Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Dangers of a record-breaking, sleep-skipping stunt

In 1963, 17-year-old Randy Gardner decided to stay awake for as long as it took to break the current world record. He managed to stay awake for 11 days. In 2017, the then-71-year-old Gardner told NPR that his experience had come back to haunt him as insomnia. The challenge has since been removed from the Guinness Book of World Records due to its dangerous consequences.

A deep dive into the lives of Guinness World Record addicts

Most people don't hold any world records. Then, there's this group of adventurers, who are racing to own the most. A look at the ambitious world record pursuers racking up hundreds of accomplishments.

Unlike hot air balloons lifted for hours by heating air, NASA's scientific balloons use helium to lift payloads of up to 3,600 kilograms (8,000 pounds) for up to six weeks at a time.

Read about the longest wheelchair wheelie and other feats in the Guinness Book of World Record's adaptive section.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon.

The "Balloon Boy" event received coverage from news outlets, and a search began after his parents claimed he was trapped inside his balloon. Later that day, the boy emerged from his attic where he had been hiding the whole time. His parents were later accused of orchestrating a hoax.

Lee Spencer, a single-leg amputee, broke the world record when he rowed solo and unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean in 2019.

Why Guinness stopped giving these world records

It's all fun until someone gets hurt. Here's an explainer on why Guinness, the world's official purveyor of superlative records, won't officiate certain events.

A day in the life of a Guinness World Record judge

Philip Robertson travels the world each week to see another ambitious person set a record. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at being one of Guinness World Record's adjudicators.

Watch a YouTuber solve a Rubik's Cube while in free fall

He broke a world record, completing the task in the sky in just 23.333 seconds.

How Guinness World Records has pivoted to a publicity business

Now that Guinness World Records gets paid to host record-breaking events, is there a conflict of interest? Here's a look at the worldwide record keeping business's pivot toward publicity.

Roger Bannister was the first person to break the 4-minute mile, a feat he accomplished while he was enrolled in medical school.

Guinness World Records was founded to settle drunken arguments

In the early 1950s, Hugh Beaver, Managing Director for Guinness Brewing, pitched a definitive record book as a way to resolve drunken arguments in pubs. In turn, the books would promote Guinness at the local watering hole.

The most fireworks launched from a pyrotechnics suit is 642

Frenchman Laurent Nat, a pyrotechnics artist and performer with over 10 years of experience, set the world record on June 13, 2014. The suit, inspired by clothes worn by professional firefighters, is made out of 100% cotton and incorporates stilts to allow fireworks to be fired in all directions.

Eliud Kipchoge broke the 2-hour mark in a 2019 exhibition

In 2019, Kenya's Kipchoge ran 1:59:40.2, though it was part of an exhibition that included numerous aids—including elite runners cutting his wind and a laser marking the necessary pace—not permitted in officially sanctioned events. As such, it is not eligible for the world record.

Ashrita Furman, owner of over 600 world records

What does it take to break so many world records? Hardcore spiritual discipline, at least according to Ashrita Furman, who was trained by an ascetic teacher to do challenging things. Read up on his accomplishments in this photo essay.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Watch Kipchoge break 2 hours in the marathon

The feat was once considered impossible, but one of the world's greatest marathoners got to work (with the help of a team of scientists and some of the world's most elite distance runners) to break that boundary in Vienna in 2019. The final stretch of the run is an emotional moment for Kipchoge, who doesn't even appear to be winded.

One Falls daredevil once made breakfast while tightrope walking over the gorge

In 1859, tightrope walker Jean François “The Great Blondin” stunned crowds by cooking and serving an omelet mid-walk across the Niagara Gorge.

Stratospheric balloons: a visual guide

In late January 2023, a Chinese high-altitude balloon, believed to be for surveillance purposes, traversed the US and caused a diplomatic stir. The technology itself is established—though typically used for atmospheric measurements. This visual...

