Why Are We Obsessed with World Records?

scarlet jellyfish, the eel, and so many more creatures. And now, I'll be honest, this seem like such a crazy, difficult test that I didn't expect we'd actually get many submissions, so we were thrilled when so many started coming in. I really wish we could give prizes to everyone who submitted a drawing, but please know you're all geniuses to us. Okay, here's some of the winners. We've got Andrea Burns and Jamie fam a pair of friends who decided to submit

drawings together. We have Simon de Zubria Ristrepo, who submitted our cartoonist drawing. And for our winner in the best Kids Drawing division, we have Laney, who's twelve and a terrific artist, and the grand prize winner. This drawing was so insane as I told the creator I really want to see it as a poster, and we might just have to make that happen. But in first place, we have Natalie Leigh. Will post Natalie's winning piece on our Facebook page, and you guys will all be getting part

Time Genius T shirts and some other fun prizes. Thank you again to everyone who submitted drawings, and be on the lookout for other contests and upcoming episodes. Now enjoy the show. Guess what Mango? What's that? Will? So I took a couple of wrong turns on the internet this week and I ended up in this gallery of libraries from the Middle Ages. And you know, book that used to be a huge problem. So the first thing any self respecting book collector would do is chain their books

to their bookshelf like dogs. Know, these things were so much thicker, like heavy duty chains. If you look up the Hereford Cathedral in London, you see bookshelves filled with manuscripts, and in front of each book there's just a curtain of chains hanging down because every one of those books is tethered to the shelf. It's so imposing. That could be a great tactic if you actually want people reading the books but that wasn't even the best solution for

protecting your library. If you wanted to upgrade, you could put your chain books inside a locked safe. It's kind of a nesting doll approach to the book security. But if you were really looking for protection, the ultimate in book protection was a curse. Of course occurs. Well, they were a little more like little inscribed threat that feels like such a hail Mary. Like you've got a thief who's broken into your home and then into your safe,

sod through a thick chain. Got this Harry Potter sequel he's been dying to read, finally in his hands, and somehow a curse is going to make him put the book down. I mean, that's the idea. Let me read you my favorite threat. It says, if anyone take away this book, let him be fried in a pan. That sounds like such a Looney Tunes threat. I know, it isn't that intimidating unless the book owner also on the human sized frying pan. All this research on book thefts

made me curious. What's the most stolen publication from public libraries. Number two on the list is the Bible. Why does anyone steal a Bible? I don't know, maybe they just skimmed the first few pages, didn't get far enough to realize that God's pretty clear about not stealing. But here's some of the other things in the top ten. You've got prep books for exams, books on not he's an occult things generally books people might be too embarrassed to

check out. But the number one book that gets stolen from public libraries the Guinness Book of World Records. What I mean that itself kind of feels like a record. I know, honestly, I hadn't thought about the Guinness Book in years. I mean, I loved it as a kid, couldn't wait for the book fair to come so I could pick up a copy. But when I heard that fact, it made me wonder, why are we so impressed with records? And what is it about the Guinness Book that's made

it such a beloved institution? And who has the record for reading the most baked beans in five minutes? So that's what we're digging into today. Important Stuffy Hey their podcast listeners, Well, when a part time genius, I'm will Pure and then as always I'm joined by my good friend Manes Tor and today's episode is all about world records, how the Guinness Book got its start, how they're cataloged, what countries take the book most seriously, And of course

we'll have a couple of terrible quizzes. Who do we have on the line today, Mango, We've got Dan Rollman from records center dot com. He's terrific. He's going to tell us how his site, which allows you to set all sorts of world records from the comfort of your phone, got its start. All right, So before this episode, it had been years since I looked at the Guinness Book.

How about you? Yeah, I remember reading them with friends on the school bus and thumbing through them at the library, but it had been like decades since I held one. Actually had a strange experience buying my book for this episode. What happened, Well, I went to this big bookstore in my neighborhood and went up to the clerk, who is this judgey literary type, And I said, I'm wondering if you could help me, and he looked eager, and then I said I'm looking for the Guinness Book of World Records.

