The one and only indispensable and undisputed source for the most incredible records ever documentedcompletely revised and updated for 2002! Whether it's the tallest hairdo or the world's most expensive perfume, the largest gnome collection or the smallest jigsaw puzzle,GUINNESS WORLD RECORDSis the most complete and authoritative guide to every record, statistic, and feat of human endeavor imaginableand unimaginablecomplete with the photos to back them up! Simply unbelievable...but absolutely true: A man in Georgia holds the WORLD RECORD for lifting 105 poundswith his ears! A team of Cornell scientists holds the WORLD RECORD for making the smallest guitarit is the size of a human blood cell and can actually be played! The WORLD RECORD for the largest group hug was set when 899 bankers embraced in New York City! Elvis Presley holds the WORLD RECORD for richest dead celebrity, earning $35 million in 2000more than two decades after his death! Crammed with amazing facts, feats, and records, including hundreds of new heights of human achievement, theGUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2002is bigger and even better than ever. Whether in the world of science, sports, nature, business, politics, entertainment, or everyday life, if someone has dared it, done it, and documented it, you'll find it here.

THE HUMAN BODY

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Extreme Bodies

Greatest height difference between a married couple When Fabien Pretou and Natalie Lucius (both France) walked down the aisle on April 14, 1990, they became the married couple with the greatest difference in height. He is 6 ft. 2 in. (188.5 cm) tall, while she is only 3 ft. 1 in. (94 cm)--a difference of 3 ft. 1.2 in. (94.5 cm).

Greatest weight difference between a married couple Jon Brower Minnoch weighed 1,400 lb. (635 kg) when he married his 110-lb. (50-kg) wife, Jeannette, (both USA) in March 1978. At 1,289.7 lb. (585 kg), this is the greatest recorded difference in weight for a married couple. Jon was also the heaviest person in medical history. He suffered from obesity as a child and by 1963, when he was 22 years old and 6 ft. 1 in. (1.85 m) tall, he weighed a huge 392 lb. (178 kg). By Sept. 1976 he weighed 974 lb. (442 kg). He died in 1983, still weighing more than 798 lb. (362 kg).

Most weight gained by a woman Doris James (USA) is alleged to have gained 324 lb. (147 kg) in the 12 months before her death in Aug. 1965. At this time she was age 38, weighed 675 lb. (306 kg) and measured 5 ft. 2 in. (1.57 m) in height.

Most weight gained by a man Arthur Knorr (USA), who was born in 1916 and died in 1960, gained a record 293 lb. (133 kg) in the last six months of his life.

Heaviest woman Rosalie Bradford (USA) is claimed to have registered a peak weight of 1,199 lb. (544 kg) in Jan. 1987, age 43. After following a controlled diet, she weighed 282 lb. (128 kg) in Feb. 1994.

Lightest person Lucia Xarate (1863-89, Mexico), an emaciated ateleiotic dwarf of 26.8 in. (67 cm) who weighed 2.8 lb. (1.1 kg) at birth, weighed only 4.7 lb. (2.13 kg) at the age of 17. She had fattened up to 13 lb. (5.9 kg) by her 20th birthday. The lightest recorded adults of normal height are those suffering from Simmond's Disease (hypophyseal cachexia). Losses of up to 65% of the original body weight have been recorded in females, with a "low" of 44 lb. (20 kg) in the case of Emma Shaller (USA) who stood 5 ft. 2 in. (1.57 m). Edward C. Hagner, alias Eddie Masher (USA), is alleged to have weighed only 48 lb. (22 kg) at a height of 5 ft. 7 in. (1.7 m). He was also known as the "Skeleton Dude."

Heaviest twins at birth The world's heaviest twins were born to J.P. Haskin (USA) on Feb. 20, 1924. They had a combined weight of 27 lb. 12 oz. (12.6 kg).

Heaviest twins Billy Leon and Benny Loyd McCrary, alias McGuire (both USA), were normal in size until the age of six. In Nov. 1978, just before their 32nd birthday, Billy and Benny weighed 743 lb. (337 kg) and 723 lb. (328 kg) respectively, and both had waists measuring 84 in. (2.13 m). They became professional tag wrestling performers. When weighed before competitions, they clocked weights of up to 769 lb. (349 kg).

Lightest twins Two sets of twins have been born with a combined weight of 30.33 oz. (860 g). Roshan Maralyn (17.28 oz. or 490 g) and Melanie Louise (13.05 oz. or 370 g), were born to Katrina Gray (Australia) at the Royal Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Qld., Australia, on Nov. 19, 1993. Wendy Morrison (Canada) gave birth to Anne (14.81 oz. or 420 g) and John (15.52 oz. or 440 g) at Ottawa General Hospital, Ontario, Canada, on Jan. 14, 1994.

Shortest living twins The shortest living twins are John and Greg Rice (USA), born on Dec. 3, 1951. They are identical twins and both measure 2 ft. 10 in. (86.3 cm).

Shortest twins ever The shortest twins on record were Matyus and Bela Matina (Hungary, later USA; 1903--c. 1935), who were both 2 ft. 6 in. (76 cm) tall.

