Albanian artist Saimir Strati glued 229,764 corks of various shapes and colours over a plastic banner measuring 12.94 metres by 7.1 metres to show "Romeo with a crown of grapes playing the guitar while dancing with the sea and the sun".

He worked 14 hours of work a day for 28 days and completed his project.

"It gives me a personal pleasure to declare that Mr. Saimir Strati has set today the new Guinness world record for the largest cork mosaic," Guinness adjudicator Carlos Martinez said.
Albanians have been following Strati's third world record attempt much more closely than his previous two record-breaking pieces of art, a portrait with nails of Leonardo Da Vinci and a galloping horse made with toothpicks.

"I love mosaics, they are a dying genre. I follow the same technique used 3,000 years ago," said Strati. "A mosaic requires you to work for a long time and keep the emotion alive."

"I also wanted to appeal to Mediterranean countries not to create mosaics based on computer pixels, but as our forefathers did. The Mediterranean is the home of the mosaic."

His 25-year-old mosaic collection features one created with fragments of egg shells and a portrait of Elvis Presley, made with compact discs.

The artist did his latest work in a local hotel, where he told visitors: "Drink, because I need the corks."

Grown by Ken Dade in Norfolk, the 65kg (113lbs) vegetable needed two men to carry it to a stand at the National Amateur Gardening Show in Somerset.

The oversized knobbly-skinned marrow was likened to a Doctor Who monster.

But the voluptuous vegetable has entered the Guinness World Records book, beating the previous world title holder by 3kg.

The vegetable is being exhibited at a giant vegetable contest at the Royal Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet at the weekend. Experts said the marrow had benefited from this year's weather resulting in its mammoth size.

Source : BBC.co.uk

JEFF Garland and three of his mates hit the bullseye on the weekend when they broke the world record for the longest darts marathon.

The group played in a specially constructed tent at Erina Fair for 25 hours and 34 minutes, easily beating the previous mark set in England last year by 90 minutes.

Mr Garland said while the group had sore arms they were happy to hold the record and raise money in the process.

"We battled through the rain and the cold but eventually got there. All the boys enjoyed a round of beers when we got home," Mr Garland said.

So far they have raised $4500 for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter service.

Mr Garland's next world record attempt will be as part of a cricket match between two teams made up of local police officers.

This Sunday, Google turns 10 and thousands of Google employees fled to the island of Rhodes for some kind of gathering. In one of their activities, 2.500 Googlers gathered yesterday at Kallipateira athletic venue, in front of the Guinness Record book representatives, to set a new world record in syrtaki, a traditional Greek dance also known as the Zorba. The previous record was held by 1.608 Australians.

Samsung INNOV8 or i8510, which comes with 8MP camera has become a part of an amazing Guinness Vietnam Record with Vietnam local photographer, Hoang Trung Thuy. Together they have succeed to capture and print “the biggest photo captured ever by a mobile phone”. The photo itself has been printed on 86 x 115 cm paper and showed off at the Samsung INNOV8 launch event in Vietnam.

CNet Asia’s representatives, which attended that event, even dare to say that the image quality of INNOV8 is comparable to that from a semi-professional photographer. However, they also added that it would even better if Samsung enhance its INNOV8 camera quality so that it can reach a better result than this.

8MP Mobile Carnival
Aside from this Guinness Record creation, I’ve also found something interesting here; the 8MP camera mobile phone carnival is just about to come. The first 8MP camera that has been officially launched in this year is C905 series from Sony Ericsson. Later, Samsung respond its Japanese-Sweden rival by unveiling its INNOV8 not long after that. And of course, yesterday I’ve just published a preview on LG’s 8MP camera, KC910 series.

Actually, other manufacturer like Motorola has also been rumored to launch its own 8MP camera. The giant Motorola itself has a leaked image in blogosphere on its 8MP series, Moto Alexander! BGR got its images on August 5th this year.

More Mobile Phones Guinnes World Records

It took 14 hours and 31 minutes to set a new, official Guinness World Record™ of 25,944 consecutive strokes and to bring the record back to the United States.

NORTH HAVEN, CT - Identical twin brothers and USPTA certified tennis teaching professionals, Angelo A. and Ettore Rossetti broke the Guinness World Record™ for the longest tennis rally and finished early Sunday morning, August 10 at North Haven Health & Racquet.

Last August 18-19, the brothers had set the U.S. record of 19,490 successful rallies over the span of two days, taking 10 hours and 38 minutes. This year the Rossetti Brothers more than doubled the 7 hours it took for the past world record set in 2005, eclipsing the world record by 1,248 strokes. The previous two records were from the UK and Germany.

The rally was part of USPTA's Tennis Across America which included Cardio Tennis, team clinics, private lessons, fast serve contest and open court time. In addition, it was recognized as an official Lessons for Life fund raiser. These activities are part of USPTA's Tennis for the Health of it, it's theme for 2008. "We are so pleased and excited to be a part of this admirable event," stated Stephen Tagliatela, one of the owners of North Haven Health & Racquet.

