okay... I thought we'd take a look today at some of the weirder world records currently being held by Japan that do not involve sex. Sorry. Maybe in another blog.
- The world's largest model of a human organ: Not a musical instrument, but the lungs. This educational model stands an impressive 16'-5" (5.02 meters) tall and 18'-11" (5.78 meters) wide. It was the brainchild of Pfizer Japan Inc. - the pharmaceutical giant manufacturer and is located at Ario Sapporo, Sapporo, Hokkaido in Japan, first revealed back on October 2, 2010. It was built depicting a healthy lung on the left (facing) and a smoker's lung on the other to demonstrate the hazards of smoking. It is made of PVC, also known as polyvinyl chloride. I believe it is set up to show the effectiveness of the healthy lung and the unhealthy lung in its use of oxygen and blood. As we all know lungs transport oxygen from the air we breathe in to our bloodstream, and upon exhaling, the lungs have converted carbon dioxide from the bloodstream back out into the air. At least I hope I got that right!
- Most consecutive #1 singles: No, not my dating life prior to Japan, but rather some strange record involving a musical group called the KinKi Kids who in June of 2011 reached their 31st consecutive single to hit #1. Now this is on the Japanese music chart, and not on Billboard... still, it's a somewhat impressive achievement considering their first single to hit #1 occurred back in July of 1997, 14 years ago. Ommigawd... they are the KKK! The KinKi Kids are a duo (the two lads in the photo on the right): Domoto Koichi and Domoto Tsuyoshi (surname first). While they have the same surname, they are not related. However... they are both from Japan's Kinki/Kansai region, which explains their name if not the fact that it sounds kinky.
- Most full-contact punch strikes in one minute: A strange record, yet one that denotes the speed and accuracy of female boxer Miyao Ayaka (surname first) who was born on August 29, 1983 in Nagano, Japan. Standing a mere 5'-0" (1.53 meters) tall, the cherry bomb dynamo made 556 punches in 60 seconds. Holy crap that's fast! That's 9.267 punched every second. She actually did this record on a television show called 100 Beautiful Women Who Have Guinness World Records, and did so by beating out three other international competitors. Obviously for the human eye to see all of those punches is impossible, but her record was verified via slow-motion camera. Currently ranked 6th in Japan and 23 in the world, this beautiful bomber holds and 11 W (1KO), 5L (2KO) and 1 Draw record. That's her on the left beating the crap out of an opponent.
- Largest gathering of dogs in attired costume: Who knew there was even a record for something like this? Apparently Guinness World Records did. On May 14, 2011, 603 poor dogs were dressed up in clothing and gathered with their proud owners at the Roppongi Hills Arena in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Most of the dogs in attendance were of the smaller variety--like miniature Daschunds and Toy Poodles. No kidding! Do not dress up your big dog! I once attempted to put a Toronto Maple Leafs NHL hockey sweater on one of my then three Rottweilers, Blackjack... he attempted to rip my face off (hence the mask I wear as my photo at the top of this blog!). Who knew he wasn't a Leafs fan, and preferred their arch-rival Montreal Canadiens (who suck!)? The event wasn't only about people torturing their pets--this event included a charity auction to raise money for pets displaced by the March 11, 2011 9.0 Magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami. The Japanese world record completely eclipsed the old record set a year earlier in the USA when only 208 dogs were abused in this silly excuse for a world record.
- Steepest rollercoaster made from steel: This record is just plain sick. The Takabisha rollercoaster at Fujikyu Highland Amusement Park in Fujiyoshida-shi (Fujiyoshida City) in Yamanashi-ken (Yamanashi Prefecture), Japan. Featuring a stomach dropping decline of 121 degree over 11'-2" (3.4 meters), it first began making people sick on July 8, 2011 before they even rode it. It has an over-vertical section of 121 degrees, which is just one of seven big drops in the 2-minute 40-second barf-inducing ride of your life. If you look closely, you can see Mt. Fuji in the background covered in vomit.
- Most Twitter tweets per second: This record was achieved during the historic 2011 Women's World Cup of soccer when Japan defeated the United States of America in the Finals via a penalty shootout. This was one of the best soccer matches I had ever seen and Japan came through with a plucky victory that not only surprised your humble author but probably most of the world, too. Twitter, also must have been surprised, as the tweets were going nuts during and after the match scoring a landslide 7,196 tweets per second (TPS) on July 27, 2011. Japan and the USA were deadlocked at 2-2 before Japan won it 3-1 on penalty kicks.U.S. President Barack Obama also is reported to have tweeted on the match. And, to prove the soccer is indeed the world's most popular sport, it also holds down the number two mark in tweets per second on Twitter at 7,166 during a match between Brazil and Paraguay during a Copa America quarter final. The previous high was 6,939 TPS that occurred on New Year's Eve December 31, 2010 in Japan (of course). As a point of reference, the March 11, 2011 earthquake that hit the northeast coast of Japan garnered 5,530 TPS, the 2011 Superbowl football game got 4,064 TPS, and the idyllic wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William peaked at 3,996 TPS.
