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Top 10 wacky food and drink Guinness World Records

How big is the world’s largest glass of beer? How many beer bottles is it possible to open with one’s feet in a minute? And where might you go if you want to be waited on by robots?

Everyone loves a challenge, and since the 1950s the Guinness World Records team has been baiting those with a competitive streak into the most wacky, weird and wonderful record breaking attempts.

It all began in 1951 when Sir Hugh Beaver, then managing director of the Guinness brewery, asked the members of his shooting party: “What is Europe’s fastest game bird?”

A heated argument ensued and despite searching their host’s reference library the answer could not be found.

It was at that moment that Sir Hugh decided to create a “definitive book containing superlative facts and answers would be of great use to the general public”, and the Guinness Book of World Record was born. The first edition was released in 1955, and has been a stocking-filler staple ever since.

Now called simply “Guinness World Records”, every year the team adjudicate on all manner of weird and wonderful record attempts.

Here, we have rounded up a few of the most unusual records relating to the world of food and drink.  

Most wine glasses held in one hand

Who: Reymond Adina
Where: Spain (Quatre-Gats Restaurant, Barcelona)

“The most wine glasses held in one hand was 39 by Reymond Adina (Philippines) at the Quatre-Gats restaurant in Barcelona, Spain, on 24 October 2007. The number of glasses held in the hand is a matter of pride for Barcelona waiters, and many are adept at carrying dozens of glasses without breaking them.”

Largest hamburger patty

Who: Loran Green

Where: United States

“Loran Green and Friends of Hi Line Promotions made a burger of pure Montana beef weighing 2.74 tonnes (6,040 lb) at the Sleeping Buffalo Resort at Saco, Montana, on 5 September 1999. The hamburger measured 7.32 m (24 ft) in diameter. A crowd of more than 3,500 people gathered to watch the burger cook for about two hours on a specially made 576-square-foot grill. The burger would have cost more than US$7,000 if sold commercially.”

Largest glass of Mojito

Who: 4-Jack’s Bar and Bistro
Where: Dominican Republic (Punta Cana)

“The largest glass of mojito is 3,519 litres (774.07 UK Gal; 929.62 US Gal) and was achieved by 4-Jack’s Bar and Bistro (Dominican Republic) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on 16 April 2016. The mojito consisted of 700 litres of rum, 300 litres of lime juice, 700 litres of soda, 227 kg of sugar, 68 kg of mint and 1,921 kg of ice. President of 4-Jack’s Bar and Bistro, Joel Javier Villalona, wanted a large show of appreciation to all of the 4-Jack’s patrons in Downtown Punta Cana by holding a concert and creating the world’s largest glass of mojito.”

Largest pot of mulled wine

Who: Alessandro de Dea, Fabrizio Vigilante

Where: Italy (Falcade)

“The largest pot of mulled wine is 2034.78 litres and was achieved by Alessandro De Dea and Fabrizio Vigilante (both Italy), in Falcade, Belluno, Italy, on 28 February 2016. Besides red wine and sugar, the mulled wine contained lemon peels, cloves and cinnamon.”

Most Champagne/sparkling wine bottles sabered simultaneously

Who: La Sciabolata dei Momo
Where: Switzerland (Mendrisio)
“The most Champagne bottles sabered simultaneously is 487 and was achieved by La Sciabolata dei Momò (Switzerland), in Mendrisio, Switzerland, on 5 September 2015. 13 participants were disqualified for either failing to completely sabre the bottle or breaking the bottle. The attempt was held to raise money for a local first aid service ‘SAM’ for a better digital communication system. Over 15,000 CHF was raised (over 10,000 GBP).”

Highest beer keg toss (male)

Who: Thor Bjornsson 
Where: Italy (Milan)
“The highest beer keg toss (male) is 8.05 m (26 ft 4.93 in) and was achieved by Thor Björnsson (Iceland) on the set of ‘Lo Show dei Record’ in Milan, Italy, on 11 July 2014. Thor competed against Zydrunas Savickas (Lithuania) for the record. The beer keg weighed 12.32 kg.”

Most beer bottles opened with feet in one minute

Who: Julia Gunthel AKA Zlata

Where: Turkey (Istanbul)

“The most beer bottles opened with feet in one minute using the contortionist elbow stand position is eight and was achieved by Julia Günthel aka Zlata (Germany) on the set of ‘Rekorlar Dunyasi’ in Istanbul, Turkey, on 5 June 2013.”

Largest glass of beer

Who: Ed Dupuy, Angus Wood 
Where: United Kingdom (Halifax) 
“The largest glass of beer contained 2,082 litres (457.99 gal, 550 US gal) of Stod Fold Gold and was produced by Angus Wood and Ed Dupuy of Stod Fold Brewing Company (all UK), in Halifax, UK, on 6 July 2014. The glass measured 2.23 m (7 ft 4 in) tall with a diameter of 1.12 m (3 ft 8 in). It took one hour to fill the glass. It contained 3,664 pints, one for every kilometre of the Tour de France.”

First restaurant with robot waiting staff

Who: Robot Kitchen
Where: China (Hong Kong)
“Robot Kitchen in Hong Kong, China, opened in July 2006. It has two robot staff members capable of taking orders from customers and delivering their meals to them. A third robot is being constructed that should be able to perform simple culinary tasks, such as preparing omelettes and flipping burgers.”

Most consecutive bottle bumps on the elbow (cocktail flairing)

Who: Tom Dyer 

Where: United Kingdom (London)
“Most consecutive bottle bumps on the elbow (cocktail flairing) is 29 and was achieved by Tom Dyer in London on 25 January 2011. Louise Ireland adjudicated. Tom is a world champion cocktail flairer who competes regularly all over the world. He is well known and respected in his field. he also owns his own bar tending school. The school is called “London European Bartender School” and they were using Flair Co bottles.”

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