Four World Records Held in Wyoming

The best day of elementary school was the day the Scholastic Book orders would come in. Remember those? That's where I got my very own copy of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and it's blockbuster sequel Superfudge. But, the best book I ever got was the 1986 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

I spent years reading that tome of human achievements over and over. The big twins on the tiny motorcycles; the person with the gross, long fingernails; the weirdo with like a hundred cigarettes in his mouth; I loved to read about them all.

Nowadays, kneedeep in the 21st Century, Guinness is still collecting world records, and it seems like if you can think of it, there's a record for it. They even have them posted online.

There are several world records held in Wyoming. A few of them are for natural wonders or fossils. But, I found four records that are very Wyoming in their nature.

Fastest time to erect a two-man tent (team of 2)

This record was set on January 20, 2018, by Elizabeth and Daniel Minton of Laramie, Wyoming. They did it in 1 minute 7 seconds.

Elizabeth and Daniel are avid campers and figured they had the speed considering how fast they have set their tent up during rainstorms before. After practicing, they were able to set the record. - Guinness

Largest swing dance

This is another record set in Laramie, on April 30, 2015, by the Cowboy Country Swing Club, a student organization at the University of Wyoming. They had 1,184 participants in the dance.

Oldest person to win a class championship at the World Horseshoe Pitchers Tournament

That grandiose title is held by, fittingly enough, Bob Champion. In 2006, at age 88, he became the oldest person to win a class championship at the World Horseshoe Pitchers Tournament in Gillette, Wyoming.

City with the least air pollution

This record is a four-way tie with a small town in Carbon Country representing Wyoming. Sinclair, Wyoming joined Bredkalen, Sweden; Wenden, Arizona; and Williston, North Dakota in jointly holding the record for the least air pollution.

As of April 2018, the World Health Organization’s Global Ambient Air Quality Database showed that four cities/towns have the lowest PM2.5 pollution per cubic metre, with an annual mean average of just 2 micrograms. - Guinness

---