World Records Archives - the bird on fire

The Fastest 8th Grader on Earth

March 16, 2022 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Oliver Martinez interviews 8th-grader Chloe Elbaz who has earned many prestigious awards in cross country and track-and-field events. Some of these awards include her team winning 1st place in Amateur Athletic Union’s (AAU) Cross-Country Nationals just last December in North Carolina, and, individually, earning 2nd place nationally at the same meet in the 14-year-old division.

By Oliver Martinez, Middle-School Correspondent

Word of her successes filtered over to Blog, so I went out and interviewed 8th-grader Chloe Elbaz. We know her as an accomplished cross-country racer and track-and-field competitor. Now, the nation knows of her as well. She has won and placed in several races and events around the country. She’s very good at running and jumping and throwing–I mean, nationally good. Check out the video interview, and hear her tell about running and running well:

8th-grader Chloe Elbaz is a nationally recognized runner.

How low can you go?

April 21, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

Hannah had to do a bit of searching to find a world record she thought she could beat. After much looking, she found that a record was only five hours away.–World Records Editor Jake Sonderman

By Hannah Hall

As I was cruising the Guinness World Records, a specific record caught my attention: Highest Dinner Party. The record itself is a dinner party of ten hosted on April 30th, 2018, on Mt. Everest in China. The dinner’s altitude was roughly 23,149 ft high! I thought this record was pretty difficult to beat, but it did open me up to the idea of something similar. I believe that I can hold the world record for the world’s lowest dinner party. There are a few ways that this could go down—pun intended.

As I was pitching this proposition to the Blog team, Erik mentioned the Mariana Trench. I thought maybe I could take a submarine and trek down to the bottom of it and have a dinner party there. But, the thing is, I feel like this record is supposed to be on some sort of land mass. The reason I am led to believe this is because, otherwise, the “highest dinner party” could occur on a plane. Don’t those things fly at like 40k feet high?? So, this thought in itself made me back out of the deep-sea feast.

As I was continuing to research the lowest places on Earth, I came across many land-based locations that were below sea level. I saw that I could go eat in Africa at the Qattara Depression which sits at 482 ft below sea level. This would require me to get on a plane all the way to Africa though, and that’s a lot of time spent, allowing, possibly, somebody else to break the record before me. Other problems include it only being the second lowest place in Africa and the fact it is unclear whether this point is below water or on land. So, I kept searching.

I then thought, I could just smack the record right in the face and go straight to the actual lowest place on Earth, the Dead Sea, located beside Jordan and Israel. The Dead Sea’s shore is roughly 1400 ft below sea level. And, a fact about the Dead Sea is that its water is receding at one meter per year, which is sad, but it just means more room for my dinner party. But, yet again, I am faced with the same plane-time dilemma. Again, the search went on; luckily, the perfect option appeared to me soon after.

I thought I could have the dinner party in our home state of California in Death Valley. Death Valley is actually the lowest point in America and has a depth of 282 ft below sea level. Interestingly enough, if I have a dinner party here, I would be beating two records: Lowest Dinner Party, and Lowest Dinner Party in America (and maybe Hottest Dinner Party). That in itself intrigues me. The ride over to Death Valley is roughly five hours. I think I could make it happen.

I hope that one day this record will be broken, whether or not it is by me. It is something cool to have in the books! At least, I will always know, I had the idea first.

World Records Editor: Jake Sonderman

Sources:

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/highest-dinner-party

https://www.deadsea.com/articles-tips/places-below-sea-level-worlds-lowest-elevation-points/

https://earth.esa.int/web/earth-watching/image-of-the-week/content/-/article/the-dead-sea

The Lowest Point in Every U.S. State

How to Break any World Record

April 19, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org 4 Comments

When attempting to break a world record, Evan finds himself engulfed in an adventure leading him to Africa.–World Records Editor Jake Sonderman

By Evan Spry

Chapter 1

When Jake told us his theme would be “Records You Think You Can Break,” I first thought, “Great!…Another one of Jake’s dull-witted schemes, that he’s known for” because what easy record could any of us have a chance at beating that has not already been beaten? Surprisingly, everybody is constantly trying to break world records, which means the internet is stacked with “easy” records to break on sites like thrillist.com. This should mean I could just quickly pick one of these stupid tasks, beat the previous person’s accomplishment by the smallest amount possible, and also bring global recognition, glory, and, most likely, massive wealth to my name. Maybe pesky Jake actually had a good idea? Not the case! I was completely overwhelmed as soon as I saw the seemingly endless amount of equally-lame tasks I would have to endure.

These included time-based tasks like most jello eaten with chopsticks in a certain time, most t-shirts put on in a certain time, fastest placement of 24 cans in a fridge, and countless more. This is the type of task I had to eventually conquer, unless I wanted to stick a bunch of post-it notes on my face or actually exert physical excellence and ability, which is not happening/possible. The deal was sealed, as Albert Einstein would say, but I had to choose which time-based record I would need to break. This is way way harder than it sounds because I didn’t want to do most of the beatable options. I kept scrolling and scrolling the lists and soon the pages on Google. I thought all hope was lost, but luckily I found the perfect choice…

Chapter 2

“Fastest time to put a double-duvet cover on a bed”–I must be blessed because my very own uncle used to be a French-maid for 30 years, and I could just ask him to teach me the best tips and tricks to master a “double-duvet,” whatever that is?

