The new year launched with a bang (literally – the Largest aerial firework shell was set off in the UAE) and an abundance of jaw-dropping records have been rolling in over the past month.

We’ve admired the Heaviest avocado, chatted with Dolly Parton and the Fastest talker, watched a speed golf challenge, a BMW drift stunt and crowned the Most tattooed woman ever.

But that’s not all!

Below are five Guinness World Records attempts that were approved in January 2018 which you may not have seen yet but definitely deserve a mention.

Most balloons burst with a blown flame by a fire breather

Colin Llewelyn Chapman was playing with fire when he decided to attempt this risky record title – but the Brit was determined to achieve it "as a personal challenge and to create a little bit of history".

He popped 131 inflated red balloons during an attempt in London, UK (pictured above).

Longest ice bar

Longest ice bar

From one extreme to another, one of our China-based adjudicators Maggie Luo measured a 100.6-m-long (330 ft) ice bar at an event on 20 January.

It was created by Tonghua Wine Industry Development and Promotion Center in Tonghua, Jilin.

Reaching 0.9 m high and 1.2 m wide, about 1500 ice blocks were used to build the immense structure.

It took 55 workers 15 days to construct the frozen drinking venue, but it looked spectacular and was well worth the effort!

Fastest marathon dressed as a gingerbread man

Fastest marathon dressed as a gingerbread man

Marathon attempts always require a thorough evidence review from our Records Management Team, but we were thrilled to finally announce that Ben Armstrong from Australia successfully achieved this record in Perth, Australia.

It’s gruelling enough completing a marathon at all, let alone running 26 miles in a full gingerbread costume – so to finish in a time of 3 hr 14 min 15 sec was an incredible accomplishment!

Not only this, but Ben ran the race fundraising for Perth’s Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.

"I decided to break the record to be outstanding and to inspire others to be outstanding," Ben Armstrong.

Longest duration to hang suspended by the teeth

Longest duration to hang suspended by the teeth

"I set the Guinness World Records title because I always dreamed about it," said Dzmitry Dudarau from Belarus.

The incredibly-strong circus performer managed to hang for 7 minutes and 15 seconds during a recent attempt in Jimo, Shandong, China.

Most matches extinguished on the tongue in one minute

Most matches extinguished on the tongue in one minute

Now for another fire-related record, this one achieved by Pavol Ďurdik in Púchov, Slovakia.

He first achieved this title with a total of 45 matches, but the daring challenger managed to raise the total to 50 in this scorching attempt.

You can watch clips of these record attempts and many more in the highlights video below.

Subscribe to the Guinness World Records YouTube channel to be the first to see any future attempts.