Prawn cocktail

Plants are unable to move about and escape like animals, and they therefore need to be more creative in how they defend themselves. Many evolve the ability to produce, in increasing amounts, chemicals that cause irritation and stinging pain in any herbivores foolish enough to try to consume them. Although this is a powerful deterrent for most animals, there are people who actively seek out foods containing such chemicals. Allyl isothiocyanate, or mustard oil, is five times as lethal as arsenic, mass-for-mass. Although people often build up resistances to small amounts in their food, a small restaurant in Indiana, USA, sells a dish specifically designed to push a person’s tolerance to their limits. The signature dish at St. Elmo Steak House is a prawn cocktail whose spiciness comes from the 9kg of grated mustard oil-containing horseradish used to make it. The sensation of eating this dish is described as akin to being electrocuted.

They have resorted to cannibalism

At many times in history, when people are trapped and hungry, they have resorted to cannibalism: a town under siege has no option but to eat its dead in order to survive. Yet there are a few groups for whom cannibalism is the norm. However, even when not taboo, cannibalism is not always safe. Prion diseases are easily transmissible between individuals via cannibalism. These are similar to mad cow disease, and cannot be prevented by thorough cooking. Prion diseases cause the brain to deteriorate by an increasing number of tiny holes, making it appear like a sponge. Mental and physical abilities deteriorate until the victim experiences a painful and confused death. The Fore people of Papua New Guinea suffered in this way until the 1950s. They traditionally dismembered and ate relatives as part of their ritual funerals, viewing a dead person as a food source. A person infected with a prion disease would become increasingly disabled until the disease killed them, and when eaten during their funeral, would pass the disease on to others. It was seen as a curse rather than a disease, and so the Fore people took no steps to prevent infection. In this way the disease spread quickly to epidemic proportions until the local government banned cannibalism.

Contraceptives have been used by people

Contraceptives have been used by people for tens of thousands of years, and a few animals have been using their own forms of birth control for even longer. Spider monkeys eat specific plants which alter their hormone levels, giving them control over their own fertility. Alpine marmot mothers will wrestle with their newly-pregnant daughters to force an abortion if winter is approaching, since a pregnancy will not only fail in such conditions, but the pregnant marmot usually dies also. Although most modern human contraceptives are less extreme, there are those of the past which were nothing less than poison. Antimony is a toxic metalloid which causes inflammation and disruption of the heart, seizures, massive organ failure, and death. However, in small enough doses, it only causes headaches, depression, vomiting, and vertigo. In medieval Europe, people would purposefully ingest Antimony in small amounts. The dosage would cause enough trauma to the body to act as a contraceptive pill without doing any other harm except vomiting, headaches, and sometimes minor seizures. People also used it to induce vomiting so that they could eat large meals, or to cleanse their bowels. Antimony pills would pass through the entire gastrointestinal tract intact, and would be cleaned and used over and over again. A single pill would often be used by an entire family for generations.

In Scandinavia one can enjoy lutefisk

In Scandinavia one can enjoy lutefisk, which is unlike almost any other seafood dish. The fish is saturated in a highly alkaline solution of either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. After being soaked like this for days, the alkaline solution breaks down the protein in the fish and causes it to bloat into a large, jelly-like mass. If left to soak too long, the fats of the fish can even begin to turn into soap. It then needs to be soaked in plain water for about another week so that it is safe to be eaten, as it can cause chemical burns if not treated. The final product, lutefisk, has a pH of up to 12, making it 100,000 times more alkaline than water and highly caustic. Lutefisk is so alkaline that it cannot be eaten with certain types of cutlery. Silverware will corrode, and any plates or cooking pans with residue from lutefisk left on them can become eroded and ruined overnight. Lutefisk can cause severe pain if eaten by anyone with stomach ulcers or similar gastrointestinal problems.

