This week: Record Breaking Inspiration Edited by: Lornda More Newsletters By This Editor
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The rumors are true. It's not easy writing humor into a story but with the right resource, you can find funny facts to add some comedy gems. |
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“I have a Guinness World record entry as the most watched person on television; now I have a new entry as the only man who has a crab named after him.”
~David Hasselhoff
My reaction to the above quote was a mix of emotions. Should I laugh or judge it as a untrue fact? After careful research, to my horror, it’s true. According to the Guinness World Records LTD, Hasselhoff from the 90s show Baywatch, had a crab named after him. He even had competition for the honorary title. James Bond actor Sean Connery was also in the race for the title. All the scientists agreed there was a clear winner. What was the winning factor? Chest hair. Since Hasselhoff was on the screen the most, he won the title and a little crab with a furry underside was named the Hoff. I imagine it’s because the Hoff sounded better than the Conn or Sean crab.
After researching the Guinness World Records website to confirm the crab claim was real, I dug deeper into other records posted. I found many comedy gems to use as inspiration for a story. Here's a few that I thought had the potential to be weaved into any story.
Bruce Masters from the U.K. visited over 46,000 pubs sampling brews throughout his lifetime. Imagine the people he would meet a long the way. It would be fun to read about all the characters with quirky personalities, like a 97-year-old who is the world's oldest motorcycle racer. Maybe Bruce meets the woman of his dreams. She collects thousands of rubber ducks and keeps them in her basement in a giant pond. They run into a big problem, though. She doesn't like beer or travelling to pubs because the duck would be lonely. The novel would be a bestseller.
Or how about a lady from Texas who has the longest fingernails on record. She would make a hilarious character as an administrative assistant who can type 53 WPM. To think of other nail raising situations about her would be comical.
For a humorous children’s book, consider this comedy gem based on a world record. A therapy pig named Joy from Fort Worth, Texas can perform thirteen tricks in one minute. The kids would laugh at how she can roll out a carpet, jump over hurdles, and push a shopping cart. Hire an illustrator and the book is good to go!
For further inspiration, ponder what funny records you probably break on a daily bases. Mine would include, watching the most viewed cat videos on YouTube. Loading the dishwasher with ninja speed and packed like a can of sardines. I challenge anyone to beat me on this one record. I have the uncanny ability to choose the wrong line at the grocery store. At times, I jump over three different lines and still wait the longest. It's probably a record I'll hold throughout my lifetime.
The next time you need a comedy gem to punch up a story, consider checking out the Guinness World Records. It’s updated every year, so the material will never end. For fun, if you want to break a record, consider tossing your name or chest hair out there. Just think, you might be the next person to name a sea creature.
Reference Links:
David Hasselhoff
Sean Connery
The Hoff Crab
Guinness World Records
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Try writing a humorous poem:
| | Yellow [13+] #2277241 Harry is given a new partner. HM, Whatever Contest, July. by Beholden |
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Question: What funny thing would you do to break a Guinness World record?
Feedback from my last newsletter, "Sweet, Mr. Candy" . I asked the question: Which comedy movie is like your life? Do you have a favorite John Candy movie?
NaNoNette : "The comedy movie of my life is
Encore . I only saw it once in a theater in Berlin when it came out. (It's a French movie). The funniest part about it is that the trailer shows a part that is not in the movie. A group of friends walks down the street. One in the group gets his attention caught by something and he stops looking forward until he walks straight into a light pole. Cue the movie title: Encore? Which does not mean "sing another song" but simply "Again?"
I don't have a favorite John Candy movie. When his movies came out, I still lived in Germany. We did get most American movies, but they were usually dubbed. Between American and German humor not being the same and puns getting lost, I was aware of his movies, but I didn't "get" them."
Sounds like something from my life too. I know what you mean. There's a few comics in movies where the humor flies right over my head. Thanks for the comment!
Beholden : "Thank you very much for including my short story, The Love Song of Billy Thornton, among your Editor's Picks section.
That's a difficult question you asked this time. Well, both are, since you asked two of them. As for which comedy film is like my life, I have to answer none that I know of. Although that may not be entirely true as I tend to sleep through a lot of movies these days. And my life would definitely send me to sleep quicker than anything else.
Regarding John Candy, I'd not heard the name before you mentioned it. Even though I've seen all three of the movies you reference. My problem is that I don't care about actors' names. Apart from a tiny minority who eventually break through my indifference by sheer persistence, that is. And it seems that John Candy didn't cross that threshold for me. Not really into comedy movies anyway."
You're welcome for the story highlight, and thanks for the comments. No problem with not watching comedy movies, but if you ever change your mind, try a John Candy one.
Comments From the Newsfeed. Thanks for your comments!
TheBusmanPoet : "Uncle Buck."
Dave Ryan : "Considering what I posted earlier today, I'm tempted to say my school days resembled Tootsie.
Sorry...gallows humour.
My favourite John Candy movie is Planes, Trains and Automobiles, with Splash being a close second."
jackson : " I have no favorites. Uncle Buck comes to mind, pretty good movie."
Madelyn Gobble Gobble Stone : "Summer Rental
Nothing says family time with John Candy at the beach like a bunch of mishaps, a guy you love to hate, and a competition that causes our main character to grow a little. Plus, there is a song by Jimmy Buffett that is pretty hard to find except in this movie. Rip Torn and John Larroquette, plus Kerri Green (from another favorite - Goonies!) I love this movie."
WakeUpAndLive~doingNaNo'24 : "I loved Brewster's Millions with John Candy in it. I sure hope it's resembling my life because I still intend to win the lottery!"
Gretchen Writes : "Uncle Buck, The Great Outdoors, Planes, Trains &Automobiles, of course! I don't know about a comedy...? Maybe, "Groundhog's Day?" Because of the recursive nature of crappy crap in my life?"
s : "Not the biggest fan of John Candy, but probably Stripes."
tj-turkey-jobble-jobble-hard-J : "It would be more like this":
From SNL - Down By the River
John & James Wegner : We'd say "Step Brothers" is like our life. As for our favorite John Candy movie, we're going to have to go with "Spaceballs". Good post. \m/ Forge on! \m/.
Louis Williams : "Favorite comedy movie depends on the day. Sometimes I'm more Ferris Beuler's Day Off, sometimes I'm more Tommy Boy."
keyisfake : My favorite John Candy movie is Uncle Buck. I wish I had an uncle like him. He had those kids' backs and didn't back down when they pushed back.
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