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

# Most poisonous frog

-# And a woman with a beard

-What?

# Officially, Officially, Officially, Officially Amazing. #

Hello, I'm Ben Shires and welcome to Officially Amazing.

Where is he?

Never mind, I'll have to do his line -

it's the show that brings you the most incredible records

and record attempts from around the world.

CAR ENGINE APPROACHING

Ha! What time do you call this?

Sorry, sorry got held up.

Here's what's coming up on today's show.

Today's harebrained

and Officially Amazing Guinness World Record attempts include...

Our Officially Competitive heroes take each other on in another

global record-breaking battle.

This time, it's star jumps.

This hirsute hero does something weirdy with his beardy.

But not easy-peasy.

Haruka sees if this bloke can set a record catching tennis balls

with a boxing glove.

But first...

COUGHING

Once upon a time, in a kingdom very similar to this one,

two heroes born of the same mother set a world record that they

thought would never be broken.

But far, far away in a mystical land known only as Germany,

a new hero was born, a man who had similar parallel-parking powers

to that of the Moffatt brothers, and cruelly took their record from them.

But no-one takes the title of tightest parallel parkers away from

the Moffatt brothers without a fight on their hands.

They're here and they want their record back.

These are the Moffatt brothers -

Alastair and his little brother John.

They're both champion stunt car drivers

and parallel parking professionals.

Parallel parking means driving a car into a space between two

parked vehicles.

And the tightest parallel park is the smallest space you can

fit a car into.

When they set the record on the last series, the Moffatts managed

to park in a space just 13.1cm longer than their cars.

But since then, German driver Ronny Wechselberger smashed

their record when he squeezed into a gap just 10cm bigger than his car.

Today, the Moffatt brothers are going for a record

they hope can never be beaten,

aiming to get into a space just 8.6cm longer than their car.

That's about the length of a pencil after you've

chewed about a third of it off.

Let's see if they can win back their record.

Here are the rules - using all their driving skill,

the Moffatt boys must slide their car into the parking space

without touching the white line that indicates the kerb,

or either of the parked cars.

The tarmac is so hot and sticky, they're using water to make

it possible to slide the car in sideways.

Remember, they only have 8.6cm to play with.

First things first, chaps, who's going to go first?

And I think the only proper, brotherly way to do

that would be rock, paper, scissors.

You happy?

Yeah, OK.

After three...

One, two, three...

It looks like it's you, Alastair.

Off you go, sir.

Alastair starts with a few practice runs,

trying to spin his car into a much bigger space than he'll be

trying to get it into for the actual attempt.

But it's not going well.

It's not sliding that well, is it?

How's it looking, Alastair?

It's pretty grippy, even with the little sprinkler.

We've got the sprinklers on.

-It's a hot, hot day.

-It's a hot day.

Well, we've only got this afternoon, so fingers crossed.

Time is short and Alastair must start his official attempt.

The cars are brought together, the distance between them

measured precisely, only 8.6cm longer than the car he's driving.

Alastair really struggled in his practice runs,

can he do it for real?

Here comes Alastair for his first attempt.

No-one has ever parallel parked into a space this small before.

Is it even possible?

Oh!

That looks nice!

Alastair, you are as cool as a cucumber here!

Why? What's the problem?

Look at this man.

He might have just broken a record.

Official adjudicator Mark checks the cars are not touching

and that the white line has not been crossed.

Could Alastair have done it first time?

You've had a check of his first attempt, Mark,

how does it look to you?

Well, it looks OK at the back.

I've checked the distance between the Mini and the kerb and it's

within the limits and at 8.6cm,

that is a brand-new Guinness World Records title!

Look at that!

Oh!

Incredible! After failing miserably in practice,

Alastair Moffatt has set a new world record on his first attempt,

knocking 1.4cm off the old record.

We'll be back to see

if little brother John can repeat the feat, no pressure, John,

and to see the brothers attempt a new world record -

two cars parallel parked in the same space.

But first...

In the last series, we met some seriously hungry record breakers.

But this time, we're taking it to the next level.

We scoured the globe to find three record-breaking gladiators.

In every show,

they will attempt to break a record that you can try at home.

They are Officially Competitive!

Representing the UK, it's...

Sizzlin' Steve.

Last series, he broke two records and this time,

he's hankering for more.

-You feeling confident?

-No.

Right.

Representing Japan is mild-mannered Cherry Yoshitaki.

He loves breaking records

almost as much as he loves wearing silver underpants.

Last, but by no means least, is the pocket-rocket, US Ray.

The man who holds the record of all records -

back-flipping into a pair of trousers.

Previously, the challenge for our three recordteers was to

move as much water as possible with their hands in 30 seconds.

They all produced valiant efforts, well, some of them did...

