France reclaims world record after baking baguette measuring 140.53m

Parisian bakers have claimed victory over rivals in Italy who created a baguette almost 133 metres long in 2019

For the past five years, bragging rights over the world’s longest baguette have belonged not to the residents of a small village or a city in France, but rather to a clutch of bakers 500 miles away in Como, Italy.

On Sunday a crop of 12 bakers from France set out to rectify this, spending hours kneading, shaping and baking their way back to victory.

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Person on the inside matters most, says US couple with record height difference

Jessica Burns-McDonnell from West Virginia and Larry McDonnell took over the world record from a UK-based couple

A West Virginia woman who set a world record by marrying a man who is nearly three feet shorter than her says the couple is a testament to how “what’s really important” in a spouse is “the person … on the inside”.

“I mean, you might find a person who looks exactly like what you want but you need someone who makes you feel and think and love,” Jessica Burns-McDonnell, 40, remarked in an interview about her and her relationship with husband Larry McDonnell, 42, published Monday by Guinness World Records.

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Briton says becoming world’s oldest man at 111 is ‘pure luck’

John Alfred Tinniswood, who was born in 1912 in Liverpool, acquired the title after Japan’s Gisaburo Sonobe, 112, died in March

An 111-year-old man from England is now the world’s oldest living man and says the only diet he follows is eating fish and chips every Friday.

John Alfred Tinniswood, who was born in 1912 – the same year the Titanic sank – insist the secret to his long life is “pure luck”. He obtained the title of world’s oldest man after 112-year-old Gisaburo Sonobe, from Japan, was confirmed to have died on 31 March.

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Eiffel Tower crowned as world’s tallest matchstick building after record U-turn

Guinness World Records initially said 7.2-metre structure made from more than 700,000 matches broke rules

A man has been awarded the Guinness world record for creating the tallest structure using matchsticks, after his Eiffel Tower replica was initially rejected.

Richard Plaud, from France, said he had been on an “emotional rollercoaster” this week, after spending 4,200 hours building his model from more than 706,000 matches and 23kg of glue. “For eight years, I’ve always thought that I was building the tallest matchstick structure,” he said.

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He’s unimpressed with his physique, but wins bodybuilding competitions … at 90

Jim Arrington, who was recognized as the planet’s oldest bodybuilder in 2015, explains how a ‘low opinion’ motivated him

Like many in the US who are grappling with pressure to look better, Jim Arrington is unimpressed with his physique – but he says that self-perception has motivated him to keep winning bodybuilding competitions at age 90.

The nonagenarian great-grandfather spoke about how he has achieved a level of physical fitness which is superior to that of many people more than half his age in an interview published on Wednesday by Guinness World Records, which first recognized him as the planet’s oldest bodybuilder in 2015.

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‘It’s about pride’: Louisiana woman sets record for world’s largest afro

Aevin Dugas wins Guinness world record for third time in 13 years, with a circumference of 5ft 5in

The Louisiana woman who has set the Guinness world record for the largest afro three different times in the last 13 years says she keeps breaking the mark to personally vouch for the beauty of natural hair.

“I didn’t decide to grow an afro as much as I decided to go natural,” Aevin Dugas told Guinness World Records in an interview earlier this month. “It’s about pride in textured hair which leads to self-love.”

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‘Small like a ball’: Pearl the chihuahua becomes world’s shortest dog

Pearl is shorter than the standard television remote and about as long as a dollar bill, Guinness World Records says

What do you call a chihuahua dog that’s shorter than a popsicle stick and can fit in your pocket? The planet’s shortest living dog, Guinness World Records has announced.

Pearl qualified for the title after a veterinarian at the Crystal Creek animal hospital in Orlando, Florida, where she was born, used a special dog-measuring wicket to determine she was just under 3.6in (9.14cm) tall and 5in (12.7cm) long. Those dimensions mean she is shorter than the standard television remote and about as long as a dollar bill, Guinness said in a statement.

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California man sets world record after visiting Disneyland for 2,995 days

Jeff Reitz started visiting the theme park in Anaheim in 2012, when he was unemployed, as an excuse to leave his house and exercise

There are Disney adults – who are obsessed with the animation giant’s products despite being grownups – and then there’s Jeff Reitz.

Reitz’s fascination with Disney drove him to visit the company’s world-famous theme park in Anaheim, California, daily for eight years, three months and 13 days.

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Covid lockdown boredom inspires New Zealand teenager to build world-record 25-metre Lego train

Alexander Blong smashed the previous world record for the most carriages in a Lego train

A New Zealand teenager has broken a Guinness World Record for the most carriages in a Lego toy train, beating the previous record by 32 carriages, after he was inspired to break a record during boring Covid lockdowns.

It took 14-year-old Aucklander Alexander Blong roughly 50 hours to build the 101-carriage locomotive. When finished, it measured 25 metres long.

