THE WOMEN'S GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS
Submitted by Emma Olivari
Traffic Light Cosmetics
The longest spell spent oblivious to traffic lights whilst applying
makeup was one of 1 hr 51 mins 8 secs by Ms. Janet Dodson (GB) at a road
junction in the centre of Preston on 1st August 1975. Ms. Dodson, a piano
teacher, beautified herself through 212 cycles of the lights, creating
a tailback of irate motorists stretching almost 28 miles towards Leeds.
Car Parking
The smallest kerbside space successfully reversed into by a woman was
one of 19.36m (63ft 2ins), equivalent to three standard parking spaces,
by Mrs. Elizabeth Simpkins, driving an unmodified Vauxhall Nova 'Swing'
on 12th October 1993. She started the manoeuvre at 11.15am in Ropergate,
Pontefract,and successfully parked within three feet of the pavement 8
hours 14 minutes later. There was slight damage to the bumpers and wings
of her own and two adjoining cars, as well as a shop frontage and two lamp
posts.
Incorrect Driving
The longest journey completed with the handbrake on was one of 504
km (313 miles) from Stranraer to Holyhead by Dr. Julie Thorn (GB) at the
wheel of a Saab 900 on the 2nd April 1987. Dr. Thorn smelled burning two
miles into her journey at Aird but pressed on to Holyhead with smoke billowing
from the rear wheels. This journey also holds the records for the longest
completed journey with the choke fully out and the right indicator flashing.
Shop Dithering
The longest time spent dithering in a shop was 12 days between 21st
August and 2nd September 1995 by Mrs. Sandra Wilks (GB) in the Birmingham
branch of Dorothy Perkins. Entering the shop on a Saturday morning, Mrs.Wilks
could not choose between two near identical dresses which were both in
the sale. After one hour, her husband, sitting on a chair by the changing
room with his head in his hands, told her to buy both. Mrs. Wilks eventually
bought one for 12.99, only to return the next day and exchange it for the
other one. To date, she has yet to wear it. Mrs. Wilks also holds the record
for window shopping longevity, when, starting September 12th 1995, she
stood motionless gazing at a pair of shoes in Clinkard's window in Kidderminster
for 3 weeks two days before eventually going home.
Jumble Sale Massacre
The greatest number of old ladies to perish whilst fighting at a jumble
sale is 98, at a Methodist Church Hall in Castleford, West Yorkshire on
February 12th 1991. When the doors opened at 10.00am, the initial scramble
to get in cost 16 lives, a further 25 being killed in a crush at the first
table.A seven-way skirmish then broke out over a pinafore dress costing
10p which escalated into a full scale melee resulting in another 18 lives
being lost. A pitched battle over a headscarf then ensued and quickly spread
throughout the hall, claiming 39 old women. The jumble sale raised 5.28
for local boy scouts.
Talking about Nothing
Mrs. Mary Caterham (GB) and Mrs. Marjorie Steele (GB) sat in a kitchen
in Blackburn, Lancs. and talked about nothing whatsoever for four and a
half months from 1st May to 7th August 1978, pausing only for coffee, cakes
and toilet visits. Throughout the whole time, no information was exchanged
and neither woman gained any new knowledge whatsoever.The outdoor record
for talking about nothing is held by Mrs. Vera Etherington (GB) and her
neighbour Mrs. Dolly Booth (GB) of Ipswich, who between 11th November 1983
and 12th January 1984 chuntered on over their fence in an unelightening
dialogue lasting almost 62 days until Mrs.Booth remembered she'd left the
bath running.
Gossiping
On February 18th 1992, Joyce Blatherwick, a close friend of Agnes Banbury
popped round for a cup of tea and a chat, during the course of which she
told Mrs. Banbury, in the strictest confidence, that she was having an
affair with the butcher. After Mrs. Blatherwick left at 2.10pm, Mrs. Banbury
immediately began to tell everyone, swearing them all to secrecy. By 2.30pm,
she had told 128 people of the news. By 2.50pm it had risen to 372 and
by 4.00pm that afternoon, 2774 knew of the affair, including the local
Amateur Dramatic Society, several knitting circles, a coachload of American
tourists which she flagged down and the butchers wife. When a tired Mrs.
Banbury went to bed at 11.55pm that night, Mrs. Blatherwick's affair was
common knowledge to a staggering 75,338 people, enough to fill Wembley
Stadium.
Group Toilet Visit
The record for the largest group of women to visit a toilet simultaneously
is held by 147 workers at the Department of Social Security, Longbenton.
At their annual Christmas celebration at a night club in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
on October 12th 1994, Mrs. Beryl Crabtree got up to go to the toilet and
was immediately followed by 146 other members of the party. Moving as a
mass, the group entered the toilet at 9.52pm and, after waiting for everyoneto
finish, emerged 2 hrs 37 mins later.
Film Confusion
The greatest length of time a woman has watched a film with her husband
without asking a stupid plot-related question was achieved on the 28th
October 1990, when Mrs. Ethel Brunswick sat down with her husband to watch
'The Ipcress File'. She watched in silence for a breath-taking 2 mins 32secs
before asking "Is he a goodie or a baddie, then, him in the glasses?",
revealing a staggering level of ignorance. This broke her own record set
in1962 when she sat through 2 mins 38 secs of '633 Squadron' before asking
"Is this a war film, is it?".
Single Breath Sentence
An Oxfordshire woman today became the first ever to break the thirty
minute barrier for talking without drawing breath. Mrs. Mavis Sommers,
48, of Cowley, smashed the previous record of 23 minutes when she excitedly
reported an argument she'd had in the butchers to her neighbour. She ranted
on for a staggering 32minutes and 12 seconds without pausing for air, before
going blue and collapsing in a heap on the ground. She was taken to Radcliffe
Infirmary in a wheelbarrow but was released later after check-ups. At the
peak of her mammoth motormouth marathon, she achieved an unbelievable 680
words per minute, repeating the main points of the story an amazing 114
times whilst her neighbour, Mrs. Dolly Knowles, nodded and tutted. The
last third of the sentence was delivered in a barely audible croak, the
last two minutes being mouthed only, accompanied by vigorous jesticulations
and indignant spasms.
BACK
TO MAIN PAGE