Tonight I set a record that wasn’t in my previous core-competency but now may be entering my repertoire. I beat out Maximouth of India for another mouth-stuffing record: most blueberries stuffed in the mouth. He got 86. I stuffed 146 blueberries in my mouth… and then I started gagging.

I was able to keep my mouth shut for 5 seconds and then spit them all out (my witnesses were nonplussed at the sight). After inspection, 22 of them were crushed and/or the skin was pierced so they had to be discounted.

The final tally was 124 blueberries stuffed in the mouth and removed unscathed. This compares to my record for moth candles lit in my mouth (I got 100, maximouth got 41).

I’ve been told I have a big mouth only once or twice in my life, but I don’t think it was meant in this manner. I have a crown going in on one tooth tomorrow and my wife suggested I take the temporary one off to make more room in my mouth. I did not as the tooth is quite sensitive underneath and the nominal gain wouldn’t have been more than a blueberry and the pain could have been catastrophic.

It’s always the silly ones that the news seems to like 😉 Here’s a sampling of the press coverage.

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2019/06/17/Man-fits-146-blueberries-in-his-mouth-for-Guinness-record/2531560795039/

https://mix1077.iheart.com/featured/mix-morning-show-17707/content/2019-06-18-man-fits-146-blueberries-in-his-mouth-for-guinness-record/

https://scottandkat.ca/video-man-fits-146-blueberries-in-his-mouth-for-a-new-guinness-record/

https://www.wibc.com/blogs/hammer-and-nigel-show/breaking-another-pointless-guinness-world-record-has-just-been-set

https://www.wibc.com/blogs/hammer-and-nigel-show/breaking-another-pointless-guinness-world-record-has-just-been-set

https://www.realitytvworld.com/news/man-fits-146-blueberries-in-his-mouth-for-guinness-record-1071367.php

http://www.1045wjjk.com/2019/06/18/man-sets-new-record-for-most-blueberries-in-his-mouth-at-once/

https://kcrr.com/record-for-most-blueberries-stuffed-in-mouth/

Today I broke 2 world records at the grand opening of the new RCN headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee. Both were a sweet victory because of the long history and multiple failed attempts.

The first was for the fastest time to pop 200 balloons with a nail. I first applied for this record on June 20 of 2016. It’s one of my oldest Guinness Word Record applications. I have tried to schedule it at multiple venues but have had cancellations multiple times from latex allergies. I also made an attempt as a middle school in Massachusetts but was slower than the 33-second current record because the wall was uneven and balloons were popping off the wall. Today, I nailed it. (Pun intended). The previous record was just over 33 seconds. Let this video speak for itself.

The previous record of 33.74 seconds was surpassed by a run of 14.77 seconds. I had a couple of bobbles but I’m still pretty thrilled with the outcome. I was especially thankful for all the help since it took 20 people a lot longer than 14.77 seconds to set up.

I then attempted the record for the fastest time to topple 5 targets with a pump-action foam dart gun. I practiced over fifty times today and was feeling confident. After gathering a group of people to watch, the gun barrel stopped revolving creating multiple misfires. I made several attempts, and every time there was a misfire (the barrel wouldn’t rotate so it was dry firing). I was getting discouraged because the last time I attempted this record it was disqualified because my measurement pictures were blurry.

I almost gave up until Jameson of RCN called the local Target and got the exact model of gun that was pre-approved on hold. We took the drive came back and the previous record of 7.77 seconds fell with a time of 3.94 seconds. It wasn’t quite as easy as all that since the replacement gun pulled hard to the right. After a couple of attempts, I aimed hard left of the cans and knocked all 5 down in 5 shots.

This may be the most unique record I’ve broken. It’s also nowhere near as fun as it sounds. The Guinness World Records Title is for “Most flavours of ice cream identified in one minute (blindfolded)”. It took me well over a year from start to finish to break it. I purchased at least 50 different flavors to get a combination of 14 that would work. In the end, I was able to identify 11 in one minute. I will say, my wife was ready to have her freezer back.

Practice requires at least 2 people. When I practice alone and know the flavor of ice cream, I can taste the flavor immediately. When I don’t know the flavor, sometimes I never taste it.

Chocolate chip cookie dough is also one of the easiest flavors to identify, and one of the worst to have in the lineup. As soon as you get a chunk of cookie dough in the mouth, you can’t get it out, and everything tastes like cookie dough. Coffee flavors are also easy to get (so long as you only have one) but they are overpowering. Most fruits also taste the same. The senses are also dulled with the pressure of one minute on the clock.

The previous record was 11 and I tied it since I got “Java” out as the 12th flavor before time expired but “chip” wasn’t spoken until time expired.

The Boise Tech Show was a flying success put on by Fishers Technology. Thanks for having me out to provide a little entertainment, promote STEM education, talk about the power of a growth mindset, and make a Guinness World Record attempt.

