In this video, Mikhail Varshavski, DO — who goes by “Doctor Mike” on social media — looks at unexplainable world records.
Following is a transcript of the video (note that errors are possible):
Varshavski: Most knuckles cracked in 30 seconds. I think this is my morning routine right here. “Caught on Camera — Dr. Mike’s Morning Routine!” I feel like I could beat this one. Oh, a cramp in the hamstring. Cramp in the hamstring!
Vocal cords are obviously what gives you the ability to speak and produce sound. The larynx is a muscle. By being able to control that muscle — whether you’re stretching it out, you’re shortening it — you actually change your ability to control your pitch. Just like any other muscle, this muscle can be trained. That’s why we have vocal coaches.
Sam: Let’s see how low you can get.
Varshavski: Wasn’t that low?
Sam: I heard nothing. It was totally silent.
Varshavski: Exactly, it was that low?
What do we got here? Is this an age-related one? Wow! 116 as of March … is this person still alive, Sam?
Sam: Yes, she is still alive.
Varshavski: Wow! So, 2 years older or 3 years older basically. Her birthday is coming up, so it’s going to be a solid 119 in a few days. Happy early birthday Kane Tanaka! You think she knows?
Kane Tanaka: I don’t know what that is.
Varshavski: Yep, there you go. She goes, “I don’t know what this is.” [Editor’s note: Ms. Tanaka passed away on April 19, 2022.]
Nicholas James Stoeberl: My name is Nicholas James Stoeberl and I have the longest tongue in recorded history.
Varshavski: Wow.
Stoeberl: I think one of the most useful things that my tongue offers is actually not having to use a napkin.
Varshavski: It must be popular with his partners.
Stoeberl: I use my tongue actually to create, you could call it, art. I sort of like to paint on canvas using acrylic.
Varshavski: Everyone has got their thing. He paints with his tongue that’s very long. It’s the longest tongue in the world. I’m sure other people would be doing other things with that tongue, but maybe it wasn’t safe for Guinness World Records to investigate further.
What?! The longest time in an abdominal plank position. Okay. Here we are talking isometric contraction. We’re literally not shortening, not lengthening the fibers, but keeping them tight and engaged the entire time.
Sam: Before you can watch, what’s your prediction for the longest plank?
Varshavski: I’m going to say something wild, 5 hours. In February 2020, George Hood planked for an astonishing 8 hours, 15 minutes. Does he have a catheter in place? No way! They put a catheter in, so he could pee.
Enter Daniel Scali. Three hours in and he is keeping good form. Part of like the thing of keeping a plank is having really strong shoulders in addition to a strong core. The core is not just your abdominal muscles, it’s your obliques. It’s your posterior erector spinae muscles. Five hours. Six hours.
Scali: The 6-hour mark came, the 7-hour mark came, my body started to turn on me a little bit.
Varshavski: I can’t even do anything for 7 hours straight without taking a break, and my guy is planking.
Scali: I started to actually vomit on myself.
Varshavski: He vomited while doing it. Look at this guy. He didn’t need a catheter. He vomited while doing it.
Crowd: 3, 2, 1…
Varshavski: Coming out of it has got to be brutal too. Stop. Stop the video. We need to give him a good round of applause. That is so hard. I tried to do like 90 seconds. I’m like, “90? Come on. 60, 75.” This guy, 9+ hours.
Isaac Johnson: I have the biggest mouth in the world.
Varshavski: Largest gape. I have never referred to it as a gape. Wow, that is an open mouth. How many McDonald’s cheeseburgers can Isaac fit in his mouth? Do I want to know the answer to that question? He is wearing a Patriots shirt. I wonder if he has some laxity in his TMJ area or is just anatomically this is a normal variation.
Jamie Keeton: I am the Guinness World Records holder for the most cans stuck to a human head.
Varshavski: The most drink cans placed on the head using air suction. I’m fascinated. If a patient came to me and said, “cans stick to my head,” I would be at a loss. I wouldn’t know, should I refer? Should I write a case report up? Like, this is very unique.
Keeton: I went to a doctor. I walked in with a can of peanuts stuck to the side of my head and he goes, “How do you do that?” I go, “That’s what I’m here for. I want to find out how I do it.” He did a couple of things and that’s when he told me he thinks my skin pores suck in oxygen and makes things stick to me, and that I’m literally like one of four in the world that he knows of.
Varshavski: What?! That is the coolest thing. I wonder if there is any medical negatives from this.
Keeton: A full can of peanuts. I just…
Varshavski: Hold on. Is it … this has got to be a prank.
Keeton: This is real.
Varshavski: What’s the condition? “His body temperature is 100°F, which causes his skin pores to act like suction cups. Keeton’s wounds heal faster. He gets sick less and ages slower than most.” Sticky skin syndrome. Let’s get back to the world records.