↙

Now, I just needed to contact my uncle, which was going to be more difficult than I expected. I had no idea how hard the pandemic hit him and how he had to return back to high-profile maiding at exclusive hotels around the globe. Turns out, they need his expertise back out in the field since hotels are reopening. When I called my uncle, the signal was super choppy and he said something about how he was at a “non disclosable offsite undisclosed location.” I tried calling him after he cut out, but I got no response. My plan was foiled to the core, and I couldn’t do anything about it. My uncle could be anywhere, and I doubt he was coming back anytime soon. I was devastated beyond human comprehension, and nothing could make me feel better.

Chapter 3

As a last ditch effort before I completely gave up, I booted up my computer and went searching for a new record. As I foraged through the backlogs and back alleys of the web, I stumbled upon something that could replenish my chances at breaking a world record. There was a website called ezcheatworldrecbreaker.com; it would be unethical to cheat at record breaking, but I would have to because I needed to reap the rewards of breaking a world record. I was scrolling through the very simply-put-together website but couldn’t really read most of the text because it was in Russian; anyways the writing I could read was outlining a cool-looking futuristic design of some sort of machine.

When I looked closer, I realized that it was a crane that grabbed and placed t-shirts onto a human body at a rapid speed. When I went to click the picture of the schematic, a pop-up appeared that asked if I would allow the site to access my location. I knew that if there was any chance I could order one of these machines, it would need my location for shipping and handling. I clicked “allow” and was immediately greeted with downloads loading and running at the bottom right of my screen. Thank the lord though, I was also greeted with a bunch of messages that exclaimed to me that he was a Nigerien prince, which according to him is way different than a Nigerian prince–you know the princes that go online and trick people that they are going to actually share their wealth. Anyways, the Nigerien prince told me his name was Quincy and that he knew the inventor of the shirt-placing crane.

Chapter 4

Unfortunately, Quincy told me that the only way he could get his hands on a machine for me is if I either flew out to South Sudan to receive an important machine part or send him 500 dollars via Paypal. Since I don’t have 500 dollars to send him through Paypal, I packed a suitcase with a couple changes of clothes and 5,000 dollars cash in case I needed to pay for things while I was there. I then bought the first ticket I could to Addis Ababa International in neighboring Ethiopia because I don’t think you can fly into South Sudan, but also Ethiopia’s capital has an epic name. Anyways, my flight is tomorrow, and I’m super excited to meet Quincy in person and secure the device that will change my life forever. Wish me luck!

World Records Editor: Jake Sonderman

Sources:

https://www.thrillist.com/gear/17-easy-to-break-world-records

https://www.google.com/search?q=grey+double+duvet+covers&tbm=isch&rlz=1CAVARX_enUS942&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiI3O6bjPjvAhWWhZ4KHcIVCdMQrNwCKAJ6BQgBEKoC&biw=1920&bih=961#imgrc=fLjLUawutLKudM

Sleeping Beauty

April 16, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

There are many World Records. One that all of us would probably want to attempt, but that is deceptively hard, is the longest time spent asleep. In this brief article, Erik Bearman lays out how he plans to do so.–World Records Editor Jake Sonderman

By Erik Bearman

I think I speak for all Palm Valley seniors when I say: “We need more sleep.” Health class has taught us that the average person needs 8-9 hours of sleep per night in order to stay healthy. However, I’m willing to bet that a lot of us get somewhere between 5-7 hours of sleep at most.

I think if anyone has gotten enough rest, it’s hypnotist and British personality Peter Powers. Actually, I think he takes the cake. Because Peter Powers once stayed asleep for eight days straight!

As of now, Peter Powers’s record has yet to be broken. But, that doesn’t mean it never will be. I am willing to step up and attempt to break this record.

First, I will pay a doctor to attach an IV to my arm. The IV will allow necessary nutrients to enter my body without the need to wake up. Next, I will confine myself to a room constructed of solid, soundproof walls so no sounds can wake me. I would also lower the temperature and wrap myself in warm bedding.

My biggest concern is finding the energy (or lack thereof) to stay asleep. My solution? I would actually have to stay awake as long as possible and physically exhaust my body until I have no choice but to fall asleep. Only then do I have a shot at beating the world record for longest time spent sleeping!

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to break a world record. I don’t think I can eat over a dozen hotdogs in a minute or run a cross country marathon. But, the prospect of breaking a record while simultaneously getting some much needed sleep gives me hope that one day, maybe, I will break a world record.

World Records Editor: Jake Sonderman

Sources

https://napcloud.in/the-sleeper-is-a-keeper-world-records-for-mattresses-and-sleeping/

I Love Feta Cheese

April 16, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org 4 Comments

Sara Habibipour has a thing for feta. She is convinced that, if Guinness is on board, she can use feta cheese on more things than anyone else.–World Records Editor Jake Sonderman

By Sara Habibipour

If you couldn’t tell by the title, I love feta cheese. Besides being so delectable, feta cheese has many health benefits: it’s a great source of calcium; it’s great for gut health; it’s low calorie and low fat; and it’s a great source of Vitamin B. Also, it has such a fun name (especially when you say it fast).

