Everyone knows about the Guinness World Records, including you. Right? Founded in the 1950s as the Guinness Book of World Records, this institution has become a household name. And rightly so, because they track the world record for everything. And we mean that quite literally: the folks at Guinness World Records have more than 60,000 active record titles in their database. And, believe it or not, some of those record holders are right here in West Virginia.
The world's most consecutive birdies in a PGA Tour golf event (9). The world's fastest 50 meters by a human wheelbarrow (10.88 seconds). Largest gathering of people wearing unicorn horns (334). These are just a few of the Guinness World Records set in West Virginia.
Here are a few more: The world's oldest base jumper (84 years, 37 days). The longest elapsed time for a class reunion (70 years). And we can't forget the world's largest collection of flamingo-related items (2,595).
That's right; the award for the largest flamingo collection in the world, a collection of a whopping 2,595 flamingo-related items, goes to Mrs. Deborah Buscher Leck, who resided in Kearneysville, West Virginia.
In a tragic turn of events, Mrs. Leck passed away before she could finish the process of applying for this unique world record. Her family continued with the application in her honor, and the world record for the largest collection of flamingo-related items, although confirmed before her death, was officially awarded to Mrs. Leck posthumously.
According to the Guinness World Records website, "Deborah began this collection because she thought flamingos were beautiful and reminded her to not take things so seriously. Unfortunately, Deborah passed away shortly after attempting this record title. Her husband and family decided to carry on to make sure Deborah's collection became a Guinness World Records title holder."
We have to say, 2,595 pink-bird-related paraphernalia is quite the impressive flamingo collection! (The previous record holder, who resides in Florida, set her record with a mere 793 flamingo-related items.
At this time, Mrs. Leck's flamingos are still privately-held, but even if the public never gets a chance to view this flamingo-related achievement, we're still proud to say it's a world record breaking collection based right here in West Virginia.
What do you collect? Do you have the makings of a unique world record gathering dust in your basement? We’ll be watching the Guinness World Records for your name next!
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