7 Australian world records you probably didn’t know existed

Australians are known for many things.

Our legendary love of the ocean, our indifference when it comes to dangerous animals and of course our love for putting fresh prawns on a hot barby. But there’s also a few things that the wider world may not know about Australia… some of which that were even recognised as world records.

So with this in mind, we here at Fair Go thought we’d enlighten you with an article that details 7 Australian world records you probably didn’t know existed. Complete with beer-swilling prime ministers, never say die baristas and a sheep that is essentially a cloud that bleats. You’ll laugh, you’ll gasp and you’ll probably have no desire to break these world records yourself. One thing is for sure though… some people have way too much free time on their hands.

1. The longest handshake

Back in 2009, PhD student Jack Tsonis and landscaper Lindsay Morrison broke the world record for the longest handshake ever, maintaining their grip for more than 11 hours.

While campaigning for this world record they also raised money for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Sydney’s Wayside Chapel, which makes this a world record with a somewhat happy ending. We say somewhat because at 8 pm on Friday 14 January 2011, semi-professional world record breaker Alastair Galpin and Don Purdon from New Zealand, alongside Nepalese brothers Rohit and Santosh Timilsina achieved a handshake that lasted for 33 hours and 3 minutes. It kind of makes you wonder though… at what point does a handshake just turn into two people holding hands?

2. Fastest time to down a yard (two and a half pints) of beer

In what would become one of the most legendary feats of drinking ever achieved by an Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke sculled 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds at an English hotel in 1954.

Although not yet Prime Minister, Bob Hawke was already regarded as a world class drinker, often going to the pub at 11.30 am and staying there for the entire day and drinking up to 20 beers if and when he felt inclined to. It has to be said that the establishment at which Mr Hawke broke this world record was also the same place that President Bill Clinton was rumoured to have partaken in some of Nimbin’s finest…. If you know what we’re saying. Of course, the team here at Australia’s favourite online casino reckon you can see this record smashed every Friday night down at your local bowling club.

3. Largest cheese-tasting event

In May this year, cheese lovers around the globe had cause for celebration when 1,000 people came together to hold the largest cheese tasting ever recorded. Taking place in Kangaroo Valley on the South Coast of New South Wales, this world record breaking event was organised by the Kangaroo Valley Agricultural & Horticultural Association in an attempt to promote the cheese and dairy industry in the area. Participants were given a sage and saltbush cheddar, vintage cheddar and camembert to taste on the day which were cut into small pieces and placed into environmentally friendly cardboard boxes. Needless to say, Kangaroo Valley has since become a must-visit destination for those who are crackers for quality cheese. Move over kangaroos…

4. Most wool sheared from a sheep in a single session

Picture this. You’re walking through the Australian bush when you hear a faint ‘baaa’ from behind a large scrub. Curious, you decide to investigate the noise. As you reach the shrub and pull it back though, you find nothing in the immediate area that could have made the strange sound. When all of a sudden you hear another even louder ‘baaa’ right at your feet. Stepping back, you realise that what you thought was a sizeable shrub isn’t actually a shrub at all, but rather… it’s a very woolly sheep.

One can imagine this is exactly what happened when Chris the sheep was found living in the wild after a few years on the lamb. He could barely stand and was in need of shearing to prevent infection. National shearing champion Ian Elkins was brought in to do the job, which took 45 minutes and resulted in the removal of 41.10 kg of fleece and a new world record. All though we’re not sure if its Ian or Chris the sheep’s name on the award.

5. Cappuccinos made in an hour

If you simply can’t wait for your morning coffee, then Liza Thomas from the Social Café on Bribie Island is the barista of your dreams. The reason being that in April this year, Liza brewed the most cappuccinos in a single hour by an individual, assembling 420 within the 60 minute timeframe.

In order to meet Guinness World Records standards, Liz had to use a commercial coffee machine with no more than four espresso shots in play at the same time. She also had to make sure that she filled each 142 ml cup to completion without spilling any. Talk about pressure. At least if you were waiting in line for your coffee that day you wouldn’t have had to wait too long, given that 420 coffees in one hour works out to be about 7 made every minute. Who’s next?

6. Tallest inflatable waterslide

Waterslides are always a good idea. Our team here at Australia’s favourite online casino love them when the weather begins to warm up and Kev the Koala just loves them all year round. So when we found out that the record for the tallest inflatable waterslide in the world belonged to a pop-up water park in Perth, we just had to include it in our list.

Topping out at an insane 22.4 m tall, this gigantic slip ‘n’ slide is about the same size as a four-storey home. At that height, this water slide was double the height of the previous record-setting slide, which measured 12.90 m and was also located in Perth. The best thing about it though? The slide has two lanes that run side by side which allows pairs to race each other to the bottom. Looks like we just found a new way to settle any in-office bets between our team members and Kev the Koala when we’re in Perth.

7. Most people looking at the night sky at once

Granted on any giving moment during the night there a literally countless people looking at the night sky at the same time, but only Australia can claim to have over 40,000 people officially recorded observing the moon through telescopes across the country for 10 consecutive minutes, absolutely smashing the previous record set in 2015 of 7,960 people.

This world record breaking feat was the work of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which hosted an event called Stargazing Live in May 2018 that saw more than 285 stargazing parties registered and thousands of telescopes erected in homes all over the country. Large public events in capital cities such as Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra plus universities, schools and observatories also took part in the occasion. And although no alien lifeforms were spotted, some avid viewers did discover of a type of supernova 1.1 billion light-years away. Which is also kind of cool… we suppose.