Awesome Records

Martial arts and sword expert Isao Machii recently attempted to break the record for the most martial arts sword cuts in a minute, as he slashed through sections of straw mats faster than Michonne takes off zombie heads. Watch the video to see how many he sliced.

The Vinyl Factory takes us inside Third Man Records‘ recently opened record-pressing plant, located in Detroit’s Cass Corridor. The facility combines efforts of man and machine to create unique vinyl discs and album covers, and helps preserve what was nearly a lost art.

Austrian downhill cyclist Markus Stöckl recently zipped down a steep slope in the Atacama region of Chile to set a new world’s record for speed on a mountain bike – 167 km/h, or about 103.79 mph. It took Max about 11 seconds to reach his top speed on the way down.

Using a pair of record players, a stick of wood, a binder clip, a fine point pen, and some tape, you can make a machine that traces the movements of one turntable’s arm, to make abstract art on the other’s platter. You can make something even cooler with a little extra effort.

England’s new Five Pound notes are made from a durable plastic polymer that makes them impossible to crumple, resistant to water and burning, harder to counterfeit, and as an added bonus, capable of playing records, as shown in this brief video clip.

Denise Mueller broke the women’s paced bicycle land speed record, reaching 147.7 mph. She rode a custom KHS bicycle, as she drafted inches behind driver Shea Holbrook in a Range Rover Sport SVR which shielded her from the punishing winds of Utah’s salt flats.

Super Deluxe named their video series “Stoned Mode,” as the clips they’re featuring are perfect viewing material for when you’re high. So smoke ’em if you’ve got em, and enjoy a fascinating look at how vinyl records are made.

Whip expert Adam Winrich broke the Guinness World Record for the longest whip crack ever recorded. He managed to send a wave down the length of a 238 foot long manila rope, resulting in a crack all the way at its end. It took almost 6 seconds to reach the tip.

Nissan’s NISMO performance division teamed up with the tuners at GReddy to push a GT-R up to 1380hp, set all of its power to go to the rear wheels, then turned it over to the able hands and feet of drift champ Kawabata Masato, who managed to pull off a 30º drift at 189mph.

22 folks from Austria, Germany and Switzerland spent four days constructing this massive chain reaction that broke records for most disc cases toppled in a domino fashion (10,266), largest stick bomb (40,910 sticks) and longest domino wall: (131.69 ft, 42,173 dominoes).

The idea of lifting a single refrigerator by ourselves is painful enough, but strongmen Hafþór Björnsson and Zydrunas Savickas show of their ability to not only carry one fridge, but two, in a competition to see who can carry the nearly 1,000 lb. load over 65 feet the fastest.

Our bodies ache just watching this 5 year-old girl from India as she breaks the world’s record for the lowest and longest limbo skate, remaining under a series of 7″ tall bars for the entire 196 foot run.

While it doesn’t really work like the hoverboards in Back to the Future II, we’re still impressed by Alexandru Duru’s record-breaking flight, during which he stayed airborne on his hovering platform above the water for more than 900 feet.

Donning a special suit, and battling fierce winds, 54 year-old stuntman Eric Barone broke his 2000 downhill mountain bike speed record by riding his bike down a mountain in the French Alps, hitting an blistering top speed of 138.75mph.

DJ Qbert teamed up with UK firm Novalia to create this awesome album, which incorporates an interactive set of turntables with printed electronics which work as MIDI triggers for an iOS app when touched. (Thanks Richard!)

Just when you think you’ve hit the heights by being the world’s fastest clapper, someone has to come around and show you up. Oh wait – it’s just Bryan Bednarek outdoing himself with a new clapping record. Good job, bro. (Thanks Rob!)

Got some old vinyl records, but they’re all clicky and poppy? This video shows a neat hack which uses wood glue to peel off all the gunk and dirt stuck in the grooves that works better than you might think.

Hungary’s Tipton Eyeworks upcycles old vinyl records into stylish eyewear with a unique and “groovy” texture. Each is hand-assembled using laser-cut vinyl, and comes in a matching case made from an old 45.

Harlem Globetrotter rookie Corey Law proves the teams’ hoop skills are nothing to laugh at. He managed to hit the basket dead on from 109 ft., 9 in. While we’ve seen longer unofficial baskets, Corey’s was vetted by Guinness World Records.

A domino trick in which the dominoes are replaced with liquid-filled shot glasses. In all, 2,103 glasses tumbled, but that’s no longer the record. Turns out Señor Frogs Nassau did it with 4,107 glasses later – but it wasn’t as pretty.

We’re really not sure what the real-world application is for clapping this fast, but we’re still mesmerized by the breakneck hand speed of Bryan Bednarek, who manages to clap over 800 times in one minute flat.

Engineer Amanda Ghassaei has come up with a method to use a laser cutter to create playable records using wood instead of vinyl. While the sound fidelity isn’t great, we’re still impressed that they play at all. Learn how at Instructables.

Shout Out Louds previewed the single Blue Ice off of their latest album to a select few fans and critics by sending them a kit for making a record out of ice. What a cool idea. (Thanks James P.!)