World Record Holders

There are a lot of world records for silly things. Did you know, for example, that German citizen André Ortolf holds the world record for the most jelly eaten with chopsticks in a single minute? Who comes up with these things? Why is it the record for most jelly eaten, and why with chopsticks, and why in only a single minute? Did anyone force André to stop after setting the new record — 716 grams — or was he like, "I think I'll just finish this jar."

There's also Tafzi Ahmed, another German, who set a world record by smashing open 43 watermelons with his head in a single minute. (What's up with all of the weird food records, Germany?) And that's not the only way to waste a perfectly good watermelon: Ukrainian strongwoman Olga Liashchuk crushed three melons between her thighs in 14.56 seconds, and American Ronald Sarchain set a record by literally punching the guts out of 76 melons in just one minute.

The list goes on: Most Pancakes Thrown and Caught in One Minute (Team of Two), Most Flips of an Omelette in One Minute, Longest Group Drum Roll (official record commenced in the presence of actors Tom Hardy and Harrison Ford), Largest LEGO Brick Batmobile. (Think of literally anything you could build out of LEGOs — a wind turbine, a dinosaur skeleton, a display of Star Wars clonetroopers — and there's probably a world record for building it.)

Apparently people like to come together to create records, so you'll often see record attempts made by large groups (thousands of students from the same college or university, for example) as a means of promoting pride, or fostering interaction, or even supporting an admirable cause. That last motivation, it would seem, is what's behind a record that's being attempted tomorrow, June 9, on a "private secluded beach" in Ireland's County Wicklow.

Women age 18 and older — only women, apparently — are being recruited to promote cancer awareness and raise funds for a children's cancer charity by removing their clothing and taking a dip in the Irish Sea. Not only that, but participants in this year's Strip and Dip event, the sixth such gathering, will attempt to set a new world record for the largest skinny dip, which is apparently a thing that Guinness World Records keeps track of.

Good luck to all the participants, and may the skies be clear and the weather warm. Maybe someday we'll see who can be the fastest to earn every certification from TestOut Continuing Education's Library Suite ultimate certification and training bundle. Maybe there's already a record for that — and maybe there isn't. The only way to find out is to get the Library Suite today and start training. You'll spare innocent watermelons and set yourself up for a great IT career.

(P.S. They nailed it: 2,505 women participated, breaking the previous record of 786.)

About the Author — Calvin Harper is a past associate editor for GoCertify and a veteran of the publishing industry. Calvin no longer writes the Friday blog post and has neither skinny dipped in the Irish Sea, nor smashed open a watermelon with only his noggin. He'd probably do great, however, as half of a pancake catching (and tossing) team.