The width of an average adult male’s tongue is around 4.8 cm (1.9 in), however, there are people out there with tongues almost double that size.
We first awarded the title of world’s widest tongue (male) to Amandeep Heer (UK) in 2004. His tongue was measured to be 7.6 cm (3 in) wide, which is the exact same width as a standard-sized sticky note.
However, a year later, a new record holder was discovered: an Australian man named Jay Sloot appeared on our TV show (creatively titled Guinness World Records), where his tongue was measured to be 0.3 cm longer than Amandeep’s.
Jay’s record stood for several years after that. In 2010, he made an appearance on our televised talent show Lo Show Dei Record, where his tongue was once again measured to be 7.9 cm (3.1 in).
In 2013, while browsing the books in their local library, dad and daughter duo Byron and Emily Schlenker (USA) came across Jay’s record in Guinness World Records 2012.
"On the way home I started thinking my tongue is pretty wide; I wonder how wide it is?" Byron later recalled.
After measuring it, Byron realized that his tongue was indeed wider than Jay’s. His tongue was then accurately measured by a medical professional to be 8.3 cm (3.27 in) wide, and his world record was officially confirmed.
All applicants are required to have their tongue measured by a medical professional to make sure that the tongue’s superlative size is not caused by an allergy, injury or infection.
After stumbling upon the record by chance in our book, Byron had now claimed a spot in the annual for himself.
But Byron’s broad buds were seemingly still growing. A year later, his tongue was measured again and found to be 8.57 cm (3.37 in). That’s almost a whole centimetre wider than an iPhone 14 Pro Max!
Wow. #gwr60 star Byron Schlenker's tremendous tongue is now even wider http://t.co/9dsumyaC7Rpic.twitter.com/MkFKgkb9Is
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) April 17, 2015
According to Emily, her dad’s tongue had grown because “he shows it so much.”
Appearing on TV show The Wizard of Odd, she said: “Since it’s a muscle, it stretches when you work it out, so since he sticks it out so much, he’s gotten a few millimetres bigger.”
This is, in fact, true. The tongue is a set of muscles which can be stretched through repeated exercise.
In 2015, Emily, who also possessed a remarkably wide tongue (7.33 cm; 2.89 in), was awarded the female version of the record.
Despite inheriting her father’s tongue-tastic genes, she was initially reluctant to be recognized as the record holder.
“I really didn’t want to have anything to do with it at first,” she said, but she soon came around to the idea of being a fellow Guinness World Records title holder alongside her dad.
“It does feel a little weird, this is not something that happens every day,” Emily said.
@guinnessworldrecords Widest tongue (female) 📏👅 7.33 cm (2.89 in) - Emily Schlenker 🇺🇸
♬ original sound - Guinness World Records
Emily was 14 years old when she was awarded her record. Now aged 22, she still has the world’s widest tongue (female).
Byron, on the other hand, lost his title in 2018 to 58-year-old Brian Thompson (USA). Brian’s record-breaking tongue boasts a width of 8.88 cm (3.49 in).
“Possessing a world record is a marvelous thing,” Brian said after his record was verified. “My tongue has been an amusement to my friends and family for years.”
In addition to the world’s widest tongues, we also monitor the record for the largest tongue circumference, which currently belongs to Dante Barnes (USA).
Dante is able to inflate his tongue to a circumference of 12.19 cm (4.80 in), which is equal to the diameter of a ping pong ball.
When inflated, his tongue reaches a height of 4.2 cm (1.65 in) and a width of 4 cm (1.57 in), meaning it’s almost perfectly spherical.
“I have not had an actual medical person tell me what it is that I can do or what it’s called but I have had people make videos about my tongue and they say it’s called macroglossia,” Dante said.
“It just feels like my tongue. I’m able to flex it like any other muscle, like moving your fingers or lifting a weight.”
If you’re now wondering who the world’s longest tongues belong to, we’ve got you covered: Nick Stoeberl (USA) has the longest tongue (male), measuring 10.1 cm (3.97 in), and Chanel Tapper (USA) has the longest tongue (female), at 9.75 cm (3.8 in).
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