Episode 2 Officially Amazing

This is the world of records.

# Officially.....

# Biggest shoe! Weirdest face!

# Fastest loo! Tightest space!

# Longest snake! Smallest van!

# Heaviest cake! Tallest man!

-# Longest ears on a dog!

-Aww

-# Most poisonous frog!

-Ahhh!

-# And a woman with a beard!

-What?

# Officially, officially, officially

# Amazing! #

Hello, I'm Ben Shires,

and this is Officially Amazing, the show that scours the world

to bring you the coolest, heaviest,

loopiest, creepiest

and weirdest world records.

And, boy, have we got cool and weird coming up today.

We'll see some incredible official Guinness World Record attempts,

including...

Catching!

..this man, who attempts a bizarre world record with chopsticks,

under the watchful eye of our Japanese reporter, Haruka.

Sitting!

I travel to Germany, for a record attempt featuring extreme sitting.

Flying!

And our American reporter Al finds out how this man's

obsession with designing paper planes won him a new world record.

But first, let's see some of our furry friends doing something...

-Officially...

-Barking!

Whee!

Urgh!

Look at this! We're in Huntington Beach, California.

It's on the West Coast of America

and, believe me, it is very, very hot.

I'm beginning to think that this bowtie was not such a great idea.

This is one of the world's top surfing destinations,

but we haven't come here for a human surfing record.

Today we're going to be meeting these guys.

That's right, surfing dogs.

Today, the aim is to see how many dogs can surf on the same wave.

Amazing.

But, to make it a new Guinness World Record, more than 20 dogs

will need to ride one wave at the same time for at least five seconds.

Sounds impossible, but then I'm not much of a salty sea dog myself.

I say, old chap, who's that screaming idiot over there

giving us Brits are bad name?

Don't worry, Guv, I'll go sort him out.

Seeing as this is a Stateside world record attempt,

I've called in the help of our American reporter Al.

That's right. Welcome to America, little man.

Welcome. I mean, you look good, you look like you're dressed for it.

Yeah, well, I knew what Americans wear on the beach, and this is that.

-Well, you nailed it, brother.

-Thank you.

Enough talk of what I'm wearing, let's go and meet some dogs,

because I believe "surf's pup". Yeah!

For the last four years, dogs of all shapes and sizes

have been coming here for the annual Surf City Surf Dog event.

But this year they're going to try and set the record

for the most dogs riding one wave.

But, before anyone gets their paws wet, it's time

for a little warm-up event, in the form of a costume contest.

Never mind bikinis and mankinis - what about dog-kinis?

Raven D Rockstar, here, was voted Best In Show.

And this pooch was obviously furious

when the judges decided that crab hats were a bit last season.

GROWLING

BARKING

Catwalk - or rather dogwalk - over, it's time for the hounds

to hit the surf for some practice.

So, how do they do it?

Well, to help them hang on, the dogs use soft-topped surfboards,

so they can dig their claws in,

and they also wear a canine flotation device,

just in case their doggie paddle isn't up to scratch.

Most of the dogs taking part in today's challenge

are pretty talented and can even do a few tricks.

And one of the riders here today is a legend in the surfing dog world.

This is Abbie, a six-year old Australian kelpie -

the Jessica Ennis of dog surfing.

In 2011, she set the record for the longest wave ridden

by a dog in open water, when she surfed a massive 107 metres.

That's about the length of a football pitch!

Who's a clever girl?

But today, she's working with some of her friends,

to try and set a new world record.

Later in the show, not one, not two, not thr-...

We'll be here all day, at this rate - it's 20.

20 dogs will take to the water on their little surfboards

and try and surf the same wave for five seconds.

Hmm, looks tough to me.

Can they do it? Well, we'll find out later.

Now, trying to break world records and set new ones isn't easy,

as Haruka's going to demonstrate in...

-Officially...

-What?

Argh!

Thanks, Ben. Today we have a new Guinness World Record attempt

in Germany that didn't quite go according to plan.

So, what goes wrong? This is Tom Hangarter.

He wants to break a really difficult record

by jumping off something that's high, but also moving.

So, of course, he's gone for a helicopter,

and he plans to jump for it and land on this stack of cardboard boxes.

Officially dangerous.

And he officially isn't going to make it.

So, what is it that stops Tom from setting a new world record

for the highest dive from a helicopter onto cardboard boxes?