Tennis teaching pros Steve Rogers, Steve O'Connell, Paul Coorssen, Al "Skip" South, Bryan Adinolfi, Mike McManus, Paul Brower, and Mike Quitko were on hand to teach the clinics and support the attempt. The event an official Rally for the Cure®, a grassroots partnership between Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Conde Naste Publications.

The head counter this year was Tom Ettorre assisted by his two sons and a volunteer crew of clickers. He coordinated the team of counters throughout the day and evening. Given the duration of the attempt, volunteer counters had to rotate shifts.

During the event, there were fund raisers to benefit charity including a car wash, point-of-a-sale tennis ball donations, tennis lessons and a silent auction. A partial list of auction items included: two signed items by Roger Federer, one signed tennis ball by Andre Agassi, JetBlue airline tickets and Prince tennis racquets, a case of Pro Penn tennis balls and Wolf Blass wine and a Connecticut Sun autographed team jersey.

The Rossettis are still counting the money they raised for charity while they continue to raise money toward their new goal of $25,944 to match the number of strokes they hit in the rally through December 31. "We did our part" said Ettore Rossetti, who also works for Save the Children as Associate Director of Internet Communications and Marketing. Contributions are still being accepted online at RossettBrothersTennis.org. The four charity beneficiaries are: ALS Association, Save the Children, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation.

Said Ettore, we realized Christopher Reeve's quote: "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."

Shortly after 12 a.m. midnight, Angelo said to the fans and supporters "You have given us your shoulders to stand on to reach our dreams", paraphrasing Andre Agassi's retirement speech in 2006.

During this feat of skill and endurance, the twins struck one tennis ball, a Penn 4, continuously in play for 14 hours and 31 minutes without breaks for water, food or the restroom. By the conclusion of the rally, the effort took a toll on the ball as well, which by the end was worn down to its dark brown rubber surface.

Not only did the Rossettis have an answer for the world record but they had answers for the two most commonly asked questions over the past year resulting from last year's attempt. The Rossetti Brothers had a plan of not missing and not having to use the bathroom.

The two questions had inevitably been "How did you go to the bathroom?" and "Who missed?" They aired on the side of dehydration and starvation rather than have to succumb mother nature. As far as not missing, they instructed the counters to tell them when they had an even number of strokes just after midnight. So once the clock showed 12:01 a.m. on Sunday August 10, Angelo let the ball pass without even making an attempt at it, thus preserving the fact that neither Rossetti twin missed a shot.

They each struck the identical number of shots, 12,972, which is apropos since they are identical twins. The twins ultimately displayed the epitome of sportsmanship by showing everyone that it was a team effort and had nothing to do with missing or having one person outdo the other.

Sponsors of the event were: USPTA (United States Professional Tennis Association), Prince racquets, Pro Penn tennis balls, North Haven Health & Racquet club, JetBlue airlines, Pilot Pen Tennis and Wolf Blass wine.

The effort is to honor the late USPTA tennis teaching pro Scott B. Wilson who died of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in July 2005 and to Tim Gullikson who died of brain cancer in May 1996. It is dedicated to survivors and victims of ALS, brain cancer and breast cancer along with the up to 26,000 children who die largely from preventable or treatable causes around the world.

More Related World Records
Sports Guinness world records 2008
Balling Guinness World Records 2008

The Chick-fil-A(R) restaurant at Eastside Market has found a bigger-than-life way to commemorate a relatively little-known holiday, raising eyebrows and thousands of dollars in charitable donations in the process. In recognition of "National Lemonade Day" (Aug. 20), Chick-fil-A franchise Operator Arthur Greeno and his restaurant team members set a new Guinness World Record earlier today by creating an 839-gallon cup of lemonade.

The colossal concoction, created using the recipe for the chain's popular freshly squeezed Chick-fil-A(R) Lemonade, was officially certified late this morning by Guinness Book of World Records representative Danny Girton Jr. during an event held at the restaurant. The record-setting refreshment was mixed in a nearly 1,100-gallon fiberglass cup designed to resemble Chick-fil-A's signature foam cup and contained 1,050 lbs. (2,175 cups) of sugar, 580 gallons of water, 250 lbs. of ice and 11,730 Sunkist(R) lemons that yielded 145 gallons of lemon juice. The beverage was officially recognized as setting a Guinness World Record for the Largest Cup of Soft Drink, eclipsing the previous record held by Rob Greenlee of the Florida Department of Citrus who concocted a 611.18 gallon cup of orange juice on April 22, 1998.

After watching the Olympics, Ivan Zoot of Buffalo Grove no longer could sit on the sidelines.

More than 200 women in Sydney put their best heels forward broke the Guinness World Record for most number of people participating in a stiletto sprint.

The event was held at Circular Quay in downtown Sydney with the Harbour Bridge as a backdrop attracted a large crowd.

265 sole-sisters raced almost the length of a football field. Brittney McGlone, who is also a 400-meter hurdler, came in first place. The 18-year-old was part of a team that went to the 2008 World Junior Championships in Poland.

McGlone won a golden stiletto and prize money.

