Buzz
While some world records can be achieved with little preparation, like the one for the most people brushing their teeth at once (26,382 participants), others require minimal or no financial investment, such as the man with the record for the longest ear hair (7 inches or 18 cm). There are also records that require basic common sense, like the one for the hardest kick to the groin. But these are the exceptions. The majority of records demand extensive practice, significant financial investment, or both. And when attempts fail, the results can be even more disastrous. Some even lose more than just time and money. Here are 10 attempts – some of which still stand as records – that ended in failure.
10. The Longest Car Jump Failure (Tignes, France, 2014)
After securing his fourth world title in freeriding, Guerlain Chicherit transitioned from skiing to rally and rallycross driving. Following victories in the French Rally Cup and the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, Chicherit pursued stunt driving, making history with the world’s first unassisted backflip in a car in 2013. But he wasn’t done yet. 'I love this feeling – playing with gravity,' he said. 'It’s like someone who needs to smoke, drink, or do drugs – I need adrenaline.' The next year, he aimed to break Tanner Foust’s 2011 record for the longest ramp jump in a four-wheeled vehicle, which stood at 332 feet (101 meters).
In March 2014, Chicherit and his team calculated 15 different variables to launch a specially modified BMW Mini – the same one he used for his backflip – from a steel ramp, across a 360-foot (110 meters) gap, to a concrete landing. However, it wasn’t enough. As he sped down a snowy mountain, Chicherit’s Mini reached 99 mph (160 km/h) just as it hit the ramp. He later admitted that he knew things were going wrong when he heard the back of the Mini scrape the ramp during takeoff. Mid-flight, the car’s hood began to dip and, upon landing, the Mini hit nose-first, causing it to flip uncontrollably. Miraculously, he only sustained minor injuries and spent one night in the hospital for observation. Even before leaving the hospital, he was already planning repairs for the Mini and a second jump attempt. To this day, he has yet to try again.
9. Bird vs. Dominoes (Leeuwarden, Netherlands, 2005)
In October 2005, volunteers and crew members from the reality TV production company Endemol began setting up 4,155,156 dominoes inside an exhibition hall in Leeuwarden for a world record attempt to topple the most dominoes. Watching the footage from Domino Day 2005, it's clear just how intricate the domino setup was and how much effort it took to arrange.
Weeks into the setup, an unexpected visitor arrived: a house sparrow. The bird landed on a domino, causing it to fall, which led to a chain reaction knocking over 23,000 dominoes. The crew tried to catch the bird, but when they couldn’t, they called animal control. After cornering the sparrow, the officer fatally shot it with an air gun as it allegedly cowered against a wall. However, the officer failed to research properly, as the sparrow species was listed as endangered in the Netherlands.
Over the past century, Europe had seen a decline in sparrow populations due to herbicides and pesticides that killed off their food sources. The killing of the 'Domino Sparrow' sparked global outrage, leading to an investigation by officials in the Dutch province of Friesland. The production crew began receiving death threats, and a Dutch radio DJ even offered a reward of $3,500 for anyone who could topple more dominoes before the live broadcast on November 18. A song called 'The Domino Sparrow' was recorded, and a website was created for people to post tributes to the fallen bird. Over 5,000 people signed the condolence register.
The sparrow’s stuffed carcass eventually ended up in the Rotterdam Natural History Museum, where it was displayed on a box of dominoes. Its sacrifice, however, was in vain as the 4 million dominoes still fell, setting a record that lasted only a year before it was broken in Beijing with 4.3 million dominoes. But the demise of the sparrow wasn’t the only incident to mar Leeuwarden's Domino Day. Guinness disqualified 153,000 dominoes from the record when a crew member accidentally knocked them over. There’s no information on whether that unfortunate crew member was cornered and shot with an air gun.
8. Zip Lining by Ponytail (West Bengal, India, 2013)
A tragic attempt for a world record occurred over the Teesta River in 2013. Sailendra Nath Roy, a law enforcement officer known for his daring stunts with his ponytail, had made a career out of his unique feats. In 2007, he tied his ponytail to a rope between two buildings and 'flew' between them. In 2011, he set a world record by attaching his ponytail to the trolley of a 271-foot (82.5 m) zip line. The following year, he pulled a train engine and four coaches, totaling 88,000 pounds (40 tonnes), with his ponytail. In West Bengal, Roy attempted to break his own record by attaching his ponytail to a 600-foot (183 m) zip line, strung 70 feet (21 m) above the Teesta River.
