Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Longest Handshake: Team New Zealand and Team Nepal set world record
New YORK, NY, USA -- After 33 hours, 3 minutes, Team New Zealand (Alastair Galpin and Don Purdon) and Team Nepal (Rohit and Santosh Timilsina) declared a tie for the world's longest handshake, becoming co-owners of the new Longest Continuous Handshake world record.
The previous Guinness world record for the Longest Continuous Handshake was 15 hours, 30 minutes, 45 seconds, achieved by Matthew Rosen and Joe Ackerman of the U.K.
"We thought it'd be good to break a Guinness world record and raise money for cancer in the process," Levin told AOL News.
An official Guinness World Records 'adjudicator' was on site to document the competition and uphold the rules.
Galpin held a previous Guinness world record for the Longest Continuous Handshake, partnered with "a muscle-y young man" for nine hours, 19 minutes. "It was fun -- even urinating and being fed coffee," he said. "We were successful."
Prior to this current attempt, he consulted a sports doctor, physiologist, gym trainers and endurance specialists and believes he's mentally and physically ready. His training routine involved hours of shaking a sandwich spread bottle with his right arm wrapped in ice packs.
Galpin and Purdon called their world record attempt "Shaking it for Downs". 25% from they money they raised went towards the Auckland Downs Syndrome Association.
Alastair Galpin, 36, holds the distinction of being the second biggest Guinness World Record breaker over the past decade. His 38 Guinness world records include the longest light bulb throw (94 feet) and the fastest time to shell one hard-boiled egg (18.95 seconds).
Rohit Timilsina, one half of a Nepalese brother team, holds three Guinness world records: most kisses given in one minute (116), most golf balls held in one hand for 10 seconds (24, a tie), and most tennis balls held in one hand (21).
All participants have to follow strict Guinness World Records rules to remain in the competition. Hands must maintain a shaking motion at all times -- even if a bathroom break should be necessary.
Guinness World Records forbids any incontinence devices or nappies, and a video crew must attend any trips to a toilet.
For these reasons, Levin admitted during previous attempts that "we felt it was better to hold it in." Teams can eat and drink, provided they can manage it with one hand or receive help from someone else.
The competition is the brainchild of 21-year-old John-Clark Levin of Ojai, Calif., who set a handshaking world record in May 2009 while attending Claremont McKenna College. He and a college friend shook hands for 10 hours, 10 minutes, 10 seconds.
Geoffrey Beattie, a professor of psychological sciences at the University of Manchester, who has researched handshaking, said the average person shakes hands nearly 15,000 times in a 60-year lifetime.
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