Human Body Records

Human Bodies Medical Marvels Medical Miracles Transform Bodies Diseases

Record holders and places are Canadian unless noted.
(GWR - Guinness World Record)

Tallest "True" (Non-Pathological) Giant
Angus McCaskill stood 7 ft. 9 in. when he died in Canada in 1863. (GWR 2000)

Most Elastic Man
Pierre Beauchemin, "Mr. Gumby," who is double-jointed can turn his arms and legs around in extremely contorted positions. (GWR 2002)

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Medical Marvels

Most Kidney Stones Produced
Don Winfield produced and passed 3,711 kidney stones between February 20, 1986 and June 30, 2001. (GWR 2003)

Heaviest Single Birth
Anna Bates gave birth to 10.8 kg (23 lb. 12 oz.) boy on January 19, 1897 in Seville, Ohio, USA. Unfortunately, the baby died 11 hours later. (GWR 2003)

Longest Interval Between Multiple Births
Jackie Iverson, of Saskatoon, gave birth to quadruplets over 10 days in November 1993. A boy was born on Nov. 21, a girl on Nov. 29 and a boy and a girl on Nov. 30. (GWR 1998)

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Longest Surviving Kidney Transplant
Johanna Leanora Rempel, of Red Deer, Alberta, was given a kidney from her identical twin sister, Lana Blatz, on December 28, 1960. The transplant was performed at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, USA. (GWR 2003)

Youngest Multi-Organ Transplant Patient
Sarah Marshall was six months old when she was given a liver, a bowel, a stomach and a pancreas at London's Children Hospital, London, Ontario on August 7, 1997. She had been born with an enlarged bladder, a small colon and an abnormal bowel. (GWR 2002)

Most Premature Baby
James Elgin Gill was born 128 days prematurely on May 20, 1987, weighing 624 g (1 lb. 6 oz.). Most of his body was still developing and his eyes were still fused shut as normal gestation period is 280 days. (GWR 2003)

Longest Heart Stoppage
20-year-old Jean Jawbone was revived by a team of 26 using peritoneal dialysis after 3 hr. and 40 min. of heart stoppage at the Health Sciences Center in Winnipeg on January 8, 1977. (GWR 2002)

Lowest Body Temperature
Two-year-old Karlee Koslofski had a temperature of 14.2 °C (5.75 °F) on February 23, 1994. She had been accidentally locked out of her home for six hours in -22 °C (-8 °F) temperatures. Despite frostbite leading to amputation of her left leg, she made a full recovery. (GWR 2003)

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Most Body Piercings Using Surgical Needles
Jerome Abramovitch inserted 200 3.81-cm (1.5-in.) long surgical needles into his chest, neck and arms on a t.v. show recorded October 31, 1999. (GWR 2003)

Most Tattooed Woman
Krystyne Kolorful has tattoos decorating 95% of her body. They cost her approximately $15,000 Can ($9,486 US). It took 10 years to complete by 13 different artists. (GWR 2003)

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Lowest Level Of Heart Disease
The Inuit of northern Canada, Russia and Greenland are almost unknown to have heart attacks and strokes. (GWR 1998)

Most Beneficial Parasite to Humans
In 1991, a team of Canadian surgeons led by Dr. Dean Vistnes used a medical leech, Hirudo medicinalis, to drain away blood and prevent clotting during an operation to reattach a patient's scalp. (GWR 2002)

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