By Gavin Steele, Staff Writer

Guinness World Records, paddling pumpkins, deciphering ancient scrolls & expensive speeding tickets

Missourian Steve Kueny paddled a hollowed-out pumpkin 38.4 miles down the Missouri River. He spent 11 hours paddling the 1,208 lb pumpkin from Kansas City to Napoleon, Mo. (Oct. 11). 

New Zealander Mike Heard bungee jumped 941 times in a day to reclaim his record for the most bungee jumps in a day. Heard originally set the record with 430 jumps in 2017, but this record was broken after Frenchman François-Marie Dibon completed 765 jumps in 2022 (Oct. 12). 

Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates broke a Guinness World Record by displaying 1,100 messages in bottles at the same time. Officials on the island encouraged visitors to write messages about the concept of love or their enjoyment of the island, which were then arranged to say “I (heart) Saadiyat Island” (Oct. 12).

21-year-old Luke Farritor discovered the first complete word in an unopened scroll written 2,000 years ago, which was housed in an ancient Herculaneum library that was buried from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Farritor was competing in the Vesuvius Challenge, in which competitors used 3D CT-scans to find information from the carbonized scroll, where he discovered the word “porphyras,” or purple. Farritor was awarded $40,000 for his discovery (Oct. 12). 

National nonprofit organization Move for Hunger broke the Guinness World Record for most cereal boxes toppled in a domino fashion with 12,952 in Detroit, Mich. All of the cereal, which was set off in a chain reaction by Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger, will be donated to local food banks (Oct. 13). 

Georgian Connor Cato received a shocking $1.4 million speeding ticket for going 90 mph on a 55 mph road in Savannah. However, Cato later discovered that the fine was a placeholder until he appears in court, as speeding fines in Georgia cannot exceed $1,000 unless there are additional state mandated fees (Oct. 15).