Although being a world leader is not Thailand's strong suit. We, Thais, do know how to find memorable ways to roar our name proudly and make sure others keep us alive in their thoughts. According to the Guinness World Records, many Thais have beaten world records in presenting Thai culture creatively and unexpectedly, which has made us proud. Guru has a small complication of what we have archived.
Calories Don't Count, Just Size
We do not have to brag much about Thai food as Thai restaurants are found all over the globe. This may have been why massaman was voted the tastiest dish on CNN's "The world's 50 best foods" list. However, we are not talking about the ubiquity of Thai cuisine and its scrumptiousness. Here are a few of the world's largest food records smashed by Thailand.
Before rapper Danupha "Milli" Khanatheerakul unleashed a mango sticky rice frenzy when she ate the dessert onstage at Coachella, on Jan 29, 2019, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) pleased thousands of Chinese tourists with the world's largest serving of mango sticky rice at 4,500kg, breaking the previous record set in Dubai in 2016 at 2,800kg. The enormous dish was made using 1,500kg of sticky rice, 2,300kg of coconut milk and more than 5,000 ripe mangoes. More than 200 people took part in the cooking process, which took more than 10 hours. It was divided into small portions and served to around 10,000 Chinese tourists, who attended the "We Care About You" event.
The attempt to make the world's largest serving of food (or a tourism campaign) is not new to Thailand. Can you guess what else tourists are wild about when visiting Thailand? Here are a few hints: it's a spicy soup and has noted action blockbusters named after it. Throwback to Nov 18, 1999, when the Department of Industrial Promotion, the Ministry of Commerce and TAT set a new record when they served the world's largest bowl of tom yum kung, measuring 5,000 litres. Honestly, who else can beat us with the record?
Buffet Extravaganzas
Instead of dishing out a tremendous serving of Thai favourites to tourists, Surat Thani offered the world's largest buffet, featuring more than 5,000 dishes. On Sept 9, 2017, the world record for the largest food buffet was achieved by Surat Thani, which consisted of 5,829 different dishes, beating the previous record set by India (5,612 dishes) in 2016. More than 10,000 dishes were served over the three-day event known as the "Samui Festival", with a long line of food stations stretching along Koh Samui's Chaweng Beach for 2.6km. However, while the organiser applied for 6,863 different dishes, 1,034 were disqualified as they were deemed duplicates by official counters.
We are not sure if it is conventional, but Thailand has set not just one but two world records for a buffet extravaganza, and the other one was not for people. In 2000, Lop Buri hosted a buffet for monkeys and achieved the world's largest monkey buffet, as recorded by the Guinness World Records, using 3,000kg of tropical fruit and vegetables. The brain behind the monkey buffet was the Lopburi Inn Group, who hosts the event annually for starving monkeys. Though this also seems like a peace offering for them to not go on a rampage and start a street fight (if you have read about their reputation).
The Power Of Love
You are not going to believe what the power of love can do. On St Valentine's Day in 2001, 34 couples held hands and dove 10m underwater only to exchange wedding vows. Not to mention the breathtaking act of taking off their oxygen mouthpieces for an underwater kiss to seal the deal. Insider's tip: The lovebirds were qualified divers with international diving licences. The Trang Chamber of Commerce and Thai Airways International were the love bridge that organised the event, which was archived as the world's most couples married underwater (simultaneously) by the Guinness World Records.
What is also unbreakable, like the love between you and your parents, is the bond between you and your four-legged darlings. Take Phet, a rare "diamond-eyed" cat considered lucky by the Thais, and Ploy, who stole the spotlight in September 1996 when they tied the knot. Wichan Jaratarcha spent nearly B600,000 on a luxurious wedding ceremony for his cat Phet, with B850,000 as dowry, marking the world's most expensive wedding for pets. Not to mention their grand entrance as Ploy, the bride, arrived by helicopter while Phet, the groom, stepped out of his owner's Rolls Royce.