- Heaviest largemouth bass: This one kicks bass. On July 2, 2009, Kurita Manabu (surname first) hooked a 22-pound 4-ounce female largemouth bass from Japan's largest lake, Lake Biwa. What's astounding is that this record actually ties what the sportsfishing world calls its 'Holy Grail' of records that was originally set 77 year's ago by George Perry of Georgia, USA when he pulled his fish from Georgia's Montgomery Lake on June 2, 1932. Kurita—who is from Aichi, Japan actually broke the record, as his initial weighing of the fish came in at 22 lb 5 oz. However, according to rules and regulations stipulated by the International Game Fish Association’s (IGFA), a record must be broken by a minimum of two ounces. But don't cry for Kurita, a proper measurement of the behemouth with certified scaled shows the bass at 22 lb-4 oz (10.12 kilograms) with a length of 27.2 inches and a girth of 26.7 inches. What is interesting to not, is that most members of the IGFA were surprised that Japan had fish anywhere like that, as the USA is considered the kingdom of the bass. Okay, I was surprised too. Bass in Japan? Lake Biwa is an old reservoir located northeast of Kyoto. For those of you who are interested, Kurita used a Deps Sidewinder rod and a Shimano Antares DC7LV reel loaded with 25 lb Toray line when he pitched his bait, a live bluegill, next to a bridge piling. It was Kurita’s first cast to the piling where he had seen a big bass swimming. He only twitched the bait twice the bait was taken. After a short, three minute fight he had the fish in the boat.Oh... and the record was only officially recognized six months after landing the fish. But it gets better. Because Americans all over America (IE the World) could not believe that their Holy Grail record could be beaten in Japan (we kicked their ass back in double-ya double ya two) they said that Kurita must have cheated somehow. So... even after getting all of theproper documentation from the IGFA’s sister association, the Japan Game Fish Association (JGFA), they had Kurita take a polygraph (lie detector) test. But apparently because fishermen are known liars, the IGFA reserves the right to employ polygraph analyses to any record application, and this is explicitly stated in the affidavit section of the world record application form. Kurita was examined on December 15, 2009 and after passing with flying colours, he was officially acknowledged as equaling the record for fishing the largest largemouth bass on January 8, 2010. Should you wish to check out some more of the IGFA All-Tackle records, click HERE. As an aside, bass are not native to Japan - they are stocked. Japan's fisheries officials call it an invasive species that have adapted well to Japan's cool, deep lakes.
- Longest timed flight of paper airplane: Who knew there were people involved in competitive paper airplane flying? Apparently having a flight of 20-seconds is considered exceptional, 25-seconds or better is world-class. Uh-huh. Japan's Toda Takuo (surname first) has come close to reaching the 30-second mark... setting the world record at an astounding 27.9 seconds. Of course, this paper plane had tape on it. His other record for an all-paper, non-tape plane was done flying a 10-centimeter long plane that flew for 26.1 seconds. "I felt a lot of pressure," he notes after his paper airplane fly-off at a Japan Airlines hangar near Tokyo's Haneda Airport. "Everything is a factor – the moisture in the air, the temperature, the crowd." The crowd? Okay. Toda, an engineer, is the head of the Japan Origami Airplane Association and is virtually unmatched in his ability to fold paper aircraft. In keeping with traditional rules of the ancient Japanese art of origami, he uses only one sheet of paper, which he does not cut or paste. Apparently tape is allowed by Guinness World Records, but he chose not to use tape to better follow the rules of origami (the Japanese art of paper folding). His paper-only record was 'captured' on the video seen HERE. It also shows some terrible camera work - perhaps also a world record for worst camera work ever. Along with breaking the 30-second barrier, Toda said his next goal is to launch a paper airplane from space. With funding from Japan's space agency, JAXA, Toda and a team of scientists have designed a plane they believe can withstand the intense heat of re-entry. One of Toda's designs was scheduled to be released from the International Space Station, but that plan fell through in part because of problems with devising a means of tracking the planes as they fell back to Earth. Toda and his colleagues are currently trying to interest Chinese or Russian space officials in reviving the idea.
