British reference brand cataloguing world records since 1955
This month Nepal has seen a record single-day peak of climbers summiting Mount Everest from the south side while China has kept the northern route closed. An 18-year-old Australian has become the youngest Australian to reach the summit; veteran Sherpas have set new personal records. Several climbers have died this season and a dangerous serac and icefall conditions have delayed the route.
A Nepali guide, Dawa Sherpa, has been found alive six days after he went missing descending Mount Everest on 29 May. He has been airlifted to a Kathmandu hospital with frostbite after a cleanup crew found him crawling near the Khumbu Icefall. His family had already begun funeral rites and have accused his employer of delayed search efforts.
Canberra town crier Joseph McGrail-Bateup has set a new Guinness World Record for the loudest shout by an individual, delivering "now" at 122.4 decibels. He says the feat was a day-of event, not a training target, and he remains the world’s loudest man.
The Guardian, New York Post, and The Guardian report on Michael Phillips, who describes himself as having the world’s smallest penis. A Beverly Hills surgeon offered a free enlargement procedure, prompting Phillips to launch a GoFundMe. He later pulled the page after learning about risks, while a separate offer for injection-based treatment is being explored.
Kelsey Pfendler has completed a solo row from California to Hawaii, finishing in under 44 days and setting records as the first American woman, youngest woman and fastest to complete the journey unassisted. Supporters greeted her upon arrival in Honolulu after a 2,400+ mile transit, with extensive social-media documentation of the voyage.
Martha Lillard, who relied on an iron lung for most of her life after contracting polio as a child, has died at 78. Family attributes her death to long Covid-19; she had lived independently and driven, painted, and traveled in a trailer.