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Pebbles, 22, unseats TobyKeith the chihuahua as world’s oldest dog

Terrier’s family contacted Guinness World Records after learning younger dog had received honor

The world’s oldest dog has been crowned – stealing the throne from another dog who was only recently making headlines.

Pebbles, a toy fox terrier, was awarded the Guinness World Record this month. Born on 28 March 2000, Pebbles is 22 years old – making him older than TobyKeith, the 21-year-old chihuahua from Florida who was only recently named the champion.

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Record-breaking vampires at Whitby Abbey mark 125 years of Dracula

A fanged crowd of 1,369 broke the Guinness World Record for vampire gatherings in celebration of Bram Stoker’s classic novel

It was, English Heritage of course said afterwards, a fangtastic effort. But there had been a lot at stake. After months of meticulous preparation, the idea was to set a world record for the most people dressed as a vampire at a place Dracula would surely call his spiritual home.

He would be less than pleased at how happy and carefree everyone looked as they filed into the Gothic ruins of Whitby Abbey on Thursday evening. The grey clouds and drizzle of the afternoon even made way for blue skies and glorious sunshine.

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Berry large: Israeli farmer grows world’s heaviest strawberry

Chahi Ariel makes the Guinness World Records with a 289g strawberry – five times the average weight of that variety

An Israeli farmer has grown the world’s heaviest strawberry, according to Guinness World Records.

At 289g, the strawberry was about five times the average weight of a regular berry of the local Ilan variety, said Nir Dai, a researcher at Israel’s Volcani Institute, where the strain was developed.

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New Zealand couple dig up ‘Doug’, potentially the world’s heaviest potato – video

A giant 7.9kg potato found in a New Zealand couple’s overgrown garden may set a new world record for the heaviest of its kind ever to be discovered. Colin and Donna Craig-Brown were weeding in their Hamilton garden when Colin hit the large tuber. The couple have grown fond of the potato, nicknaming it Doug and taking it for walks. The current Guinness world records entry for the heaviest potato is a 2011 specimen found in Britain, that weighed in at just under 5kg, with the Craig-Browns saying they are waiting to hear if Doug will be the new record holder

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Vast veggie: huge New Zealand potato weighing 7.9kg could claim world record

Colin and Donna Craig-Brown have named the 17.4lb tuber Doug and have been taking him for walks

A giant 7.9kg potato found in a New Zealand couple’s overgrown garden may set a new world record for the largest of its kind ever to be discovered.

Colin and Donna Craig-Brown were doing a spot of weeding in their Hamilton back yard, when Colin’s hoe hit something below the ground.

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Swiss researchers calculate pi to new record of 62.8tn figures

Supercomputer calculation took 108 days and nine hours – 3.5 times as fast as previous record

Swiss researchers have calculated the mathematical constant pi to a new world-record level of exactitude, hitting 62.8tn figures using a supercomputer.

“The calculation took 108 days and nine hours,” the Graubuenden University of Applied Sciences said in a statement.

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World’s biggest sandcastle constructed in Denmark

At 21.16 metres in height, it is more than 3 metres taller than the previous holder, says Guinness World Records

The world’s tallest sandcastle has been completed in Denmark, towering more than 20 metres high and comprising nearly 5,000 tonnes of sand, according to its designers.

Standing 21.16 metres in height (69.4 feet), the castle is more than 3 metres taller than one built in Germany in 2019, which previously held the title, according to Guinness World Records.

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Ecuadorian man and woman become world’s oldest married couple

Julio Mora, 110, and Waldramina Quinteros, 104, a combined nearly 215 years, received Guinness certification in mid-August

Julio Mora slipped away from his parents to secretly marry Waldramina Quinteros one February day. Both families disapproved.

Seventy-nine years later, they’re still together – he is 110 years of age, and she is 104, both lucid and both in good health, though relatives say they’re a little depressed because they miss their big family get-togethers due to the pandemic.

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Briton makes landfall after being blown off course in Atlantic rowing record bid

Graham Walters was just off coast of Antigua when he called for assistance

A 72-year-old man from Leicester has rowed solo across the Atlantic but may miss out on the record to become the oldest person to do so after he had to be towed in to port at the end of this journey.

Graham Walters was just six miles off the coast of Antigua, the end point of his journey, when his boat was blown off course by strong winds, and he would have ended up past the island and facing days more rowing if he had not accepted the assistance of the local coastguard.

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Welsh street loses world’s steepest title after New Zealand rival’s appeal

Guinness World Records changes rules to use road’s centre rather than sides for measurements

Last summer the townsfolk of Harlech, in north-west Wales, were celebrating the accolade of having the steepest street in the world.

A mere eight months on, they are in the doldrums after being informed by Guinness World Records that a New Zealand rival for the title has usurped them.

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