The Guinness Book of World Records is renowned across the globe for measuring, adjudicating and compiling extraordinary feats by ordinary people. People are not the only ones who can hold a record – places, inanimate objects, animals and insects have been record holders, too! The ten entries in this list, however, are all people named Ken who set or helped set records that made their way into the famous big book.
- Ken Darby Singers – The popular Christmas song “White Christmas,” by Bing Crosby, holds the Guinness World Record for most ever single sales. Crosby recorded the track with the Ken Darby Singers, who also deserve acknowledgment for the song’s success. White Christmas has sold over 50 million copies worldwide, with no sign of sales ever slowing down.
- Most Albino Siblings – One of four U.S. brothers who hold the record for most albino siblings, Kenneth Sesler passed away in February of 1999. In all, there were 8 children in the Sesler family, however, only the four eldest carried the albino gene. Although another family, the Gaulins, have matched the Sesler’s record, no other family has managed to topple it.
- Kenneth Griffin – Husband and wife Anne and Kenneth Griffin purchased the “most expensive painting by a living artist.” The couple spent a whopping $80 million dollars on the painting entitled “False Start” by Jasper Johns in 2006. Although the Guinness World Record is actually held by Johns, it would not have been possible without the Griffins having made the extravagant purchase.
- Most Expensive Magic Show – At an astounding cost of over $28 million, “Siegfried and Roy at the Mirage” holds the record for most expensive magic show. Kenneth Feld & Co produced the Las Vegas show, which starred world famous magicians, Siegfried Fishbacher and Roy Horn from Germany. The show generated around $44.6 million per year in ticket sales, which more than made up for the huge production costs.
- The Largest Collection of Toasters – This eponymous award is held by Kenneth Huggins of Columbia, South Carolina, who owns 1,284 toasters. Huggins was an enthusiastic collector of phonographs, radios and automobiles before he started his unusual toaster collection. Dr. Huggins is not alone in his love of toasters, as he is also a member of the Toaster Collectors Association, which was formed in 1999.
- Highest score on Beyond Good & Evil – With a grand score of 7,818,090 points, Kenneth Ray Craig Jr. is the master of Ubisoft’s popular game, Beyond Good & Evil. As of 2009, Craig was still the official high scorer, ranked against players from all over the world. Kenneth is also known by his handle “maken90,” so if you are looking for serious gaming challenge, why not try to beat his score?
- First Use of the F-Word on TV – It is hard to believe that the first ever F-bomb was dropped on U.K. TV way back in 1965. Kenneth Tynan has the distinction of holding this dubious honor, which is due to his use of the F-word on a show entitled BBC3. Unfortunately for Tynan, the incident drew a close to his rather short television career, due to public outrage over “morals and decency.”
- First Successful Craniopagus Separation – This surgery marked the first time that Siamese twins, connected at the head, were successful separated. The twins, Vilija and Vatalija Tamulevicius, where separated by a Russian doctor, Alexander Konovalov; however, their bodies did not take to the artificial skulls used in the procedure. They were subsequently flown to the U.S., where Dr. Kenneth E. Salyer performed successful skull reconstruction surgery on the girls.
- Fastest Eater – Dr. Kenneth Catania is responsible for the research that discovered the fastest eating mammal, at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee. The award is based on the time it takes between identifying a food source, capturing and eating it, and then moving onto a new search. However, the actual winner of the award, with a time of 230 milliseconds, is the Star-Nosed Mole, a semi-aquatic animal that is indigenous to North America.
- First Judicial Single Drug Execution – This is one Guinness world record that no one wanted to hold. Kenneth Biros was the first convicted prisoner to face death by execution, using a single large injection of anesthetic. Biros was convicted for the murder of a 22-year old woman in 1991. The execution took place in Ohio, U.S.A, on December 8, 2009 at 11:00 AM. Biros had fought for clemency, arguing that lethal injection was a form of cruel and unusual punishment.