It's one of the longest standing records out there, but a new benchmark has finally been set for the most people hula hooping simultaneously at a single venue.
Last Saturday saw 2,496 people twist and twirl their way to the record in Taipei City, Taiwan.
The attempt at the Taipei Gymnasium was organized by Herbalife Taiwan Inc. with the support of Dot Han Integrated Marketing Co. and Detsu Inc. and was held to celebrate the company's special events and games for the year 2011 and to inspire people to get more exercise.
The figure exceeded the previous record set in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, on 28 October 2000 by 206 participants.
Saturday's attempt began with 3,010 participants arranged in a grid formation of 70 columns by 43 rows in the stadium.
Each column was headed by a steward who counted the successful independent attempts for their column. Four independent witnesses, one at each corner of the rectangular formation, ensured that the grid formation remained unchanged throughout the attempt, with no additions or defections.
The record was based on the number of participants who kept their hula hoops swinging for a full two minutes between the shoulders and the hips and 2,496 participants successfully did so for the required time.
The remaining 514 participants either dropped or had the hula hoops swing below the hips and immediately sat down and were later discounted from the total.