And as that title is filled out of my mouth, I just watched his face. Al Right, why is that I don't know. It was almost like when I was a kid at the local video store and my friends and I would approach the counter with like City Slickers too, or some mainstream movie, and the clerk would just judges because we weren't trying to rent like a Portuguese art film. Yeah, I think you're gonna have to explain to our younger

listeners what a video stores. Well, a long time ago, somewhere between when dinosaurs ruled the earth and Netflix took over, people used to travel to the stores to rent games and movies and sometimes pay exorbitant late fees to them. That's probably the worst fact we've ever told on our show. But you were talking about the bookstore experience. Yeah, so I said get his book, and he didn't even bother to look at his computer. He was like, reference, you

just go to reference. But then I started flipping the pages, and holy smokes, I honestly forgot just how fun to Guinness book is. Like, of course, kids steal us from libraries. Who doesn't want to know? What's the most number of bowling balls someone's caught on their forehead? It's six, by the way, Like I had six bowling balls in a row thrown at him, and then he caught them on

his forehead, one after the other, which is impressive. I don't even know how that works, but I'm guessing presumably there was a seventh ball chucked his way that he didn't catch. Yeah, the book doesn't mention that, but it does say what the world's largest robots snakes, which is what I can tell You're dying to talk about this, of course I am. It's the Titana Boa. Not only is it fifty ft long, but it was engineered to

be a life size replica of an extinct snake. It's all based on a real fossil, and apparently the engineers remote controlled it around at science festivals where it goes wild on dance floor. I can only imagine. So I love all those crazy facts to What's strange is that when I was a kid, the stuff I really remembered was much more about the guy with the longest mustache or the tallest man in the world. But the book

actually has so much general knowledge in there. Like in the two thousand and seventeen edition, there's a page on the business of sports and how the average NBA player makes six hundred times what an Nbah cheer leader makes or that the Lakers franchise pulls in two point six billion dollars a year. Like those are real facts, not just stunts. Like most apples held in a mouth and cut in half by a chainsaw in a minute, which is an actual record, right, yep, it's Johnny Strange cut

twelve apples in half out of Danielle Martin's mouth. Of course that sounds terrifying. Also does the Guinness Book look through all the apples and determine, well, this one wasn't cut exactly down the center, so you're getting docted an apple. I mean, the record keepers are definitely meticulous, which we're going to talk about in a bit because it sounds like a crazy job. And how you actually get into

the Guinness Book is an incredible process. But this guy, Johnny Strange, he is an artist, so he also holds the record for most apples held in one's own mouth and cut my chainsaw in a minute. He cut eight apples in half in his own mouth. I get uncomfortable when I point scissors on myself. I can't even imagine like turning a chainsaw in my own direction. But let's get back to what I think you were saying, which is that the Guinness Book contain more history and economics

and just facts about the world than you expected. Yeah, that's right. There are all sorts of facts about geology and earth science, like the longest natural arch, the largest slot canyon. And that's because Guinness Book actually started out as a way to settle argument. Really. Yeah, you know, before people had cell phones or access to the internet, you might be at the cafe and get into a

silly debate or something ridiculous, like what country dominates synchronized swimming? Sure, Switzerland? Okay, Well, let's say one of your friends is arguing for Switzerland. If you correct, I mean, you never bet against Swiss precision. That's that's true, all right. So you're on team Switzerland and someone else can't stop praising Russia, and the whole debate gets heated because maybe you've had a few drinks

and you're a little too invested. But back in the nineteen fifties, there really weren't a lot of ways to settle this without either taking the word of the biggest synchronized swimming fan in the group, or maybe calling him a bookie with a specialty in the sport, and because sometimes a drunken argument, no matter how trivial the topic, can lead to a brawl. And that's what the Guinness Book was for. It was actually a peacemaking device to be stocked in bars and settle bickering. Oh I love that.

I feel like the Guinness Book deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, or at least an Ignoble Peace Prize. You love the Ignoble I do, but this feels so deserving. Singer wish. Do you know what my favorite Ignoble peace prizes? What's that? Tell me? It's from a few years back and it went to a mayor in Lithuania. According to the Ignobles, he want it for a quote demonstrating that the problem of illegally parked luxury cars can be solved by running over them with an armored tank. I looked up the

photos of this. The mayor would actually drive the tank himself over Mercedes and Lexus is parked and Bikelon and he was right. It solved the problem. I think they're using the word piece ironically there though. Yeah, or the Ignoble Pieces Prize also a full confession. I don't know anything about Switzerland. Synchronized swimming team. The only thing I do know about the sport is that swimmers use jeladan to keep their hair in place. Yeah, that's why their

hair is so perfect and shiny. So, by the way, Russia is dominant in the sport. They've won nineteen international synchronized swimming titles in a row, which I learned from the Guinness Book. See it actually worked well. It definitely stopped us from getting in a fifth fin. That's true. So do you know what the original argument that spurred the idea for the Guinness Book was, like, was there one specific thing people were debating there was? Actually it

