Records you think will never be broken from fastest speed on water to tallest man ever
With access to new technology and ideas, records can be broken faster than ever. According to the Reddit court of public opinion however, there are a few records that are unlikely to ever be beaten. Whether due to new rules, the luck of pure happenstance, or due to disasters, these are seven records that are likely to remain untouched.
Tallest person in history
Whether it be models or athletes, often height is a noticeable feature in many people. For Robert Wadlow, who happens to be the tallest person to have ever lived. Robert at his max height stood at 8 ft 11 in (2.72 m). In comparison, that is over 2 feet taller than the average front door size in the UK: 6 ft 8 in.
Robert was tall even in his youth, passing 8 ft when he was only 13 years old. An extremely tall height and quick growth rate from gigantism led to health problems. Robert died at the age of 22 from an infection from a wound that he could not properly feel in his extremities.
Fastest speed on water
When on a boat, there is not a better feeling than speeding across the surface. Some strive to reach extreme speeds and no one has soared faster across the water than Ken Warby, who in 1978 broke the record for the fastest boat speed at 317.58 mph (511.09 km/h) in a hydroplane he named Sprit of Australia.
Reaching speeds that high comes with many risks and while Ken was successful in his attempt, seven of 13 others that tried to break the record since 1930 died. These deaths arose from a variety of reasons including disintegrations and the boats flipping.
Largest free fall survived without a parachute
Jumping out of an aeroplane is a bucket list item for some. They take the time to steel themselves and buckle into their parachute. The woman who holds the record for the highest fall survived without a parachute, however, did not have the time to prepare.
Vesna Vulović was working as a flight attendant on 26 January 1972, when all of a sudden, the aircraft broke apart mid-air after an explosion. Vesna then fell 33,333 ft (10,160 m). While she ended up in a coma for 27 days and spent 16 months in the hospital recuperating from injuries, including many broken bones, she nearly completely recovered. She did have a limp when walking afterward. She was the only survivor of the explosion.
Most balloons released at once
Throughout Guinness World Records’ history, there have been a few attempts to release the largest number of balloons. This record, in nature should seemingly be harmless, but the events at Balloonfest ‘86 in Cleveland proved otherwise.
After six months of hard work putting together an event to attempt to beat the record of the most balloons released at once, the organizers of the festival were ready to go. They released around 1.5 million multi-colored balloons. While initially a glorious site, disaster struck as rain sank the balloons back to the surface of the Earth. The outcome was two deaths, animal injuries, clogged waterways, and an overall environmental catastrophe.
Notably, the technical record holder for the most balloons released at once is Disney Home Videos. In August 1994, the groups released 1,592,744 balloons all at once. This record-breaking event was held at Longleat House in Wilts, United Kingdom.
While Balloonfest '86 was the most infamous of these releases, almost all attempts imposed some environmental detriments, no matter how large or small. For these reasons, since 2011 the tracking for this record has been ceased.
Most times struck by lightning
Roy Sullivan, an American park ranger, was struck by lightning 7 times between 1942 and 1977. He survived all of them and was nicknamed 'Human Lightning Rod'. He's recognized by the Guinness World records as the person struck by lightning the most number of times. pic.twitter.com/LD8JQ2MABh
— Creepy (@creepydotorg) February 14, 2024
Being able to break a world record is often seen as a sign of luck. In Roy Sullivan’s case, he might have been inclined to disagree. Roy held the record for the most lightning strikes survived. Between 1942 and 1977 the man was struck by lightning seven times.
Arguably, even more impressively, most of the strikes only left him with minor injuries including losing a toenail or eyebrows. The two more intense injuries included his legs being seared and him receiving burns on his stomach and chest.
Considering that the odds of being struck by lightning even once is 1 in 300,000, one can only hope this record remains unbroken.
Coldest temperature recorded on Earth
Generic photo of an iceberg. Photo credit: Pixabay/Pexels.
While temperatures throughout the world can vary from the heat of a desert or from the glaciers at the poles of the Earth, it is quite rare for a temperature to reach an extreme outside of an average. Even Antarctica, cold as it may be, has an average range of temperature, typically between 14°F (-10° C) and -76°F (-60°C).
However, it is unsurprising that the record for coldest temperature recorded on Earth occurred in the southern-bound landmass. The frigid temperature was –128.6°F (89.2°C) and occurred on 21 July 1983. This temperature was recorded by the Vostok Station, a Russian-based research station that had the goal to drill into the ice.
Fastest cannonball run
Generic picture of a map, with the United States being in focus. Photo Credit: Lara Jameson/Pexels.
Covid-19 saw the world shut down with the quarantines held. With the pause in everyday life, the roads were basically barren. Some used this spatial freedom to travel distances they typically would not. During this period the record for the fastest cannonball run, or drive between New York City and Los Angeles, was broken with a time of 25 hours 39 minutes.
Ironically, the record holders since May 2020, Arne Toman and Doug Tabbutt, did not really need this pause to gain this achievement, as the record they smashed was their own from November 2019, which had the time 27 hr 25 min.
While Arne and Doug might be able to beat their own record, the once-again packed roads of the many suburbs and cities along the journey makes the odds that anyone else will be able to take the title from the duo unfavorable.
Record chasing is a fun, adventurous endeavor for many. Some records are just broken by coincidence and by rare, exceptional odds. Others are broken with immense effort, but the risks to oneself or the environment render certain records to be better untouched. While there are millions of records to be broken, these seven are unlikely to be again.