I have never felt more lethal.

Not juggling knives, not juggling fire, not even throwing axes.

This record takes as much strength and precision, as I could muster with thousands of chopstick throws in practice. I have to throw them precisely to have the pointy end hit first. I have to throw these hard to get them to stick. I have to throw them accurately to get them to count.

After a good day of practice, I can barely move the next day.

The previous record was 14

I was required to use an 80 cm archery target and practiced for quite a while thinking I was going to crush this record. When I finally read the rules a little more clearly and looked up the details on the archery target, I realized that only hits to the yellow or red circles count. Those are the inner 4 of 10 concentric circles. That’s 40% of the radius/diameter of the circle. A little math on the ratio of the areas of the overall target to the part that counts: Pi*R^2/Pi*R^2 = 4^2/10^2 = 16/100 or only 16% of the target area counted. My job all of a sudden became much harder. The diameter of the circle was 32cm (or just over 12 inches) that I had to hit from 4 meters away (just over 13 feet).

I only had 53 chopsticks so I had a very brave volunteer to pick up a few of the misses.

I had a shaky start after sticking the first throw but kept at it. Instead of getting the 40 I could get in the 80 cm circle I ended up with a thrilling 19 in the 32 cm circle instead of the expected 7 (based on the radio). I did have one hit that was on target, stuck, and then fell off before the minute ended.

My wife, Jennifer, and I broke our second joint Guinness World Record’s title. After previously getting 32 t-shirts on in one minute we went after the 30-second version of the record. The mark to beat was 14 t-shirts put on in 30 seconds with both people actively participating with each t-shirt.

After a 3, 2, 1, Go! I started putting the t-shirts on and Jennifer had her hand in back to pull it down below the waist so it counted. The shirts were pre-arranged on the floor to make it easier to quickly get the arms and head through the proper holes and they had some stretch so they didn’t rip or catch as we put them on.

We had 19 shirts laid out on the floor and we successfully got 18 of them below the waist before the 30-second clock expired. I was completely out of breath but Jennifer didn’t even break a sweat as she remained cool under pressure.

Good thing it’s hot out.

This video I made especially for the Ada Community Library Summary Reading program speaking series. I usually speak in-person at the Lake Hazel Library, but this year we went virtual.

I decided that since it was a recorded presentation that I’d keep it under a half hour but this was one of my better-focused talks honing in on my America’s Got Talent appearance earlier this month, how I went from not being smart enough for the gifted program to MIT, and how I went from zero Guinness World Records at the age of 30 to over 150 at the age of 35.

I then break a Guinness World Record’s title for the most wet sponge hits in one minute with my friend and neighbor, Jonathan “Hollywood” Hannon. We previously broke the record for most wet sponge hit in 30 seconds and this in the one minute record. The previous mark was 76 wet sponge hits in one minute (from 3 meters away). He threw about 106 sponges (and he’s an ambidextrous thrower so can then the throws off with both hands with amazing speed) and I was able to get my face in front of 92 of them to smash the previous record. At fifty seconds, he was complaining that an entire ten seconds were left because his arms were getting tired.

It’s not the most comfortable record in the world since the irritation to the eyes can add up when they’re hitting the face once every 2/3rds of a second or so. The hardest part is getting the eyes open and closed in the narrow window after a hit and the water comes off and before the next sponge comes in to make the hit.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out my just-published book: Breaking Records: 21 Lessons from 21 World Record Attempts.

Happy Father’s Day!

Jonathan Hollywood Hannon and I have broken another Guinness World Record’s Title. (We actually set it earlier during the lockdown but are posting it now on father’s day).

It’s basically Japanese Badmitten without the net. My wife works at HP and travels (or traveled to) Japan on a regular basis. She had her coworkers get us the paddles and birdie so we could make an attempt at this record. We practiced long before the lockdown started and finally made the official attempt when the opportunity presented itself.

The previous record was 89 hits in one minute and we got 103. The craziest part was we were using ‘birdies’ and when we dropped one, their cat, who hadn’t seen the light of day is some time, saw his opportunity and stole the birdie off the ground. Fortunately, we had others to work with and still crushed the record.

Check out my book that describes how one can go from ordinary to extraordinary: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089M59V72

This record is so easy.

At least that’s what the Internet Trolls are going to say.

