Millvina Dean (UK, b. 2 February 1912) was just 69 days old when she travelled third class on the Titanic cruiseliner with her parents and 18-month-old brother. She, along with her mother and brother, all survived when the “unsinkable” ship sank on 14 April 1912, but her father, Bert, was among the 1,517 passengers who perished in the infamous tragedy. Of the 706 passengers who travelled in third class aboard the Titanic, only 178 survived –  75 of the 462 men (16.23%) 76 of the Continue reading →

The longest scream by a crowd is 8 min 45 sec and was achieved by Drayton Manor Theme Park (UK) in Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK, on 12 April 2014.

The largest full drum kit ensemble consisted of 798 participants and was achieved by Richard Prince and Stick it to MS (UK) at EventCity in Manchester, UK, on 15 July 2012. Participants completed two full performances, one led by an in-person conductor and one by metronome.

In January 2001, scientists at Advanced Cell Technologies, Massachsetts, USA announced that they had for the first time successfully grown kidneys using cloning technology. The technique took a DNA-containing nucleus from a single cow skin cell and fused it with a host egg. The egg multiplied into an embryo rich in stem cells. These cells were chemically manipulated to grow into kidney cells, using an artifical kidney-shaped scaffold. Several of these miniature kidneys were grown in this way and transplanted back into the cow, where Continue reading →

The longest pencil measures 323.51 m (1,061 ft 4.59 in) and was created by Ed Douglas Miller (UK) and was measured in Worcester, Worcestershire, on 17 September 2013.

The longest working career as a writer and presenter of TV nature programmes belongs to Sir David Attenborough (UK), whose first series, Zoo Quest (BBC), was broadcast in 1954. He was seen most recently presenting the BBC1’s Life of Mammals, broadcast in the UK from December 2002 – January 2003 and Frozen Planet, scheduled for 2011. Other famous TV credits are: Life on Earth (1979), The living Planet (1984), The Private Life of Plants (1995) and The Blue Planet (2001).

The fastest crossing of the English Channel by a single canoe/kayak is 2 hr 28 min by Paul Wycherley (UK) between Dover Harbour, Dover, UK and Cap Griz Nez, France, on 2 October 2011 Paul started about 100 yards out from Dover Harbour Beach and arrived at Cap Griz in France – Paul did not leave his kayak but crossed the line which the Channel crossing association were happy with. A loud horn was sounded at the start and finish. Attached is the GPS route Continue reading →

The longest french knitting measures 26.33 km (16.36 miles) and was created by Edward Hannaford (UK) in Sittingbourne, UK, on 28 October 2011. Edward worked on the french knitting since 1989 and he is still continuing to make it longer.

The fastest 100 x 100m relay is 1 hour 29 minutes 3 seconds and was achieved by Swim4Leukaemia (UK), at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, UK, on 1 February 2014.