The largest hot dog you can buy in America weighs 7 pounds! It's made by a company in Chicago. (All photos courtesy Guinness World Records 2013)
A Record Number of Records!
The biggest hot dog, the smallest helicopter, and everything in between in the new Guinness World Records
TOP: The world’s smallest helicopter is the GEN H-4.
BOTTOM: Zeus is the world’s tallest dog, measuring 44 inches tall.
Kazuhiro Watanabe of Tokyo, Japan, is the proud owner of the world’s largest Mohawk. The fashion designer’s “hair in the air” stands straight up at a height of 3 feet 8.6 inches.
At the launch of the 2013 edition of Guinness World Records in New York City last week, Watanabe said he had set out with the goal of landing a world record. But “World’s Largest Mohawk” was not his first choice.
“I considered trying to set the record for drinking most Tabasco sauce,” the 40-year-old father told The Huffington Post.
Many record holders in Guinness are simply wonders of nature. Zeus, a Great Dane from Otsego, Michigan, is a towering 44 inches tall with a length of 7 feet 4 inches. Zeus now holds not only the world record for being the tallest living dog but also the record for being the tallest dog ever.
Fizz Girl, a Munchkin cat from San Diego, California, is currently the world’s shortest living cat. She is a cuddly 6 inches tall when measured from the floor to her shoulder. Munchkin cats have tiny legs because of a random, naturally occurring genetic mutation.
No one knows whether nature or some serious secret coaching is what enables record-holder Zac the parrot to slam-dunk a ball into a parrot-size basketball hoop 22 times in a row. That bird’s odd talent was given its own category in the 2013 Guinness book.
Craig Glenday, the Guinness World Records editor-in-chief, talked with the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps about what it takes to make it into the record books. There are definitely some rules.
Glenday and his staff turn down record attempts that they decide are too dangerous, especially when kids are the ones making the attempt. They also discourage owners from having their pets go after titles like fattest dog or fattest cat. “It’s really cruel,” Glenday told Kid Reporter Chloe Annello. “People are force-feeding their animals.”
To get into the book, a record has to meet four criteria:
1) It has to be something you can measure.
2) It has to be something that is “breakable,” unless it’s a first, like first man on the moon.
3) It has to have a single measurement value. For example, it can’t be the tallest/fastest man, just one or the other.
4) It has to be interesting to Glenday.
Record setting and exploration are happening all the time. Just as soon as the records are made official, competitors set their sights on making them fall. For instance, Watanabe already has someone raring to beat his hair-raising achievement. His 10-year-old daughter told reporters that one day she will have a Mohawk taller than her dad’s.
- Teacher Store
-
The American Flag
The Teacher Store 
The American Flag
by Lloyd G. DouglasThis emergent-reader nonfiction series is thoroughly reviewed and approved by a distinguished reading advisory board. Full-color photographs, predictable text patterns, and concepts of high interest make this series ideal for young readers.
$4.95
Paperback Book | Grades K-1
Grades K-1 $4.95
- Teacher Store
-
Polar Adventures
The Teacher Store 
Polar Adventures
by Catherine NicholsIn the True Tales series, young readers will discover animals that have done brave deeds, are smarter than the average human, or have deep maternal extincts. They will get lost on polar & deep sea adventures, expore the ancient world, or float in space. Each chapter introduces a new story that ties into one theme and has exciting photos, glossary, index, timelines, and maps, where appropriate. These chapter books will excite young readers and give them the expository text t
$3.95
Paperback Book | Grades 4-5
Grades 4-5 $3.95
 |
|
Kid Reporter Cecilia Gault interviews Kazuhiro Watanabe, who has the world’s largest mohawk. |
 |
