The Annual Guinness Book of World Records Day took place on Thursday 13th Nov 2014. On this day, people from all over the world attempted to break a number of feats. Among the attempts was NBC weatherman Al Roker who attempted the longest uninterrupted live weather report going for fourteen hours with five minute breaks every hour. In Japan, nineteen year old Katsumi Tamakoshi set a new record for fastest 100 metres on all fours finishing in 15.86 seconds. In London itself, 373 people set a new record for the largest gathering of people dressed as penguins while the Harlem Globetrotters star Thunder Law set a new 25 metre record for farthest basketball shot made backwards.
In London, the world’s tallest and shortest man met in London for the first time to help celebrate the tenth anniversary of the event. Chandra Bahadur Dangi from Nepal who stands at 55 centimetres met with Turkey’s Sultan Kosen who stands at a gargantuan 2.51 metres. 31 year old Kosen is a farmer while 74 year old Dangi makes and sells placemats and headstraps for villagers carrying heavy loads. Kosen said it had been “amazing” to meet Dangi adding, “Even though he is short and I am tall, we have had similar struggles throughout our lives and when I look into Chandra’s eyes I can see he is a good man.” Dangi was pleased thankful that he was a Guinness record holder; “Thanks to this I have visited many countries and met many people. I really love it.” The Guinness Book of World Records was set up by the brewing firm of the same name. They launched their records book in 1955 to settle disputes among drinkers. Since then, more than 132 million copies in more than 100 countries.