The Guinness Book of World Records, born from the modest concept of the Guinness Brewery's Managing Director Sir Hugh Beaver in the 1950s, when the now famous Guinness founder attended a shooting party where he and his hosts argued about the fastest game bird in Europe and failed to find an answer, continues to fascinate people around the world, chronicling the gold standards of human ability in addition to anomalies.
Turkey and its citizens hold upwards of 80 records in the Guinness Book of World Records, immortalized in the record books for everything from producing the first coin, the oldest bridge, the first female pilot and even being the first pirates. Now, Turkey has once again topped the list with the world's tallest man, the longest nose and the most ironed pieces of clothing in 43 hours.
Tall people, long noses
A part-time farmer from Ankara named Sultan Kösen is still on record for being the tallest man alive. Measuring 251 centimeters (8 feet, 2.8 inches) in Turkey on Feb. 8, 2011, Kösen acknowledges that there are advantages to being tall. He says one of the perks of his height is being able to help his mother out with jobs such as changing broken light bulbs and hanging curtains. Although Kösen has gained the title as the "Tallest Living Man," he previously held the record for having the largest feet and the largest hands on a living person, with his left foot measuring 36.5 centimeters (1 foot, 2 inches) and each of his hands measuring 28.5 centimeters (11.22 inches) from wrist to the tip of the middle finger. Like every young man, Kösen enjoys listening to music, playing computer games, watching movies and, of course, occasionally breaking the Guinness World Records.
Turkey also holds the title for having the "Tallest Female Teenager" in the world with Rümeysa Gelgi, who hails from Safranbolu and has a standing height of 213.6 centimeters (7 feet). Another noteworthy record concerns Mehmet Özyürek, a man hailing from Artvin who holds the record for having the "Longest Nose on a Living Person" at 8.8 centimeters (3.46 inches), as measured in March 2010.
Strong, fast and furious
In 2015, 58-year-old Ali Bahçetepe received two separate world titles for breaking concrete blocks with his bare hands. Bahçetepe broke his own record of 36 concrete blocks and broke 37. Bahçetepe gifted his record to the soldiers who died in the Battle of Gallipoli on March 18, 1915. He also stated, "I have broken many records before and I will break more records in the name of our sacred national victories."
Turkey also made an unlikely accomplishment; ironing 466 pieces of clothing in 43 hours, breaking a record for one of the most dreaded household chores. Kemal Gökgül from Ankara sat down on April 4 in a shopping center in Istanbul and started ironing to break the world record. By
April 6, he had completed 43 hours of non-stop ironing and became the world record holder. Gökgül stated that he did not practice to break the record, but merely owes the feat to his sleep-resistant tendencies. Gökgül also went on to say that the record itself does not mean anything to him personally but that it is a way for Turkey to be recognized. He also said that he plans on breaking his own record in the feature. Let's just hope the pieces of clothing he's ironing belong to his wife.
Famous Turkish singer and songwriter Metin Şentürk entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest blind driver. In 2010,Şentürk took the Ferrari steering wheel once again and broke the record of Mike Newman, formerly the "Fastest English Blind Driver,"by driving 292.89 kilometers an hour at the Şanlıurfa GAP airport. Şentürk shed tears of joy upon his achievement and said, "Now even Turkish Airlines is slower than me!" He went on to say that no one will be able to take back the record, and that he will break it once again if they do. Talk about fast and furious.
Knitting and a little bling-bling
Ingenuity in Turkey is no issue, and knitting and bedazzling is a breeze when it comes to the hard-working, skillful women of Turkey. A 30-day knitting event organized by the Bayrampaşa Municipality had 45 people knit a jumper measuring 45 meters in length and 18 meters in width, earning them a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
In a separate feat, Özen Gelinlik Moda, a bridal store in Istanbul's Bağcılar district, set a record with a wedding dress featuring 45,026 Swarovski crystals, which took a total of five days to complete through group effort. That's one lucky bride.
Bread and breakfast
As of 2000, the country with the "largest per capita consumption of bread" is Turkey, with 199.6 kilograms (440 pounds) consumed per person. Turkish people eat more than three times their own body weight in bread annually. Due to the Turks' affinity for doughy carbs, it should come as no surprise that Turkey also holds the record for the "largest serving of pastry," when a whopping 39,550 pastries were made in Bursa divided from a mega 2,023-meter-long cheese pastry.
Turkey also holds the record for the number of attendees at the "largest full breakfast" held in 2014. A staggering 51,793 participants enjoyed a breakfast offered by the Van Chamber of Trade and Commerce. Turkey also holds the record for the largest iftar dinner at multiple venues, when 20,715 participants in 81 different cities took part in an iftar dinner organized by Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. in August 2012.
Bass notes and kebabs
A Turk named Alpaslan Durmuş not only sings the loudest vocal bass note at 117 Decibel C, but he also boasts the longest continuous vocal note held for 1.52 minutes, setting two records in February of last year.
Last year as well, a fashion show for the famous Turkish designer Cemil Ipekçi also garnered Turkey the "longest catwalk" record with a walkway set up in the capital's Kent Park Shopping Mall that that measured 2,069.17 meters (6,788 feet and 7.4 inches).
So far this year, Turkey has already earned another record with Mehmet Kaya breaking a record for preparing the largest number of small skewered meat kebabs, also known as "çöp şiş" in Turkish, with 180,000 skewers. Kaya conducts kebab eating competitions in his restaurant in Denizli, which has quickly seen increased recognition since his record-breaking success.
