The longest hovercraft journey was one of around 8,000 km (5,000 miles), by the British Trans-African Hovercraft Expedition, under the leadership of David Smithers (UK), through eight West African countries in a Winchester class SRN6, between 15 October 1969 and 3 January 1970. David Smithers (FRGS)

The longest continuous journey by mouth controlled motorised wheelchair is 28,000 km (17,398 miles) and was achieved by Chang-Hyun Choi (South Korea) between 10 May 2006 and 6 December 2007. Chang Hyun Choi, who is affected by cerebral palsy and is paralysed from the neck down, travelled at a maximum speed of 13 km/h (8 mph) across 35 countries in Europe and the Middle East.

The location, in 2007, of three German submarines from the second world war scuttled in the Black Sea, has highlighted a remarkable feat of wartime transportation. The submarines, including one U-23 that was originally commanded by Otto Kretschmer (Germany), were located by a Turkish marine engineer, Selçuk Kolay. The route through the Bosporus river to the Black Sea was not open to the Germans during World War II (due to Turkish neutrality), so instead, six submarines belonging to the German Navy’s 30th Flotilla were taken Continue reading →

The longest swing shaft used to successfully complete a 360° rotation in kiiking is 7.02 m (23 ft) by Andrus Aasamäe (Estonia) in Haapsalu, Estonia, on 21 August 2004. Kiiking is a sport in Baltic and Scandinavian countries where the aim is to complete a 360 degree revolution on a swing. The record being based on the length of the shafts for the swing, the longer the better.     

The Roman Empire is considered to have been the most enduring in history. The formal start date of the empire remains the subject of debate, but most historians agree that the clock began ticking in 27 BC, when the Roman politician Octavian overthrew the Roman Republic to become Emperor Augustus. Although Rome later fell to the Germanic “Barbarians” in AD 476, the ensuing “Eastern Empire” based at Constantinople is widely regarded as a continuation of the original Roman one. It wasn’t until the fall of Continue reading →

The longest speech made was one by Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Zulu leader, when he gave an address to the KwaZulu legislative assembly between 12 and 29 Mar 1993. He spoke on 11 of the 18 days, averaging nearly 2½ hours on each of the 11 days.

Longest literary gestation The standard German dictionary Deutsches W”rterbuch was begun by the brothers Grimm (Jacob and Wilhelm, 1785-1863 and 1786-1859 respectively) in 1854 and finished in 1971 and consists of 34,519 pages and 33 volumes. In 1629, the ecclesiastical historian Jean Bolland (1596-1665) began a chronicle of saints’ lives called Acta Sanctorum, following an original idea by the priest H‚ribert Rosweyde. It was arranged according the saints’ feast days; during his lifetime Bolland completed the first two parts, January and February. The work was Continue reading →

The longest migration undergone by any mammal species is that of the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), which migrates up to 8200 km each way when journeying back and forth between its warm breeding waters near the equator and the colder food-rich waters of the arctic and antarctic regions.

The longest marathon playing inline hockey (roller hockey) is 27 hr 00 min 31 sec and was organised by Scorpions Inline Hockey Club (Namibia) at the Paresis Park Inline Hockey Rink in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, from 27-28 September 2013. Otjiwarongo Scorpions took on Team NIIHA in this marathon match, with the Scorpions coming out on top 316-291. The attempt was organised to raise the profile of inline hockey in Namibia.

The longest maritime boundary is that between the Danish dependent territory of Greenland and Canada at 2,697 km 1,676 miles.