Unfortunately, Roy failed to inform Guinness about his world record attempt, nor did he notify the police or arrange for medical professionals to be present. Though he wore a life vest in case he fell into the river, he apparently neglected to bring a knife. These oversights led to disaster when his hair became tangled in the wheels of the trolley midway through his zip line journey.
Roy attempted to pull himself down the zip line by hand, but the trolley wheels became stuck and refused to move. Spectators, watching from the nearby Coronation Bridge, could see him struggling, but they misinterpreted his distress as part of the act. Even his family, present in the crowd, didn’t realize the gravity of the situation and began clapping, thinking it was all part of the show. After 30 minutes of struggling, Roy suddenly collapsed, suffering a massive heart attack. It took another 15 minutes for him to be pulled to safety on the bridge, where CPR was administered, but by then it was too late. Roy’s wife had pleaded with him to stop performing such dangerous stunts, and he had promised her that this would be his last one.
7. Tender-Footed Firewalkers (Dunedin, New Zealand, 2004)
In July 2004, a fundraising event was organized to collect money for defibrillators for the Order of St. John, a New Zealand ambulance service. The highlight of the event was a world record attempt for the largest number of people walking across a fire pit. Guinness was present to ensure safety standards were met, including the length of the fire pit ( meters or 11.5 feet) and that all participants were at least 14 years old. The official record was set with 341 people walking across the fire pit, but an additional 150 spectators also joined in, many with little or no guidance. By the end of the event, 28 people had sustained burns on their feet.
Dr. John Campbell, a physicist at the University of Canterbury, coordinated the fire walk and explained that each participant should ideally take 4 steps across the fire, each lasting no more than one second. According to Campbell, the fire pit should be 3 meters (10 feet) long, but Guinness insisted on meters. Campbell emphasized that hypnosis or meditation was not necessary to fire walk. As long as the pit had the correct charcoal and no metal in it, only minor blisters should occur. About 1 in 10 participants typically gets blisters, especially those with thinner skin on the arches of their feet or toes. The best firewalkers, he said, were those who frequently walked barefoot or lifted weights.
Campbell also stated that any burns should be minor and rarely require hospitalization. However, during the Dunedin event, 11 participants were hospitalized, with the Order of St. John ambulances transporting them. To manage the additional runs, the ambulance service had to buy more saline and burn dressings. The cost for these supplies exceeded $1,000 NZD ($913 USD), while the fundraiser itself raised less than $1,000.
6. A Family Shattered (Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, 2015)
In November 2010, Chilean cyclist Juan Francisco Guillermo began a five-year journey to set a world record by cycling across five continents in five years, totaling 250,000 km (155,000 miles). By February 2015, Guillermo was in Thailand, just months away from finishing his global adventure in Australia. By then, he had cycled across four continents, suffered 793 flat tires, and covered 140,000 km (87,000 miles). During his travels, he met and married his wife, Ng Poh Leng, and by that time, they had a two-year-old son, Lucas.
The entire family spent a week at the Khon Kaen monastery in northeastern Thailand, and as they were preparing to leave, Juan expressed his deep admiration for the temple, even sharing that he wished for his cremation ceremony to be held there. On their way from Khon Kaen to Nakhon Ratchasima, Juan took the lead, towing a baby trailer with Ng and Lucas riding behind him on a bicycle. A speeding pickup truck approached from behind, and the driver later claimed that he never saw the two bikes. The truck first struck Ng and Lucas, and then collided with Juan, killing him instantly. While Juan's wife and child sustained only minor injuries, the tragic accident occurred amid two ongoing Thai campaigns: one focused on reducing traffic fatalities and the other promoting cycling across the country.