Cheese that has been outlawed for reasons of hygiene

On the island of Sardinia, in Italy, there is a type of local cheese that has been outlawed for reasons of hygiene. Nevertheless, it persists in the culture due to its purportedly wonderful taste. Casu marzu is cheese made from sheep milk. While it is being made, it is purposefully injected with special fly larvae. The maggots feast on the cheese, and their digestive juices cause the cheese to ferment much more than other cheeses, until it begins to decompose. When it is almost liquefied, the cheese is ready to be eaten. The maggots themselves are still in the cheese at this point, usually numbering in the thousands, and are capable of springing themselves 15cm in the air when disturbed. As a result, one can expect the maggots to fling themselves at one’s face while eating the cheese. Protective eyewear is usually worn so that the maggots do not cause permanent injury.

Octopuses are fascinating creatures

Octopuses are fascinating creatures. They are one of the most intelligent animals on the planet, and have a completely different brain and nervous system to us. Their legs are even capable of directed and independent movement even if chopped off. In South Korea, therefore, you would be wise to take caution when eating saknakji, a live octopus dish. A small octopus is dismembered, drizzled with soy sauce or sesame oil, and then eaten. The octopus typically does not have time to die before it is eaten, and each of the legs is still quite capable of movement. They have been known to try to choke diners. It is not unusual for the suckers on the legs to get caught in one’s throat, and on average there are six deaths a year in South Korea due to asphyxiation by octopus tentacles from saknakji. There have even been several cases of tentacles climbing internally from the mouth up into the nasal cavity. The danger and liveliness of this dish is said to improve its taste.

White Castle candle

Sure, White Castle smells fine when you’re starving and in need of a burger, but would you really want your entire house to smell like it? The company sure hopes so, as they’ve just released a $10 White Castle candle, which smells like one of the its “slyder” burgers. “White Castle has teamed up with Laura Slatkin, often called the “queen” of home fragrances, to introduce a candle with the steam-grilled-on-a-bed-of-onions scent of America’s first fast-food hamburger.

Most People Brushing Their Teeth Simultaneously

Most People Brushing Their Teeth Simultaneously - About 10,800 students brushed their teeth for about three minutes in an attempt to break a Guinness world record of ‘most people brushing their teeth simultaneously’ in Manila, Philippines.

Bar Sound Bubble

What a bubbleheaded idea. A college student in Scotland came up with a solution for chatty pub patrons who can’t hear their friends – the sound bubble. It’s a clear plastic helmet that covers everything but the ears and mouth from the neck up and eliminates background noise.

24-Hour Guinness World Tattoo Record

24-Hour Guinness World Tattoo Record - Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D, l., and Beatrice Zaragoza attempt a 24-hour Guinness World Tattoo Record at their L.A. Ink tattoo parlon in West Hollywood, Calif. in 2007.

Wondrous Bra

You might call it the wondrous bra. Japanese urban farmers who wear the gimmicky new undergarment can grow their own rice in recyclable plastic pots that double as the cups, according to Reuters. The pots can be filled with soil and rice seedlings, and the wearer waters the rice with a hose that doubles as a belt that loops around the waist.

Why are people naturally attracted to anything that seems stupid? Well, I think this is because people love to laugh. In fact,  laughing is an extremely powerful form of self healing. We are all instantly attracted to anything we find funny. 

The Most Surfers on One Wave

The Most Surfers on One Wave - Surfers line up in an attempt to break the record for the most surfers on one wave at Muizenberg in Cape Town, a year later, surfers attempt to break the record again in Brazil..

Amazing Junk Sculptures by Leo Sewell

Junk artist Leo Sewell creates his ‘rubbish’ artwork from junk he collects from refuse dumps round his native Philadelphia. This piece is of a female torso. Using any discarded plastic, metal and wood, Leo selects his raw materials for their color, shape and durability.

The Largest Carol Service

The Largest Carol Service - Hundreds of people gather on the steps of the James A. Farley Post Office on Eighth Ave. in New York to attempt to break the record for the largest carol service.

The World’s Largest Tow Truck Parade

The World’s Largest Tow Truck Parade - New York towing industry attempted to break the record for world’s largest tow truck parade; more than 400 tow trucks assembled at Shea Stadium and rode to Floyd Bennett Field at Gateway National Park, spelling out New York.