Michael Jackson turns 50 today and we at Entertainmentwise are celebrating this landmark by bringing you 50 facts you may or may not know about the King of Pop. His crown may have slipped somewhat in recent years, but there's still a lot of love for Jackson around the world.

Skin diseases, child molestation charges, baby dangling and cosmetic surgery aside, there's a lot to celebrate about the man nicknamed Wacko Jacko.

So here's a few facts, stats and figures about Jackson that may have passed you by:


1. Jackson's Billie Jean was the first video by a black artist to air on MTV.

2. Jackson owns the rights to the South Carolina State Anthem South Carolina on My Mind, recorded by Hank Martin and Buzz Arledge.

3. Jackson's waxwork features in five Madame Tussauds museums across the world. Only Elvis Presley and Madonna have more Tussaud figures - they have six each.

4. Jackson's total lifetime earnings from royalties, solo recordings and music videos, revenue from concerts and endorsements have been estimated at $500 million (#271 million).

5. Jackson has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for radio play, located at 1541 Vine Street, and one for recording at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard.

6. Jackson received a Presidential Humanitarian Award from Ronald Reagan in 1984 for his support of charities helping people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.

7. Michael Jackson is the seventh of nine children.

8. Jackson fought fellow 50 year old Madonna on MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch - he lost.

9. Three of Jackson's albums - Bad, Dangerous and Thriller - are among the bestsellers of all time.

10. Thriller remains the biggest-selling album since records began.

11. Jackson has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

12. Jackson wears his trademark black armband to remind fans of the suffering of children around the world.

13. Jackson's favourite superhero is Morph from the X-Men.

14.Jackson picked up his iconic moonwalk moves, which he debuted at the Motown 25th Anniversary show in 1983, from streetdancers he spotted performing outside a hotel.

15. MC Hammer once challenged Jackson to a dance-off. He was told to Beat It. Jackson reportedly responded, "I've seen your videos and every single dance move you use, you got off of me."

16. Little Richard wanted Jackson to play him in a biopic.

17. Bubbles the chimp and Ben the rat are two of Jackson's most famous pets, but he also befriended a ram called Mr Tibbs, a python called Crusher and Louie the llama.

18. An obsessed French Jackson superfan committed suicide in 1984 after his mother refused to allow him to undergo surgery to look like the star.

19. In 1984, a U.S. library accused Jackson of owing it over $1 million in overdue book fines. Officials said they would scrap the fines if he returned the books autographed.

20. Jackson dedicated his 1997 Blood On The Dancefloor album to Sir Elton John.

21. Jackson is a vegetarian.

22. Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 on May 6, 1997. He was inducted as a solo artist on March 19, 2001.

23. Jackson once dated Brooke Shields and Tatum O'Neal.

24. Jackson has several media nicknames. They include The Gloved One, Wacko Jacko, Jacko, The King of Pop, and MJ. Close friends call him Smelly!

25. Jackson's music video for Thriller was voted the greatest music video of all time in a recent Channel 4 (UK) poll.

26. Jackson won an MTV Movie Award for Best Movie Song in 1994 for his song Will You Be There from the movie Free Willy.

27. The Scream music video Jackson made with sister Janet is the most expensive promo ever made, costing more than $7 million (#3.8 million).

28. Jackson's double album HIStory is the biggest selling double album ever released in the U.S.

29. Jackson's Blood on the Dance Floor is the biggest selling re-mix album of all time.

30. Jackson really is a King in West Africa - he was given a royal title by villagers in Gabon, Ivory Coast in 1992.

31. Jackson's pre-concert ritual includes drinking Ricola candy dissolved in hot water. He claims the beverage helps to keep his throat and his singing voice clear.

32. Jackson owns the patent for a stage shoe device that allows performers to lean forward and appear to defy gravity.

33. Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in 1958. The town is planning a tribute museum to the pop superstar.

34. Movie star Macauley Culkin is godfather to Jackson's two eldest children, Paris and Prince Michael.

35. Culkin helped Jackson design the amusement park at his Neverland Valley Ranch home in California.

36. Lisa Marie Presley's former brother-in-law and his wife were the witnesses at her Dominican Republic wedding to Jackson in 1994.

37. Jackson shares the record for the most Grammy Awards won in one year with Carlos Santana and Norah Jones - they each won eight.

38. Jackson co-wrote charity anthem We Are The World with Lionel Richie.

39. Jackson is godfather to Nicole Richie, Bee Gees star Barry Gibb's son Michael, and Oliver star Mark Lester's kids.

40. Jackson and brother Tito were best men at Liza Minnelli and David Gest's wedding.

41. Jackson's performance during the 1993 SuperBowl half-time show drew the largest TV audience in American history.

42. The directors of Jackson's videos have included Martin Scorsese, John Singleton and John Landis.

43. In 1999 Jackson paid $1.5 (#810,000) for the 1939 Best Picture Oscar, which was presented to producer David O. Selznick for Gone With The Wind.

44. Jackson appeared on a postage stamp in the Virgin Islands in the mid-1980s after locals voted him the superstar they'd most like to honour.