I thought it was going to be easy as well. It wasn’t… (in fact, even after thinking I had brokent it, I had not as the attempt wad disqualified for leaning too much).

https://youtu.be/oK7XICCzaZo

The record was for the most ping pong balls bounced into a pint glass in one minute. The previous record was 12. The sister record for the most ping pong balls bounced into a pint glass in three minutes? That record was also twelve.

I tried and tried and tried again. My neighbor Hollywood Hannon though it looked easy so he tried. My wife was thinking: How hard could it be? So she tried. The kids tried. It wasn’t uncommon to celebrate a single ball landing in the pint glass.

I focused and tried again. I practiced. I developed a strategy. I didn’t look at where the balls were going. I only looked at where I needed to grab them out of the basket (max 2 at a time) and the spot on the floor where I was aiming.

At the end of this particular minute I knew I’d ended on an even number of hits (after every 4 the cup is emptied). I thought I had gotten 12. Jonathan let me know I had gotten 16. I was in disbelief. I looked at the camera and celebrated. I dropped to my knees. I then went into game mode to ensure we collected all the evidence required to make it Guinness Official… in then end it never was since it was determined that I was leaning too much.

This week I had the opportunity of a lifetime and was featured as a contestant on America’s Got Talent. I went up against the super-fun host and amazing sport Terry Crews in a t-shirt ripping contest to break a Guinness World Record’s Title. While he didn’t have a chance at actually beating me or breaking the record even though he’s a body-building beast (since I’d been practicing with a growth mindset and grit), it was a lot of fun and some clever editing by AGT made it look close (much better TV!).

After my successful record attempt, I got yeses from Simon Cowell and Heidi Klum, but Howie, the comedian wasn’t into the suspense of a Guinness World Record. It came down to new Judge Sofia Vergara on her very first day of filming as a judge on America’s Got Talent and I offered to break several world records, most of which were rejected as options.

I offered to break the Guinness World Record’s Title for the most kiwi’s sliced in one minute while balancing atop a swiss ball. It sounded fun, it sounded dangerous, Simon wanted to see it, Heidi wanted to see it, but Sofia didn’t like Kiwis.

I’ve heard from so many people who wanted to see it that I decided to post this video of Jonathan Hannon and I breaking the sister record for the most kiwis sliced in one minute while balancing atop a roller board.

The previous record was 35, we achieved 65 (We cut 67, 1 was cut while another kiwi was uncut in the air disqualifying it. I’m not sure why Guinness didn’t award us 66, but 65 is good enough)

Check out the 6 minute segment here:

https://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/video/will-he-hold-a-guinness-world-records-title-epic-tshirt-ripping-americas-got-talent-2020/4181722

Or if you want to see the full 7 minutes including the walk-in, and Terry and the judges discussing it after you can watch it here: (1 hour 6 minutes in). https://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/video/auditions-3/4179352

Thanks for tuning in.

Check out the book that I just published that explains how anyone can break 150 Guinness World Records or go from not smart enough for the gifted program to a top student at MIT.

PSA: I do NOT recommend consuming a liter of 100% lemon juice in less than 17 seconds (or in one sitting of any length).

I do not like eating or drinking records.

Missing sports during COVID-19? Me too, that’s why I unwisely tried this.

I consumed 200 servings of pure lemon juice (1 liter) in 16.53 seconds through a straw breaking the previous record, held by my record-breaking friend, Andre Ortolf, of 17.12 seconds.

I never actually practiced for this record with lemon juice. In fact, I only ever sucked down a full liter of water in practice twice. I did, however, practice dozens of times for the fastest time to drink a half-liter of water through a straw. The difference between a half a liter of liquid being added to the stomach in seconds and a liter is kind of like the difference between getting punched in the gut by my 4-year-old or by Manny Pacquiao. I was pretty confident I could drink the liquid fast enough. I just wasn’t going to like how it felt. The big question is if I would gag from the sour the lemon juice and be unable to swallow.

I decided beforehand I was going to drink some lemon juice to get my mouth and throat accustomed to the sour taste and acidic feel. That didn’t go as well as I hoped because it was so sour I gagged, got a raspy feel in my throat, and got the shivers.

My biggest worry was actually what might happen afterward. Would I throw up? Would my stomach be sour? Would my digestive system be able to handle it? Now that I’m reflecting on it as I write this, maybe I should have looked this one up before I tried it.