The Largest Kazoo Ensemble

The Largest Kazoo Ensemble - The Ladies Of Skyy, the famous ’80s ‘old school’ R&B group created the largest Kazoo band in the middle of Harlem in New York City. They signed up over 3,000 Kazoo players on 125th St. to break the Guinness World Record for the largest kazoo ensemble.

The Fastest Ice Cream Scooper

The Fastest Ice Cream Scooper - Mitch Cohen, from Flushing, Queens, became the fastest ice cream scooper in Guinness World Record history when he scooped 18 scoops in 18 cones in one minute flat.

The World’s Longest Legs

The World’s Longest Legs - Svetlana Pankratova struts her legs in a limo in Times Square – she has the world’s longest legs at 52 inches.

The World’s Largest Bouquet

 The World’s Largest Bouquet - Sri Chinmoy, a meditation teacher, accepted the world’s largest bouquet for his 73rd birthday present from Ashrita Furman in 2004.

The Most People in a Chorus Line

The Most People in a Chorus Line - About 1,700 members of the Red Hat Society members lined a Las Vegas Strip sidewalk to attempt the Guinness World Record for most people in a chorus line on Jan. 26, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nev.

The World’ s Biggest Barbecue

The World’ s Biggest Barbecue - Cooks grill beef in a 1,500-meter long broiler during ‘The World’ s Biggest Barbecue,’ an event in which 12,000 kg of beef was cooked on April 13, 2008.

World’s Biggest Speed Date Attempt

World’s Biggest Speed Date Attempt - Single Sydneysiders practice for the World’s biggest speed date attempt on Bondi Beach on Feb. 14, 2008 in Sydney, Australia. Thousands of Australian singles attempted to set an official Guinness World Record for the world’s biggest speed date to be held simultaneously in major cities around Australia.

The Largest Gathering of People in Their Underpants

The Largest Gathering of People in Their Underpants - A group of 116 young men and women braved the cold weather wearing nothing but underwear to help Fair Trade’s ‘Pants to Poverty’ cause. They also set a brand new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people in their underpants, at St. Pancras International rail station in London, England on Nov. 13.

The World’s Longest Sausage

 The World’s Longest Sausage - On February 14, in the eastern Croatian town of Vinkovci, a team of cooks prepared the world’s longest sausage. At 530 meters, it easily bested the previous record of 392 meters held by a team from Romaina. Check out other Guinness World Records.

The Largest 43 Snails on Face

The Largest 43 Snails on Face - An 11-year-old boy got slimed on his birthday. Fin Keheler allowed 43 snails to be put on his face for 10 seconds in a gross effort to surpass the Guinness World Record of 36 set in 2007.

The Largest Gathering of Santa’s Elves in One Place

The Largest Gathering of Santa’s Elves in One Place - Well folks, they finally did it! ABC Family set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Santa’s Elves in one place – 607 to be exact – on Dec. 7 at The Pond at Bryant Park.

The 400-Square-Foot Key Card Hotel

Here Berg unveils his 400-square-foot Key Card Hotel – made with more than 200,000 Holiday Inn key cards – at the South Street Seaport. The incredible Key Card Hotel features a guest bedroom, bathroom and lobby with life-sized furniture made out of key cards. Berg takes a break on the key card bed. The 34-year-old professional cardstacker has also broken the world record for World’s Tallest House of Freestanding Playing Cards in 1992, and has been commissioned to break his own record a number of times since then.

The Tallest and the Tiniest Dogs in the World

One is the size of a bagel. The other weighs more than Eli Manning. The tallest and tiniest dogs in the world sized each other up in Central Park on Sept. 15 after making it into the book of Guinness World Records.
Boo Boo, a long-haired female Chihuahua, is just 4 inches tall and weighs only 2 pounds. She went paw-to-paw with Giant George, a 43-inch-tall Great Dane who tips the scales at 245 pounds.

The World’s Smallest Cow

A minuscule cow, Swallow, has been named the world’s smallest by Guinness World Records. Guinness says the sheep-sized bovine from the West Yorkshire region of northern England measures roughly 33 inches from hind to foot. All of her 9 calves have outgrown her – the youngest standing next to her on the left.