USA: New York man breaks three world records: pushing a van, bobbing for apples, and eating a lemon

Record ID: 741723

  • Title: USA: New York man breaks three world records: pushing a van, bobbing for apples, and eating a lemon
  • Date: 6th October 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) ASHRITA FURMAN SAYING: "I'm trying to inspire other people to do things in their own lives which they think are impossible, in any field, obviously not Guinness records, necessarily. There's this tremendous capacity inside of us that we're not using, and that we can use if we just learn to go deep within ourselves."
  • Embargoed: 21st October 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA4VRUGNVWQEV30ZB2VFFIOPB63
  • Story Text: The man who holds the Guinness record for holding the most Guinness records, Ashrita Furman, may have just added three more records to his roster of stunts on Thursday (October 5, 2006). Pending confirmation and approval by Guinness record keepers, Furman broke record times for pushing a 4,100 lb van for one mile, bobbing for apples, and peeling and eating a lemon.
    In a vacant New York parking lot, Furman pushed a van along a measured and marked course. Step by step, the van, which was steered by a friend of Furman's, made its way around the circular track. Despite being a man of moderate size, Furman said he believed he was better apt at breaking the record then a larger, more muscular man.
    "I have very strong legs; that's one of my strong points, and also I think for a real big guy, it's true that they have more strength, but then they have to carry that weight around, so I think they might have a little less endurance," said Furman. "For me I feel like this is a perfect record for me, because I think I'm at just the right weight and strength for this record."
    The standing record for pushing a 4,100 lb van one mile was 50 minutes. Furman managed to cross his finish line in 21 minutes, 7 seconds.
    "I broke it by almost a half an hour. I'm really excited about that. It's just, you basically just push as hard as you can, you don't really think about what the previous guy did, so I think I really gave it my best effort today," said Furman.
    A favorite at children's parties, Furman's next challenge was bobbing for apples. After ensuring correct measurements of both the dimensions of the bucket and the weights of the fruit, Furman plunged his head into the water, plucking out apple after apple. The current record for bobbing stands at 8 apples in one minute; Furman said he beat that record with 16 apples in 44 seconds.
    But Furman didn't stop there. With an obvious appetite for fruit, his next attempt was peeling and eating a lemon. After again taking measurements, Furman went to work, ripping the peel from the fruit and devouring the flesh inside. Without so much as a puckered face, Furman finished in just over 33 seconds, with the standing title held at 46 seconds.
    Furman is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for holding 41 titles. Eight more are pending approval, not including the three that he performed on Thursday. His roster of odd-ball records include: the fastest mile somersaulted, fastest mile on a pogo stick, and the most rope jumped under water.
    "I'm trying to inspire other people to do things in their own lives which they think are impossible, in any field, obviously not Guinness records, necessarily. There's this tremendous capacity inside of us that we're not using, and that we can use if we just learn to go deep within ourselves," said Furman.
    So what's next on his agenda? Furman is currently practicing for fastest run while carrying a man on his back.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register