Shortest living man Younis Edwan (Jordan) is believed to be 2 ft. 1.5 in. (65 cm) tall. He was born c. 1971, and is the sixth sibling in a family of seven sisters and brothers.

Shortest man ever The shortest mature man for whose height there is independent evidence was Gul Mohammed (India). When examined at Ram Manohar Hospital, New Delhi, in 1990, he was found to be just 1 ft. 10.5 in. (57 cm) tall. He died at the age of 39 in 1997, after a long struggle with asthma and bronchitis.

Shortest living woman Madge Bester (South Africa) is just 2 ft. 1.5 in. (65 cm) tall. Sadly, she suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta (characterized by brittle bones and deformities of the skeleton) and is confined to a wheelchair.

Shortest woman ever The shortest-ever female was Pauline Musters (1876-1895), who measured 1 ft. (30 cm) at the time of her birth in Ossendrecht, Netherlands, and 1 ft. 9.6 in. (55 cm) at the age of nine. A postmortem carried out after her death, from pneumonia and meningitis, at the age of 19 in New York City, showed her to be 2 ft. (61 cm) tall, although there was evidence of elongation of the body after death.

Tallest living man The tallest living man is Radhouane Charbib (Tunisia), who measures 7 ft. 8.9 in. (2.35 m). He is one of 11 brothers and sisters, who all measure a normal 5 ft. 6 in. (1.7 m).

Tallest man ever The tallest man in medical history was Robert Wadlow (USA). When measured in June 1940, shortly before his death, he was 8 ft. 11.1 in. (2.72 m) tall. His greatest recorded weight was 491 lb. (222.71 kg) on his 21st birthday. He weighed 438 lb. (199 kg) at the time of his death. His shoe size was 37AA (18.5 in. or 47 cm long) and his hands measured 12.75 in. (32.4 cm) from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger. His arm span was 9 ft. 5.75 in. (2.88 m) and his peak daily food consumption was 8,000 calories. At the age of nine, he was able to carry his father, Harold F. Wadlow, who stood 5 ft. 11 in. (1.8 m) and weighed 170 lb. (77 kg), up the stairs of the family home.

Tallest living woman Sandy Allen (USA) is 7 ft. 7.25 in. (2.31 m) tall, making her the tallest living woman. A 6-lb.-8-oz. (2.95-kg) baby, her abnormal growth began soon after birth. She stood 6 ft. 3 in. (1.90 m) by the age of 10 and was 7 ft. 1 in. (2.16 m) by 16.

Tallest woman ever The tallest woman for whose height there is reliable evidence was Zeng Jinlian (China). She was 8 ft. 1.75 in. (2.48 m) tall when she died on Feb. 13, 1982, age 17.

Largest waist The largest waist was that of Walter Hudson (USA), which measured 9 ft. 11 in. (3.02 m) at his peak weight of 1,201 lb. (545 kg).body parts

Largest belly circumference Gut barger contestant David White (UK), also known as "Mad Maurice Vanderkirkoff," had a belly circumference of 54.2 in. (137.7 cm) when measured on March 12, 2001.

Fewest toes The two-toed syndrome exhibited by some members of the Wadomo tribe of the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe, and the Kalanga tribe of the eastern Kalahari Desert, Botswana, is hereditary, via a single mutated gene.

Most fingers and toes An inquest held on a baby boy on Sept. 16, 1921 in London, UK, reported that he had 14 fingers and 15 toes. This condition, known as polydactylism, can be caused by any one of over 30 rare congenital medical syndromes (syndromes that are present at birth). The condition is relatively common, with as many as two in 1,000 births affected. These extra digits are most commonly fleshy bumps without any bones, but can be complete fingers or toes.

Living person with most fingers Godfrey Hill (UK) has 10 fingers and two thumbs. Born in 1928, when 12 pennies made a shilling, his extra fingers were an advantage at school where he topped the class at adding. His condition has won him attention around the world, especially in Tunisia, where he was mistaken for a descendant of Allah.

Most developed third foot Jose L-pez (originally Mexico, now USA) has a third foot, consisting of an ankle and four toes, growing out from the ankle of his left leg.

Heaviest brain The heaviest brain ever recorded weighed 5 lb. 1.1 oz. (2.3 kg). It belonged to a 30-year-old male, and was reported by Dr. T. Mandybur of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, in Dec. 1992. An average-size brain for an adult would weigh 2.8 to 3 lb. (1.3 to 1.4 kg).

Longest nose There are historical accounts that Thomas Wedders, who lived in the UK during the 1770s and was a member of a traveling freak circus, had a nose measuring 7.5 in. (19 cm) long.

Lightest brain The world's lightest normal (nonatrophied) brain weighed just 1 lb. 8 oz. (680 g). It belonged to Daniel Lyon (Ireland), who died in New York, in 1907, age 46. He was just over 5 ft. (1.5 m) tall and weighed 145 lb. (66 kg).

Most valuable tooth In 1816 a tooth belonging to scientist Sir Isaac Newton (UK, 1642-1727) was sold in London for £730 ($3,633). This is approximately £25,000 ($35,700) in today's terms. It was purchased by an aristocrat who had it set in a ring.

