The Burj Khalifa (Khalifa Tower) in Dubai officially opened on January 4, 2010. It currently holds the record as the tallest man-made structure.
A Story About Many Stories
Take a Deep Breath and Read This Sentence…
For many years, James Joyce’s novel Ulysses held the record for the longest sentence in the English language. The 4,391-word monstrosity contained in Molly Bloom’s soliloquy seemed destined to hold the record […]
Older Than Methuselah
The oldest living thing on earth is a bristlecone pine located in the White Mountains of California, USA. When discovered and tested in 2013, it was determined to be 5,064 years old. […]
Ministers Marry Lots of People… But Typically By Officiating, Not By Participating
Wolfe with wife #18 and #19 (first marriage was 2 years; the second, less than a year), Sharon Goodwin Rev. Glynn “Scotty” Wolfe (1908 – 1997) holds the Guinness World Record for […]
Don’t Try to Pronounce It If You Are Wearing False Teeth
The 85-characters long Maori name for a hill in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, is the longest place name found in any English speaking country. It is, Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturipukakapikimaungah-oronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, which roughly translates as, “the […]
Cold Enough For Ya?
The coldest temperature ever recorded on earth was in August, 2010 in Antarctica. Satellites measured surface temperatures of -135.8 degrees Fahrenheit (-94.7 degrees Celsius). There is no way to disguise the fact […]
I’m Dreaming of a Best Seller
“White Christmas”, written by Irving Berlin and sung by Bing Crosby, is the best-selling single song of all time. With estimated sales in excess of 50 million for the original version and […]
Serve ‘Em Up Fast
Australian tennis player Samuel Groth holds the record for the fastest serve in a game. He smacked a ball at 163 mph (263 km/hr) in an event in Busan, South Korea in […]
Listen to the Song that Takes 639 Years to Play
UPDATED ON MAY 6, 2021 The longest musical performance in history is currently taking place in the church of St. Burchardi in Halberstadt, Germany. The performance of John Cage’s “Organ²/ASLSP (As Slow […]
Thanks for the Memories… And the Honors
Bob Hope (1903-2003) holds the world record for being the most-honored entertainer in history. He received more than 2,000 awards and citations for humanitarian and professional efforts, including five honorary Academy Awards, […]
Longest Novel Will Take a While to Read
The world record for the longest novel ever published goes to A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust. It was published in 13 volumes beginning in 1912. With an estimated 9,609,000 characters […]
World’s Most Difficult Math Problem Took 357 Years to Solve
Pierre de Fermat (1605-1665) wrote in the margin of a book, next to the equation xn + yn = zn, “I have discovered a truly remarkable proof of this theorem which this margin […]
Land? Who Needs Land?
The swift spends almost all of its life in the air, touching down only to reproduce. They will cling to a wall or rock-face to check a potential nest hole, and they […]
If The Vows Required Staying Married Until the Cake Was Eaten, It Would Be ‘Til Death Do Us Part
The world’s largest wedding cake ever displayed was baked by Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino’s chef Lynn Mansel and a team of 57 chefs and “pastry artisans” at a New England showcase […]
Isn’t This How Terminator Started?
On January 25, 1979, Robert Williams became the first person to be killed by a robot. He was struck in the head and killed by the arm of a 1-ton production-line robot […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 