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11 Impressive World Records Set By College Students

November 29th, 2010

College students often have a reputation for procrastinating, over-sleeping, and being too wrapped up in their own academics and social lives to offer anything to society. But as these projects prove, it takes a lot of organization, dedication and stamina to set a world record. From recycling to organ donation to dodgeball, these college students have turned regular community, social and advocacy events into something even more impressive.

1. Largest Skateboard: Students from Michigan’s Bay de Noc Community College set the world record for largest skateboard ever built in 2007, beating the 500-lb. board that set the record 11 years earlier. Collectively called the Students of Jerry Havill’s Team Problem Solving, the group built a skateboard that was 31 feet, and one half inches long, 8 feet wide, and 47 inches high.
2. Largest Twister mat: This favorite vintage game is also a hit with teenagers and college students — just think of all the potential makeout positions you can twist yourself into by "accident." And in March 2010, students from the University of College Dublin sponsored a record-setting game, beating the University of Oklahoma’s record for largest Twister mat. The Irish students’ mat measured 1,438 square-meters, or around 4,717 feet, and the game helped collect money to support five university organizations, too.
3. World’s longest kiss: This kiss wasn’t just a case of two horny college students. Matty and Bobby — two gay activists and a real couple attending the College of New Jersey — wanted to bring awareness to the LGBT community by setting the world record for the longest kiss. Previously set by two Germans, Matty and Bobby challenged themselves to kiss for 33 straight hours in order to beat the 32 hours and 7 minute record. They lasted 32.5 hours, enough to set a new record. Matty and Bobby’s plan got so much attention that they even started their own Facebook page, had to postpone the kiss in order to accommodate the large number of spectators, and ended up broadcasting the kiss live on their website.
4. Most people simultaneously performing Thriller in one location: A pep rally, wedding reception, Halloween party, and talent show favorite, Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance has been setting the groove since 1983. And in the spring of 2006, William & Mary college students set a new Thriller record, for the most people simultaneously performing the dance in one location. Officially, 242 students danced, but students believe more people ended up joining in.
5. Largest rock, paper, scissors tournament: BYU students set the record for world’s largest rock, paper, scissors tournament (otherwise, unofficially known as the world’s most pointless game) two years in a row. In 2008, the BYU Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization hosted a tournament that brought in over 500 participants, but in April 2009, 826 participants joined the game.
6. Most hugs in one hour: Jordan Pearce spread the love all over her Utah town in 2007 when she set a world record for the most number of hugs in one hour. The 18-year-old hugged 765 people, beating the record of 612 people, although she fell short of her goal of 1,000 hugs in an hour. She hugged BYU professors, old ladies, and little kids as part of the LDS Church’s Edgemont North Stake Super Activity.
7. Largest game of dodgeball: UC Irvine students set the largest game of dodgeball record in September 2010. Led by a freshman who’d spent nearly a year trying to find sponsors and a venue, the game used 800 balls and 1,745 players, and lasted 45 minutes.
8. Most organ donors: Students from Utah’s Westminster College set a Guinness World Record for signing up the most number of organ donors at a single event in 2009. They recruited 250 people to be organ donors in one day, and the next year, hosted a state-wide event to attract even more organ donors.
9. Most plastic bottles collected for recycling: Two years in a row, State College of Florida students set records for the most number of plastic bottles collected. But in 2009, the Guinness World Records didn’t officially recognize the Earth Day recycling project, inspiring the school to organize a follow-up event the following year. On Earth Day in 2010, students sponsored a better organized event that drew people from all over the city to participate. Attempting to at least match their 2009 number — 41,100 plastic bottles and 4,020 pounds — the Florida students more than beat the record of 657 pounds collected in an eight-hour period.
10. Fastest texting record: The fastest texter record was set twice in 2010 — first by a 27-year-old woman, and secondly by a college student from El Paso, TX. Brian Sweet, a blogger, texted in just 22 seconds this phrase: "the razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human." While the 27-year-old woman used a special Android feature that allowed her to type without lifting her fingers from the touchscreen, Sweet used his regular iPhone 4 standard keyboard and still set the record.
11. Longest continuous basketball game: Basketball rivals UNC and Duke worked together to set this Guinness World Record: the longest continuously played game. The basketball game lasted 58 hours, or 2 1/2 days: starting at 8a.m. on a Saturday and ending at 6p.m. on a Monday. Played at UNCH’s Fetzer Gymnasium, Duke actually won the game, racking up 3,688 points to UNC’s 3,444.