The Adidas shoes that helped break the marathon's 2-hour barrier

Two men broke the two-hour mark at the 2026 London Marathon, a feat previously unofficially achieved only by Eliud Kipchoge, thanks to a number of aides not permitted in an official race. Both men who broke the two-hour barrier in London wore the same shoe, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, a new model that weighs just over three ounces.

How specialized oxygen mixtures like heliox enable deep diving without feeling drunk

Beyond a depth of about 30 meters (98 feet), if divers are breathing surface air, which is about 78% nitrogen, underwater pressure forces more nitrogen into the bloodstream and induces nitrogen narcosis, whose symptoms resemble alcohol intoxication. Through saturation diving, where nitrogen is replaced with helium—an inert gas—deep divers can maintain cognitive function while working for extended periods.

Dr. Henry Heimlich, famous for his antichoking technique from the 1970s, was a proponent of controversial and discredited approaches, including infecting cancer and HIV patients with malaria to try to trigger a heightened immune response.

Spy balloons. UFOs. What else is up there?

The appearance and downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon brought the concept of high-altitude floating aircraft into the public consciousness. While sparking a diplomatic row, it also revealed how many objects—nefarious or benign—are...

With no textbooks or antibiotics, this WWI surgeon pioneered facial reconstruction

New Zealand surgeon Dr. Harold Gillies made extraordinary advances in the field of reconstructive surgery during World War I and after. This 36-minute NPR podcast interviews historian Lindsey Fitzharris, author of Gillie's biography, The Facemaker, charting how the good doctor reconstructed the faces of numerous soldiers in an age before antibiotics and plastic surgery as we know it today.

Watch an amateur fly a 1902 Wright glider at the Kitty Hawk dunes

Billy Vaughan recreates the test flights of the Wright gliders in the exact location the brothers conducted them. He argues an October 1902 glider flight—not the December 1903 one—was the key innovative moment, implementing three-axis control. Host Baratunde rides a glider in perfect windy conditions in this re-creation.

For 'Secret Lives of Orangutans,' David Attenborough became the oldest Emmy Award winner

In 2025, won the Outstanding Daytime Personality, Non-Daily category at 99 for his work documenting a group of apes in the jungles of Sumatra, Indonesia. The previous record had been held by Dick Van Dyke, who won at 98 for his guest appearance on "Days of Our Lives" in 2024. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

David Attenborough received the 2021 Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award

The UN's highest environmental honor celebrated Attenborough as "one of the leading voices of the global environmental movement." For at least four decades, he collaborated with the UN Environment Programme by advocating for "efforts to counter the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pollution" and addressing "world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference" in 2021.

Before Alex Honnold completed his free solo climb of Taipei 101, 'French Spider-Man' scaled the building

Alain Robert completed his climb of the massive skyscraper in 2004, 22 years before Honnold. The crucial difference, though, was that Robert used safety ropes for his ascent. Honnold, on the other hand, completed it "free solo," meaning he climbed the building without any equipment beyond some shoes and a pouch of chalk for his hands.

One man lived with a gene-edited pig kidney for 271 days, setting a record, before he received a human kidney.

The 'maiden of maiden voyages' who taught the world how to fly

In 1939, Clara Adams set the world record for the fastest person to circle the globe via commercial airliner, though she was a passenger and not a pilot. This article explores the impact of Adams' journey on the commercial flight industry. During...

Sabastian Sawe holds the world record for the marathon after running the world's first official sub-2-hour marathon.

A standard glass of champagne poured straight down releases about a million tiny carbon dioxide bubbles, according to two decades of research by a French physicist.

View a ranking of the countries with the largest helium reserves, led by the US

Estimated at 20.6 billion cubic meters (727.5 billion cubic feet) as of 2022, US helium reserves are more than double those of Qatar, the second nation on the list. Leading the world in natural gas production, from which helium is recovered, the US also leads global helium production, which helps mitigate shortages resulting from overseas geopolitical tensions.