45. An extensive 1997 survey declared Jackson was the Most Famous Person in the World.

46. Jackson helped plan neighbour Gregory Peck's funeral.

47. Jackson once described close friend Elizabeth Taylor as "a warm cuddly blanket that I love to snuggle up to and cover myself with.”

48. Jackson provided a voiceover on The Simpsons - but it remained a secret for
12 years. He voiced a character in a mental institution in the Stark Raving Dad episode, which aired in 1991, but, because of a contractual problem, Jackson had to be credited as John Jay Smith. His contribution to the classic cartoon series remained a rumour among fans until The Simpsons creator Matt Groening confirmed it really was Jackson when the episode was released on DVD in 2003.

49. Jackson shares the same birthday as U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who turns 72 today. Other celebrities who share Jackson's birthday include moviemakers Sir Richard Attenborough and William Friedkin, and actresses Rebecca DeMornay and Carla Gugino.

50. Jackson's comeback plans have been scuppered by a new online poll - 71 per cent of 59,000 people voting on website PopEater.com answered `Not a chance' to the question 'Can the King of Pop make a comeback?'

This small northeastern Georgia town's population boom is frightening. In a bid to break a world record for scarecrows and scare up some fun for the fall season, thousands of straw-stuffed newcomers are creeping across town.

There's a scuba diver, the Georgia Bulldogs football team and — of course — the cast of the Wizard of Oz. Even likenesses of Jesus and Elvis popped up.

The 1,700 real residents of Hoschton hope to nearly triple their population with 4,000 scarecrows and break the Guinness World Record for "Most Scarecrows in One Location."
The title belongs to the Cincinnati Horticultural Society's Cincinnati Flower and Farm Fest, which set the record in 2003 with 3,311 scarecrows.

Antique dealer Robbie Bettis and her husband, Fred, are leading the effort for the town's fall festival, which begins Monday.

On Wednesday they watched over an assembly line at an old downtown train depot, where about 20 people passed wooden frames among tables of dingy clothes, yellow milk jugs, plastic grocery bags, old hats, twine, ribbon and other donated materials

"We thought if we gave people something fun to do then maybe they will forget about the difficult economy," she said. "Winning the world record is just a byproduct."

Crows and criminals beware: Two men caught knocking over scarecrows were sentenced to build 25 of them, lest they face trespassing charges, Mayor Bill Copenhaver said.

Hoschton Fall Festival: http://www.hoschtonfallfestival.com/

Habib Miyan played the clarinet in a maharajah's orchestra before retiring 70 years ago.

However, there is much dispute over his actual age. Although he said he was 138 years old, his pension book showed him to be a mere stripling at 129 - and the Guinness Book of Records has been unable to verify his age at all.

Miyan, who lived in Jaipur in western India, had no birth certificate but has collected a state pension for decades. He once worked in the court of the king of Jaipur - Raja Man Singh, where he played in the wind section of the orchestra.

A crowd of thousands attended Miyan's funeral - demonstrating the fame to which he had risen in the state of Rajasthan. He died after suffering fever and dysentery, his niece Munni told reporters.

Miyan sprang to the attention of the world in 1998, when a bank clerk called Rajesh Nagpal decided to look up the records of the venerable old man who had been collecting his pension for as long as anyone could remember.

Six years later he became one of the oldest people to make the pilgrimage to Mecca - a lifelong goal for the devout Muslim.

The visit was exceptional: Miyan, who had been blind for more than 50 years and suffered limited mobility, spent most of his time at home praying and telling stories to his enormous extended family of 140 people.

"If you treat your body well, the body will treat you well," Miyan always said, according to a relative.

Hong Kong pop star Aaron Kwok says he has become a Guinness world record holder for performing on the largest indoor revolving stage.

Kwok celebrated his new title with a press conference on Wednesday in Hong Kong where, in February, he wowed fans by dancing on a 10 by 9.44-meter, 450-degree revolving stage during his De Show Reel tour.

During the show, the stage took Kwok back and forth as it switched vertically and horizontally for as high as 10 meters.

Holding the Guinness certificate, Kwok told reporters that it was a significant moment in his career.

The 42-year-old singer staged 16 shows during the De Show Reel tour between late 2007 and early this year, with attendees totaling 170,000.

He is set to kick off another world tour this Saturday, bringing with him the crew who built the world record stage.

Domino’s Pizza recently announced that the Domino's Pizza located on U.S. 49 in Gulfport, Mississippi, broke three world records on August 2nd when they were offering customers 10-inch pepperoni pizzas for just $2.

Thanks to the support of the thousands of customers who lined up to help the local store to achieve their goal, Domino's franchise, RPM Pizza, ended up breaking not only one, but three world record victories. These were: the number of pizzas sold in a single day (8,125 pizzas), the number of pizzas sold in thirty minutes (518 pizzas) as well as the number of pizzas made in a single hour by an individual.

This record was broken by RPM Pizza store manager, Donnie Rush, who made 142 pizzas - 49 more pizzas than the existing Guinness World Records (TM) holder. Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is one of the world’s leading pizza delivery franchises.

