Houstonians who made it into the Guinness World Records

Houston is home to many world records. Several of them were set by city residents, while others took place in the metropolis. Let’s take a look at the most interesting ones on houstonski.

The largest mosaic of hats

The well-known American company New Era Cap, which produces hats, including baseball caps, has created the world’s largest mosaic of hats. It happened on January 23, 2017, on the eve of the National Football League (NFL) championship final. The mosaic covered an area of 250.49 m². To create the composition, the company’s employees used 2,510 baseball caps of their own production. The team carefully selected the hats to achieve the most realistic image in terms of both shape and color. The installation took several hours to complete. The result was a mosaic depicting the NFL and Super Bowl LI logos.

The largest number of simultaneous checkers games

Ron “Suki” King has several records recognized in the Guinness World Records. He is from Barbados and is considered one of the greatest checkers players. He became the world champion in this game in 1991. For many years in a row, no one could surpass him and knock him off the leader’s podium. The man holds the record for Houston in 1998, when he played against 385 opponents simultaneously. To save time, Ron moved between the tables on roller skates. In all these confrontations, he became the winner. This event proved his unsurpassed skills once again. 

The first transplantation of the skull and scalp

Houston is a global medical center. Therefore, various medical experiments and unique surgeries are conducted in the city. In view of this, it is not surprising that the first transplantation of the skull and scalp took place in Houston. This event took place on May 22, 2015. The patient was James Boysen. He had been suffering from diabetes since childhood, so he had significant health problems. To this was added skin cancer, which caused significant wounds on the man’s body.

The treatment was not effective due to diabetes, so the doctors at Houston Methodist Hospital in collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center decided to perform a highly complex surgery. Along with the head surgery, James underwent a kidney and pancreas transplant. The procedure lasted more than 15 hours and involved more than 60 medical specialists.

The first silicone breast implants

Timmie Jean Lindsey was the first woman to undergo breast implant surgery. It happened back in 1962. Two doctors, Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin, developed the newest procedure at that time using silicone implants. The woman agreed to the experimental procedure on the condition that she would have her ears corrected for free. As a result of the successful operation, she was able not only to get her ears corrected but also to successfully increase her breast size from B to C and enter the record book.

The largest artificially enlarged breasts

Another record related to women’s breasts belongs to Houston housewife Sheyla Hershey. She entered the Guinness World Records as the woman with the largest surgically augmented breasts. Despite the fact that she had health problems and complications after the surgery, she intends to continue to enlarge them.  

The fastest skateboarder

On September 5, 2013, in Houston, Gabriel Pena set a world record for the number of times he performed one of the skateboarding elements, shove-its. To understand the record: this trick involves twisting a skateboard in the air so that the part of it that was behind it comes to the front. The young man managed to perform as many as 33 such tricks in 30 seconds. Incredible skill and speed.

The first email sent from space

In August 1991, astronauts Shannon Lucid and James C. Adamson sent an e-mail from the space shuttle Atlantis for the first time in human history. It was a joking message addressed to all earthlings. They sent their greetings and promised to return. The duo of astronauts sent the email from a Macintosh Portable and used AppleLink to communicate with Earth.

The fastest stenographer in the world

In 2004, Houstonian Mark Kislingbury set the world record for the fastest shorthand in the world. He managed to type 360 words in just one minute. At the same time, a transcription accuracy was 97.22%. To set this record, he used a specially invented method. In 2022, the man improved his record to 370 words per minute. He does not keep his method a secret, the guy is happy to share it with everyone.

The largest light show

Rendez-vous Houston: A City in Concert was the title of the grandiose show by French composer Jean Michel Jarre. Almost 1.5 million people attended the event. On April 5, 1986, Houston became the place to set a world record. It was at this time that a large-scale light show was held, which was long remembered by residents and visitors of the city. Thousands of spotlights were placed on Houston skyscrapers. At the appropriate moment, the light beams were projected to the sky, and incredible projections with different images were illuminated on the buildings. This is how Houstonians celebrated the 150th anniversary of the city.

Parachute, jump, pine boards

Jason David Frank set an incredible record. He managed to break as many as 7 boards at the same time by jumping with a parachute and landing on them. The previous record was also set by him, but Jason managed to break only two boards. Everything about this stunt is impressive: the precision of the landing, the incredible strength, the number of broken boards. But the idea of such a record seems even stranger. However, it is recorded in the Guinness World Records.

The longest female tongue

This is not a figure of speech. It is Houstonian Chanel Tapper who has the officially registered longest tongue in the world. It is 9.6 centimeters long. The record was set in 2011. Since then, it has remained unsurpassed.

Juggling while running

Rice University student Matthew Feldman has set several world records. All of them are related to juggling and running. He set the highest achievement in running 5 km while juggling 5 objects. The guy managed to do it in 27 minutes and 6 seconds. He also ran the fastest 400 meters while juggling 5 balls in 1 minute 50 seconds.

The largest number of participants in a reading lesson

This achievement is attributed to Houston’s Pope Elementary School. In 2014, the school’s students and city activists attended a mass reading lesson. It was recorded that 1,500 participants of the event read simultaneously during the whole lesson. 

The largest number of haircuts

A team of hairdressers from Midtown Supercuts gave 349 people a professional haircut in 24 hours. This record was set in 2009. The company’s employees managed to earn $1,735 during this time. But their greatest achievement is the recording of their work in the record book.

The longest shoe chain

Although the record is rather ridiculous, it had a noble goal. The Houston Baptist Church held a shoe drive to collect shoes for people in need. To draw attention to the event, they lined up 20,110 pairs of shoes in a chain. They held a useful event and got on the list of record holders.

Recognition of a forensic artist

Lois Gibson is a police officer and sketch artist who draws suspected criminals based on eyewitness accounts. Her work has helped identify more than 500 people over 30 years. The woman’s achievements are recognized not only by a record in the Guinness World Records but also on Unsolved Mysteries, which is perhaps a much greater honor.

Records, records… 

In the pursuit of fame and recognition, human ingenuity has no limits. Our list is far from complete. It could be continued. Among them are many ridiculous ones, such as the first hospitalization due to an injury with a replica of a sword from Legend of Zelda, or more serious ones in the field of medicine and astronautics.