No Dishwasher Needed
Wonder why we rarely see a dishwasher in Thai kitchens? We are good at washing dishes, as proved by Panita Eiamfang and Nakarmon Tosak. On May 13, 2016, they achieved the world's most washed dishes by a team of two -- it took the two-three minutes to clean 70 plates. The attempt was part of a marketing campaign by Unilever Thai Trading Limited (Thailand) to promote the Sunlight dish soap brand, experimenting with how many plates a spoonful of Sunlight dish soap could clean.
After the dishes are cleaned, it's time to dry them, though we may have to travel back to Jan 15, 2013. On that day, Unilever Thailand laid 40,800 plates on the Third Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge in Nakhon Phanom to dry in the sun, setting a new record for the world's longest line of washed plates, measuring 10.8km in length.
Bangkok Is Suffice
We bet not even a dozen Thais can recite the Thai capital's official name in its entirety. Bangkok's full name is more than a mouthful and takes the award for the longest placename in the world. With 168 English alphabets, here is the full name of the capital: "Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit". Now catch your breath. Remember when we used to say "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"?!
Woman Of The Hour
Rapper/singer Lalisa Manobal, known mononymously as "Lisa" from the female K-pop group Blackpink, has earned several awards, with the latest and momentous one being the MTV Video Music Award for Best K-Pop Artist, stirring our national pride to see the Thai name appear on a global stage. Nothing short of a record-breaker, Lisa's first solo single Lalisa outdid Taylor Swift's single Me! as being the world's most-viewed YouTube music video by a solo artist in 24 hours with 73.6 million views. We thank you for your service, Lisa!
K-pop Best Supporters
Thailand has not only one of the best K-pop artists in history but also a devoted fandom. On May 11, 2016, creative agency 4Nologue organised a successful attempt at a world record for the world's most people making paper aircraft simultaneously at a single venue, as part of the song promotion for K-pop boy band GOT7. At the event named "GOT7 District Fly for the World", hosted at EmQuartier, an incredible 1,942 people, including seven group members and a dedicated AhGaSe base, GOT7's fandom name, crafted a paper plane to tie in with the band's single Fly. All the paper used in the event was recycled to make notepads, which were donated to underprivileged children.
Morning Meme
We are not surprised as to why Thailand has achieved the world's largest online photo album of people meditating -- check your family group chat. It became one of the routines that aunties and uncles 4.0 did every morning, sending greeting memes to their friends and family, especially on holidays or religious events. Well, we may have discovered one of the sources where the greeting memes were broadcasted from. It is the Dhammakaya Foundation, which has 1,131,208 photos of people meditating in its archives. As recently verified on Aug 22, 2022, the photographs are submitted by people around the world from Earth Day on April 22 to World Meditation Day on Aug 6, which was one of the foundation campaigns to bring about world peace and promote meditation and its benefits.
Elephant In The (Screening) Room
On June 6, 2006, a herd of trained elephants was invited to attend a special open-air screening of the Thai-animated film Khan Kluay, which marked the world's largest gathering of cinema-goers, in Ayutthaya. The film tells the story of a young elephant who grows up to be a war hero and assistant to the King of Thailand.
Hottest North Pole
Although Thailand may not be a destination to catch a Christmasy vibe, we proudly earned the world's largest gathering of Santa's elves. Of course, we are poles apart from the North Pole, where Santa Claus lives; think sunny weather. However, on Christmas Day, 2014, Siam Paragon turned its shopping complex into a magical Christmas realm, where 1,762 Christmas elves gathered, and the assembly achieved the world's record.
THE LARGEST NEGRONI EVER MADE
In celebration of Negroni Week, held from Sept 12-18, the mixologists at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok will take on the monumental task of serving the largest negroni ever made in a valiant attempt to capture a new Guinness World Record, on Sept 12. The event will be held at Urban Oasis from 6pm and the after-party continues until late at Bar.Yard. Guests can join the event for B1,200 nett, which includes three free-flowing tipples throughout: Negroni, Maa-Lai Highball and Negroni Spritz. The cocktails will also be available at Craft, Bar.Yard and Ms.Jigger until Sept 18. Ms.Jigger will be serving "The Ice Negroni" in a glass made entirely from ice on Sept 12 for B420++. Part of the proceeds from the Urban Oasis evening will be donated to Slow Food, an organisation that aims at protecting local food cultures and traditions.
