If you have ever wanted to be in the Guinness World Records book, I am sorry to report you just missed your chance this year. Thursday marked the third annual Guinness World Records Day.
On Thursday, more than 150,000 courageous people from all over the globe attempted record-breaking feats, some of which included "Sharing a Bathtub with the Most Rattlesnakes," and "Most Concrete Blocks Broken with the Head."
Hmm, which one do you suppose would be the less dangerous option?
Dangerous or not, I think it would be cool to be able to look up your name in the index of the Guinness World Records book. Although it would be utterly tragic if you were one of those people who were brave enough to attempt a perilous act but didn't manage to break any records.
Gosh, could you imagine?
They probably feel like those poor souls on "Fear Factor," who, after fishing goat eyeballs from a vat of unidentified grey mush with their teeth, wind up losing the competition anyway.
I can just hear the announcer now: "I'm sorry, Gus, you have been eliminated. You can go home now. Thanks for participating. Oh, and be sure to wash your clothes - you've got a little sludge on your shirt."
Unfortunately, not everyone broke records Thursday. Manjit Singh, an Ironman from the UK, suffered a personal loss during Guinness World Records Day. He tried to win the title of the "Fastest Time to Pull a Double-Decker Bus with the Ears," but his valiant effort proved futile.
It's doubtful, however, that the 57-year-old daredevil was heartbroken after his failed attempt because he's already in the record book. He earned a spot in April when he managed to pull - with his ears - a 7.5-ton passenger aircraft.
Some record-breaking attempts were successful. The one that stuck out the most wasn't the "Most Steel Cans Collected in One Month" or "Most Jumps on Stilts." It is much more unbelievable than those.
On Wednesday, the Guinness World Records book awarded a New York City restaurant with the Most Expensive Dessert after the owner unveiled a ,25,000 chocolate sundae. ,25,000! With that kind of money, you could afford to buy your very own TCBY and eat an unlimited amount of frozen yogurt forever.
Stephen Bruce, the culinary mastermind behind the pricey dessert, calls it, "Frrozen Haute Chocolate."
His dessert is a chocolate sundae made from a mixture of 28 exotic cocoas (14 of which are extremely hard to find), infused with 23-karat edible gold and served in a goblet lined in even more edible gold. The sundae is topped with a lovely swirl of whipped cream that is then garnished with even more - yep, you guessed it - edible gold.
Adding to the elegant dish, the base of the goblet is surrounded by an 18-karat gold bracelet with one carat of white diamonds.
But wait, that's not all. There's one more thing that really separates this sundae from all the rest: This extremely expensive desert includes a gold, diamond-encrusted spoon that the patron is allowed to take home.
If you can't afford the Most Expensive Sundae, maybe you could try to break the record for the time it takes to eat it. They might let you keep the spoon.
Something tells me the few people (namely sultans and gazillionares) who can actually afford this decadent treat wouldn't be ecstatic about keeping the golden spoon as a party favor, but hey - I thought it was pretty cool.
Colleen Shea is a sophomore majoring in journalism. Her column appears on Fridays.