According to the information provided, Domino's operates a network of 8,671 franchised and company-owned stores in the United States and 60 international markets. The Domino's Pizza(R) brand had global retail sales of over $5.4 billion in 2007, comprised of $3.2 billion domestically and $2.2 billion internationally.

With the recent news that Guinness World Records has stripped the "world’s tallest man" of his title, London's Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is offering Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk the chance to reclaim his crown.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, which recently opened in London's Piccadilly Circus, is offering to pay for Stadnyk to come to a gala event on September 3, where Guinness officials will be waiting with a tape measure to see if he can reclaim his crown.

Guinness World Records previously crowned 8 feet 5.5 inch Stadnyk the world's "Tallest Living Man" based on a statement provided by his medical practitioner. New guidelines, however, stipulate all contenders to the Tallest Living Man title must be measured in person by an official Guinness World Records adjudicator. Repeated requests to measure Stadnyk went unanswered, and as a result, Guinness World Records returned the title to China's 7 feet 8.95 inches Bao Xi Shun.

On September 3, the quirky and world famous Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, the global authority on the weird, strange and bizarre, will celebrate the opening of its London attraction with a “red-hot-carpet gala” filled with celebrities and human Believe it or Nots!

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (http://www.ripleyslondon.com/) occupies 24,000 square feet in the heart of London’s West End at 1 Piccadilly Circus and offers a unique mixture of entertainment, education and fun for the entire family and appeals to anyone with a basic sense of curiosity.

About Ripley Entertainment Inc.
Ripley Entertainment Inc. (http://www.ripleys.com/) is a leading global attractions company with annual attendance of more than 13 million. In addition to its 65-plus attractions, the Orlando, Florida-based company has publishing and broadcast divisions that oversee projects including the globally syndicated Believe It or Not! television show, best-selling books and the popular syndicated cartoon strip, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, that still runs daily in 42 countries. Including the newly opened London odditorium, there are now 32 Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museums in operation.

A record-setting 157,574 fans rose to the occasion at this year's Sharpie 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. on Saturday, August 23, as TUMS challenged race attendees to set the Guinness World Record for the world's Largest Audience Wave. A minimum of 110,000 fans were required to participate in the TUMS Wave at Bristol Motor Speedway in order to set the new Guinness World Record.

In addition to setting the record for the most people completing the wave, The TUMS Wave at Bristol Motor Speedway traveled around the stadium grandstands in a record time of 58.07 seconds. While Bristol Motor Speedway is the fastest half-mile track on the Sprint Cup circuit, the newest TUMS product, the TUMS QuikPak instant dissolve powder, goes to work faster than a lap at Bristol or the world record-setting fan wave.

"The TUMS Wave was a great way to show race fans just how quickly TUMS and the TUMS QuikPak can provide speedy heartburn relief," said Brenda Kale, Senior Consumer Promotions Manager at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. "TUMS is committed to ensuring NASCAR fans enjoy their race experience to the fullest and participating in the Guinness World Record attempt guaranteed a memorable day at the race track."

To add to the excitement, TUMS enlisted Jeff Byrd, President and General Manager of Bristol Motor Speedway to give the green flag and lead 157,574 fans in the Guinness World Record-setting wave just before the start of the Sharpie 500. TUMS and its dedicated fans are now record holders alongside notable NASCAR drivers such as Richard Petty (most wins at the Daytona 500), Bobby and Davey Allison (first father/son duo to finish first/second in a race), Kevin Harvick (closest margin of victory at the Daytona 500) and Brendan Gaughn (driver of the world's fastest production truck, the Dodge Ram SRT-10).

Fans who helped set the Guinness World Record can visit http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/ to download the official TUMS Wave certificate. For more information on TUMS Racing, visit http://www.tumsracing.com/.

In celebration of the release of the new MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition game, an estimated 3,361 people joined together on August 27, 2008 at 14:00 GMT to set a new Guinness World Record for the World's Largest Simultaneous Game of MONOPOLY. The final tally of participants is pending verification from Guinness World Records.

MONOPOLY fans in London, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Bogota, Lisbon, Hong Kong, Las Vegas and more than a dozen additional locations, as well as online at http://www.pogo.com/, joined together to contribute to the total World Record participant count and make MONOPOLY history.

In London's Covent Garden, fans gathered to play the game and try the new version of the game available for download on mobile phones. The event in London was broadcast live to fans in Tokyo, where Daisuke Naito, a world boxing champion, joined with fans for the attempt. Fans in Frankfurt used their "Get Out of Jail Free" card during the world record attempt at Old Police Custody Frankfurt. Even Elvis (impersonators) joined in on the fun at the Eiffel Tower
Restaurant at The Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.

In Atlantic City, the birthplace of MONOPOLY, Mr. MONOPOLY threw out the first ceremonial roll as fans played the hometown game on the city's famous Boardwalk. In addition, fans played MONOPOLY on multiple digital platforms, including the Nintendo Wii(TM), online on Pogo.com(TM) and on mobile phones.

"We are pleased that so many fans of the game from around the globe joined with us to celebrate the release of the new World Edition of MONOPOLY by setting a world record," said Helen Martin, Vice President of Global Marketing for MONOPOLY Brand. "We are thrilled with the enthusiasm that people have shown for this historic version of the game."