5. Plate Glass Break (Las Vegas, Nevada, 2013)
Jesus 'Half Animal' Villa is no stranger to Guinness World Records. The former Cirque du Soleil acrobat had set numerous records, including the longest double backflip on spring-loaded stilts, the most consecutive backflips (19) on stilts in under a minute (actually done in 21 seconds), and the most consecutive 90-degree pushups (13 reps). Villa also achieved two records in one day: the longest front flip over a car on stilts and the most front flips—18—in one go. On December 12, 2012, he set a sixth world record by covering the greatest distance (37 miles or 62 km) on stilts within a 24-hour period. What made this even cooler was the presence of his girlfriend, the superstar Pamela Sue Anderson, who cheered him on during several of these attempts.
For his seventh world record attempt, Villa sought to break the fastest time jumping through 10 panes of tempered glass. He signed a contract with truTV to document the attempt for their show 'Guinness Records Gone Wild.' However, Villa later claimed that the show's crew had tampered with his equipment before the attempt, which caused him to fail miserably. He was unable to make it through even one pane of glass, and as he sprang toward the first window, his trampoline jump sent him crashing into the glass, resulting in not only a shattered pane but also a broken neck.
According to his updates on his Fundrazr page, Villa underwent extensive surgery afterward, with 50% of his neck and spine needing reconstruction using titanium. Despite years of rehabilitation and therapy, he has admitted that his body will never be the same and that his previous physical feats are beyond his reach. Unfortunately, his Fundrazr page was flooded with mean-spirited comments from online trolls, adding insult to injury. Regardless of the circumstances of his disability, he believes that no one, especially those facing challenges, should be subjected to such cruelty and that compassion should always come first.
4. Paralympic Rowing Champ Drowns (Pacific Ocean, 2020)
Angela Madsen's life was a testament to resilience in the face of adversity. An athlete from an early age, she excelled in high school basketball and volleyball. Her life took a turn when she became pregnant with her daughter Jennifer, the father absent. Despite her hopes of earning a volleyball scholarship at Ohio State, she was rejected due to concerns about her ability to balance her responsibilities as a full-time student and a single mother. Determined, Madsen enlisted in the Marines and played for the women's All-Marine Corps basketball team. However, a career-ending injury during practice ruptured two discs in her back, damaging her sciatic nerve. Discharged from the Marines, Madsen found herself in constant pain but continued to work as a mechanic. In 1993, she underwent back surgery to fuse some vertebrae at a VA hospital, but a mistake by the surgeons left her permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
Ineligible to sue the VA due to a 1950 statute, Madsen struggled to survive on small disability checks. Her partner, however, began to steal these checks, neglecting to pay rent. Madsen returned home one day to find herself evicted, her belongings, car, savings, and 401(k) all gone. Her daughter Jennifer had already spiraled into drug and alcohol abuse, running away from home. Soon, Madsen's life descended into further chaos, leaving her a homeless paraplegic on the streets. A pivotal moment came when her wheelchair wheels became stuck on railroad tracks, and a train was approaching. Just in time, two strangers pulled her off the tracks, saving her life. From that moment, she vowed to channel her anger into a new purpose, focusing on the life she had left.
Madsen's journey took a turn for the better when she entered the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, winning five gold medals in swimming, wheelchair slalom, and billiards. She then discovered rowing and competed in the World Rowing Championship in 2002, where she earned a silver medal. From there, her success continued, with gold medals in subsequent years. Her ambitions grew, and she ventured into open waters, rowing across parts of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. In 2013, Madsen attempted to row solo across 2,500 miles (4,023 km) from California to Hawaii. However, she was caught in a storm and had to be rescued. The following year, she partnered with another rower and completed the journey in 60 days, rowing up to 70 miles some days.
In April 2020, Madsen was ready to make another solo attempt, aiming to set records as the first paraplegic rower, the first openly gay athlete, and the oldest woman to row from Marina del Rey to Honolulu. By late June, she was halfway through the journey when a cyclone warning was issued. Madsen decided to deploy a parachute anchor to stabilize her 20-foot fiberglass boat, but it required repairs. On June 21, according to her wife Deb, Madsen climbed out of the boat, tethered to it. Deb speculated that Madsen, unable to feel below her waist, may have stayed too long in the 72-degree water, resulting in hypothermia or a heart attack, leading to her drowning. Madsen's body was found still tethered to her boat, floating lifelessly in the ocean.