Does he feel airsick and his lunch makes a reappearance? Eww!

Or he can't jump due to a bad case of wind. Also eww!

Or he jumps and completely misses the boxes, making a right old mess?

Well, there's a clue.

He doesn't jump because...

there was too much wind.

It seems nobody realised that when you place a helicopter -

which is basically a massive fan -

over a pile of cardboard boxes held together with only sticky tape,

they will have a tendency to get blown away.

So, Tom is forced to stop the attempt

and fly off, standing on the outside of the helicopter. Like you do.

Not only is this no world record,

we reckon it's officially a bit rubbish.

Thanks, Haruka.

Now, from that dangerous record attempt to one you can try at home.

-Officially...

-Record hungry!

GROWLING

BELCHING

Phew!

There are some people on this planet we call home who have

a serious appetite for trying to break records.

They risk life and limb in death-defying stunts.

But today we're here to see a Guinness World Record attempt

that you - yes, you - can try at home.

Because today we are going to be...

coin stacking.

'That's right, coin stacking.'

Prepare to be wowed.

'I'm so excited about this record attempt

'that I've spared no expense on some special arrangements.'

We've got an incredible band - The Sizzlettes!

'Hoping to hit the big time soon and play semi-detached houses,

'they're on fire!

'Not, literally. I got a smoke machine in to set the mood.'

We've got a glamorous official adjudicator.

We have a high octane and handsome commentator and, of course,

we have a coin stacker. The man, the legend, the Stephen Kish!

Also known as Sizzlin' Steve!

'Thanks for helping with the banner, Mum!'

Sizzlin' Steve is studying computer animation at university,

but that's not important to us. Oh, no!

He's important because he's a one-man record-breaking machine.

He currently holds ten world records,

and does it all from here, record-breaking HQ,

also know as his student flat in Portsmouth.

He may hold a number of amazing records, but he's hungry for more.

Steve is addicted to breaking records, but what's best about them

is they're records that you can try at home.

But don't be fooled - these stunts may look simple,

but even stacking coins takes skill, lots of practice

and a few spare pence.

-Coin stacking.

-Yeah.

-It sounds thrilling(!)

Talk us through it in detail.

The record is for the most coins stacked into a tower in one minute.

-I can use one hand only.

-One hand. Can I see the hand?

# Hallelujah! #

You've got very long nails today, is that in preparation for...?

Yes, to pick up coins it's best to have long nails.

That is the hand of a record breaker.

Now, this wouldn't be a proper record without some strict rules.

Only one hand can be used to stack the coins, one at a time.

Steve has to beat his own current record of 51 coins

stacked in 30 seconds.

He's allowed to neaten the tower of coins

and, once stacked, the coin tower must remain standing

for at least five seconds.

Microphone, please!

The Sizzlettes, are you ready?

THEY PLAY

-Great! Official adjudicator Claire, are you ready?

-I am.

Excellent. Crew, are you ready?

-Sizzling Steve, are you ready?

-Yes.

Three, two, one, sizzle!

THE BAND PLAYS

'And he's off.

'The one-man stacking machine

'adopts the non-coin hand behind the back stance - classic!

'Oh no! There's about eight pence just trying to get away there!'

Stop, stop!

'Steve looks rattled.'

Steve, what happened here?

-The band's playing too loud.

-They're too funky?

-Yeah.

Can you funk it down, guys? This man's trying to break a record.

Three, two, one, go.

'Right, here he goes again.

'Go on, Steve, stack those coins!'

'Oh, he seems to be on the money, this time.

'Remember, Steve is allowed to neaten the coin tower.'

Time's running out.

Just ten seconds left on the clock!

'Remember, he has to beat his own current record of 51 coins

'stacked in just 30 seconds.'

-Two, one...

-Stop!

One, two...

Adjudicator Claire's not just counting for fun -

the coin tower must remain standing for five seconds.

.. four, five.

Well, this leaning tower of "2p-sa" can only mean one thing -

that there could be a record on the cards, right now.

Steve, we're now going to count your coins.

'Oh, look at Steve's face.

'Look at my face! Look at their faces!

'Has he done it?'

With 55 coins, Steve,

you've set a new Guinness World Record, congratulations!

So, all the practice paid off and, to coin a phrase,

it's Officially Amazing.

Of course.

If you want to try and break Steve's record at home,

remember his top tips.