Try and get it in the tube, yeah.

But Cherry was victorious and got himself a new world record to boot.

First blood to Japan.

Today's high-octane challenge is a high-flying contest

and we start in the USA,

as our warriors go head-to-head in a battle of...

US Ray's used to breaking acrobatic records,

but can he do it for America today?

Can he be a superstar star jumper?

I caught up with my man for a motivational pep-talk.

It seems like the star jumps are tailor-made for you, US Ray,

do you think you have this in the bag?

-I got this in the bag.

-You got it?

-It's mine.

-All right. Even though you're just doing a star jump,

is there anything that can go wrong?

Something can go wrong - it may not be a physical thing,

but a lot of these things, it's more mental than physical.

It's what you tell your body to do,

so, for me, it's more just staying focused.

Right. Well, if there's anybody I know that's got focus, it's you.

We got this in the bag. US Ray, get this record.

All right. Thank you.

For a star jump to be valid...

..like a star!

Remember, you can do this at home, just do me a favour -

don't do it near the TV.

Time for US Ray to get it done for the USA.

Three, two, one - go.

Look at that speed! I promise we haven't sped this up.

We can slow it down though.

Wow! Plenty of star jumps from the land of stars and stripes.

Come on, US Ray.

US Ray! US Ray!

US Ray!

SPED-UP VOICE: US Ray! US Ray! Come on.

Keep it going, Ray, you can do it. CLEARS THROAT

NORMAL VOICE: He's got to be getting tired now,

but what amazing technique.

-Stop.

-Yeah! All right! Whoo!

I think I got tired just watching you.

We'll find out how many jumps Ray did in a moment.

He looked very fast, but then, he is a natural athlete.

Sizzlin' Steve, in the UK, is not.

Come on, superstar, you can do this.

Both he and Mr Cherry have their work cut out.

It's number one!

-Three...

-Two...

One.

Star jump.

And they're off.

The current record is 70 star jumps in a minute.

Can they beat it?

A thing of near beauty.

Near, but not quite.

Has Steve read the rules? They don't look like proper star jumps to me.

Oh, Steve!

Oh, no! Disaster for Sizzlin' Steve.

Only 30 seconds in and The Sizzler has fizzled.

But Mr Cherry is giving it his all,

and I'm helping out by laughing at him.

His star jumps aren't exactly graceful,

but what he lacks in ability, he makes up for in enthusiasm.

Remember, straight arms, back and legs, Mr Cherry.

He's getting tired - his technique's deserted him.

Stop! Time's up.

He can always rely on my support.

He is hilarious.

So who's won, and do we have a new world record?

In 3rd place - no surprises, it's the UK.

Sizzlin' Steve's jumps were all disqualified.

Sorry, Steve, but that was useless.

In 2nd place was...Japan, with just 12 legal star jumps.

12!

Sadly, Mr Cherry's back wasn't straight

enough for most of his efforts, so they weren't counted.

That makes US Ray the clear winner

of this Officially Competitive challenge.

But has he done enough to break the world record?

The record to beat today was 70 jumps.

Your attempt had a complete total of...

..77 jumps, so you've achieved a new Guinness World Records title!

All right, US Ray, that's more than one star jump every second.

That puts him level with Mr Cherry after two challenges.

The boys will be back to fight it out next time in...

Officially Competitive.

Yeah!

To Italy now, where Gandalf from Lord Of The Rings in a cowboy hat

is going to attempt the record.

This is Lithuanian Antanas Kontrimas, who, along with his impressive beard

and glamorous assistant, is here to attempt a record.

But what record is it?

Well, the answer is...heaviest weight lifted by a beard.

And he's going to lift her! All right!

To prepare for the lift, Antanas has to get her into a specially designed

beard-lifting harness, available at all good beard-lifting harness shops.

Now, I know it's impolite to talk about people's weight,

but as this record is all about weight, we need to.

She weighs 63.5kg, which is the equivalent to, um...

The equivalent to...

an Italian lady dressed up as a cowgirl!

Antanas needs to lift her up for at least five seconds

with his beard to break the record.

That is some serious beard power.

And that is a bold look!

Kids, even if by some miracle of nature you do have a beard,

don't try this at home.

He's done it!

Antanas has whiskers of steel.

Look at him go - he's like an angry garden gnome.

But then again, I guess you'd be angry too

if somebody was hanging from your beard.

And he goes in for a hug.

And another?

Well done, Antanas, that is

officially the heaviest weight ever lifted by a human beard - 63.5kg.

Officially weirdy, officially beardy and definitely Officially Amazing.

And now for a song about a man who eats records for breakfast.

