice for a crazy time of one hour and 53 minutes, which he said he could do thanks to his secret breathing technique. However, in 2014 he was forced to finally hand his title over, when he was beaten by Jin Songhao. Jins time was only eight seconds longer than Hof's, but it was enough to take the record, and finally beat The Ice-Man at his own game. With that said, Hof has some other ice cold records to fall back on, as he's still the fastest person to run a barefoot half marathon on snow or ice. As for how fast, he completed the whole race in two hours, 16 minutes and 34 seconds, probably because he was in such a hurry to put his shoes back on. Here's a weird fact to end on, staying in full body contact with snow is way harder than it is for ice, and the holder of that record is Oleksiy Gutsulyak, who only just managed to make it past an hour. I'm guessing it's because of the gaps between the ice that provide some sort of insulation you don't get with snow.
6-Most Watermelons Smashed With The Head In One Minute
This is another record that may sound silly at first, but the amount of dedication it takes is no joke. Breaking the record for the most watermelons smashed with the head in one minute is surprisingly popular, and there are a fair few failed attempts on YouTube if you feel like looking them up. With that said, the actual title belongs to 50 year old Ahmed Tafzi from Germany, who managed to smash 43 melons open before the clock hit 60 seconds. His practice strategy might surprise you too, as he's trained with wooden blocks and even bricks before. That aside, he's not the only person with a martial arts background drawn to this kind of challenge. 41 year old Lisa Pitman holds the women's record for most roof tiles smashed in one minute, managing a crazy total of 923. Even better, her husband holds the matching men's title, and the two attempted to break their records together live on TV. Lisa failed her first attempt, and when her husband proposed live on air, she said yes but that she wouldn't marry him until she broke her record too. Luckily she managed it, and is now happily married.
5-Most Chainsaw Juggles
Juggling is a pretty common skill, in fact, I bet everyone watching knows at least one person who can do it well. However, no matter how good at juggling they think they are, I doubt they'd be able to take on this particular challenge. Ian Stewart is a record holder famous for completing the most throws and catches while juggling something pretty special, three totally active chainsaws. He managed 94 catches in all and has been practicing ever since he bought his first chainsaw at just 18. Not just that, but he's confident he could break the record and go even further, he's just waiting for someone else to challenge him first. Speaking of chainsaws, you know how I mentioned stuntman The Space Cowboy earlier? Well, his own chainsaw trick is just as incredible, and maybe even a little harder to watch. He snatched the record for most apples held in own mouth and cut by chainsaw in one minute, and to top it all off he completed the challenge whilst blindfolded. He managed to chop up 21 apples overall but, most importantly, he walked away with his nose intact.
4-Highest Waterfall In A Kayak
Kayaking over super dangerous and risky stuff like super tall waterfalls is another record I had no idea was so competitive, but it has a pretty intense history all of its own. Tyler Bradt kicked things off in 2007 by kayaking over the Alexandra Falls on the Hay River, falling over 107 feet or 33 meters before hitting the water. Almost two years later, Brazillion kayaker Pedro Oliva smashed that record, falling 127 feet or 39 meters over the Salto Belo of the Rio Sacre. Bradt didn't take long to retaliate, as it was just a month later when he finally snatched the record back, and this time managed to keep it. Bradt chose the Palouse Falls as the perfect site for the record, as it is 17 feet or 5.2 meters taller than Niagra Falls. Originally his record-breaking fall was said to measure 186 feet, but since then estimates have risen even more. It is now accepted that Bradt fell an incredible 189 feet before finally hitting the water, a feat that earned him a spread in sports illustrated as well as the Guinness book of world records.
3-World Record Cliff Jump
Normal diving already takes a whole lot of skill and bravery, but that's why it's an Olympic sport, but canyoning takes things to a whole new level. Brazilian born Laso Schaller has been jumping off cliffs for his whole career, but his average dive was between 25 and 35 meters. In order to set a world record for the highest ever cliff dive, he had to almost double that number, and jump from a height of 58.8 meters. To do it, he chose to leap from the famous Cascata del Salto waterfall in Switzerland, and several safety measures had to be taken. Six tanks had to be placed in the pool he would be landing in to soften the water, and a special high dive platform had to be built before he dove. In the end he broke the record, but missed the landing zone, and plunged into the harder water at 123 kilometers an hour. Thankfully he was mostly unharmed, but he had to be dragged from the water and spent several moments on his knees before he could celebrate his victory. There aren't many sports more dangerous than cliff jumping, but there is one very similar act that is even more dangerous. Shallow diving involves jumping from great heights into incredibly shallow water, and the current world record holder is Darren Taylor or, as he prefers to be known, Professor Splash. The professor set a new record back in 2014, when he dove from a height of 11.5 meters into just 12 inches of water.
2-Highest Wire Walk
Daredevil Freddy Nock is no stranger to breaking records, but I think this may be the most terrifying yet. Back in 2015, he snatched the title for the world's highest ever high-walk, when he walked unsupported across the Swiss peaks on a tightrope. His wire was less than an inch thick, and he walked across it completely unaided by poles or other equipment, despite there being at an altitude difference of 50 meters between both ends. He started at 3,532 meters above sea level, and eventually reached Piz Prievlus, a mountain with an elevation of 3,501 meters. This smashed the previous record, which had been held for 30 years, when Philippe Petit walked between the two towers of the World Trade Center. The highest wire walk achievement isn't Freddy Nock's only achievement, as he also holds the record for the fastest skywalk between two hot air balloons. However, the record for highest tightrope balloon walk belongs to Mike Howard, who walked along a 19 feet pole at 4,000 feet. Now that takes high wire talks to the extreme. Not only that, but he was blindfolded the entire way, and finished the trick by parachuting to the ground.
1-Highest Free Fall Parachute Jump
Now, most people who try to break a world record don't mind the attention, but Google Vice President Alan Eustace tried to avoid it at all costs. When he broke the record for highest-ever free-fall jump, he didn't inform the media until afterwards and declined Google's offer to help him with equipment. Instead, the Google VP worked on the project independently for three years, finally taking the record in 2014. The record had previously been held by Felix Baumgartner, who gained the record with the help of Red Bull, and unlike Eustace, he welcomed the attention as eight million people watched live on YouTube. He became the first person to ever break the sound barrier when he fell from 127,852 feet. By comparison, Eustace fell a shocking 135,908 feet from the edge of space, returning to Earth at a speed of over 800 miles an hour. The trip up to his launch site allegedly took over two hours, while his trip back took an incredible 15 minutes. Some even reported hearing a sonic boom (sonic boom) as the Google employee raced back to Earth. Now he's one cool computer scientist.
Which world record did you think was the craziest? Let me know in the comments section down below, Thank you so much.