all started with Sir Hugh Beaver. Sir Hugh Beaver. That sounds like a name out of Wind in the Willows, but he's a real person. So Sir Beaver was out on a shooting expedition with friends when he took aim and a golden plover and missed after a few shots. He used the excuse that the plover was the fastest European game bird. And you know how friends are that

give each other a hard time. So not only did his friends remind him that he had a bad shot, but they also claimed the red grouse was faster, and so they took their argument to a pub than to a library, and when they couldn't find the answer, Sir Beaver came up with this idea of this fact book that might help settle pub disputes. And because he was such a big shot at Guinness Brewing, he knew there were over eighty thousand pubs in England and Ireland and

he hoped they'd create a market. And it isn't that old. Sir Hugh commissioned the first version in nineteen fifty four as a promotional giveaway. He hired these twin brothers from London, they were meticulous fact checkers, to help him write it. But by nineteen it was already this institution. They printed fifty thou copies of the first edition and immediately hit the best seller list, which is pretty interesting that the company isn't that old. But you left me on a cliffhanger,

was Sir Hugh right? Was the golden plover faster than the red grouse? What's funny is that the whole book was started to answer this one question, but according to the Society of Guinness Book Collectors, that answer wasn't tackled until the thirty six ndition where they gave the nod to the red grouse, which travels fifty eight miles an hour. For you, I hope his friends aren't mocking him in

the afterlife. Well, they wrote this thing so apologetically, Like the book reads, air speeds of seventy miles per hour have been claimed, but it is extremely doubtful whether this rapid flying bird can exceed fifty to fifty five miles an hour, even in an emergency. But at least they waited until he was dead a few decades before broaching the subject. That's so considerate. So who do we have

on the line today? Mango? Today we have the number twelve ranked competitive eater in the world and the former world record holder of corn on the Coby eating seven and twelve minutes and also cannoli. And he's the defending champion of the Tour to Donut bicycle race in multiple states. And his name might be familiar to you, will it's Yasir Selin. Hey, Yasir, how's it going? So for full disclosure, when Manguesh and I were at Mental Philoss, Yasir worked

in the marketing department. So uh, during the weekdays, he'd be working on brilliant marketing ideas, and on the weekends he'd be off to these crazy competitive eating contests and races and other kinds of extreme activities. We're gonna ask him all about those. But y'asa to start off, how did you get into this world of extreme sports and competitive eating. So back to two thousand ten, my wife and I a pretty wacky goal all of doing the

New York City Manrathon. She was just coming up some major health thing and we wanted to set a really big goal for us both. And then I had dabbled in competitive eating a couple of years earlier, but I never quite got the hang of it, and I felt like I could do anything. After doing a marathon, I thought, well, let me revisit this whole competitive eating thing. And I went in with an extra energy and and you know, I'm gonna give to another shot. And uh, it was

really supposed to be just a joke. I want to do it one time, something that I could say, you know what, I competed at Nathan's. But it turned into like a three year affair of trying to figure out how to get it, how to get there, because it's actually a lot harder than people think. Wow, it's amazing. I can remember when we worked together. We were so excited to come see you at the Nathan's Contest, and you offered us tickets to the spray zone, which is

the area in front of the competitors. We won't get into details that I think the house so incredible. So you're the former world cannoli eating champion. In fact, you had a world record in both cannoli eating and corn on the cob eating. Is that correct? That's right. Yeah, I broke the world record last year in corn. I did forty seven corn on the cob in twelve minutes. A few years ago, I did Cannoli down in literally

in New York City, and I set the record. But some of these other contests are about ninety major league eating contests a year. So if you can think of something new and you come up with a really smart technique to go in and and disrupt the competition, there's there's plenty of contests there out there, And in both cases, in cannoli and in corn, that was how I just sat down and figured out, well, there must be a better way to eat corn a lot faster than everybody

else that they haven't thought of. So I'll tell you so. In cannoli, so there's an outside, there's a there's a really hard shell on on cannoli, and a lot of the conventional wisdom was like just put it in and then start crunching away and the squishy stuff will kind of make its way down your throat. But it's the hard stuff you have to worry about that, you know what. I'm not gonna put the effort of crunching the shell on my teeth. I'm gonna crush it in my hand,

so pre I'm gonna pre crunch it. So that's kind of what I did. I would grab the canoli. I'd wear gloves, um, you know, like just rubber gloves, and I crunch. I'd crush them and then I just shove each one into my mouth and that that's what That's what got me to one. Nobody thought of it. It was just like it was there on the table and I took it. I also wanted you to explain the

concept of the Tour to Donut. We obviously mentioned the fact that you've you've won this race in multiple states, but how does the Tour to Donut work and explain the whole idea of the how the timing is kept. The format is generally about a thirty six mile race, and you have two doughnut stops, like at the twelve

