Alex Angert is a records manager for Guinness World Records, specializing in achievements having to do with mass participation -- that is, a lot of people doing something record-breaking together. He shares a monthly report with us, and here's July:
With summer in full force, it is prime time for some record breaking. From hot dog eating to sand castle building, the record possibilities are endless. And with most kids out of school, summer is the perfect chance to attempt a mass participation record.
Cool off even further with this list of five amazing ice cream cone records.
If there are a lot of people at the swimming pool trying to escape the sun, why not see if you can top the record for the largest swimming lesson? Give the Mister Softee truck ice cream man a bit of extra business by giving the longest chain of people licking ice cream a go. And if it is a popular day at the beach, try breaking the record for most people buried in sand.
Below, we highlight some of our other favorite summer-themed mass participation records for you and your friends to try while summer is in session.
MOST PEOPLE PERFORMING A CANNONBALL DIVE
232 people
Record holder: The Salty Syndicate
Location: Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
It’s hard to top that feeling as a kid when you nail the perfect cannonball at the swimming pool. The perfect dive combined with the perfect form can create one monster splash. Well, The Salty Syndicate in New Zealand managed to get more than 200 people to perform a cannonball dive at the same time at the Tauranga Bridge Marina. Whether or not the wave created by this mass cannonball dive was a record in itself is still to be seen.
LARGST HUMAN WATERSKIING PYRAMID
60 people
Record holder: Big Pull 2013
Location: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, USA
The summer months are a great time to try out a new hobby and one that goes hand in hand with this time of year is water skiing. It took a lot of practice for the Big Pull 2013 to achieve one of our more iconic records – the largest human waterskiing pyramid. Sixty people from five different show teams joined forces to create a free standing pyramid that traveled a distance of 200 metres to take down the record.
LARGEST WATER BALLOON TOSS
702 people
Record holder: McDonald’s
Location: Dubai, UAE
Whether it is a good fight or toss, there are few summer activities short of jumping into the water that cool you off as well as being hit smack in the chest with a water balloon ready to burst. At Atlantis: The Palm in Dubai, 702 people formed two parallel lines along the beach and competed to see which pair had the softest touch. It was a great summer-related to attempt to beat the heat in Dubai.
MOST PEOPLE KEEPING BEACH BALLS IN THE AIR
14,993 people
Record holder: Coordinadora de Penas de Valladolid
Location: Valladolid, Spain
Lets hope Coordinadora de Penas de Valladolid had an air pump handy for this record because it would take a lot of lung capacity to blow up this many beach balls. A staple at any summer beach or pool party, no one can resist the urge to hit an inflatable beach ball into the air when one comes flying your way. Not only did Coordinadora de Penas de Valladolid need to blow up all 14,993 inflatable beach balls, they needed each participant to keep their own ball in the air for at least 10 seconds!
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