Start collecting copper coins,

grow your fingernails,

and bring out your inner sizzle.

It's in there, somewhere.

Look out for more record hungry attempts from Sizzlin' Steve

later in the series. But now, over to Haruka for something...

-Officially...

-Japanese!

GONG

I'm here at one of the oldest temples in Tokyo,

for a Guinness World Record attempt involving

the tools we eat with - chopsticks.

And there's a real art in using them.

Whether you're trying to get hold of some rice,

some noodles,

or a ping-pong ball.

OK, let's face it, no-one uses chopsticks to catch

a ping-pong ball, unless you are this guy.

This is Yuta Nagatuchi and, until recently, he held the world record

for the most ping-pong balls caught with chopsticks in a minute.

He lost his number one status to arch-rival and chopsticks champion

Ryuta Joraku, and now he wants it back.

Do you practise a lot?

-TRANSLATION:

-No, love, I don't practise.

-You don't do anything?

-No, I said.

So, you must be some kind of ping-pong ball genius?

You're absolutely right, love.

SHE SPEAKS JAPANESE

For this attempt, Yuta has 60 seconds to catch as many balls as he can.

He needs to beat the current record of 21,

and the balls are only allowed to bounce once.

Yuta has an assistant, Koichi, to bounce the balls for him.

We're almost ready,

but before the attempt can begin, Yuta needs to get the balls measured.

They seem to be satisfactory. Let's get ready to chopstick ping-pong.

-Koichi, are you ready?

-Yes.

-Yuta, are you ready?

-Yes.

Three, two, one, go!

It's a strong start!

But he's missed one there!

Oh, he sort of batted that one into the basket, that won't count.

Oh, there's a slippery one.

30 seconds gone.

But he's doing well!

Nice catch there! But can he catch more than 21?

-There goes another one into the basket.

-Stop!

Well, Yuta doesn't look too happy with that,

although it looked good from here.

But what does the adjudicator think?

The record to beat was 21 ping-pong balls.

We had to disqualify eight ping-pong balls,

because they bounced into the box

without you catching them

with chopsticks. So, Yuta, with your total of...

27 ping-pong balls,

you have achieved the new Guinness World Record title, congratulations!

-Yes!

-Incredible!

It took a moment for him to realise, but he's done it -

a new world record for the most ping-pong balls caught with

a pair of chopsticks in one minute.

And what better way to celebrate than with a high five?

Oh, he's missed.

Never mind, Yuta, you're still officially amazing,

just like my friends Ben and Al,

who are watching some Californian canines try to get a record.

It's...

-Officially...

-Barking! Part two.

We're back in California, to see some dogs

do something pretty unusual.

Normally found fetching sticks, barking at postmen

and chasing their tails, today, these dogs will hit the water,

to try and set a surfing record for the most dogs riding on one weave.

But, before the dogs get out on the water,

Ben and I are going to show them how it's done.

Oh, this I've got to see!

Listen up, because we have real,

-money-can't-buy surfing tips to give you.

-Do we?!

First, get out amongst the waves.

-Al, I don't think...

-Quiet, Ben! People can learn from watching us.

Now, turn your board towards the beach

and start paddling back to shore, as you catch that wave.

-This is the worst demonstration I've ever seen!

-Nonsense!

Look at me, I'm a natural.

I simply can't watch this, Dave.

They are making a right dog's dinner of this.

All you have to do then is stand-up and you're surfing!

No-one's learning anything, other than the fact that we're idiots!

Then it's just a case of angling your board,

so you catch that perfect ride.

Oh, who are we kidding? Let's see the professionals do it.

Well, the dogs.

These heroic hounds are about to experience

the ultimate surfing battle...

..as they attempt to set a new Guinness World Record.

Well, just in case something were to go wrong,

Al and I are on stand-by, for any in-sea rescues.

Luckily, Al will be the one who does any mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

What?

To get the record, at least 20 dogs must be out on the water

on their own surfboard,

and they all have to catch the same wave

and ride it for at least five seconds.

These dogs are already amazing,

but can they surf their way into the record books?

Well, dogs have a saying for times like this.

BARKING

Which translates as, "Bring it on!"

The owners and their dogs paddle out, to make the attempt.

Three, two, one...

HORN

The dogs are on the boards.

Can they all catch the same wave and get a record?

That's one dog surfing, two...

He's not looking the right way, but he's still surfing.

Three, four, five...