mile mark and at the twenty four mile mark. You get off your bike ups a twelve mile mark, you set your bike aside, and then they have a glazed donuts there from your the local donut shop, and you eat as many as you possibly can now the person for every donut that you eat you get a three to five minute time credit, depending upon which race it is, and then you do the same at the second stop. You know, you get off your bike again, and you

do it again, and you can't vombit. Um that you you just qualified immediately, thankfully, so there's no mess on the course. Um. My record is fifty five donuts over the course of a thirty six mile race. Um, and that put me in the negative territory. So I'm actually going back in time every time I do one of these races. That's incredible. Just need a bunch of donuts and you go back in time. That's impressive. So it's very challenging. I can tell you. Just biking thirty six miles. Uh,

you know, a good clip twenty miles or more. It's difficult, but to me, adding the donuts in there as a bit of of of skill. But it's really it's fun everybody. I mean, I approach it like it's it's just a fun thing that I get to do on the weekend. I get to eat the donuts, which I love donuts, I love bike, So why not put them both together? Yeah sounds good to me. So well, we wanted to put Yaster to the challenge today, although he has the Big Nathan's Eating contests coming up in just a few days.

Of course, this episode will publish just a few days after the Big Nathan's hot Dog eating contests, so we're excited to see how you do, Yaster. I'm sure you'll improve over last year. But what game are we playing with Yaster today? Mango, We're playing a little game called Mouthful of Doughnuts, and it's more than a quiz because we're going to try to set a world record most donut holes eaten while answering four trivia questions about donuts and sixty seconds. All right, so the most donut holes

eating while answering four trivia questions about donuts in sixty seconds. Wow, what a record. Okay, so we've got four trivia questions here. We're gonna ask you a question, let Yasser answer, and then while he's stuffing his face, we're going to ask him another and we'll see how how many donuts we can get through or donut holes we can get through. And by we I mean he Okay, So alright, so

yeahs do you have all your supplies? Right? You've got your donut holes, you got your water, You've got everything else you might need. I got my water, I got my donut holes, and I am ready. Okay, let's do it. Mango three two one, alright, y'assir. What city has the highest donut shops per person? That's Boston? I heard it, all right, Let's let him, Yes, let's let him meet a few donuts. And which legend of Sleepy Hollow author is credited with the first use of the word donut

in print? Oh man, um uh? Yes? All right? What Oregan donut shop used to make a medicine donut cook hooded with ni quill I don't um? Oh man? That's right? What roll did Rene's lagger gain? Wait for a boy eating twenty donuts today one second time. All right, let's let him, Let's let him chew and swallow, and then we'll get an official count of our doughnut eating. Okay, how'd you do donuts? I mean, that's got to be a record of world record, right while answering for trivia

questions donuts about donuts. Yes, that's got to be a world record. So, in addition to hopefully setting a new world record, what else has yasir one mango? Well, aside from the joy of his new accomplishment, will be sending him a bottle of pepto bismol. All right, so, Yaser, good luck this coming week at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. And then he said, just right after that,

what do you have coming up? I am defending my title at a tournid Donut um in Stun, Illinois, the twenty nine annual Tourni Donut This will be my third year um defending my title and I'm hoping to hit at least uh fifty stick donuts this year. All right, Well, good luck to you. It's always a pleasure to talk to you, and thanks for coming on to part times. We're rooting for you. Love you guys, you're listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking about the Guinness Book

of World Records. So, Mango, what's your favorite part of the Guinness Book. I mean, there's so much fun stuff in there, but I love the strange personal feats, Like I always remember seeing a photo of the dude with the longest fingernails in the world as a kid, and

that's always the first thing I think about. In fact, almost every fact enthusiast i've talked to mentions that pick, Yeah, those visuals are so unforgettable, and I think for kids, it's something both so creepy looking but also so ordinary, like not clipping your nails can get you in the

Guinness Book. It's kind of insane. And I guess the thing that didn't occur to me when I was a kid and the thing that I really wanted to hear more of, and maybe this is what separates it from being put in the kid's hobbies section, but I wanted to hear more of the stories of the people behind these records. You can find a few articles on people, and you can find some of the stories on Guinness's YouTube page. But take the guy Tree, the Chill l who hadn't cut his nails on his left hand in

sixty two years. It's like his left hand is growing roots. It surprises me every single time I looked at it. Yeah, but his story is insane. Like as a high school kid, he threw a ball at a teacher playfully and the teacher yelled at him because he chipped a teacher's nails, and the teacher told him he'd never understand the beauty of having long nails. So he and his friend, as a joke, started growing their nails out, and then he

kind of gets enamored with it. So he keeps growing the nails on his left hand and people call him dirty because of it. They start treating him badly. When his parents try to arrange his marriage years later, twelve families reject him. And when the families don't reject him, the girls do because they think he's a monster and that he'll strangle them that night. Like he can't get a job because of the way he looks, even putting on a shirt his heart. I mean, it's so depressing.

