How You Could Have Entered The Books of Records

 

Yahoo News reports that an Indian woman hopes to enter the record books by munching 51 fiery chillies in two minutes.  Anandita Dutta Tamuly, 26, chewed her way through the chillies before an audience late Thursday in India’s northeast.

For details see: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20090410/tod-indian-woman-aims-for-chilli-record-451ab4f.html

She consumed the chillies in the company of British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who was producing a television show on food and anchoring the event in Jorhat, 300 kilometers (180 miles) east of Assam’s main city of Guwahati. “In two minutes, Anandita gobbled 51 red-hot chillies without batting an eyelid or shedding a tear, and also smeared seeds of 25 chillies into her eyes in one minute,” Atul Lahkar, a chef who organised the show, told AFP. The chillies are known locally as bhut jolokia and are a staple of local diet in Assam. They are recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s hottest chilli pepper.

It is well known that Indians like to enter the record books by making a name for themselves by doing the oddest things. In addition to the Guinness Book of Records, India has its own Limca Book of Records. Both feature many Indian feats covering many crazy but interesting aspects of life. Why do they do it?

These feats, achievements or successful records are all attributable to the following common denominators, which are fame, recognition and money. It is unlikely that the books of records will pay much to publish the achievements. The real incentive is money in the future via sponsorship, appearances on stage and fees for appearing on television and payment for appearing at private functions. Many successful ‘performers’ have done very well indeed.

What type of achievements could the East African Asians get into the record books? Here are some thoughts which you could have helped to turn into reality:

·       A record for fighting the largest man-eating lion with one’s bare hands in the Tsavo area?

·       A record for sleeping with largest number of black mamba snakes in one’s bed?

·       A record for growing the largest cassava root in one’s shamba or smallholding?

·       A record for swimming with the largest number of crocodiles in Lake Victoria?

·       A record for displaying largest number of yoga positions whilst travelling on the roof of the East African trains from Kampala to Mombasa?

·       Success in running faster than the speediest cheetah in the game park?

·       Achievement for drinking the highest number of pints of pombe, or beer?

·       Successes in driving in reverse from Kampala to Jinja with Idi Amin as a passenger?