Italian woman’s unique tongue has bigger circumference than a ping pong ball

An Italian woman with the unique ability to inflate her tongue into a spherical shape has fulfilled her dream of breaking a world record.

Ambra Collina grew up admiring the pictures of colourful characters from around the globe within the pages of her Guinness World Records annuals.

And now she’s joined the ranks.

Ambra, 37, has officially claimed the record for largest tongue circumference (female) with a measurement of 13.83 cm (5.44 in).

She broke the previous record, set by Jenny DuVander (USA) by over half a centimetre.

For context, Ambra’s tongue has a larger circumference than a ping pong ball, which measures 4.94 in.

She told us as she applied for her record: “Since I was a child, I have always followed the protagonists of the Guinness World Records books with admiration and it would make me proud to imagine being part of it.”

Ambra was inspired to apply after seeing pictures of Dante Barnes (USA), who used to hold the male equivalent of her record.

Until then, her tongue inflating was simply a fun party trick to impress her friends.

And after doing some research, she realized she could very well hold the female record.

As per the guidelines, Ambra’s tongue was measured three times by a doctor, with the average measurement becoming the final total.

Ambra will certainly set tongues wagging now she’s a world record holder.