But he grows them and grows them to this insane length and to keep them preserved. Not only does he treat them with a special product. But when he's sleeping and he wants to roll over, he has to carefully move his entire hand to the other side of the bed. He claims he rolls over every thirty minutes, so he never gets a full night of sleep, And all this

for a little bit of fame. And in his mind he thinks he'll get paid a lot for the nails to be in a museum later, and that there's a good bit of money that will come to him now. And maybe it will, let's hope, But he just takes such pride in those nails. They're like thirty feet long now and gnarled, but he sees them as this thing of beauty, and he loves that people like you and me know who he is. And also that he never has to wait in the line in a line like

wear like at the club. I don't know this is what he says, but I think it's like at the market. Of course, in India, your left hand is the one you used to clean yourself. So I'm not sure how he's performing certain tasks. Well. I do like some of these personal stories, like you were telling me about the British woman who holds the record for the youngest female

with a full beard. That's another video Guinnist did. Her name's Hanan Car and her story is amazing because she has a genetic disorder that gave her this lush facial hair at a young age. At some point she chose to ignore the relentless bullying she was facing and just decided to embrace the beard, which had to be so insanely difficult. She's very feminine actually, and really quite striking, and I don't know that she wants to extra attention.

But the reason she's chosen to be in the Guinness Book is that having all this facial hair drove her to have suicidal thoughts when she was younger, and when she realized that her life was worth more than that, she wanted to help others with body image issues to learn to accept themselves. She's really remarkable. Yeah, she is. Well. As much as the book is filled with thousands and thousands of world records, you're not really considering what's driving

each person to be in this book. So one thing that surprised me in researching Guinness was just how popular it is in India. I mean, there are a few big record keeping authorities in the country. Guinness is one Limpa, which is basically India's Sprite is another. But this is great New York Times story on the only Guinness judge who lives in India and he's running around the country trying to verify records and just how exhausting it is,

but also how obsessed Indians are with numbers. Why do you think this is well, I mean, part of it is just that India, from my experience of it, loves trivia in a way I haven't seen anywhere else. There's an obsession with general knowledge, and having a book of

records definitely fits into that category. But I also think that in a place with such disparity of wealth and resource, being the best in the world at something and being recognized for it is something that gives people pride and purpose.

Yet saying that there are actually some academic papers written about this topic and how the records feel like such a great leveler in a place where the odds can feel stacked against you exactly like the Times piece has all these funny stories to talk about the problems of trying to verify a handshake gathering where millions of people turn up to participate. I mean that's a headache for

one judge. You have to register and verify each person and count them and ensure that they're all shaking hands at the same time. It's like a giant fact checking problem that could take days to sort. And there's a story of a young athlete trying to beat a light bulb hurling record, which is also great. But at the end of the yeast, there's a story about this farmer who does squats every day and at fifty he realizes

he could potentially beat the world record. And when the Guinness judge asked him why he cares about a squat record, it's all because his daughter is marrying into a better family. And his quote is, I want her husband's family to know that I'm worth something. I want to make a markak I know, and kind of beautiful. I mean, I love these stories because you don't think about the desperation and work that goes into trying to set these records

and the different motivations. Like for me, I have assumed they were always like publicity stunts. Gary's Angelato Shack is trying to break the world's largest alata records, and Guinness actually has an arm that works with corporations to build out those events, or I assumed it was attention seekers but of a more fun variety, like most baked beans eaten in five minutes, which is two one. So that's a shred of Furman's record, right, He is the best

I know. He held over a hundred records simultaneously at one point. Yeah, I think it was a hundred thirty one records at the same time, and he's broken over six hundred records in his career. He's done everything from like po going up Mount Fuji to underwater jump roping too fastest mile using two shovels of stilts. He actually has the long distance sack racing record, which for some reason involved raising a yak in demand's a beast. Also,

how much do you love his nickname Mr? Versatility? A lot, although if I had his name, I'd probably go by a shred to the fir Monster, Furman mascot or the Ferminator. I mean. Mr Versatility has a lot of options. But before we get into his secrets or breaking records and how you can to, why don't we break for a quiz? Sounds kid? So our guest today has one of the

coolest jobs in the world. As the CEO of Record Center, he's created a new digital home for world records, making it easier for humans to compete in important categories like most quarters fit inside of belly button and longest office chair train pulled by a motorcycle. Dan Rohman, We've spent way too much time watching videos on your site and we're big fans of your work, so welcome to part time Genius. Thank you so much. It's great to be with you guys. All right, well, let's dive right into it.

