Durban Poised to break a Guinness Word Record

Everyone has an idea for a Guinness World Record but how do you go about getting it verified and into the book itself? Well, whether you're planning on breaking an existing record or come up with a crazy new one, it's not difficult to send in your record and get it approved. 

And this is exactly what Alan Vels, the Hospitality and Marketing Director of the Elan Group in Durban is busy doing. Vels, together with his team at Greyville Exhibition and Events have come up with the idea of breaking the world record for the longest dining table. 

The event takes place on 27 April, Freedom Day and will be a first for Africa. The current record is held in Europe and Vels will break this by creating a 2.1km dining table that will snake around the Greyville Racecourse and accommodate 4000 people. 

An independent adjudicator will be on site to photographically record the history in the making and take it back to the Guinness Book of World Records. 

You can be part of this momentous feat. Visit www.greyvilleevents.co.za for details or call  031-3091430 for more details...   

The Top 12 Weirdest Guinness World Records are:  

1.    Most people throwing thongs (flip-flops) simultaneously. In Australia, students at Armidale High School kick off their flip flops at the same time.

2.    The most spears caught from a spear gun underwater from a 2-meter distance in one minute. In Australia, Anthony Kelly catches 10 spears from 6 feet and 6 inches in the swimming pool at Sport UNE (University of New England).

3.    The largest high-heeled shoe. In New York, Jill Martin and Kenneth Cole build a shoe that measures in at 1.95 m (6 feet, 5 inches) long and 1.85 m (6 feet, 1 inch) tall.

4.    The farthest basketball shot made backwards. In Phoenix, Arizona, Thunder Law of the Harlem Globetrotters threw the farthest basketball shot backwards at 25 m (82 ft 2 in) at the US Airways Center.

5.    The fastest 100-meter run on all fours. In Japan, Katsumi Tamakoshi runs 100 m on all fours in 15.86 seconds at Komazawa Olympic Park Athletic Field (Setagaya, Tokyo).

6.    The most people head banging simultaneously. In Australia, 320 students at Armidale High School head bang to AC/DC's "It’s a Long Way to the Top."

7.    The most people eating breakfast in bed. In Pudong Shangri-La, East Shanghai, China, 388 people ate breakfast in bed.

8.    The largest line dance. In China, 25,703 participants from China Line Dance Sport Promotion Center line-danced at multiple venues.

9.    The largest rice mosaic. In Changhua City, Taiwan, Chinese Taoism Folk Culture Association (in Chinese Taipei), achieves the largest rice mosaic at 1,798 sq.m (19364.14 sq. ft).

10.    The largest collection of Nintendo Entertainment System paraphernalia. In UAE, Ahmed Bin Fahad shows off his 2,020-item collection of Nintendo Entertainment System paraphernalia.

11.    The most times one leg has been positioned behind a head in 30 seconds. In France, Adonis Kosmadakis (from Greece) positions one leg behind his heads 30 times in 30 seconds.

12.    Largest gathering of people dressed as penguins. In London, UK, 373 people dressed as penguins and gathered by City Hall. The group also partook in a 2km "waddle" around Tower Bridge.

Take a listen to Alan Vels’ interview here: 

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