I can't count them all! Luckily, that's his job.

That's Mike, and he's the official adjudicator of dog surfing.

Cool job!

But Mike tells us he isn't happy.

During that first try, not enough dogs were on their boards.

They need to try again.

And, if it wasn't hard enough, now the sea is fighting back.

I don't know if they can do this.

No, it's too rough!

Ruff! Ruff!

Come on, surf dogs! You can do this!

HOOTER

OK, second attempt...

Man, those waves are strong.

So far, it's Dogs 0, Waves 1.

So, the official word is, the dogs have failed for a second time.

They've decided on one more attempt. This has to be the one.

Puppy power!

Oh, they just need a good wave!

Here we go. It's now or never.

HOOTER

Ride those waves, doggies!

Yes! Some of them are nailing it.

And there goes superstar Abbie, who we met earlier.

But have at least 20 of her puppy pals also surfed the same wave?

It was officially spectacular,

some would say it was a little barking mad,

but was it Officially Amazing?

There's Abbie, perching expectantly on the shoulder of her owner.

Well, there's one man who can tell us. He's right here.

Adjudicator Mike, how did they do?

Unfortunately, not enough dogs completed the surf today

that met the minimum requirement, so we did not have

a new Guinness World Record achievement set,

but that's the nature of record-breaking.

It was a great attempt, but an unsuccessful one, nonetheless.

So, the official word is the dogs have failed to get

into the record books, but here are some cool cats that did.

# It's time for a frenzy of feline facts

# A catalogue of stats you're bound to react

# Like Towzer, from Perth, who killed 30,000 mice

# Which is pretty impressive but not very nice

# Incredible and crazy stuff

# Like the pussycat from Texas called Cream Puff

# Was the key for longevity her furry fluff?

# She was 38 years old before she'd purred enough

# Tinker Toy was a tiny creature

# No higher than seven centimetres.

# Stewie, by contrast From head to toe

# Was 1.23 metres, high and low.

# Finally, there's a startling stat

# Meet the world's most prolific cat

# Dusty, from Texas Had kittens aplenty

-How many?

-420.

-What?

# Cool cats

# Miaow-miaow-miaow-miaow-miaow

# Cool cats

# Record-breaking felines, wow!

# Cool cats

# Cooler than the winter snow

# Cool cats...

Dad, can we get a cat?

# No! #

Officially...cool!

I'm in Germany, for a very cool record attempt.

I'm here to witness an exciting new craze,

a craze that some people are referring to as extreme sitting.

Yes, sitting. Finally, something I might actually be good at,

which is why I have got my cushion, for my tush.

Let's get comfy.

This is Hockern, and these are just

some of the crazy moves from this new sport.

I'm here to meet two of the world's top Hockers,

brothers Stephan and Michael Landschutz,

who just happen to be the inventors of this crazy new sport

that uses a stool.

How did it come about? I mean, how did you think of it?

We are coming from skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding.

There you make tricks with something,

and why not with und stool?

Yes, but also, why with "und stool"?

It's a lot of fun, also, to invent new tricks,

because you make a mistake and you have a new trick.

Wow, that must be nice.

When I make a mistake, I have to usually make an apology afterwards.

You've got a whole new bit of the sport! That's incredible.

'So, Hockern is a relatively new sport

'and what does every new sport need?

'A new Guinness World Record, of course.

'And today, inventor Stephan is going to attempt one.

'But first, I'm having a go.'

Can we get some slow-mo, a bit of music over that,

just make me look a bit cooler?

'Argh! Ooh! I hope Al wasn't watching that!'

'Yes, I was watching - and it was terrible.'

OK, let's move things along, shall we?

It's time to see the first ever record attempt in this new sport.

And, despite it being about extreme sitting,

Stephan's going to do this one standing up.

For this attempt, Stephan will try to do as many Hocker Shove Its

as he can in 30 seconds.

Now, you might be thinking a Shove It is something you do

to your mate on the bus. Well, you're wrong.

This is a Shove It - a 360 degree spin

with the Hocker in the roll position.

As this record is the first of its kind,

a minimum number of 12 360 degree Shove Its

has been set by the official adjudicator.

During some earlier warm-ups, things looked a little wobbly for Stephan.

Now he's against the clock, can he do it?

The stage is set and the pressure's on for Stephan,

as all his fellow Hocker mates are watching.

-Official adjudicator Olaf, are you ready?

