The success of the 5th annual Guinness World Records Day celebrated this November 12 has proved once again that the public has an insatiable appetite for witnessing or participating in world record events. An estimated 250,000 people took part in this years events, helping to raise thousands of dollars for various charities and drawing attention to the fun and excitement that can be had when trying to get your name in the worlds best-selling copyright book.

Kicking off events outside the Sydney Opera House in Australia were a group of skimpily clad exhibitionists striving to break the record for the largest swimwear parade; sadly, only 235 people turned up not enough to qualify for the record demonstrating that not every attempts leads to a Guinness World Record!

After the disappointing start, things quickly started looking up. Multiple record holder Alistair Galpin of New Zealand bagged himself not one but three records for Champagne-cork spitting, coin blowing, and Malteser (malt ball) spitting. In China, Tao Yongming set a new Guinness World Record for fastest ascent of a sand dune on a motorcycle, while in Egypt, Heshim Nessim also set a new standard for the fastest vehicle crossing of the Egyptian desert.

Soon, half of the planet was indulging in record breaking. In Turkey, the concrete was flying as strongman Ali Bahecepete hacked away at the most concrete blocks broken in 30 seconds and in 1 minute, and in Albania, artist Saimir Strati turned art on its head and crafted the largest mosaic made out of paint brushes. In the Middle East, Lebanese model-maker Toufic Daher erected the tallest matchstick model (of the Eiffel Tower) and fellow countryman Nabil Karam did an official count of his largest collection of model cars (22,222!).

As Europeans woke up to the morning news, they began to hear stories of the most translated comic book, The Adventures of Asterix by Goscinny and Uderzo, the latter of whom was on hand to accept his Guinness World Records certificate. The most nationalities in a sauna (Finland) followed, along with the fastest human wheelbarrow (also Finland), the fastest time to eat a bowl of pasta (Italy), the fastest time to eat and peel three lemons (Denmark), and the largest gingerbread man (Norway) presented to the IKEA Furuset in Oslo by Sultan Kosen, the worlds tallest man!

The Germans put on a particularly good show, tackling at least seven Guinness World Records, from the farthest distance reached on a water slide to the most dominoes stacked on a single piece. But beating the Germans in the numbers game was the UK, with eight attempts including most couples hugging in a minute, longest conga on ice and fastest time to inflate and burst a hot-water bottle. The highlight in the UK was Manjit Singh the Iron Man of Leicester establishing a record for the farthest distance to pull a double-decker bus with the hair.

By now, the United States was awake and raring to get their fair share of record breaking action. First off the blocks was the largest cup of hot chocolate in New York, followed by the largest collection of lipstick prints by the Big Apples Cosmopolitan magazine. And the records kept on falling: In Memphis, Tennessee, the Universal Cheerleaders Association broke the largest cheerleading dance by 72 people, and in Fort Worth, Texas, the Stockyards Championship Rodeo established the record for the most people lassoing simultaneously.

As the sun set on the day, some records were still underway, others had yet to be reported back to Guinness World Records head office in London. What was sure, though, was that it had been a great day of record breaking. Congratulations to all those who took part, and commiserations to everyone who failed to make the mark! To those disheartened, dont worry, youve got a year to get back into training for GWR Day 2010.

You can break a record any day of the week by visiting www.guinnessworldrecords.com (less info)