In early 2008, MONOPOLY fans from around the world voted for the global cities that they would like to see represented on the first-ever world edition game board. After the worldwide vote, MontrA(C)al claimed the most expensive on the new MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition game board. Latvia's national capital, Riga, joins Montreal to round out the dark blue property group. More than 5.6 million votes were cast during the voting period to determine the 22 cities featured on the game board.

The new MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition is now available in stores around the world. Please visit http://www.monopoly.com/ to find out local availability and price.

Fans of the game can play MONOPOLY in a variety of ways that best fit their schedules and lifestyles. Stemming from the strategic alliance between Hasbro and Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS:
Electronic Arts Inc
Last: 48.04+0.80+1.69%4:00pm 08/27/2008Delayed quote data

ERTS 48.04, +0.80, +1.7%) , EA has created digital versions of MONOPOLY which will be available to download onto mobile phones, play free online at Pogo.com(TM) and for console systems including the Nintendo Wii(TM), Xbox 360(TM), PlayStation(R)2 and PLAYSTATION(R)3. The mobile game and online game at Pogo.com(TM) will be available starting September 3, 2008. The console versions of the video game are scheduled to launch October 2008.

Since 1935, more than 250 million copies of the MONOPOLY game have been sold in 103 countries and 37 languages. More than 200 different editions of the game have been published, but the most popular continues to be the classic "Number Nine." Affectionately known by its original product number, "Number Nine" is based on the streets of Atlantic City and is nearly identical to Charles Darrow's original submission to Parker Brothers. The MONOPOLY name and logo, the distinctive design of the game board, the four corner squares, the

MR. MONOPOLY name and the character, as well as each of the distinctive elements of the board and playing pieces are trademarks of Hasbro for its property trading game and game equipment.

Midlands curry king Abdul Salam, who owns a well-known restaurant near Birmingham, is thickly into Indian sauces and now has his own factory to prove it.

Abdul, who won a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s biggest curry in 2005, has branched out into specialist sauce making after 25 years at the helm of his Eastern Eye restaurant in Lichfield.

While his Staffordshire restaurant continues to pull in regulars who have enjoyed Abdul’s exotic dishes for years, his new Masterchef UK factory in Lichfield is pumping out 5,000 jars of paste a week.

Abdul’s Indian restaurant sauces are available at Asian diners throughout the UK and now the Bangladeshi entrepreneur is targeting the mainstream supermarket sector to increase the paste’s profile.

‘I have been working for 37 years in the restaurant trade but running the factory is a totally different world for me,’ he told the Birmingham Mail.

‘Most people in the Indian restaurant market use pastes and curry sauces but I always thought that I could do better than the ones already on the market. At the moment we make eight curry sauces and eight pastes and we are looking to add other products, such as poppadoms, spices and pickles.

‘Since April, we have sold over 180,000 pounds ($333,000) worth of products for use in the UK and we also have orders lined up from Germany, Switzerland, Spain and elsewhere,’ he said.
Abdul’s factory in Eastern Avenue, Lichfield, currently employs around 20 full-time staff and he hopes to increase the workforce to up to 100 depending on demand.

‘I did my homework before launching into the market - I visited India to research the authenticity of spices and also travelled to the Middle East and Africa,’ he added. ‘Our products are now being used by people throughout the UK’s catering sector.’

Abdul has now put his son Mamun in charge of running Eastern Eye while he concentrates on the Masterchef UK business.

Some 1,655 people helped put Bintulu in the Malaysia Book of Records by launching 1,655 kites of all shapes, sizes and colours into the sky here. The feat at the Bintulu airstrip is part of the week-long Borneo International Kite Festival being held in conjunction with Sarawak’s 45th year of independence through the formation of Malaysia.

(Photos : Paavan Solanki - International Kite Flyers, India)

The event also marks the 45th anniversary of the formation of the Bintulu Development Authority.

The feat of having all 1,655 kites in the air was attained at about 3.30pm. People from all walks of life took part in the record-setting achievement.

Children as young as four or five participated in the event, together with families and friends, visitors and tourists.

The 1.5km-long former airport landing pad took on a festive mood, with the sky filled with large and tiny kites patterned after all sorts of things like flowers, cartoon characters and flags.

Malaysia Book of Records committee member Yap Chee Kong said this was the first time that so many kites were flown simultaneously for 20 minutes. Senator Pau Chiong Ung praised Bintulu folks for the feat.

“This sort of event is good for tourism promotion. The initial target was 1,000 kites, but a greater number of people turned up and joined in the record-setting event,” he said.
“We will promote more of such public activities to inculcate greater understanding, friendship and cooperation among people of all races and ages. It lets them do something that is fun together.”

Bintulu, the gas capital of Malaysia, will make the international kite festival an annual tourism event.

Myself Paavan Solanki, one the Indian Kite Flyers participate in the same event Bornio International Kite Festival 2008 for India. Also Participating in Malaysia Book of Records of Most Number of Kite Flying. This is Nice Experience with the event.

