How one man celebrated the longest birthday ever by keeping party going around the world
Birthdays are an event that come to us each year, whether we like getting older or not! But how do you celebrate? Maybe dinner with family, or a party with cake and balloons? Well, this man celebrated his birthday for such a long time that he didn’t just get a year older but also became a Guinness World Records title holder!
Today marks the anniversary of the longest birthday, with one man travelling around the world to keep his big day going for a whole 48 hours. On 3 February 2018, Paul Morgan (USA) decided that he wanted to spend his 28th birthday by attempting to break the world record, and the timing had to be perfect!
Outside the airport in Apia, Samoa
Paul had been travelling around New Zealand for a month and decided that on his way to Hawaii, he would attempt to make his special day last as long as possible.
He planned it to perfection, hopping on many different flights to dip into different time zones to make his birthday last.
With a dream to make it into the records book one day, Paul had done lots of research before attempting his flying feat and discovered more about the previous record holder. Sven Hagemeier (Germany) completed a similar journey in 2014, where he travelled across three countries, making his birthday last 46 hours.
With witnesses in Apia
Paul told us that “half the friends I told about my plan thought it was absolutely crazy and the other half thought it was very stupid, but I didn’t let this deter me.” So, after talking the plan over with his friends, finalizing his research, and mentally preparing himself, all that was left to do was purchase the tickets, and pack his bags!
Paul’s journey began in Apia, Samoa, then his first flight stop was in Auckland, New Zealand. The next part of his journey was his flight to Los Angeles, USA, which was where he crossed the international date line, and last on the list was his arrival into Lihue, Hawaii, USA, where his 48-hour birthday came to an end.
Getting on the plane in Auckland, New Zealand
It was clear that there could be no room for error for this incredible journey to be successful, and Paul came very close to failing. He told us: "The closest I came to failing my attempt was on the flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to Los Angeles, USA. On this flight, it was crucial that I crossed the international date line (the line between the +12 UTC and -11 UTC time zones) in the one-hour period when these two-time zones were in the same day.
"My flight ended up crossing the dateline at 11:01:05 UTC (00:01:05 in -11 UTC and 23:01:05 in +12 UTC on 3 February), barely making the cut by one minute and five seconds!
With witnesses in Auckland
“If my 12-and-a-half-hour flight had crossed this dateline one minute and thirty seconds sooner I would have crossed back into the previous day and lost all the time I had accrued up to that point."
But after all the worrying and what-ifs, he timed everything to perfection and made his way into Guinness World Records history. After almost a whole decade of being a record breaker, still no one has managed to beat Paul’s record, but it does make you wonder, is it possible to have a longer birthday?
In Lihue, Hawaii
With a passion for travelling, Paul has visited some amazing places, including the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Fiji, just to name a few. Do you think you could have a go at beating the longest birthday record? Paul takes a “if there’s a will, there’s a way” approach, and told us: “I have always had a deep-seeded passion for pushing limits, exploring the unknown and solving problems. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing, so when it comes to that fork in the road, I will take the one less-travelled every time."
If that isn’t some inspiring words of wisdom, then we don’t know what is!