Parisians opted for a mass smooch, while South Africans took a shot at the longest bra chain and a New Zealander risked his neck careening downhill in a giant balloon in a global assault on bizarre world records.
From Sydney to London, individuals and groups happily put their bodies and self-respect on the line for the possibility of a footnote in the Guinness Book of World Records, which helped organised the events.
In keeping with Paris's image as the city of love, couples in the French capital locked lips in a breathless attempt to break the world record for the most people kissing simultaneously in one place.
A less romantic mark was set by Grant Denyer, a weather presenter in Australia, who treated viewers to an unusual display of dexterity by pulling on 18 pairs of underpants in 60 seconds -- narrowly beating a previous record of 17.
"The hardest part of this is not falling over," said records adjudicator Chris Sheedy.
Nine-year-old gymnast Brittany Boffo from Adelaide showed genuine flexibility in her successful attack on the record for "body skipping", in which contestants step through their clasped hands.
Boffo performed 60 skips in a minute, destroying the previous best of 39. "She was like a machine," Sheedy said.
The Guinness Brewery launched its famous record book in 1955 to settle disputes among drinkers of its brews, and last year held the first World Records Day.
The November date marks the day in 1974 when Guinness World Records made history in its own right by becoming the biggest-selling copyright book of all time.
All the record attempts are assessed by adjudicators from the organisation.
The central Japanese city of Nishio got off to a head start this year when it threw the world's largest tea party on October 8.
The open-air event was attended by 14,718 tea drinkers, more than twice as many as the previous record of 7,250.
Participants took their shoes off to sit on red carpets and sip green tea in a mass version of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
Organizers said Thursday the 60 million yen (508,000 dollars) cost of the event was money well spent.
"It was worth organizing such an event as Nishio has now turned out to be an international city thanks to the Guinness brand," said Yoshimi Miyachi.
One of the bizarre records fell to New Zealander Keith Kolver who became the fastest person ever to roll downhill in a giant balloon.
Kolver's achievement -- reaching a top speed of 52 kilometers an hour (32.3 miles an hour) -- earned him the title of world's fastest "zorbanaut."
Zorbing, a New Zealand invention, consists of rolling down a hill while strapped inside in a three-metre (10-foot) diameter plastic ball.
In London, two pairs of synchronised swimmers braved the distinctly chilly fountains of Trafalgar Square to set a new world mark for the most ballet leg switches in one minute.
Elsewhere in the city, a man broke the hitherto unheralded record of "fastest office in the UK" by launching a bureau on four wheels across Westminster Bridge at high speed.
In the east German town of Radebeul, population 30,000, a movie theater seating nine people, with one show a day, was awarded the title of smallest cinema in the world.
Part-time singer Hartmut Timm from Waren, also in the east, was striving to break the record of singing solo. He began Thursday and is to sing until Saturday for at least 59 hours.
Timm's record had been wiped out in March by an Italian.
A bid in South Africa to construct the world's longest chain of brassieres was still a work-in-progress Thursday, with organisers proudly announcing the collection of 40,000 bras and counting.
The eventual aim is to collect 150,000 pieces to break the previous record of a chain of 114,782 bras strung together in Cyprus last year.
Lianda Joubert, marketing assistant for a Johannesburg coffee shop which served as one of the bra collection points, said the completed chain would stretch for 200 kilometres (124 miles).
In Toronto, 1,681 dancers aged two to 95, including the renowned Radio City Rockettes, lined up to break the world record for dancing.
But the turnout was a disappointment for organizers, who had hoped to double the previous record of 1,150 dancers set in Germany in 2004.
Guinness record keeper Carey Low told AFP, "it's still fantastic that so many people came out on such a cold day in Toronto."
Children, parents and grandparents came from all over the city to dance, hand in hand, for five minutes starting at 8:45 am (1345 GMT) to the Rockettes' "Radio City Christmas Spectacular" music.
Other Canadian events this week to celebrate Guinness World Records Day included the largest underwater press conference, with 61 people, and the most bungee jumps in a day. Canada also sought another record for the highest wine cellar, atop Toronto's CN Tower.
Perhaps the most gruesome attempt will take place in the United States, where New Yorkers will try to break the record for the most rattlesnakes held in the mouth.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/061109/1/44onh.html
Bra chains and underpants grip World Records Day 
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