Facts + figures
Numbers, knowledge and nuggets of air info
Words: Anna Whitehouse
Lovely bubbly
2 bottles
For those that fancy a vintage tipple, two bottles of 200-year-old champagne have been salvaged from a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea. One is from the house of Veuve Clicquot and the other from Juglar. Both are still filled with bubbles and, according to sommelier Ella Grussner Cromwell-Morgan, are “potentially drinkable”. They were auctioned in June, and sold for €30,000 and €24,000 respectively.
Naked ambition
13,000 nude riders
Every year thousands of naked cyclists from across the US gather for the annual World Naked Bike Ride. Started as a light-hearted way to promote cycling, the event, which this year saw some 13,000 nude bikers gather for the jaunt, has become a bare necessity on the biking calendar.
Star trek
21 ascents
A man nicknamed ‘Super Sherpa’ has just climbed Mount Everest for a record 21st time. Apa Sherpa, a 51-year-old Nepali mountaineer, reached the 8,800m peak on 11 May of this year. “It takes a lot of willpower to do something needing so much strength at very high altitude over and over again,” climbing historian Elizabeth Hawley said. Apa’s aim throughout his 21 ascents was to clear as much rubbish from previous climbers (old oxygen cylinders, gas canisters and plastic) as possible.
Rock on
1,436 air guitarists
Led by air guitar aficionado Lance ‘The Shred’ Kasten, 1,436 Canadian rockers gathered to break the Guinness World Record for largest air guitar ensemble in 2010 (it was previously 1,353, and set in Scotland a week before).
Big gulp
1 deep breath
The world record for a person holding their breath is a staggering 10 minutes and 12 seconds, managed by German Tom Sietas, according to world freediving organisation AIDA. Magician David Blaine clocked up 17 minutes 4.4 seconds underwater on the Oprah Winfrey show, and while his record is recognised by Guinness, AIDA aren’t having a bit of it, as he inhaled pure oxygen for over 20 minutes beforehand, which is strictly against their rules.
Game over
1 video game
Air is a text-based computer game created in 1977 by Kelton Flinn. While its lack of graphics render it somewhat obsolete in modern times, it was, according to gaming buffs, an influential game in its time. “Air is in many ways the text-based amoeba crawling on the floor,” says Flinn. “It is an acquired taste,” he added.
Out of space
0.687 g/cm3 density
The density of Saturn is so low that if you were to put it in a giant glass of water it would float. The actual density of Saturn is 0.687 g/cm3 while the density of water is 0.998 g/cm3. At its equator, Saturn has a radius of 60,000km, so it would need to be a very large glass.
Kiss and tell
33-hour smooch
Fourteen couples from across Thailand gathered at Pattaya beach to break the kissing world record on Valentine’s Day of this year. The partners, who locked lips for a record 33 hours, were given a 1sqm area to move about in, and were instantly disqualified if they came up for air.
Hot hare
50-metre-high balloon
Battery giant Duracell’s famous ‘bunny drummer’ has been made into the biggest hot air balloon in the world. At 50m tall – higher than the Statue of Liberty – the pink rabbit is often seen floating around the US and is, according to Duracell, happy for people to hop aboard.