# Ashrita the world beater

# Ashrita the world beater

# He'll defeat ya, not a cheater

# Ashrita the world beater

# Yo, it's time for a story, 'bout a dude who deserves some glory

# Ashrita Furman's his name, and record breaking's his game

# He holds more records than anyone ever has at one time

# Let me tell you about him in rhyme

# Ain't no-one tasted so many victories sweeter

# Than the man they call Ashrita

# Most bananas snapped in a minute

# In that bit of time he snapped 99

# He's done things you never would have thoughta

# Even broken records under water

# Like jump more than 500 metres on a pogo stick

# Or do the longest hula-hoop, yeah, he's pretty slick

# Come on, people, give the guy his dues

# He walked in the world's heaviest shoes

# 146.5 kilos in weight, his weary feet can't have felt too great

# I'm just getting going, there ain't no stopping

# He's also got a record for space hopping

# He hopped till he dropped and he did it in style

# In 24 hours he bounced a massive five miles

# Now, you and me run, but not like him

# He ran the fastest mile wearing swimming fins

# Breaking records makes him happy, I suppose

# Why else push an orange a mile with your nose?

# In that particular world record pursuit

# Took him just over 22 minutes to push that fruit

# And if you think orange-nudging with your nose is wrong

# How's catching lemons with a blindfold on?

# With his team mate, he caught 28 in a minute

# That's more than you could do, mate

# He gets spiritual peace when he's record-breaking

# Champion of champions, ain't no faking

# I'm not making it up, it's true,

# I'm amazed at the stuff this guy can do

# 100 metre jogs while wearing clogs

# Fastest pace in a mile sack race

# Bobbing more apples than anyone can

# 34 in a minute, he's officially the man

# Ashrita the world beater

# Ashrita the world beater

# He'll defeat ya, not a cheater

# Ashrita the world beater. #

Haruka is in Japan, which is handy because now it's...

Konichiwa, everybody!

Today's Japanese record would be impossible to do without these.

Boxing gloves.

But as it's Officially Amazing Japan-styley, there's a twist.

We're not using them to box with...

And to illustrate how impractical these are for doing anything

other than boxing, I'm now going to try to do some everyday tasks.

TOILET FLUSHES

Just don't ask.

They certainly don't make life easier, that's for sure,

which makes today's record attempt,

set against Tokyo's famous Rainbow Bridge, all the more impressive.

Meet siblings Haruna and Kodai Yamagishi,

who are hoping to regain a record they previously

held for catching the most tennis balls, wearing a boxing glove.

Haruna throws and Kodai catches.

So this record is rather strange, how did you get into it?

-TRANSLATION:

-We went out shopping,

came across an event, took part and won.

We caught 44 balls and set a new world record.

So what's the secret of the success?

-TRANSLATION:

-My totally awesome catching skills, definitely.

-No, it's the throwing.

-No, catching, love.

No, it's definitely the throwing.

You need to catch at least 51 balls today.

-TRANSLATION:

-I am aiming for 60 balls!

-Good luck.

-Oh, ta, love.

As Kodai and Haruna do a last practice,

you take a look at the rules.

Standard 8-10oz gloves must be used and they must be fastened.

Only one hand may be used to catch,

and thrower and catcher should stand three metres apart.

Kodai and Haruna's previous record was 44, but that was beaten by,

yes, Ashrita the world beater and his friend Pippin Larkin in June 2013.

Today, they want their title back.

Go!

50 to beat, remember.

Hitting a good rhythm now.

Let's look at the technique -

Kodai slows the ball with his glove, when it comes to rest, it's a catch.

Only then can he drop it.

That won't count.

Ooh, another one dropped!

Come on, Kodai!

That's good though.

And another. Yes!

It's boxing, it's tennis, it's....bennis!

Or is it toxing?

Never mind.

Oh, this is nice and fast.

Missed a couple there though.

Final few seconds... HOOTER BLOWS

Quite a few dropped, have they done enough to get their record back?

Official adjudicator Ayia is checking the replay.

Did they get the 50 catches they needed?

What you have achieved right now....

..was...

..62!

THEY CHEER

That was amazing!

Happy high-fives all round!

And no wonder!

They've beaten Ashrita by 12 catches to reclaim their tennis ball title.

It's a happy ending for Kodai

and Haruna for proving themselves to be Officially Amazing.

Bye-bye from Tokyo.

We're back in the Malvern Hills with the Moffatt brothers,

where earlier, we saw elder brother Alastair set a new world record

of 8.6cm for the tightest parallel park,

doing it on his first attempt!

Ha-ha! Look at that!

Later, we'll see the boys attempt

a brand-new new double parallel park world record.

But first, can John equal his big brother's incredible feat

and once more share the single parallel park record?

After all, it's nice to share.

Can he do it first time?

GROANS

That'll be a no, then.

There was a little ding there.

That's going to be John busy all night knocking that out.