3. The Great Balloon Disaster (Cleveland, Ohio, 1986)
If there’s ever been a world record that could be considered harmless and unlikely to cause any harm, it would be the record for releasing balloons. However, when you involve enough balloons, they can become unintended instruments of chaos. This was the case with 'Balloonfest ’86,' a fundraising event for United Way in Cleveland, Ohio, that would forever be etched in history as a catastrophic disaster. Cleveland was struggling to restore its reputation after a grim decade filled with challenges. In the 1970s, the city saw the decline of its steel industry, the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie were declared dead or dying, and mafia violence earned the city the nickname 'Bomb City USA.' As a result, a quarter of Cleveland’s population simply packed up and left.
The 1980s marked a new chapter for Cleveland as plans emerged to develop the waterfront and bring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to the city. With several professional sports teams in town, the city was determined to redefine itself. However, even the professional sports teams seemed to tarnish the image. In 1980, the owner of the Cleveland Competitors, a team in the short-lived North American Softball League, decided to generate publicity by attempting to recreate the 1938 record-breaking feat of catching a baseball dropped from the tallest building in the city, the Terminal Tower. A baseball falling from the 52-story, 708-foot tower would reach an impressive speed of 138 mph, faster than the average MLB pitch of 90 to 92 mph. Unfortunately, organizers failed to secure the area at the base of the tower, and the first three baseballs that dropped caused injuries and property damage. Despite the eventual success in catching a ball, the event was remembered more for the lack of planning and the injuries that occurred rather than the achievement itself. It was a lesson that the organizers of Balloonfest ’86 should have learned from.
The idea for Balloonfest began the year before when Disneyland set a world record by releasing 1.2 million balloons to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Inspired by this achievement, Cleveland set out to break the record. On the evening of September 26 and the morning of September 27, 1986, about 2,500 people—mainly students—gathered in Cleveland’s Public Square, which sits at the base of the Terminal Tower. A large three-story structure surrounded the square, and a massive mesh net was stretched across it. Volunteers worked diligently to fill helium balloons—two for every dollar donated—and let them rise into the net. The goal was to reach 2 million balloons, but as a storm loomed, the organizers decided to stop at 1,429,643 balloons. When released, the balloons formed a massive cloud of color, swarming around Terminal Tower. They had set a new world record.
The excitement was short-lived. The storm pushed the balloons toward Lake Erie, where the rain forced them to descend onto highways, causing several traffic accidents. At a ranch in Geauga County, Arabian horses were so startled by the falling and popping balloons that they injured themselves. Burke Lakefront Airport had to close for 30 minutes while the runway was cleared of balloons. The disaster went international when the balloons crossed Lake Erie, littering Canadian beaches. Even worse, two fishermen out on the lake during the storm had their boat capsized by the unexpected barrage of balloons. The Coast Guard struggled to locate the fishermen among the sea of multi-colored latex. A rescuer explained, 'It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You’re looking for a head or an orange life jacket, but here, you have hundreds of thousands of orange balloons. It’s hard to tell one from another.' Ultimately, the search was called off, and the bodies of the two men washed ashore two weeks later.
Before the media backlash and the flood of lawsuits, a local DJ triumphantly declared: 'There is no “mistake on the lake” anymore!' The organizer echoed the enthusiasm: 'Cleveland, it’s your time…. No longer the punchline of jokes.' How about this one? There’s an old saying that goes, 'It’s all fun and games as long as it’s not done in the streets and doesn’t scare the horses.' Well, this one failed.