Learn how helium is used in the US, the world's largest producer of the noble gas

About 44% of the global supply comes from the US, as much as the next two biggest producers—Qatar and Russia—combined. According to the US Geological Survey, more than half of this helium is used in scientific and engineering equipment (22%), non-welding-related manufacturing and fabrication (17%), and as a lifting agent (17%).

A British Airways pilot mapped every flight of his career into a data art series

James Harding logged every flight he had flown in a software program and rendered the results into 3D globe animations, charts, graphs, and more. You can view the visualizations here, along with career stat breakdowns and a description of his project.

Teenager Guy Gabaldon captured the most prisoners in US military history

After the vicious battle of Saipan outside Japan in World War II, the Japanese were opting for suicide rather than surrender. Gabaldon, a Marine with a track record for skillfully convincing the enemy to surrender, managed to capture 800 Japanese single-handedly.

The origins of the Guinness Book of World Records

Yes, it was the beer company that started it. In 1955, the very first edition of the Guinness Book of World Records debuted as a marketing campaign for the famous Irish beer brand. Get all the details on the origins here.

Mat Hoffman landed the first no-handed 900 in BMX Vert

At the 2002 X Games, Mat Hoffman landed the first no-handed 900 in BMX Vert competition, but did not win gold—finishing behind Dave Mirra in the final standings.

Welles Crowther, the "Man in the Red Bandana," saved up to 18 lives by repeatedly entering the south tower's burning sky lobby to guide survivors to safety before dying in its collapse.

64-year-old accidentally ejects himself from fighter jet

A surprise company outing to an air base caused a 64-year-old French man so much stress that he flung himself from a fighter jet in mid-air, grabbing the ejector button in a panic and tumbling through the skies above France before landing in a field.

On one sailor's race to sail around the world solo

People wanting to sail around the world in modern times can sign up for the Golden Globe Race, a decades-old, organized sprint to circumnavigate the world by ship. This long-form article follows one woman's journey as she attempted to complete the...

Tom Liggett, a Bournemouth University student, sent sealed photographic film into space using a helium balloon, producing photographs from cosmic rays.

Wilbur published key papers, gave speeches in the burgeoning aviation community

Much of the theoretical work is credited to Wilbur, whose scientific mind observed birds and early pioneers to discover the key problem to solve was control. This 1901 speech surveys the recent work in the field and showcases what the brothers worked on two years before their breakthrough flight.

Using wind tunnels, the brothers corrected a centuries-old error used to measure lift

When their early gliders failed, the Wright brothers scrutinized inherited data analysis. Smeaton’s coefficient had been used to calculate the density of air (0.005) for centuries. The Wright’s data validation through the use of small, laboratory wind tunnels showed the correct number was 0.0033.

Stein-holding competitions are popular at American Oktoberfests

Participants must hold out a full stein of beer—weighing at least 3 pounds—for as long as possible without spilling any or bending their arm. Seems simple enough ... at first.

Eating competitions can ruin a stomach's elasticity

Competitive eaters make room for all that food by toying with the stomach's ability to expand and contract. Still, doctors warn that repeated stress can destroy that ability, leading to further issues.

The world's largest pizza was 13,990 square feet

Pizza Hut teamed with YouTuber Eric Decker to create the massive, Guinness World Record-breaking pie. The 13,653-pound pizza was constructed at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It required 4,948 pounds of sauce, 8,800 pounds of cheese, and about 630,496 pepperoni slices.

An unedited interview with the first person to float freely in space

Astronaut Bruce McCandless was the first person to ever float freely in space, completely untethered from a shuttle. How did he enter the field? What are his thoughts on current space travel? Listen to his experience and opinion firsthand in this 19-minute video.

Some claim breathwork can improve mental health, help process trauma, and more

Research shows people who practice breathing exercises see a decrease in depression and stress levels, and that such exercises are about as effective at treating PTSD as conventional approaches. Even something as simple as extending exhales can slow one's heart rate and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.

'The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.'

- Roger Bannister (1929-2018)