The Oddest Images From the Guinness World Records Photo Archives

For May, which marks National Photography Month, the Guinness World Records has released a collection of some of the most iconic images in its archives. Some of the photos capture rare and incredible natural phenomena, while others document people doing totally unnecessary things.

First published in 1955, the annual Guinness Book of World Records has featured some of history’s most shocking and striking images. These include a 1974 photo of Don Kohler from Denton, Montana who held the title of the world’s tallest man (8’2″) throughout the 1970s; the heaviest spider specimen measured (6.1 ounces); and the most ice cream scoops balanced on a single cone (125).  

It gets more eccentric with titles like the “farthest eyeball pop,” the “stretchiest skin,” and “fastest time to ignite five targets by squirting milk from the eye.” See these and others here below.

Tallest Man

Don Kohler held the title of the world’s tallest man throughout the 1970s. He is pictured here in 1974 on a trip to New York to film with David Frost for the Guinness World Records TV show. Kohler died in 1981 in Chicago.

Tallest male dog ever

When standing, Zeus reached an incredible height of 2.23 m (7 ft 4 in) when measured in October 2011. The Great Dane belonged to Denise Doorlag from Otsego, Michigan.

Heaviest spider 

Rosi, the heaviest spider specimen ever measured, weighed in at 175 grams (6.1 ounces) in 2007. That’s seven times the weight of a mouse. It ate insects, frogs, and small rodents, and belonged to Walter Baumgartner from Austria. 

The longest place name 

Down in Southern Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand, a little hill has an 85-letters name

Fastest time to ignite five targets by squirting milk from the eye 

The fastest time to ignite five targets by shooting milk from the eye is 34.9 seconds and was achieved by Brandon “Youngblood” Kee (USA) on the set of “Guinness World Records Unleashed” in Los Angeles, California, USA, on June 13, 2013. 

Tallest horse and the smallest horse 

Big Jake the Belgian Gelding horse, who rises to the height of 20 hands and 2.75 in (82.75 inches), officially became the tallest horse living when measured
on January 19, 2010. He is pictured next to the world’s smallest living horse, Thumbelina, a miniature sorrel brown mare who measures 17.5 inches to the withers.  

Most tattooed senior citizens 

Charlotte Guttenberg and Chuck Helmke from Florida currently have 97.5% of their bodies covered in tattoos. The couple first became interested in tattoos well over the age of 50. Helmke also holds the record for most skulls tattooed on the body (376).  

Heaviest right hand deadlift 

Hermann Goerner (1891-1965) unofficially lifted a 330 kg (727.5 lb) bar with his right hand on October 8, 1920, in Leipzig, Germany.

Most ice cream scoops balanced on a cone 

Italian ice cream enthusiast Dimitri Panciera has successfully balanced 125 scoops on an ice cream cone during the annual Gelatimo ice-cream festival in
Forno di Zoldo, Italy.

Most Oscar wins in the makeup category 

Rick Baker, an American special make-up effects artist, has won seven Academy Awards for Best Makeup over the course of his career. His first award was for An American Werewolf in London (1981) at the 54th Academy Awards on March 29, 1982. His most recent was at the 83rd Academy Awards for The Wolfman (2010).  

Tallest rideable motorcycle 

The tallest rideable motorcycle measures 16 feet, 8.78 inches from the ground to the top of the handlebars. It was constructed by Fabio Reggiani, and the motorcycle was ridden over a 100-meter course at Montecchio Emilia, Italy, on March 24, 2012.

Stretchiest Skin 

Garry Turner from the United Kingdom was able to stretch the skin of his stomach to a distended length of 15.8 cm (6.25 in) due to a rare medical condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a disorder of the connective tissues affecting the skin, ligaments, and internal organs. People who have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome usually have overly flexible joints and stretchy, fragile skin.