-I'm ready, yes.

-Excellent. Stephan, are you ready?

-Yeah.

OK, on my count, drei, zwei, ein, go!

'So, there's 30 seconds on the clock

'and he has to get at least 12 Shove Its to set a new record.

'But can he get more?'

'He's up to 6 now.

'I bet those thighs will be aching, but he has to keep going.'

'Oh, he's come off! Can he get back on and get more than 12?'

'Time's up, and Stephan's mates seem to think he's done it.

'It looked pretty good to us,

'but the adjudicator needs to verify the total number that Stephan got.'

Congratulations, Stephan, it looked great.

Obviously, it's not easy. How do you feel?

I feel now really good, it's my favourite trick.

Well, he thinks he's done it. Olaf, did he?

It is true, yes, he did 13 for the new record. Congratulations!

CHEERING

Good work, Stephan!

Phew! I think I might need a sit-down after all that.

Pass me a Hocker, will you, Al?

Just don't drop it again.

I'll take over from here, as we go from the newest craze

on the block, to something that's been around for years.

Let's go back to America for...

-Officially...

-Singue.

Er, Genius!

I'm on an old military base, in Sacramento, California.

And this is the site of the world's longest recorded flight

by a very special plane.

Here she is!

Believe it or not, this is an aeroplane-design marvel.

It holds the record for the furthest flight by a paper aircraft.

I mean, you wouldn't believe how far this thing can fly.

Guys! A little professionalism!

Anyway, if you want to know the secrets to getting one of these

to go super far, then this is the man you need...

Who threw it? Who threw it?

This is John Collins, inventor, engineer, folder of paper,

and, of course, record breaker.

He can design paper planes that fly further than any other on record...

that fly in circles...

and ones that are so light he can control them

by moving the air around them.

He is one clever guy.

Making a record-breaking paper plane is something of a secret,

but we did manage to pick up some handy tips.

Sharp creases are really critical. That helps keep the wings flat.

So, on a plane this size, you want very, very flat wings,

so sharp creases are one of the main things you have to do.

You want to try to get one wing to perfectly match the other wing.

Just a mirror image, perfect symmetry,

that's what you want to go for.

John also uses 14 pieces of tape to secure and balance the plane.

So, a critical thing most people miss is you have to test fly,

then adjust for what the plane's doing.

If it's nose-diving, you want to give it a little up there.

If it's turning left you want to give it a little right there.

You just bend this trailing edge the direction you want the plane to go.

Thanks, John, for those amazing tips.

But, in order to get the world record for the furthest flight

by a paper aircraft, John needed someone else to throw it.

So, if John's the brains, this guy is definitely the brawn.

This is Joe Ayoob...

Red, 19!

..John's secret weapon.

A six foot one, 225-pound American college football star.

It's the quarterback's job to throw the ball as far as possible.

So, in short, Joe's really good at throwing,

and the ideal man to make John's paper plane really fly.

Inspired by John's wisdom, the crew and I made our own planes,

but we still needed some tips from Joe on how to throw them.

Number one is keep your elbow down a little bit.

If you get your arm too high, you'll to snap your wrist

and the plane will crash straight into the ground.

Number two, you want to make sure

that you're coming through on a flat angle.

If you're twisting the plane or doing different things with it,

it will affect the throw down the field.

It should look a little something like this.

-Are you guys ready?

-ALL: Yeah!

Get set, throw!

As you can see, we did pretty well.

Our best attempt reached over 22 metres.

But that's nothing compared to the distance Joe threw John's plane -

which, incidentally, he named Suzanne, after his wife. Aww!

So, let's take a look at the Guinness World Record

for the furthest flight by a paper aircraft.

There it is, there it is, we are all over that one.

That's going to do it.

Get up there, get up there, get up there!

CHEERING

Unbelievable.

It broke the previous record by over six metres,

travelling over 69 metres.

That's, like, one and a half Olympic swimming pools!

Amazing what design skills can do.

Yep, I'm off to get folding!

That's it for today, here's what's been officially amazing.

# Those crazy canines in California

# Tried to surf, but failed

# The waves were just too wild

# And they went to wet nose over tail

# Stephan's Shove It was rocking'

# He's a record breaker at Hockern

# And John's paper plane went so far, it fried our brains

# And Sizzling Steve was cracking at stacking coins

It's all Officially...

# Amazing! #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

# Amazing! #