10 insane Guinness World Records that were once set in Beijing

Beijing's most brilliant and bizarre feats of human ability

We're competitive little beings, us human folk; our nature drives us forward in the pursuit of progress, pushing us to go one better than our ancestors and raise the bar for generations to come. Our city has hosted an Olympic Games that wowed the world and saw record-shattering human achievements across the disciplines, most memorably from Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. Beyond the track, field and pool, however, it turns out Beijing is a hotspot for all manner of record-smashers and pioneering boundary-pushers. 

They've come from far and wide to break and create Guinness World Records. Below are screenshots of just some of the frankly amazing feats of human endeavour that Beijing has witnessed. 

Longest time in abdominal plank position

In 2016, Beijing police officer Mao Weidong has set a planking world record in a head-to-head duel with the previous title holder, American George Hood. Clearly feeling at ease on his home turf, Mao held himself up for a lactic acid-defying 8 hours and 1 minute – a whole 21 minutes longer than his American counterpart.

Most nationalities in a sauna

Only 93 off a new record. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

At this time of great geopolitical discord, what better way to enhance international relations than getting naked and sweaty together in an incredibly confined space? Well, that’s exactly what heat lovers from 99 different countries came to Beijing to do back in March 2013, beating the previous record of 91 and heralding in a new era of global perspiration cooperation.

Most M&M's eaten in one minute with chopsticks

Who says foreigners can't use chopsticks? In August 2011, on the set of CCTV's Guinness World Records show, Britain’s Kathryn Ratcliffe busted that age-old myth and took down her Chinese challenger with ease, plucking out and tucking away 65 M&M's in a single minute. Slobbing out on the sofa and pouring the entire bag into one's mouth in a single, smooth motion is still generally accepted as the most economical method of M&M administration, but hats off to our Kathryn, you did us all proud.

Most metal basins pierced by throwing chopsticks in one minute

So the foreigner won the eating competition, big deal. In a violent reassertion of Chinese chopstick supremacy, deadeye Yang Zhengqing hurled 32 chopsticks through metal basins in front of a live Beijing studio audience, showing off his menacing technique and an unnerving accuracy reminiscent of a certain hat-tossing James Bond assassin.

Most spoons balanced on the body

Image: Guinness World Records.

The Great Cutlery Battle intensifies, and the West replies with a peaceful exhibition of the power of human sweat; on a December's eve back in 2012, Georgia's Eitibar 'The Magnetic Man' Elchiev managed to balance 52 spoons on his chest and back, breaking his own record of 50, all while looking rather dashing in that spoon necklace. Scientific tests revealed that Elchiev's adhesive properties have nothing to do with magnetism, and everything to do with a particularly clammy complexion. Yum.

Most drinks cans placed on the head using air suction

Sticking with the sticky-skinned theme, witness the talents of the USA's Jamie Thomas Keeton, the man whose skin sucks. Literally. Keeton, aka Can Head, first discovered his adhesive superpower at the age of seven, when he just couldn't put his toys down. Literally. This sucker arrived in Beijing in January earlier this year and stuck a whopping eight aluminium cans to his big bald head, absolutely obliterating the long-standing previous record of – surprise! – zero cans.

Most people on a single bed

There were 54 in the bed and the little one said, 'I'm struggling to breathe.' That's how the nursery rhyme went on September 7 2013, as the 54-strong horde piled onto a single Beijing bed, designed to comfortably fit just the one human being. Imagine the duvet disputes.

Fastest time to sort 30 coloured crayons

Just how they should be. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

In one of the most OCD-satisfying record attempts ever, Beijing student Meng Jia arranged an assortment of 30 crayons into the appropriate colour spectrum order in a staggering 25.74 seconds, at a special Guinness event held back in May in 2016.

Most banknotes counted by hand in 30 seconds

Image: Maoyunping on Shutterstock.com.

Ever noticed and admired the ease with which your landlord counts the rent? Maybe you haven't, but it seems to be a national talent, if not national sport. In a 2008 special episode of Guinness World Records, nimble-fingered Song Chao risked a world of paper cut pain to file through a wad of 171 100RMB notes in 30 seconds. Counting this sort of money, money, money is a rich man's game, one imagines, as those of us dealing with not-so-gangster budgets desperately try (and fail) to replicate it with our collections of grubby one kuai notes.

Fastest time to extinguish five candles using milk squirted from the eye

'It cannot be done,' they said; wrong, they were. In a feat that many have described as a more impressive bodily phenomenon than the miracle of childbirth [uncited], China's Ru Anting needed just 17 seconds to snort, aim and fire projectile milk rays from his eye, and extinguish the flames of five candles. It's safe to say that those blessed with Ru's unusual gift won't be putting fire brigades out of a job any time soon, but they're more numerous (and powerful) than you could ever imagine; back in 2004, the daring dairy sprayer's Turkish counterpart Ilker Yilmaz set his own record for the longest distance squirting milk from the eye – 2.79 metres.

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