Meet Jackie Bibby. He’s 50 years old, and lives in Texas. He also shares his sleeping bag with 109 snakes.
I find that Bibby -- called the Texas Snake Man -- has done this sort of thing before, holding earlier records for sitting in a bath with 75 rattlesnakes and dangling eight from his mouth. While my plan for the future is to get a better job, his includes sitting in a pit full of snakes and kissing a cobra on its head. A fun guy, huh?
So, why do you do it, Bibby, my friend? “Pure excitement,” he says, on his Web site. Plus, a pretty good work record: He’s been to hospital only four times in 32 years for serious snakebites. There are a number of photographs on the Snake Man and his many pets, along with information on the four world records he holds. And yes, apart from being an extra in a number of films, he has also been the Central Texas arm wrestling champion.
I have nothing much to say, when confronted with facts like these. So, I won’t. If I ever have a daughter though, I’ll make sure she doesn’t date anyone even remotely similar to this guy. No hard feelings, Bibby.
Moving on, I find a lot more people hosting pages that commemorate dubious claims to fame. John Evans, the ‘Head Balancer and Strongman’ holds 28 Guinness World Records in 11 categories. Thanks to his ability to balance up to 186 kilograms on his head, for ten seconds, with no hands. His last record came after balancing 92 people in one hour; and that’s what I call a thick head.
The site has photographs to prove it all, as well as John’s story, which should answer most questions. The best part is this: the gentle giant has raised more than £55,350.00 for charity, through his performances.
Question: Would you cycle across the country on just one wheel? Kurt Osborn did, and got himself a record for the longest motorcycle and bicycle wheelie. The guy started off from Hollywood, California and ended up at Orlando, Florida, covering a total of 2,836 miles.
Another guy just as passionate about wheels is Johnny Airtime, a motorcycle jumper who once jumped across a railroad train coming head on. After looking at the photographs, I no longer wonder about his surname. The train destroyed his 16-foot high launch ramp 1/2 a second after he left the top.
A little less heroic in nature, but still as eye-catching, is the Ultimate Taxi: a recording studio, theatre, nightclub, planetarium and toy store, all rolled into one, with Internet access too. The 1978 yellow Checker cab belongs to Jon Barnes, who uses it to carry tourists through Colorado. You can check his site for photographs of passengers, a ‘Taxi Quiz’ and images of Aspen scenery through a wireless network. Guaranteed to make our Cool Cabs look incredibly archaic in a hurry.
More special folk. Astronaut John Glenn, the oldest human being in space, was crammed into a tiny capsule that travelled at 17,500 miles per hour, 160 miles above Earth. It happened way back in 1962, but hey, beat that!
Harry Egger is a world speed skiing champion. Glen Jones is a disc jockey with the world record for ‘longest continuous radio broadcast by an individual’ -- one hundred hours. Diane Witt’s got a Web site because she’s a Guinness record holder for the world’s longest hair. Want proof?
The fastest talker and fastest typist are online too. Steve Woodmore can speak at 637 words per minute -- 10.25 words per second, and Barbara Blackburn can maintain 150 words per minute for 50 minutes, with a top speed recorded at 212 wpm.
I don’t know about you but, suddenly, I feel very ordinary. However, I’ve been overworked and underpaid for over six years now. Does that count as a record of some sort?
-- Additional Links:
Record holders
Guinness World Records
Ripleys’ Believe it or Not
Also Read
--The World's first Pregnant Man
--Afraid of the Monkey Man?
--Unbreakable: The Guiness book of world Records