Zephyr's reputation as the world's leading solar powered high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has been reinforced with a world-beating three and a half day flight at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

The solar powered plane flew for 82 hours 37 minutes, exceeding the current official world record for unmanned flight which stands at 30 hours 24 minutes set by Global Hawk in 2001 and Zephyr's previous longest flight of 54 hours achieved last year.

The UK Ministry of Defence has funded the development of Zephyr to date and has partnered with the US Department of Defense (DoD) under their Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) Programme - which is designed to move urgently needed technologies rapidly into the hands of US forces in the field. The US DoD funded the demonstration flight under the Programme and this was the first time the two governments have participated in a joint demonstration of a HALE UAV.

JCTD projects are specially tailored to meet the needs of US combatant commands. Zephyr is supported by USCENTCOM, the combatant command with responsibility for Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) for Advanced Systems and Concepts (AS&C) and the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC).

Launched by hand, Zephyr is an ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre aircraft. By day it flies on solar power generated by amorphous silicon solar arrays no thicker than sheets of paper that cover the aircraft's wings. By night it is powered by rechargeable lithium-sulphur batteries, supplied by SION Power Inc, which are recharged during the day using solar power.

The flight trial at Yuma took place between 28 and 31 July in the harsh conditions of the Sonoran Desert in mid summer with temperatures up to 45°C (113°F). Zephyr was flown on autopilot and via satellite communications to a maximum altitude of more than 60,000ft. The trial included a military utility assessment of a US Government communications payload.

Simon Bennett, Managing Director of QinetiQ's Applied Technologies business said: "The Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona was an appropriate setting for Zephyr's world beating flight as many landmark aviation developments have taken place there in recent years. In addition to setting a new unofficial record, the trial is a step towards the delivery of Zephyr's capability for joint, real-time, battlefield persistent surveillance and communications to forces in the field at the earliest opportunity."

Andrew Baird, Director Defence Technology and Innovation Centre, UK MoD said: "MOD is very pleased with the success of the recent trial which demonstrated the potential capability of the technologies in Zephyr. This success has also reinforced the close working relationship between the UK and US on these key technologies."

Potential applications for Zephyr include earth observation and communications relay in support of a range of defence, security and civil requirements.
For More Detail visit : http://www.qinetiq.com/

An official Guinness Book of World Records attempt to display the largest ever protest sign has succeeded. The 530-foot tall and 666-foot wide message is being shouted from the mountaintops overlooking the Democratic National Convention with the leading 2008 protest message.

Depending on their location, thousands of DNC delegates and journalists can look out their hotel windows to the west to see the sign. Sponsored by American RTL Action, the message initially appeared with three enormous 160-foot tall, bright yellow letters, D-N-C, stacked on top of each other.

After those letters suddenly appeared on a mountain just west of Denver, the actual full message of the sign began to unfurl. Three lines of white text, built on the vertical yellow letters read, D-N-C:

Michael Phelps on Sunday broke the record for the most number of gold medals at an individual Olympic Games as he helped the US team win the 4x100m medley relay.

Phelps broke the record previously held by American swimmer Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals in 1972.
The US won in a world record time of 3:29.34, beating their own world record from 2004 by 1.34 seconds.

Silver went to Australia in 3:30.04, who were also under the old best mark, while Japan took bronze in 3:31.18.

It was the 25th world record broken in the Beijing Water Cube at the Olympics and came in the final swim of the swimming competition.

Phelps finally cracked on Sunday when he was presented with a certificate to show that he had won an unprecedented eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

Phelps started crying and sheepishly looked towards he team-mates when the president of the sport's controlling body FINA, Mustapha Larfaoui, gave the 23-year-old the certificate during the medal celebration for the men's 4x100m individual medley, which the US team won in world record time.

The rousing applause he received from the 11,000 spectators in the Beijing Water Cube brought more tears to his eyes and it was only when the US flag was raised and the national anthem played that Phelps composed himself and broke into a broad smile.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games were officially the most-watched U.S. television event of all time with 211 million viewers tuning into NBC and its sister cable channels, according to Nielsen Media Research. (That's 2 million more than the previous record-holder, the 1996 Atlanta Games.)

Here are 10 of the many moments that made the Beijing Games the most strangely wonderful Olympics in recent memory.

The Opening Ceremonies
How I wished I could have seen Bob Costas and Matt Lauer's faces as they chatted awkwardly through the most jaw-dropping spectacle ever televised. If they felt anything like I did -- part scared, part inspired, another part scared -- it's probably best only their voices were on deck. Conceived by beloved Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, the show featured more than 15,000 performers, lasted more than four hours, and was reported to have cost over $100 million. The perfectly robotic movements, stunning precision, and almost eerie perfection of the event mingled to send a single message: China was here, and they meant business.

Michael Phelps does something amazing
It seems odd to choose just one moment from the 2008 Phelps Games, but this one is the stuff of legends. In one of the closest races of Phelps' entire career, he out-touched -- literally -- second-place finisher Milorad Cavic of Serbia by one-hundredth of a second in the 100-meter butterfly. He didn't set a world record this time, but had he not tweaked his usual style and taken an extra stroke, his quest for an Olympics record of eight gold medals would have been over and Mark Spitz wouldn't be crying himself to sleep right now.

