Man retakes record by ‘inflating’ titanic tongue to even bigger size
Born with the rare ability to ‘inflate’ his tongue, Sacha Feiner (Belgium) has the world’s largest tongue circumference.
Measuring 17 cm (6.69 in), it’s halfway between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball.
@guinnessworldrecords Largest tongue circumference (male) 👅 17 cm (6.69 in) - Sacha Feiner 🇧🇪 #tongue#guinnessworldrecords♬ original sound - Guinness World Records
Sacha’s tongue was first measured to be 14.73 cm (5.79 in) last year, but his stint as a record holder was short lived because less than a month later, Braydon McCullough (USA) was confirmed to have a bigger tongue (16 cm; 6.3 in).
Determined to take back the title, Sacha experimented with new ways of flexing his tongue to maximize its size.
“I realized I was able to flex it more evenly, in a more square shape, instead of my previous effort that was measured when flexing my tongue in a kind of triangle shape,” he explained.
“That new movement, to my surprise, makes a larger circumference.”
Sacha, who works as a film director and script writer, says it’s not painful when he expands his tongue, but just like any other muscle, it does get tired after a minute or two.
Even when at rest, Sacha’s tongue is above average in size. Fortunately, it hasn’t impacted his speech, and he rarely accidentally bites it.
Macroglossia is the medical term for an unusually large tongue, but there is currently no term for the ability to enlarge one’s tongue, and Sacha has never been diagnosed with any specific condition by doctors.
“They just say I have an ability to flex my tongue vertically,” Sacha said. “This, added to the relatively big size of my tongue, gives the ‘inflation’ effect.
“I'm not sick, nor did I have to take any hormones, nor did I go to the gym especially for this – but imagine how big it would be if I would!”
Throughout his life, Sacha has relished the reactions he gets whenever he shows off his tremendous tongue.
He said: “I have been doing this tongue grimace for decades, always enjoying the disgust of my friends and family. Now that I have this record, I have a legitimation to do it even more.”
After it was confirmed as the world’s largest, Sacha made a cast of his tongue which he used to create gold-painted replica statues as gifts for all his friends and family.
“I love to push jokes as far as I can, and I have a lot of fun creating non-serious things very seriously,” he said.
Sacha got married this week, giving him an opportunity to put his tongue to good use (by saying “I do”).
He and his wife have a seven-year-old son named Felix, who unfortunately did not inherit the tongue-inflation gene. Sacha joked: “Felix's tongue is regular-sized… but we have big hopes for him!”
The current female record holder is Jenny DuVander (USA), whose tongue has a circumference of 13.25 cm (5.21 in).
Watch Sacha's tongue being measured alongside loads of other newly broken records in the latest episode of our Records Weekly series...
Want more? Follow us on Google News and across our social media channels to stay up-to-date with all things Guinness World Records! You can find us on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Snapchat Discover.
Don't forget to check out our videos on YouTube and become part of our group chat by following the Guinness World Records WhatsApp channel.
Still not had enough? Click here to buy our latest book, filled to the brim with stories about our amazing record breakers.