Longest duration restraining four motorcycles. No, this looks like a medieval torture device. Just imagine if this goes wrong and the gentleman loses an arm. Don’t do this at home! Don’t do this at work! There is no reason to do this!
Can you imagine that guy walking into a bar? “Hey, babe. What’s up? You know what I did last night? I tied up motorcycles to all of my limbs and let them pull me apart, and they couldn’t do it for 24 seconds. How you doing?”
I feel like you could literally make anything a record if you really want it to be a record. Tell them I did this eight times.
Varshavski: No one knows what’s the record. Look at that. I just set the record. Most consecutive muscle … yow. Oh man, muscle ups are so hard. Tricep, lat, bicep, strength forearm, strength grip, so much is happening. A good form too. Excellent form. Wow, 26 is the record. I feel like I have seen some dudes in Central Park that could probably beat this. There are also some gymnasts that I feel like that might be able to beat that.
Longest duration full-body contact with ice. That already sounds painful. The real danger with ice when it is making full-body contact is that it can actually burn your skin. That’s why when I tell you put some ice on your injured shoulder or knee, I always say put something in between because I don’t want you to burn your skin. You can literally develop frostbite. This person is just chilling.
He beat the previous record of 2 hours, 35 minutes. How much further can he go? His heart rate is probably so low. The reason you see him shivering there is he is trying to warm up. About 3 hours and 28 seconds. I hope that it’s sponsored by these brands. Like who is doing that?
Whoa, his ear temperature is 33. That’s really low, so he is hypothermic.
Cathie Jung: I’m Cathie Jung and I am currently in the Guinness Book for the smallest waist on a living person.
Varshavski: This is very not recommended and unhealthy. A few things happen when you wear a waist trainer like that. One, you start actually weakening your core muscles because you are not allowing them to expand properly and function properly. Second, you’re also cramming your intestines from properly performing peristalsis, which is that movement of food throughout your body. Then you’re also affecting your breathing. Because in order to breathe, your ribs need to expand properly and your diaphragm needs to lower. That’s why we talk about belly breathing. When you shallow breathe like that, you actually lose a part of your lungs through a condition known as atelectasis. But also it’s short lived. If you stop wearing the corsets, it will return back to normal, and thank God for that. The human body wants to return back to normal.
Sultan Kösen: Sultan Kösen. 8 foot, 1 inch, 246.5 centimeters confirmed as the Guinness World Records‘ world’s tallest man.
Michael Powell: He has a pituitary tumor secreting a hormone called growth hormone.
Varshavski: The pituitary gland is sometimes known as like the master gland because it secretes some of the most important hormones that actually end up regulating sometimes other hormones. Sometimes you can have a tumor grow in the pituitary gland, which is actually not cancerous, but it is one that produces more of a certain hormone. Also, melanocytes, which secrete melanin, the cells that give your skin pigment, actually are controlled by melanocyte-stimulating hormone, which is also found in your pituitary gland.
Female: How tall are you?
Jyoti Kishanji Amge: 24 inches.
Varshavski: 24 inches, 2 feet.
Female: How was it to appear in the “American Horror Story?”
Amge: The experience was a whole lot of fun.
Varshavski: Oh, that’s cool.
Amge: I intend on doing more work in Hollywood.
Varshavski: That’s a great way to turn something unique that’s happened to you into a strength and into an asset. A good example of post-traumatic growth there.
What are we about to do? Most consecutive stairs climbed while balancing a person on the head. Who set this record in the first place? Wow! I have trouble doing a handstand, these guys are head-standing up steps. Well deserved. Look at the beautiful location. This should be a double award, most beautiful backdrop for consecutive stairs climbed with the person on the head.
I wonder how long they practiced for. Oh my God, can you imagine if they mess up? You fall down all those steps. Worst fear. What is this a contest for, Albert Einstein lookalikes?
Male: My sense of smell is different from other people.
Varshavski: Oh, are these like hyper smellers? It’s like hyperosmia or something.
Male: Other people said, “We don’t smell that smell.” I said, “You may not smell it, but I can.”
Varshavski: It’s really true, though. There are some people who are considered super spellers. In fact, we did a whole special episode tailored to an individual who was a super smeller and can actually smell Parkinson’s on certain patients, including her own husband.
Remember, the sense of smell is a chemical receptor. It’s when a chemical binds to the olfactory epithelium within your nose and it starts sending nerve signals to your brain in order for you to understand what that chemical is.
The longest nose on a living person belongs to this person. Just because his nose is long doesn’t mean that’s why he has such a great sense of smell. Remember, this is a neurological phenomenon that’s happening.
But I will say you can’t have disturbances in your anatomy. The olfactory cleft can be bigger or smaller in some people, or blocked off in others, where it could decide whether or not you have a strong sense of smell. The olfactory region in dogs in comparison to humans is so much better. Like 40,000 times better.
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Mike Varshavski, DO, is a board-certified family physician and social media influencer with more than 9 million subscribers.