Records -> Human Body -> Extreme Bodies - 1

1: Loudest Burp

WHO: Paul Hunn
WHAT: 104.9 dB
WHERE: London, UK
WHEN: July 20, 2004

The world's loudest burp measured from a distance of 2.5 m (8ft 2 in) and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high, read 104.9 dB on a certified and calibrated class 1 precision measuring noise level meter, and was achieved by Paul Hunn (UK) at the offices of Guinness World Records, London, UK, on July 20, 2004.

2: Tallest Man

WHO: Pershing Wadlow
WHAT: 2.72 m (8 ft 11 in)
WHERE: Alton, Illinois, USA
WHEN: Last measured on July 15, 1940

The tallest man in medical history for whom there is irrefutable evidence is Robert Pershing Wadlow. He was born at Alton, Illinois, USA, on February 22, 1918, and when he was last measured on June 27, 1940, was found to be 2.72 m (8 ft 11.1 in) tall.

Wadlow died at 1:30 a.m. on July 15, 1940, in a hotel in Manistee, Michigan, as a result of a septic blister on his right ankle caused by a brace, which had been poorly fitted only a week earlier. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Alton, in a coffin measuring 3.28 m (10 ft 9 in) long, 81 cm (32 in) wide and 76 cm (30 in) deep.

Wadlow's greatest recorded weight was 222.71 kg (35 st 1 lb) on his 21st birthday and he weighed 199 kg (31 st 5 lb) at the time of his death. His shoe size was 37AA (47 cm, 18½ in long) and his hands measured 32.4 cm (12¾ in) from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger. He wore a size 25 ring. His arm span was 2.88 m (9 ft 5¾ in) and his peak daily food consumption was 8000 calories.

At the age of nine, he was able to carry his father Harold F. Wadlow, later Mayor of Alton, who stood 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) and weighed 77 kg (170 lb), up the stairs of the family home.

3: Most Pierced Woman

WHO: Elaine Davidson
WHAT: 720 piercings
WHERE: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
WHEN: August 9, 2001

By August 9, 2001, Elaine Davidson, of Edinburgh, Scotland, had a record-breaking total of 720 piercings. She first broke the record in May 2000, when a Guinness World Records official examined her and found 462 piercings on various parts of her body, including 192 on her facial area alone.