2. The Truck Driver at the Edge of Space (Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1966)
It might surprise you to know that the first leader of a civilian space program wasn’t Elon Musk, but a New Jersey truck driver who had no affiliation with NASA, no college degree, and no formal aeronautics training. Nick Piantanida, according to his brother Vern, was a man with a relentless drive, always finding new challenges to conquer. Whether it was breaking free throw records, scaling Venezuela’s Devil’s Mountain, or jumping off his garage with a homemade parachute, Piantanida was a man who thrived on adventure. In 1963, while running an exotic pet store, Piantanida discovered skydiving. Shortly thereafter, he learned of two world records: the longest free-fall parachute jump (80,340 ft. or 15 miles), set by a Soviet Air Force colonel, and the highest parachute jump (19 miles or 31 km), set by a USAF pilot. Piantanida set his sights on both records, determined that they should belong to an American. This was, after all, during the height of the Cold War space race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
To free up his weekends, Piantanida took a job as a long-distance truck driver. He poured over every piece of literature he could find about balloons and high-altitude skydiving. He recruited experts, including Paul Edward Yost, the inventor of the modern hot air balloon and a pioneer in high-altitude ballooning, and Jacques-André Istel, known as the 'father of American skydiving.' He also gained the support of figures like New Jersey Senator Pete Williams, who helped open doors for him. Piantanida approached Raven Industries, specialists in high-altitude balloon construction, and persuaded them to build a gondola just large enough to fit him. He also convinced the David Clark Company to provide him with a customized pressure suit, much like those used by NASA.
After two years of preparation, Piantanida was ready. His plan was to ascend to 120,000 feet (36,500 m, nearly 23 miles) in a balloon, reaching the edge of space, then jump out of the gondola and free-fall for 21 miles until the air was thick enough for him to deploy his parachute. His first attempt came in October 1965 over St. Paul, Minnesota, but his Strato Jump I only reached 16,000 feet (4,900 m) before wind shear tore his balloon apart, forcing him to bail out and parachute into a city dump. Piantanida’s second attempt in February 1966 nearly succeeded. However, when he tried to disconnect his oxygen supply to jump, the valve malfunctioned. He was left with two choices: hold his breath during the 23-mile fall or return to Earth in the gondola.
Piantanida’s third attempt in May 1966 started out without any issues until his balloon reached 57,000 feet (17,000 meters). At that point, the ground crew heard a sudden 'whoosh' followed by a distress call over the radio. They quickly detached the gondola from the balloon and deployed a parachute. Twenty-six minutes later, they reached Piantanida’s gondola, finding him barely conscious. He slipped into a coma before reaching the hospital and passed away four months later without regaining consciousness. Piantanida often experienced discomfort in his suit, which led him to open his visor to relieve the pressure. While this was fine at ground level, in the near-vacuum of high altitude, the sudden decompression could cause embolism and severe tissue damage. It is speculated that when Piantanida lifted his visor, he may have been unable to close it again. For at least 4 to 5 minutes, he was without oxygen.
1. Tug-of-War Deaths (Frankfurt, Germany, 1995)
Nearly all of us have participated in a game of tug-of-war, whether at a company picnic or a children's gathering. However, it may come as a shock to learn that over the years, a number of people have suffered serious injuries or even lost their lives while playing this seemingly harmless game. According to the U.S. Tug of War Association, injuries and fatalities typically occur due to the use of ropes that aren’t designed to handle the immense tension or elastic recoil generated during a tug-of-war match. As the teams pull, elastic recoil builds up, which can cause even thick ropes to snap if they’re made from inappropriate materials like nylon. Worse still, the recoil of elastic polymers like nylon can snap back with the force of a giant rubber band, capable of severing limbs.
For example, in October 1997, a tug-of-war competition in Taiwan involving 1,600 participants exerted 180,000 pounds of force on a 2-inch nylon rope designed to hold only 57,000 pounds. When the rope snapped, it severed the left arm of two men and injured 40 others. Among the wounded were people who sustained severe injuries, including a spinal cord injury, ruptured liver, and spleen. In 2007, two high school students had their hands amputated due to a rope recoil. A man in Nova Scotia lost four fingers when his hand was crushed by a rope snap. In Harrisonburg, Pennsylvania, five middle school students had their fingertips severed, and one lost a thumb.
The most devastating tug-of-war tragedy occurred in 1995 in Frankfurt, Germany. About 650 boy scouts attempted to set a world record, but when the nylon rope – only as thick as a thumb – snapped, the result was catastrophic. The rope whipped back with such force that it killed a nine-year-old boy. Another boy was crushed when those in front of him fell on top of him. In total, 102 people were seriously injured.
