Rested Guinness World Records titles and why we no longer monitor them
Guinness World Records has discontinued a lot of record titles over the years.
In the (almost) seven decades since our book was first published in 1955, the world has changed.
Whether it’s over environmental issues, concerns for the welfare of animals or even to ensure people are sticking to the law, there are a number of titles we no longer monitor.
Let’s take a look at some of them and the reasons behind them becoming defunct…
Balloon releases
We did once have a record for the most balloons released simultaneously or the largest mass balloon release as it was sometimes referred to.
They were a very popular form of celebration, with people staging them for various reasons, including as ways to honour lost loved ones.
Generic image of balloons being released
But the decision was taken in 2011 to no longer accept applications for this record due to the environmental dangers of releasing traditional and non-biodegradable balloons in large numbers.
The balloons posed a danger to wildlife and bodies such as the RSPCA and Marine Conservation Society recommended people stop doing them.
We decided to cancel it rather than stipulate people had to use biodegradable balloons because even those can take months to break down and have been known to cause harm to animals.
Longest dreadlock
This record category wasn’t rested but rethought.
In 2006, it was decided that the longest dreadlock category should be split to cover both natural and artificial locks.
Our longest locks (locs) on a living person record has belonged to Asha Mandela (USA) since 2009, with a measurement of 5.96 m (19 ft 6.5 in).
We also have record titles for longest natural locks ever and longest artificial locks ever.
Fasting or gluttony
While we do have records for the longest survival without food (382 days by Angus Barbieri) and the longest survival without food or water (18 days by Andreas Mihavecz), these are not titles people can apply for.
It’s pretty obvious, but of course we don’t monitor records like this due to health concerns.
These existing records were awarded by consultants following historical research.
The same goes for the largest meal eaten.
You can not apply for this record, but if you want to get your teeth into an eating record, there are many we still monitor, all restricted to a time limit no longer than three minutes or a particular quantity of the food.
Also in the food category, records such as the most people in a pie fight were rested over wastage concerns.
And we probably don’t need to explain why we no longer monitor the most beer drunk in an hour.
Longest kiss
We’ve also rethought the way we monitor the longest kiss.
That record did belong to Thai couple Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat with a total of 58 hours 35 minutes.
That time was continuous, and due to concerns about sleep deprivation, we’ve made a new record, the longest marathon kissing.
This means that, as with all our marathon records, participants earn five minutes of rest for every hour of activity.
The record is currently unclaimed, so pucker up if you fancy giving it a go.
Wreckless driving
Various tyre burnout records have been discontinued over environmental concerns, including the largest simultaneous car tyre burnout, the largest car tyre burnout image and the largest motorcycle tyre burnout image.
A GWR spokesperson explained: “Records that encourage destruction for the sake of destruction when harmful for the environment will no longer be entertained.”
Generic image of car tyre burnout
In a similar vein, the fastest circumnavigation by car has also been rested as not to encourage people to drive over speed limits.
Musical records
We did once have a record for the fastest yodel (set by Thomas Scholl in 1992 with 12 tones in one second), but the category has since been rested.
It was determined that yodelling was too subjective to be measured in this way.
Records like the fastest violin player also no longer exist because it’s impossible to judge if all notes are being played correctly, even when recordings are slowed down.
Generic image of someone playing the violin
The record for longest continuous note on a saxophone using circular breathing is another that’s been rested following medical evidence that suggested the practice is dangerous.
Animal records
Many records involving animals have been rested due to concerns for their welfare.
For example, a feline named O.T. (Orange Thing) was once named the heaviest cat living at 40.9 lb (18.55 kg).
Categories like this were cancelled for obvious reasons, because we don’t want to encourage the unhealthy overfeeding of animals.
The largest audience at a camel wrestling festival is no longer monitored either, nor are things like the most spiders on the body for 30 seconds over concern for the welfare of the animals involved.
That’s just unsafe
Again, for pretty obvious reasons we no longer monitor the longest time spent buried alive or the longest time without sleep.
There are inherent dangers associated with sleep deprivation. You can read more here about what happened to the last man to hold the record, Robert McDonald, who stayed awake for over 18 days.