Usain Bolt sets new world records in the 200 and 100-meter finals
Sure, he was a little brash and full of himself, but wouldn't you be too? The Jamaican sprinter not only won gold in the men's 200-meter final in a world record time of 19.30, he also set a world record in the 100 meters, running it in a scant 9.69 seconds. Bolt is the first man since Don Quarrie in 1976 to hold both sprint world records at the same time. I'd say that qualifies him for an extra-long victory lap, wouldn't you?

Japanese win the last gold medal ever in Oympics softball
It was one of the biggest upsets in these Olympics -- and any other, really -- when the Japanese defeated the reigning U.S. ladies 3-1 to win the softball gold medal, the last one ever to be awarded for this sport at the games. It has been nixed for 2012 because the Americans had dominated for so long (they had a 22-game wining steak and three consecutive golds), so I wonder: Is there is a do-over rule at the IOC? I love to see these ladies match up again in 2012.

He Kexin wins gold for China on the uneven bars
Eesh, this was a relief. We may never know how old she really is, but seeing China's He Kexin kiss her gold medal after the women's uneven bars final was a rare tender moment for so-young-how-can-she-be-this-good? star gymnast. I definitely have mixed feelings about such young girls being under so much pressure, but seeing this little sprite of a thing make her country proud somehow, for that moment, seemed totally perfect.

Dara Torres wins silver in all her events
Oh, I wished for a gold for this plucky lady. At 41, Torres was the oldest member on the U.S. Olympics swim team and the oldest female swimmer to medal at the Olympics. She won a silver in each of her events: the 50-meter freestyle (where she was beaten by one-hundredth of a second); the 4x100-meter freestyle; and the medley relays. She is also the first swimmer from the U.S. to compete in five Olympics: 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008. Geez, aren't any extra medals left over for honorable mentions?

China's only track star, Liu Xiang, bows out before running his race
It was the moment Liu Xiang's 1.3 billion countrymen had been waiting years for. China's only track and field superstar, he was ready to defend his 110-meter hurdles title at home. But just before the race, he bowed out because of a painful lingering tendon injury. Just like that, his Olympics were over. He left the stadium without speaking to reporters while fans cried in the audience. A more heartbreaking moment in Beijing there was not.

Weightlifter dislocates elbow
It was the stuff of nightmares: While attempting to lift 148 kilograms (326 pounds) in the men's 77-kilogram division (170 pounds), Hungarian weightlifter Janos Baranyai's elbow popped out of its socket like a piece of rubber. The 24-year-old competitor fell to the floor, crying out in pain as I winced at home, thinking "Um, isn't this the main reason most sane people avoid lifting three times their body weight?"

Shawn Johnson wins gold on the beam; Nastia Liukin wins in the women's all-around
Let's face it: Gymnastics is the dessert of the Olympics (and I'm thinking rowing and pretty much any volleyball event are the veggies ... snooze). The first week wasn't kind to the U.S. ladies.gymnastic team as China took home its first team gold. Then came Shawn Johnson: The 4'9" 16-year-old nailed her beam performance and scored gold (a particularly exciting moment as her coach, Liang Qiao, is a native of China). And our salvation didn't end there as 18-year-old Nastia Liukin earned gold for her flawless showing in the women's individual all-around and, officially, won back our hearts.

Swedish Greco-Roman wrestler throws down his bronze medal in protest
If the contest had been for poor sportsmanship, the guy would have clinched it. "I don't care about this medal," Ara Abrahamian told reporters after winning bronze in the semi-finals. "I wanted gold." (His coach said Abrahamian's defeat in the semi-finals was a result of "politics." Shocking!) The Swede, who won silver in Athens in 2004, now faces an official IOC hearing for his tantrum. This was one moment I felt totally free to laugh. Ah, ain't sports grand?

The Albemarle’s Executive Chef has helped speciality egg producer Clarence Court break the Guinness World Record for making the world’s largest Scotch egg.

Lee Streeton (pictured), who heads the restaurant's kitchen within London’s Brown’s Hotel, created the super-sized British snack using a Clarence Court ostrich egg, Gloucester Old Spot sausage meat, haggis and breadcrumbs.

The ostrich egg, weighing 1.7kg, took an hour and a half to boil with the whole cooking process taking a painstaking eight hours. The final product weighed a whopping 6.2kg

Clarence Court Director Lisa Rowe said she gave Streeton the task of cooking “something rather different for The Albemarle carving trolley” to mark the sale of the first Clarence Court ostrich egg.

Streeton added: “As a chef who is passionate about sourcing local ingredients, it has been enormous fun to re-create this much-loved picnic staple and champion a food that has been part of our history for hundreds of years.”

The Scotch egg was first created by Fortnum & Mason in 1738. Brown’s Hotel, owned by Rocco Forte, sources all its eggs from Clarence Court.

Click here to More Records

Hotels World Records

Chefs Guinness Records

London Guinness Book of Records