Longest mustache The mustache of Kalyan Ramji Sain (India) spanned 133.4 in. (3.39 m). In July 1993 the right side measured 67.7 in. (1.72 m) and the left measured 65.7 in. (1.67 m). The mustache had been growing since 1976.

Longest hair The world's longest documented hair belongs to Ho Sateow, a tribal medicine man from Chiang Mai, Thailand. On Nov. 21, 1997 his hair was unraveled and it was officially measured at 16 ft. 11 in. (5.15 m) long. He had not had a haircut in over 70 years. He fell sick after cutting his hair when he was age 18 and vowed never to cut it again. The hair is washed annually with detergent and worn wound up in a fashionable beehive.

Longest-bearded man The beard of Hans Langseth (Norway) measured 17 ft. 6 in. (5.33 m) at the time of his burial in Kensett, Iowa, in 1927. He started growing his beard at the age of 30 and it took 51 years to grow to this length. It grew at an average rate of 0.007 in. (2 mm) per week, and was presented to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., in 1967.

Longest-bearded woman The beard of the "Bearded Lady," Janice Deveree (USA), was measured at 14 in. (36 cm) long in 1884.

Longest-bearded living woman Vivian Wheeler (USA) grew a full beard in 1990. The longest strand from the follicle to the tip of hair was measured at 11 in. (27.9 cm) in 2000. Wheeler, who has married four times, was shaving her face at age seven.

Longest male fingernails The world's longest fingernails are those of Shridhar Chillal (India), who last cut his fingernails in 1952. On July 8, 1998 the nails on his left hand had a total length of 20 ft. 2.25 in. (6.15 m).

Longest female fingernails The woman with the world's longest fingernails is Lee Redmond (USA). Her nails measure a total length of 21 ft. 9 in. (6.63 m). Lee has been growing her nails for 19 years. The longest nail is on her left thumb and measures 27 in. (68.58 cm).

Largest gall bladder On March 15, 1989 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Prof. Bimal C. Ghosh removed a gall bladder weighing a record-breaking 23 lb. (10.4 kg) from a 69-year-old woman. This is more than three times the weight of an average newborn baby. The patient made a full recovery after the operation.

Largest bicep The right bicep of Denis Sester (USA) measures 30 in. (77.8 cm) when cold. He built up his amazing muscles by performing arm curls with a 150-lb. (68-kg) bucket of sand. As a youngster he wrestled hogs weighing 400 lb. (180 kg) on his parents' farm to get fit.

Age and Youth

Oldest living woman Maude Farris-Luse (nee Davis) born on Jan. 21, 1887 in Morley, Michigan, USA, is the world's oldest living woman whose date of birth can be fully authenticated.

Oldest person ever The greatest fully authenticated age to which any human has ever lived is 122 years 164 days by Jeanne Louise Calment (France). She was born on Feb. 21, 1875 and died on Aug. 4, 1997. Centenarians surviving beyond their 113th year are extremely rare. It is thought that only one 115-year life can be expected in 2.1 billion lives.

Oldest mother Rosanna Dalla Corte (Italy), born in 1931, gave birth to a baby boy on July 18, 1994 when she was 63. The baby was conceived through artificial insemination of donor eggs. On Nov. 7, 1996, 63-year-old Arceli Keh (USA) gave birth to daughter Cynthia having undergone IVF treatment.

Oldest mother to have quadruplets The oldest mother to have quadruplets is Merryl Thelma Fudel (Australia) who gave birth to three girls and one boy on April 18, 1998, at the age of 55 years 286 days, at Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, California. One baby died at birth due to respiratory failure.

Oldest male twins The oldest twins ever documented are Eli Shadrack and John Meshak Phipps (USA), born on Feb. 14, 1803 in Affington, Virginia. Eli died on Feb. 23, 1911 at the age of 108 years; his brother John died on Dec. 10, 1916 at the age of 113. The chance of identical twins both reaching and surpassing the age of 100 is about one in 700 million.

Oldest living male conjoined twins Born in 1952, Ronnie and Donnie Galyon (both USA) are the oldest living conjoined male twins. For 36 years they traveled in side shows, carnivals, and circuses. In 1991 they retired and now live in Ohio.

Oldest living female conjoined twins Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova (USSR), born on Jan. 3, 1950, are a rare form of conjoined twins--dicephales tetrabrachius dipus (two heads, four arms, and two legs). Now 51 years old, they reside in a Moscow old people's home.

Oldest male conjoined twins ever Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci (Italy) were born on Oct. 4, 1877 and lived to be 63 years old. They were separate above the waist, but shared an abdomen, pelvis, and two legs.

Most living ascendants At her birth on May 16, 1982, Megan Sue Austin (USA), all her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, plus five great-great-grandparents, were alive, making 19 direct ascendants.

Greatest number of descendants At the time of his death on Oct. 15, 1992, age 96, Samuel S. Mast (USA), had 824 living descendants. The roll call consisted of 11 children, 97 grandchildren, 634 great-grandchildren, and 82 great-great-grandchildren.

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Excerpted from Guinness World Records 2002 by Mark C. Young
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.