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Longest driven journey

As of 3 March 2012, Emil and Liliana Schmid (Switzerland) have covered 665,712 km (413,653 miles) in their Toyota Land Cruiser since 16 October 1984, crossing 172 countries and territories in the process. The Schmid’s were only able to travel through four more countries in 2009 due to the time it took to get permits and cover the cost of freights. Although the Schmids have returned to Switzerland for short periods several times over the course of their adventure, they have no permanent home there Continue reading →

Highest bridge deck

The deck of the suspension bridge over the Si Du River in Badong County, Hubei, China, is situated 496 m (1,627 ft) above the valley – more than high enough to accommodate the Empire State Building beneath it. The bridge was opened to traffic on 15 November 2009. When the bridge was being constructed, the first suspension cable to be secured was fired across the 500-m-wide (1,600-ft) valley, rather than flown across by helicopter making it the first suspension-bridge cable placed using a rocket.

Most people applying lipstick

The most people applying lipstick simultaneously is 1,002 and was achieved by Ésika in an event organized by Impact Producciones in Centro Comercial Tamanaco, Caracas, Venezuela on 19 August 2012. Ésika is a make up and perfume brand, part of Cooporación Belcorp which is active in 17 countries almost all in Latin America. The event was to celbrate 15 years in Venezuela and launch a new perfume product, during the event the women also sprayed perfume after putting on lipstick. All the participants were women Continue reading →

Most people attending a business speed networking event – single venue

The most people attending a business speed networking event is 475 participants at an event organised by the Australian Institute of Management Queensland (Australia) at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino, in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, on 17 October 2013. Split into five large groups, the networkers had 21 meetings each in order to allow for the fact that there may be an odd number of participants. This ensured all participants had at least 20 meetings.

Most expensive wine sold at auction

The most expensive bottle of wine sold at auction is £192,000 ($304,375), which was paid for a bottle of 1947 French Cheval-Blanc, and sold at Christie’s, Geneva, Switzerland on 16 November 2010. The bottle was sold to a private collector smashing the previous estimates. The wine is of Bordeaux variety.

Most expensive musical instrument sold at auction

The most expensive musical instrument sold at auction is the ‘Lady Blunt’ Stradivarius violin and was sold at £9,808,000 ($15,875,800) by Tarisio Auctions (USA) in London, UK, on 20 June 2011. The auction was organised online on behalf of the Nippon Music Foundation and the proceeds went to the Northeastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. The authenticity of the violin was certified by the firm W.E. Hill & Sons.

Most expensive letter sold at auction

The most expensive letter sold at auction was sold for US$6,098,500 (£3,964,025; 4,634,860€) on 10 April 2013 by Christie’s, New York, USA, for a letter written by Francis Crick in 1953 to his son Michael Crick, outlining the revolutionary discovery of the structure and function of DNA. In the seven-page handwritten letter ‘Secret Of Life to his 12-year-old son, Francis Crick describes his discovery of the structure of DNA as something “beautiful”. It includes a simple sketch of DNA’s double helix structure. The letter was Continue reading →

Longest surviving artificial heart transplant patient

Peter Houghton (UK, 1938–2007) was implanted with a Jarvik 2000 heart pump at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK, on 20 June 2000 due to severe heart failure. Since the operation, the left ventricular assist device has worked continuously supporting his heart, breaking the previous duration record on 11 August 2004 at 1,513 days.He died 25 November 2007 from multiple organ failure. Death reported on BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7125387.stm The Jarvik 2000 is an artificial heart. Peter was the first person in the world to be Continue reading →