Feta cheese is mostly used in Mediterranean cuisine, but I’d argue that feta cheese can be put on anything, and it can be eaten with any meal. In fact, I think I could beat the world record of “most use of feta cheese.” Guiness Book of World Records, if you ever decide to make that a thing, I’m your gal.

I eat feta at least once a day with dinner. Sometimes, I eat it as a snack. I recommend buying the “Athenos” brand from the store; it’s not too tangy like some other feta cheese.

Here’s some of the things I eat feta cheese with:

Tortilla and Pecans

If I’m kind of hungry, but it’s too late to eat something heavy, I put feta cheese and pecans in a little tortilla and eat that. It’s very light and tastes great!

Salad

Ranch dressing and feta cheese go very well together on top of lettuce. I highly recommend it!

Fruit

I have very fond memories of eating feta cheese with watermelon on warm, summer afternoons with my dad. I love the sweet and salty combination.

Pizza

I recently went to Bill’s Pizza in Palm Springs, and they had pizza with feta cheese as a topping! I was very excited, so, of course, I got a slice of that. It was very good. 10 out of 10.

Omelets

I went to a hotel a couple summers ago, and, in the hotel restaurant, they were serving omelets with spinach, mushrooms, and feta cheese. I thoroughly enjoyed that meal! I don’t eat eggs that often, but I really should eat it with feta cheese more!

Pasta

There was a pretty recent TikTok trend where people were making “Feta Pasta.” According to the videos I’ve seen, you just put pasta in a pan with feta cheese and tomatoes then put it in the oven. I haven’t personally tried it, but trust me when I say it’s on my To-Do list!

As you can see, there are so many ways to eat feta cheese. I encourage you to eat more of it! Maybe then, you and I can compete for the world record of the person to eat the most feta cheese.

World Records Editor: Jake Sonderman

Massive Mochi

April 14, 2021 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Keeping consistent with her love of writing about food, blogger Elizabeth Shay writes about cooking the world’s largest mochi to begin this week’s theme of “World Records You Think You Could Break.”–Theme Editor Jake Sonderman

By Elizabeth Shay

From colossal pizzas to humongous cups of coffee, my favorite World Records involve supersized foods and drinks. Breaking such records requires a lot of time, money, and creative thinking. Instead of trying to create a 10,000 foot sushi roll, I think that I could set the bar for the world’s largest mochi, which has not yet been recognized!

Record Requirements

As of 2011, Guinness created the policy that all giant foods or records that involve large amounts of food must be either donated, consumed, or sold for consumption for the record to be recognised as official (todayifoundout). This segues into the next stipulation that giant foods must be edible and generally resemble the original food or drink that it is modeled after.

What is Mochi?

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of mochigome (a short-grain glutinous rice), water, sugar, potato starch or cornstarch, and sometimes flavorings. Mochigome is made into flours called Shiratamako or Mochiko, which differ in texture and processing methods (Wikipedia). Mochi is a very important food in Japanese culture and is tied to the importance of the staple crop–rice–as well as the practice of thanking the Shinto gods for a bountiful harvest. Mochi is known for its sticky, stretchy, soft, and chewy texture; it can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. There are 16 common types of mochi, including mochi ice cream which has become popular in the United States (byfood).

How is Mochi made?

The process of making mochi at home today is simple. It can be done in a microwave using only three main ingredients for the most basic mochi. The Shiratamako and Mochiko flours are sold in stores, so you don’t have to worry about grinding rice at home.

Whisk together the sweet rice flour with water to form a smooth batter.
Then strain the mixture and whisk sugar into the strained batter.
Next, microwave it for three minutes, mix, and return it to the microwave for another two minutes.
After stirring once again, you should have a smooth and shiny dough. Line a flat surface with parchment paper and generously sprinkle potato starch or cornstarch on it.
Scrape the still warm dough onto the surface, and cut it into the desired size with a starch-dusted knife.
Finally, shape the dough into the desired shape and serve warm or chilled for 20 minutes (Masterclass).

This is the most basic recipe. Mochi can be enhanced by adding flavors and fillings such as green tea or red bean paste.

Beating (setting) the Record

As of right now, there has not been an internationally recognized giant mochi. Compared to other foods with many ingredients, mochi is actually a very cost effective supersized food creation to attempt. I would likely create large batches of dough and combine them, rather than trying to attempt it all at once. If I had access to more money and factory or industrial facilities and equipment, this task would be much easier! With my limited resources, I predict that I could begin by setting the record with a humble five-foot mochi. This would be easily broken, but I think that it would be fun to try!

What giant food record do you want to set or break?

World Records You Think You Could Break Editor: Jake Sonderman

Sources:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2016/07/happens-big-food-made-break-world-records/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochi

https://www.byfood.com/blog/travel-tips/the-beginners-guide-to-mochi

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/mochi-recipe#sweet-japanese-mochi-recipe