Tell us about your early obsession with records. Sure, um, well, I always say Record Center. Uh. Started probably when I was a ten year old kid and got my first Guinness Book of World Record book. Um, and it instantly

became my favorite book on my bookshelf. I was endlessly obsessed with the pictures of the guy with the long curvy fingernail and the UH set the world sad as twins on the motorcycles at These images just became indelible in my mind, and I really, from a young age, I just thought that owning a world record myself would possibly be the coolest thing I could do in my lifetime. For some reason. I tried to a a girl in college by telling her that I thought I was going

to become the world record holder in ravioli eating. Um So, I looked into ravioli eating, and then I also was researching the longest time riding a roller coaster, um and I quickly realized that I was not a particularly fast eater. And I quickly realized that I was never going to write a roller coaster for days and end. Um But but but just that idea stuck with me that somehow, someday I wanted to hold the title of being the world best at something I did not successfully get Get

Get the Lady with my rap shocking. I don't understand how that didn't work out. I heard some of the started at burning Man. Can you tell us a little about that? Sure? Um So. I started going to Burning Man in two thousand and two, and after a couple of years, my friends and I were really excited to develop a theme camp that had a real interactive component. We'd like the idea of something that would allow other people at burning Man to come up to our space

and engage with us in a fun, creative manner. And since I had had this lifelong obsession with world records. I said, what if we become the official world record camp, essentially a burning Man kind of a governing body for all world records set in the desert. So we created a camp in two thousand and four called the Apply a Book of Records. Apply is what Burners called the

desert area out there. And we all put on a bunch of yellow sports coats that were inspired by Howard Cosell Air Wide World of Sports, and we and we just said that people coming up, and we're gonna make you a world champion. And it was It was amazing because I could see from the first day we we set up shop that I was not the only person out there who had had these dreams of being a world champion. And people were really excited by this opportunity of like, why you guys really are going to help

me set like my own world record. So so in the first years and we did it for for five years, we saw things like the fastest accordion rendition that the Devil went down to Georgia, the most consecutive backflips of stilt was one that blew us away. Um. We had like people would come up and do balloon twisting like I think it was like the most balloon animals made

in thirty seconds. Uh, you know, we just we just saw this endless paradeive of people coming up and being creative and and clearly getting a deep sense of joy when we said great congratulations, were recognizing this as an

official world record. So this project kept evolving, and then inspired by by Wikipedia as much as anything, I felt that there would be an opportunity to take what we were doing in the desert and put it onto the Internet and love the open, democratic, participatory approach of Wikipedia for encyclopedic information, and said what happens if we try and do the same thing with human achievements. So we launched in two thousand eight UM what was originally called

the Universal Record Database u r dB dot org. And it was the same premise that we had um given people at Burning Man. We we we gave the same invitation to the world. So, Dan, I love that you once held the record for the most bananas stuff down a pair of pants while wearing them. So how how fun is it to see an entirely new category of record open up? And and what are some of your favorites? Uh? So, yeah,

the first time. So the first world record that I set, which I actually did a burning man, was the most times whistling Happy Birthday in one minute, and so I think I had done at fifteen or sixteen or something. I did it pretty quickly. I'll give you a quick

example exactly. I'm um, so I had I had this record up, and again I would tell people like, yeah, I hold the world record for the most times whistling Happy Birthday in one minute, and had this great sense of pride, and then we launched the website, and within maybe a month or so, it got my record got broken by a teenager in San Diego who I really like.

When it happened that day, I was angry at I just couldn't believe that this jerk had taken away my dreams and stolen my world record for most times swissling Happy Birthday. But over the years, as I set more world records and basically watched I think all of them are almost all of them get broken, and I've come to really find a deep joy in watching people break my records and the analogy that I uses it feels like I've I've written the song and somebody's covering it.

