Have you ever wondered how many people would fit inside a MINI? Me neither, but November 15 being the eighth anniversary of Guinness World Records attaining best-selling copyright book status, people have been doing all sorts of kooky things to gain entry.
These ladies — members of a London gym — actually broke two world records. First, 23 women jammed themselves into a classic Mini Cooper, edging out the standing record by two people. They also managed to stuff 28 people into a 2012 MINI, breaking their own record from last year by a head.
This is fun and all, but it brings up an interesting question. Is there a size restriction for participants in a record-setting event like this one? If there's no standard, you could lure a bunch of malnourished pygmies onto your team and win that way.
According to an infographic The Telegraph published this summer, the United Kingdom is the 10th fattest nation in the world, with an average per capita weight of 167 lbs. Most of these ladies don't look like they'd tip the scales at more than 120, soaking wet. That puts them in the world's bottom fifth, weight-wise, somewhere along the lines of a typical citizen of Cambodia or Somalia.
Good luck trying to stuff a pack of average Americans into a MINI. We're the number three fattest country, with an average weight of 180 lbs. You'd never fit them all inside, although you could pile some on top. But at 5,040 lbs., they'd weigh more than the MINI, and might very well crush the car.
All that aside, average Americans couldn't win the record, could they? Small Americans could, or better yet, average Bangladeshis, who weigh in at a paltry 109 lbs. If that doesn't make you feel guilty about throwing away your leftovers, I don't know what will.
Photo credit: MINI