I carefully inspected the unopened bottles up-close on camera, showed the ingredients (100% lemon juice), and then opened the bottle. At first, I thought I had only partially opened the seal since only a tiny bit came out, but then I realized lemon juice is supposed to be consumed in small quantities. I carefully measured 1 liter out with four 250ml pours but apparently the larger container I was putting it in wasn’t as accurate so I ended up needed 1050ml to fill it up to that liter line just to be safe.

I measured the straw for the minimum length and maximum width and took some deep breaths to oxygenate. About 12 seconds into this attempt during the two 1 liter water practices, I felt like I was out of oxygen and wanted to take a breath. This attempt was no different. The witnesses then tasted the lemon juice to confirm it was indeed lemon juice.

After a 3, 2, 1, go I wrapped my lips around the straw and started drinking. I didn’t gag on the lemon juice and since I was in an official attempt I was dialed in and the pain and sour was far more muted than when I was just sipping on it. I had the entire contents emptied in about 15 seconds before I started slurping the last little bit off the bottom. I had to finish my final swallow and then open my mouth before the stopwatches were allowed to stop.

I opened my mouth and almost gagged because from the back of my throat all the way to my stomach was still full of lemon juice that would take several more seconds to reach my stomach. I heaved for air. I tried to talk. My voice was raspy and would be for several minutes. I asked “How’m I doing?” meaning, “Did I break the record?” but it felt more like I was asking “Am I going to throw up?” I almost did. My stomach was rapidly stretched and was so uncomfortable, I didn’t want to move. It took several minutes of standing before I could feel safe moving without risking losing the contents of my stomach. Guinness didn’t specify any length of time the lemon juice needed to remain in the stomach, but I feel like it’s in the spirit of the rules that it’s supposed to stay down.

My voice remained raspy. I needed sips of water. The witnesses joked and laughed. I tried to celebrate but it just wasn’t there. I don’t like eating and drinking records. They’re painful like running a half marathon with blisters but lack the endorphins that come with exercise and a feeling of achievement. Andre can have this one back.

An hour after the attempt, my stomach was still sour and I was still worried I might throw up. I took 3 large Tums. Two hours after I was still iffy. Three and a half hours later my stomach was so sour, I wasn’t sure I would be able to eat dinner. I was able to, but not very much. It wasn’t until the next day that I realized I was going to make it with no lasting long-term side effects.

I may never enjoy lemonade again the way I did before.

My wife broke her first Guinness World Records title! “Most t-shirts put on in one minute (team of 2)”. I really think she should have gotten credit for the fastest time to wrap a person in cling wrap as she was a major participant in that record, but alas, it was only recognized as a one-person record.

After practicing up to win the #GWR challenge for the fastest time to put on 10 t-shirts, it was only fitting (pun intended) to try on this record for size. The previous record was 31 t-shirts and since I can put on 1 in under 16 seconds, I figured we should be able to break this one.

Since it was a 2-person record, Jennifer was allowed (and required) to help me put on each shirt. She had a slick motion where she would catch the shirt coming down over the back of my neck and in one swift motion pull it down my back. She didn’t get in the way of my flailing arms, and pulled straight down so I didn’t have to worry about pulling down the back and it didn’t add too much pressure so I could pull straight down on the front at the same time.

It ended up being a bit harder than I expected for two reasons. The first is that I didn’t have enough of the easy to put on t-shirts. I had to use the ones from the bottom of the dirty laundry barrel that didn’t stretch, were too tight, were too long, or otherwise were harder to put on. The other thing that makes it harder is that once you have a bunch of shirts on, getting the last ones on is even harder. It doesn’t help to have supper big and baggy shirts either since they get caught on one another and also make me grow faster.

The biggest surprise to me though was how out of breath I was at the end. It is an absolutely exhausting minute. I’m working pretty hard to put on and pull down each shirt and as I add more, the bending becomes harder since there’s so much more resistance. And then when I’m done, there’s a ton of pressure on my chest making my lungs hard to expand. Fortunately, we pulled this one off with 32 t-shirts pulled below the waist in one minute beating the previous record by 1.

Congratulations to my wife! And thanks to Hollywood Hannon for timing, witnessing, and commentating.