Oh, that's not good.

Now that John's shunted the car, it has to go back in, re-measure,

make sure it's at record-breaking territory.

John tries again - come on, John!

Ooh!

Looks nice.

There's a little bit of touching going on here.

Some inspired technical observations from yours truly there,

but it's not my opinion that matters.

It's a little bit too close,

-it's completely underneath the bumper in front.

-Another fail!

Oh, dear, oh, dear! Will it be third time lucky?

Er, no.

Fourth time lucky?

OK, fifth?

Sixth?

Ooh!

They've decided John has time for one more go before the big one -

the new world record for the double parallel park.

-Come on, John!

-Come on!

This time, John!

No!

So close - John's car is just touching the car in front,

so that's a fail.

Never mind.

Commiserations.

Well done, Al.

Well, it may have been just you who got the record there,

Alastair, but now it's time for you to work together as a team,

and it's gotten even tougher - it's the double parallel park.

The double parallel park is a brand-new record.

It needs a larger parking space but two cars must fit into it.

To count as a new record, the total space between all

the cars can be no more than 50cm, which is not much room.

The same rules apply - if any car goes over the white line,

or if any of the cars are touching, then it's a fail.

And, as the tarmac is now cooler,

the Moffatts don't need water to help them slide.

BURPING

Alastair gets the red Mini into position and in the white one,

John is ready to go.

Right, here we go - first attempt, double parallel park.

I can't wait.

John first, then Alastair.

Excellent.

Now, it's time for Mark to check - could this be a record?

We've got one of the cars touching the white line,

so that's an invalid attempt.

Ah! Time to try again, guys.

The Moffatt brothers were millimetres away from a new

world record, but John's car just touched the white line.

So they'll try again.

In comes John.

And in comes Alastair...

Oh!

This time, Alastair's car has gone over the white line,

so it's another fail.

OK. Third time's a charm - let's get a record.

First John, then Alastair.

Ooh. Alastair's car crashed into the blue one - that's another fail.

This isn't going well and there isn't much time left.

The boys are struggling,

they can't seem to make it work with this method.

Time for a Moffatt family conference.

And it looks like they've come up with an idea.

I think we're probably going to have to change our approach,

maybe both come from the same direction.

Let's just check with Mark that that's within the rules - Mark?

Absolutely. As long as the cars get into that space,

-I'm quite happy with it.

-Fantastic.

Sounds good, you want to give it another try?

Yeah, let's give it a go.

Plan B for the marvellous motoring Moffatt brothers!

It's time for the first attempt with the new configuration of cars,

both coming in from the same angle.

Hopefully, this'll pay dividends.

Alastair coming in first this time, and here comes John.

But he's hit Alastair - that's a fail.

There was a definite shunt there.

Oh, yes, there was, Alastair.

Here they come again.

No, no, no, no!

Alastair's called that one - it's a no.

It has to be right, exactly, on both cars.

The light's really fading now - come on, the Moffatt brothers!

Oh, suddenly a close one.

Official adjudicator Mark has some official adjudicating to do.

This is actually the brothers' 15th attempt.

They've been so close so many times,

and not very close a couple of times.

There's hardly any time left in the day, they really need this.

It's tense.

With this record, they can't be more than 30cm away from the line.

Unfortunately, we have one wheel more than 30cm away.

No! John's back wheel was too far away.

The lads have tried and tried, but failed.

They're going to give it one last go - it's now or never.

Moffatt plus Moffatt equals world record - come on!

Ooh, ooh!

Could they have finally done it?

The Moffatts have everything crossed.

If Alastair was a zebra, he'd be a zebra crossing.

The tension is unbearable.

You can see the both cars are in, both cars are in the space,

all that it comes down to is,

are any of the wheels more than 30cm away from that notional kerb?

Mark, you've had a chance to take a look, what do you make of it?

I've measured the distance between the tyres and the white line,

I know in the past there have been some that have been quite close,

this one was within our guidelines,

so that's a brand-new Guinness World Records title!

Got a new record! Out of the cars, Moffatt brothers!

LAUGHTER

Oh, bring it in.

Let's have a big hug.

That is brilliant.

They've done it!

It was a close-run thing, but in the end, the Moffatt brothers

achieved a world first - the tightest double parallel park.

Well, there you have it - doubly, brotherly, Officially Amazing.

What a great way to finish the show.

See you next time for more fantastic feats of record-breaking.

# Well, US Ray won easily with 77 star jumps

# Officially useless, Sizzler and Cherry

# Were a couple of star jump chumps

# The Moffatt brothers were glorious

# When they parallel park they're victorious

# Haruna and Kodai wowed us all with a boxing glove and some tennis balls

# And Antanas did lady-lifting with his beard

# It's all Officially Amazing! #