This one was for the “Most catches [of tennis balls] in 30 seconds while standing on a Swiss ball”. The previous record was 36. Jonathan Hannon and I have been practicing for a couple of months and it still took us 3 tries to complete a legal run (the legs had to be straight, had to catch with alternating hands, can’t fall off, etc).

We warmed up back stage which was a good thing since it was harder to balance the ball on the board than on his hardwood floor.

I was wobbling all over the place but Jonathan kept the balls coming quick.

Check out Maker Space. It’s a ” member-driven community-oriented space where you can make your project using a variety of tools “. They were having a fundraiser and I said I’d set a record to spice it up a little.

The record attempt was a literal pain in the neck. I first attempted it in January of 2018 and thought I’d broken it was a 46-minute run balancing a 2.5 lb hoe on my forehead besting the Guinness minimum of 30 minutes. Little did I know that a week prior a 1-hour 1-minute attempt would be approved after my attempt, invalidating mine.

Here I am over a year later and this time I went for 1 hour 15 minutes 15 seconds. It was a lot more painful than I remember last time. I was hurting after just 6 minutes. Fortunately, I had some good conversations, and finally realized I could spit instead of gagging on my saliva (you can’t swallow while looking straight up it turns out).

TEDx Boise was phenomenal! Taking flight was the theme and the speakers shared their moving stories. I had three records to break and they all involved flight.

If you had asked me if I could have broken one Guinness World Record as a kid I would have told you I would love to but didn’t think I could. Today I broke my 100th!

More accurately, I broke my 98th, 99th, and 100th Guinness World Record Titles! I started with a short talk about my STEM story and how I wasn’t smart enough for the gifted program to an MIT graduation in electrical engineering.

Chris Knight and I then went after the record for most ping pong balls caught in one minute with chopsticks. The previous record was 32 but we have been practicing. Even with a couple of bobbles and a dropped ball with a few seconds left, we got 82 in one minute.

Next up was the fastest time to transfer a 20-pound weight hand to hand 100 times. It took a couple of tries but I passed the previous mark with 100 transfers in 14.9 seconds.

Last up was a big celebration for my 100th Guinness World Record attempt. Most lit candles in the mouth. They were all stuffed in my mouth and had to be lit for 30 seconds while only held with my mouth. The flames danced and the wax poured but I made it 30 seconds with 100 candles in my mouth!

Today I spoke at the Wisconsin Technology Association about Private LTE and then gave an update on the state of 5G. I had an intermission juggling performance and storytelling of why I break world records between the two and finished off with an official Guinness World Record attempt.

The attempt today was a repeat of a record I previously held of most target hits with a foam dart gun in one minute. The target had to be less than 25 cm and placed over 5 meters away. The gun has to be a single shot that much be cocked before every shot. Last time I went after the record it stood at 11 hits. I got 16. Ashrita Furman took it back with 17.

On my first attempt, I got 17 hits. On the second I got less. On my third attempt, I got 19 hits breaking the record. I was hoping to get a few more and tried a few more times but wasn’t consistent enough for an entire minute to crack 20. I suspect I’ll be coming back to this one again in a few months.

Thanks to the team!

Today’s record fit squarely in the easy category. It’s now much more difficult. The minimum mark set by Guinness was 11 minutes 57 seconds for the longest duration spinning a flying disc. It had to be on one hand but you could switch fingers (so long as it kept spinning and didn’t touch anything except one hand).

I was shooting to break the record and at least make it to 15 minutes. Six minutes in my thumb started to cramp and I wasn’t sure how long I was going to make it very long. I was standing in the back of a business review conference with 2 cameras on me and was able to switch fingers to give my thumb a break. It gave me a second wind and I kept going.

I had a hard stop 1 hour 35 minutes in to take a conference call but by the time I made it there, I didn’t want to stop. I got my headset on and kept going. I then took another conference call.

It wasn’t until three hours two minutes fifteen seconds (3:02:15) that the Frisbee spun and hit my shirt that the record attempt ended.

I was spinning at just over 110 revolutions per minute for over three hours. That means I made over 20,000 revolutions in a row. My arm and fingers felt super weird when I finally stopped but not in too much pain.

I broke this record once last year with 100 poker chips balanced on a single finger. It was broken by serial record breaker Silvio Sabba a few months later with 102 chips. I decided to break it back by a bit more and went for 125. The fact that 1 chip fell off and I only got 124 doesn’t disappoint me.

I did drop all the chips on the table a few times because an official attempt is always more nerve-wracking than practice and shaking and balancing 125 free-stacked poker chips do not go well together.

At one point Jeremy decided to help so he knocked down an entire stack of chips. I’m just glad he didn’t hit the stack I had made.