FREAK RECORD-BREAKERS

Shannon News, 19 October 1926, Page 4

FREAK RECORD-BREAKERS

NON-STOP DANCERS. FIFTY PORK PIES AT A SITTING! In Baltimore, recently, a couple danced for 43 hours in an attempt to establish a record. The woman “stuck it out,” without apparent collapse, but the man was removed to a hospital in a state of temporary insanity. Then in Cleveland, a woman determined on beating this record!, and danced continuously for 52 hours 15 minutes. She subsequently recovered. ' ' " The ultimate record —so far —in continuous dancing was put up by M, Nicholas, a Freneh dancer, who first kept going for 125 hours,' and later beat his own record by continuing for 126!hours without appearing unduly fatigudd, though it was announced after that he lost'sslb in weight while accomplishing his feat. Dropped Dead. He allowed himsely -five minutes each hour for massage and refreshment, taking eggs, beef tea, and meat, but drinking nothing but water. Among his partners was his wife, who held) the woman’s record —at the time—with 25 hours of continuous dancing. This particular craze was stopped iii America by Henry Moorhouse, who completed 87 hours of continuous dancing, and dropped dead of heart failure as he walked off the floor. Miss Lilly Goodman, with 24 hours 5 minutes, holds the British record; she was ultimately ordered by a Doctor to retire, though her pulse was nornial.

In a sealed glass coffin in one of t*re Paris newspaper offices a Dutchman named Wooly, attempted to set up a record for fasting by remaining for 28 days without food, drink or sleep. All went well for eleven days, but at some time during the eleventh evening a gay party came along in evening dress and stood in front of the cage munching chicken sandwiches in &11 sight of the fasting man. I-Ie endured it for a few minutes,

Jiut found it too much for him in the end. In a fit of frenzy he smashed ’ the glass and rushed at his tormentors, intending to seize and devour tha food. He was so weak that a, watchman had little difficulty in restraining him. His attempt, at a record, was over. ■ . Jolly, The Faster. Jolly, a German, underwent a 43 days’ fast in a glass case, which was placed in a Berlin restaurant as an advertisement, and so for a brief while established a record. During his “fast” he lost over two stone, in weight, and was supposed to have existed on a stock of cigarettes and soda-water, and earned about £6500 by admission fees, which some 260, 000 people paid to look at him in his glass case. ' . But, very soon after his release IT O,III the case, Jolly was arrested by the Berlin police on a charge of fraud. His manager, it was stated, passed thin sticks of chocolate through breathing holes in Jolly’s glass case, and the supposed fasting man consumed as much as ten pounds of chocolate during the time that he was shut in. Then a 2 3-year-old German girl, l known as “Lonnie,” attempted to set up a world’s record. There was no doubt about her genuineness, and she lasted out for the amazing period o,f 4 8 days and two hours. At the end of this time she was taken to hospital in a critical condition. The wagering fasters have had all their records broken by those who fast as a cure fo,r various internal disorders, but these latter take orange juice and various other semi-nutritive articles which rule them out. Leader The ’Eater. / At the other end of the scal e are the eaters, of whom the present champion is Mr. G. W. Leader, a Middlesborough paper merchant. A man of big build and enormous strength, Mr Leader has already won ' a number of wagers, and was recently booked for a contest on which several hundreds of pounds changed hands, in addition to the stake of £SO aside between the competitors themselves. In his previous match Mr Leader was living up to his name—that is to say, he was definitely leading—when his opponent showed signs of flagging. Up to that point, they had only eaten about a couple of pounds of ham and a score or so of eggs apiece, but the prospect of all that was still to be eaten disheartened Mr Leader’s opponent to such an extent that he retired, leaving nineteen eggs still untouched.

Mr Leader, having, won the contest, felt that it was a pity to waste good food. Therefore he took those nineteen eggs one by one, and polished them off.

' Having eaten fifty pork pies at a sitting, and on another occasion made a meal of four dozen eggs and over a loaf of bread, Mr Leader was handicapped for his last contest. Before his opponent in this struggle sat down Mr Leader had to dispose of one dozen eggs and a pound of grilled ham.