A couple of weeks ago, Adelaide officially became the hottest capital city in Australia, reaching a sweltering and sweaty 46.6C. In honour of this feat of climate insanity, let’s review some of the weird and wonderful (mostly weird) record-breaking achievements of your new host country.
Tallest inflatable waterslide
While we’re on the topic of hot weather, summer and waterslides go hand-in-hand. While most Aussies are happy with a simple backyard slip n’ slide, sometimes you need a bit more elevation. The world’s tallest inflatable waterslide is called Hybrid XL and is situated in Perth. It stands at an incredible 22.4 metres tall (taller than a four-storey house!)
Fastest time to solve a Rubik’s Cube
While many of us struggle to solve the puzzle at all, 22-year-old Feliks Zemdegs from Canberra did it in an incredible 4.22 seconds. But he doesn’t just hold the world record for the fastest time to solve a Rubik’s Cube; he’s also the fastest to solve it one-handed, doing so in a mere 6.88 seconds.
Most people looking at the night sky at once
In 2018, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) hosted Stargazing Live, with over 40,000 people simultaneously observing the moon through telescopes across the country. This eclipsed the last record (also held by Australia), where only 7,960 people were involved.
Longest economic expansion
On a slightly larger scale, as a whole, Australia holds the record for the longest economic expansion on record, with 104 quarters of economic growth without recession since 1991. This record beats previous record-holder, the Netherlands.
Largest simultaneous car tyre burnout
On a much smaller scale, Australia also holds the record for the world’s largest simultaneous car tyre burnout. A total of 126 vehicles destroyed their tyres for the record in Canberra, with rainbow smoke pouring out from underneath the cars.
Oldest skydiver
Back to Adelaide, where in 2018, 102-year (and 193 days)-old Irene O’Shea became the world’s oldest skydiver, snatching back the record from Kenneth Meyer in the USA, who was 102 years (and 172 days) at the time of his jump. So maybe your study abroad is a good opportunity to skydive over the Australian landscape?
Largest dessert pizza
Crust Pizza holds the record for the largest dessert pizza in the world, which took 20 of their chefs 16 hours to make. The result? A 46.6-metre-long (or 2,000 slices) dessert pizza topped with chocolate, strawberries and cream, which lucky spectators on the Gold Coast got to eat.
Most push-ups in one hour
Also on the Gold Coast, local fitness fanatic Jarrad Young did an incredible 2,806 push-ups in one hour. We’re tired just thinking about it!