But they're actually doing a better job playing the song and than I did originally. Um So, for a category like most bananas sitting a pair of pants while wearing them, I had done sixty and thought that I had said a pretty pretty high mark, and then it suddenly got broken by radio DJ in Australia, and then I think

some guy in Texas maybe holds the record now. And we've seen this time and time again on Record Setter, where we have a lot of these really obtuse categories, like we've had people compete in the in the category for most giraffe tattoos on a shoulder, We've had a couple of guys go back and forth. And another one of my favorite categories that's become very competitive and I think could be a to come in Olympic sports someday

is the longest high five. So it began with these two guys in Toronto who called themselves the Record Collection. They set themselves up several kilometers apart from each other in downtown Toronto, and they ran towards each other with a camera following each of them and set the world record for the literally the longest high five. They ran towards each other so it's sort of like a two person running race, and then that exploded into a globally

competitive category. And I think the records gosh, I haven't looked in a while, but I'm pretty sure it's over ten miles. So it's become this two person running race. Both participants have to keep their arms up for the duration of the of the run, and the moments at the end of these runs where they at please see each other and exchange the high five. It's just it's jubilation every time. That's pretty true. I love that. Alright, Well, this has been a lot of fun and we are

now ready to put you to the test. Mango. What game are we playing with Dan today? So this is a game called the Rename Game. And since Record Centers originally went by a different name, the u r dB before taking on the Sleeker Moniker, we thought would be fun to quiz Dan on some other industry giants and the names their companies used to be called. Okay, right, So we'll give you an old name and a clue, and you'll tell us the name of the current company.

So we'll see how many of these you can answer in sixty seconds. Is that right? Okay? So Dan, We're gonna put sixty seconds on the clock. I'll ask you questions and you just keep answering as many as you can. Maybe you'll set a world record. We'll see that sounds good. I think that sounds okay. This Oregon based sneaker company was called Blue Ribbon Sports before it was renamed for a Greek goddess, Nike. Right. This lad magazine was called Stag Party before it was named by Hugh Hefner. Right.

This Larry and Sarage internet search company was called BackRub before it was renamed This choice of a new generation cola was called Brad's Drink before it was renamed PEPs. This big electronic box store and home to the Geek Squad was called Sound of Music before it was renamed by This maker of smartphone devices was called Research in Motion before taking a fruitier name. Obama famously had one when he started his first term in the White House, BlackBerry.

That's right. This Eat Fresh sandwich chain was called Pete Super Submarines before it was renamed pet Is a man Uh Subway. This number one rental car company was called Drive Yourself before it was renamed For Measurement for Frequency that is correct, and I think we do have a world record for most correct questions answered in the rename game on Part Time Genius Congress. Teenager from San Diego can beat that. So how many did he get correct?

Maga Dan scored an astounding eight for eight, which runs them an official certificate of admiration from us here at Part Time Genius. Congratulationsratulations, Dan, Thank you very much. I hope all of our listeners will check out Records Center and aim to set a record of their own. Dan, thanks so much for joining us on Part Time Genius, my pleasure. Thanks so much, guys. So we were talking about a Shrida Firman who's a legend on the Guinness Circuit.

What's his secret? Well, I think part of it is that it's the same sense of validation everyone's looking for. Some people run marathons to prove it to themselves, right, and for someone like a Shrida, who apparently gained confidence after finding a guru and getting into spirituality and meditation, he wanted to push his body in fun ways. So we started by doing twenty seven thousand jumping jacks, and then he moved on to things like long distance somersaulting

or whatever. But it also seems like one of his better skills is creating funny new categories that get attention. Yeah, you're right. There are a lot of rules for getting into the Guinness Book because they're super strict. I mean, they're getting flooded with fifty record claims a year and only three or four thousand of them make it into the book, and they care about the accuracy. But Ashrida is particularly good at gaming the system, right. I mean

he's particularly good at creating spectacles. I mean you need to witnesses, and you have to do this in a public space and multiple cameras and media. There are lots of conditions, and part of the reason he incorporates places like Mount Fuji and the Pyramids into his attempts is that it's just an easier way to draw press exactly. But he also understands the rules, like Guinness is pretty

specific about what they will and won't admit. There's an interview on fre economics with the editor of the Guinness Book, which is really great, but it shows how hard the job is and where the Guinness Book draws some of the lines, like they won't let you put an animal in harm or another person you're free to put yourself at danger. And in addition, they only want categories with

one variable. So, like the example he gives is someone submitting for the heaviest person to raft a particular river, and that just opens up a can of worms for them, because in addition to verifying that, they have to open up the category to the lightest person on a raft on that river male female considerations, and then they'd have to open up to every river. And you can see how that sort of snowballs. Yeah. Well, when we talk

to Dan, his analogy was really interesting to me. So a site like Records Center, where anyone can enter a new category with video evidence and it's self patrolled in a Wikipedia way, is such a smart idea. It really does feel like a Wikipedia model to the Guinness Books Britannica, which is interesting right. It democratizes the whole process and takes away all the need for judging and at the same time allows everyone to feel special. You can see

