Not to brag but...we've broken some records.
9. LARGEST HORSESHOE
Who: Kentucky Derby Museum
Record Set: 6 ft. 9.1 in. wide and 6 ft. 11.8 in. high
When: September 9, 2015
Why: Created in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the museum, the world’s largest horseshoe was cast by Eagle Sign & Design Inc. The shoe replicates the shoes worn by horse racing legend Secretariat. Secretariat’s owner, Penny Chenery, was present for the unveiling of the giant shoe. “The concept of this huge shoe represents the power and the strength of horses,” Chenery tells the museum.
Image: derbymuseum.org
8. LARGEST GATHERING OF PEOPLE WEARING SWEATBANDS
Who: Humana
Record Set: 4,673 people
When: October 26, 2014
Where: Waterfront Park
Why: In an attempt to break the world record for “Largest Human Awareness Ribbon,” Humana donned pink headbands in honor of breast cancer awareness month. Despite the group falling short on their intended record, they still managed to rocket to the top in the sweatband category. Lose a penny, find a penny?
Image: Sherri Brindle
7. FASTEST TIME TO EAT THREE CAROLINA REAPER CHILI PEPPERS
Who: Jason McNabb
Record Set: 10.95 seconds
When: September 18, 2014
Where: Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina on Shelbyville Road
Why: Apparently, it never gets too hot for this Louisville dentist. Aside from this record, he holds two others not set in Louisville: the most Bhut Jolokia chili peppers—also known as ghost peppers—eaten in two minutes (66 grams in Los Angeles, California), and the fastest time to eat three Bhut Jolokia chili peppers (16.15 seconds in Milan, Italy). McNabb is most proud of his speedy record in Los Angeles. “It was crazy, I’d never done anything like that,” said McNabb. For those looking to break records of their own, he has some advice to offer: “If you’re trying to break a world record, I say go for it. If you’re trying to do something crazy like eat the most ghost peppers, I say don’t try it at home, it can be pretty painful. But there are records for all types of people.” Personally, he’s not planning to break anymore right now, but he wouldn’t say no “if the opportunity arises.” After all: “There’s a few more pepper records out there!”
Image: Salsarita's
6. LARGEST 4K SCREEN AT A VIDEOGAME COMPETITION
Who: NVIDIA
Record Set: 5,224 ft²
When: September 9, 2014
Where: Churchill Downs
Why: Though the record was set in Louisville, it was not set by Louisvillians (which somehow seems like cheating, but I digress). In a private gaming matchup, Justin Munoz of San Francisco and Tom Lounsbury of Arkansas played “Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel” on not just a big screen, but the biggest screen. According to an NVDIA video recording the event, the two were led onto the field blind-folded and not told what they were about to do. “I guess we’re about to ride horses?” Lounsbury asked upon regaining his vision. Though he might not have fared so well on the track, he managed to beat Munoz in the digital world and help set a world record.
5. LARGEST ARCHERY TOURNAMENT
Who: National Archery in the Schools Program
Record Set: 9,426 participants
When: May 1, 2013
Where: Kentucky State Fair and Exposition Center
Why: Apparently, archery is a pretty popular sport.
4. FASTEST SWIM UNDERWATER 50 METERS IN A 25 METER POOL
Who: Jordan Proffitt
Record Set: 27.86 seconds
When: November 18, 2012
Where: University of Louisville Ralph Wright Natatorium
Why: Decorated with many other swimming wins, this is Proffitt’s only Guinness World Record. According to a Facebook comment posted after setting the record, he “trained about a total of an hour. Did this pretty much [cold] turkey.” I guess he just kept swimming.
3. LARGEST TAPE BALL
Who: Portland Promise Center
Record Set: 2,000 lb. ball with a 12' 9" circumference.
When: May 6, 2011
Where: Faulkner Art Gallery
Why: Layer upon layer of duct tape, electrical tape, masking tape, Gaffer's tape, packing tape, foil tape and athletic tape were used to create this monstrosity. “We wanted to come up with a creative way to raise awareness of the Portland Promise Center, and raise some money to help fund us,” said Angel Gustavision in a WHAS11 interview. “I don’t know if I can give you a specific reason why a tape ball,” said Drew Watkins, a Portland Promise Center volunteer who really helped lead the record-breaking charge, in an email exchange. “Another one of our youth first came up with the idea and it just seemed like a fun idea. When I began to research the previous record, something around 1,800 pounds by someone in Canada, I thought we could beat it.” The first bunch tape was donated from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and TapeBrothers.com in Florida later donated “several pallets.” As the ball grew, people could pay one dollar to put their own piece of tape own. Watkins and the Portland Promise Center ended up raising over $2,000 and a lot of awareness with their giant ball of tape.
Image: Drew Watkins
2. FIRST SELF-CONTAINED MECHANICAL HEART IMPLANT
Who: University of Louisville Doctors Laman A. Gray, Jr. and Robert D. Dowling
Record Set: An artificial heart, known as the AbioCor, was made from a metal and plastic motorized hydraulic pump. It was used in a heart implant for an unnamed patient in a seven-hour surgery. They were the first to do this. EVER.
When: July 2, 2001
Where: Jewish Hospital
Why: Because it seemed like a beautiful day to save lives.
1. LARGEST REPLICA BASEBALL BAT
Who: Hillerich Bradsby
Record Set: 120 feet tall, 68,000 lbs
When: January 1, 1995
Where: , now stands outside the Louisville Slugger Museum
Why: Manufactured by Hillerich Bradsby, the replica bat was modeled after the R43 bat used by baseball legend Babe Ruth (you might have heard of him). In 1927, Ruth walked into the Hillerich Bradsby factory and casually requested they make him some bats. That same year, he just as casually hit his (at the time) PR of 60 home runs with those very bats.
Image: Louisville Slugger
LET’S GO TO THE JUDGES:
Joyce Samuels blew the largest bubblegum bubble in 2000, but her world record has a twist: she used her nose. The bubble had a diameter of 11 inches. Though Samuels is a Louisville native, her record-breaking feat was performed on the set of "Guinness World Records: Primetime" in Los Angeles. This is why you always blow bubbles at home.
HAD ‘EM AND LOST ‘EM:
Louisville’s YMCA hosted an event at Louisville Slugger Field where the most people ever to hop on one leg simultaneously (there were 674) was recorded on April 26 2015. Unfortunately, we remained on top of the leg-hopping game for only a few short months, since Sinai Jewish Primary School later stole the top prize on July 23 with 691 people.
AT LEAST WE TRIED…
On Sunday, December 6th, "Christmas at the Galt House" attempted (once again) to break the Guinness world record for 1,763 people dressed as elves (originally set in 2014 from Bangkok). Elfin requirements include red or green clothing, pointy ears and an elf hat. In 2014, the Galt House gathered about 700 fair folk, but this year, only a little less than 650 elves showed up. “We thought with the weekend we would get more, we did get more families, in but we fell short with downtown employees,” said the Galt House’s media contact Amanda Lambert.
WAIT, WHAT?
During the USA’s Jane Austen Festival in the summer of 2014, local and national enthusiasts for the author teamed up to try to break the Guinness World Record for number of people in Regency attire. Here’s where it gets confusing: though the Courier Journal reports that the United States won the gold with 491 participants, the Guinness Book of World Records website still has the Brits’ 2009 attempt as the record holder with 409 people. Curiouser and curiouser…