how something like this would take off in India. You get quick validation instead of having to write to Guinness and wait for two months for a response. And even here, I mean Record Center is all over Jimmy Fallon like I think Camera Diaz held the record for the most bunny snuggled in a hammock. Yeah, she did that on the show. And the thing is everyone's good at something,

you just have to figure out what that is. It's like that guy David Kalb who's the best in the world at horse He beat Lebron James because he mounted the hoop on a forklift and then did trick shots to a basket that was like thirty feet in the air. And if you have enough variables and the right stack of talents, you can be the best in the world at something. So we should probably figure out what ridiculous

records we should try to set listeners. If you have any thoughts on that, please email them into part time genius at how stuff works dot com and we'll work on trying to break some ridiculous records in the not so distant future. But back to Guinness, with competition like Records Center, which is called fire in a surprisingly big way. What do you think will happen to Guinness? Is it bound to go the way of Britannica. I don't know.

I mean they have evolved, They do video game records and have a strong site online, and I think there's so many good stories in there. The books are really just a good way to get kids into learning, and I feel like there's value in the publishing and TV

arms it. You know, Guinness has changed hands a few times in the last few years, and what's interesting is that they're now owned by the company that owns their Ripley's Believe it or Not museums, and they want to build these big, combined Guinness Ripley museums where you can go with your family and try to set your own records, like for the loudest family scream or the longest laugh,

which maybe gives the brand a new leash. All I know is that I've loved reaquainting with the book, and I have no intention of growing out my fingernails to compete on that front. But I do plan to change my Guinness book to my desk and inscribe it with a threatening note so that no one takes it away from me. That's great, that's a brilliant idea. Well, one thing that's going to be harder to protect is your

part time genius fact off record. Are you ready to drop some knowledge And by drop knowledge, I mean share super nerd effects that we couldn't get into the episode earlier. M So here's a quick one to get us going. While the US has the most records on record per capita of the Vatican City is the greatest source of records. Roughly nine claims come from the Vatican every year from a population of only nine hundred and twenty people. I

want to see what those records are to. Three of the most common records to break also sound like they're being craned for at preschools. Largest finger painting, longest reading a loud marathon, and largest group hug or all records that are regularly challenged and broken. Nice. Kevin Shelley set the record for the most toilet seats broken by one's head in two thousand eight. He made his family prows, shattering forty six of them in a minute. That's crazy.

I know. The record for most people riding on a surfboard is sixty six. Of course, if I had sixty five other people on the board with me, I feel like I'd have a better chance of learning surfing to The highest shallow dive was accomplished by Professor Splash on Chinese TV. What's the high shallow dive. It's what it sounds like. So he jumped from nearly thirty eight ft in the air into a kiddie pool filled with twelve

inches of water. Oh that's insane. So here's a cute one black and the cat is the world's wealthiest cat. He inherited twelve point five million dollars. And I don't know about you, but I need to find myself a sugar cat. Blackie, if you're listening, call me a sugar cat. Good luck with that. Most number of fatalities in a crocodile attack used to be a category. Do you want to elaborate on that? And not really, except please don't tangle with saltwater crocodiles on Ramrey Island. They hold the

record for a reason. Well, I'm not tangling with any crocodiles, but here's one about a shark. When the Guinness Book of World Records honored Jonathan Lee Riches as the most litigious men in the world, he did what he did best. He suited them, of course he did. Okay, I'll give you this round, but before we go, we should figure out who we should add to our Hall of genius. What do you think about adding Sir Hugh Beaver to the mix. I feel like he created the Guinness Book.

He honored millions of people while delighting others. He encouraged generation upon generation to be their best selves, even if the best self meant trying to crack more than semi two eggs in a minute by sitting on them. But sir weever doesn't win them any awards anymore, and I think he deserves one today. I agree, So the record stops today, Sir Beaver. Your certificate will be in the mail shortly. That's it for today's episode of Part Time Genius.

Thank you so much for listening. You know what I thought about, including farthest distance to throw and catch a running chainsaw it's four meters every Thanks again for listening. Part Time Genius is a production of how stuff works and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant people who do the important things we couldn't even begin to understand. Tristan McNeil does the editing thing. Noel Brown made the theme song and does the mixy mixy sound thing. Jerry Rowland

does the exact producer thing. Gay Bluesier is our lead researcher with the work from the Research Army, including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and Eve. Jeff Cook gets the show to your ears. Good job, Eves. If you like what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe, And if you really really like what you've heard, maybe you could leave a good review for us. Did you did you forget Jason based on who