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Woman with world record 24-foot-long fingernails finally gets them cut and it's so satisfying

30 years of growth gone in a couple swipes of an industrial powered circular saw.

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Viewers watch in awe as the woman with world's longest fingernails finally gets them cut

There's something about seeing something out of the ordinary, be it a strange animal, an accident or even an argument between strangers. Humans are naturally curious beings and seeing a random argument between your neighbor and her teenage son will have some people outside taking their goldfish for a walk just to gawk.

So it's not surprising that thousands of viewers tuned in when Ayanna Williams, the Guinness World Record holder for the world's longest nails went to have them all cut off. Williams had her record breaking nails for 29 years but decided it was finally time to bid them adieu and the entire thing was filmed. It's a monumental moment for the record holder after having lived with the 24 foot nails for decades.

(If 24 feet sounds absolutely outrageous for fingernails, it is! But keep in mind that Guinness tallies the total length of all ten finger nails, making each of Williams' nails an average of 2.4 feet long.)

Most of us would simply need to grab a pair of fingernail clippers and get clipping, but for Williams the process was a bit more complicated.

The record holder couldn't just head to her nearest nail salon for a fresh manicure, although she did treat her nails to one last pampering first. The manicure took more than three whole bottles of polish and took several days to complete. For reference, a manicure for a normal set of nails takes about 30 minutes.

nails, long nails, manicure, world record, guinness world record, longest fingernails, longest nailsThese nails are what we like to call "amateur hour"Canva Photos

Then she had to have her nails trimmed by a professional: Dr. Allison Readinger at Trinity Vista Dermatology, where the dermatologist used a special hand held circular saw. Williams disclosed the two foot nails were causing her joint pain and one of her thumbs was extremely tender so she was relieved to lose the weight of the nails. The nails are now on display at Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum in Orlando, Florida.

Viewers couldn't look away from this re-shared video of Williams said goodbye to her long nails. Some comments were supportive while others...not so much.

"I’m so happy she was able to finally make this decision! I love it," one person writes.

"Wooww! It's a incredible it's been a 29 yrs," another says.

"Oh gosh so satisfying. Can't even have mine passed my finger tips. Ouf," someone exclaims.

According to Guinness World Records, Williams went through over two bottles of nail polish and gave up 20 hours of her time with every nail polish change. If nothing else, cutting her nails will be a money saver and whether you support her nail growth or not, there's something satisfying about watching them be cut off.

Watch the captivating video below:


So what of Williams' throne and title?

It now belongs to a woman named Diana Armstrong, who owns astonishing 42 foot long fingernails. You may have seen people in the news with fingernails that seem much longer, but those people often only grow the nails on one hand — halving their chances at becoming the world champ!

Diana was crowed in April of 2024.

Going for a World Record in fingernails is an extremely taxing undertaking. The nails begin to dominate your entire life, with Williams even admitting she couldn't do many daily tasks like washing dishes or changing her sheets without assistance. Not to mention all the pain and discomfort they caused her. Plus there's the upkeep, which involves rigorous cleaning that takes hours, moisturizing, and more. The question on everyone's mind, of course, is how do people with the longest nails in the world wipe after they go to the bathroom? Alas, for now it remains a trade secret, but some theorize people gunning for the world prize in nails may use wiping devices similar to the ones used by obese folks who have similar mobility troubles.

In any case, Williams was glad to retire on top, but also glad to be free of the huge burden of maintaining her hefty nails. She looks forward to seeing the next World Record holders crowned.

This article originally appeared two years ago.

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Pop Culture

11-year-old is the world's youngest opera singer and can sing in eight different languages

She even sings in her sleep, according to her mom.

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11-year-old girl is the youngest opera singer in the world.

The majority of 11-year-olds are perfectly content balancing the pre-teen life with Barbie dolls and tinted lipgloss. But one pre-teen is busy breaking records. Victory Brinker is an 11-year-old opera prodigy who was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's youngest opera singer in 2019 when she was almost 8 years old.

If you like opera—or even if you don't—hearing her vocal range of three octaves and voice control is impressive. When it comes to singing, control of your breath, pitch and tone can be difficult, especially when you're without years of classical training. Victory's skill is so impressive that when she appeared on America's Got Talent last year, she was given the "golden buzzer," which sends you straight to the finalist round in Hollywood.

Her impressive chops have also landed her trips around the country, an opportunity to sing at the Steelers game and even a couple of flights across the globe.

"I've gone to Paris. I've gone to Milan, Italy," Victory told ABC4. As for the Steelers game, she said it was cold.

Victory is one of 11 children, and while the rest of the world is just finding out about her talent and want to hear more from her, her siblings would like for her to cut back on the singing. This shouldn't come as a surprise since most siblings are less impressed by what their brother or sister can do than people who don't have to live with them.

Victory's siblings being over her constant singing doesn't deter the pint-sized opera powerhouse; she simply sings to her stuffed animals. The singer is also able to sing in multiple languages, so when she's done annoying her siblings in English she can choose from a list of languages to sing in.

"English, of course. Latin, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean and Ukrainian," Victory revealed to ABC4.

Listen to Victory belt out a familiar opera tune below:

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Health

A 100-year-old neurologist who's still working shares his secrets to longevity

Guinness World Records named him 'world's oldest practicing doctor.'

via St. Vincent Charity Health

Dr. Howard Tucker from St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.

Dr. Howard Tucker added another honor to his illustrious career last year when the Guinness Book of World Records named him the world’s oldest practicing doctor. At the time, the neurologist was 99 years old and still seeing patients.

Now, at the age of 100, he told TODAY he recently stopped seeing patients but keeps himself busy teaching medical residents at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, twice a week.

Dr. Tucker believes his long career is a major reason for his incredible longevity. “I look upon retirement as the enemy of longevity,” Tucker told TODAY.

The doctor was born in 1922, graduated from The Ohio State University College of Medicine in 1947 and served as a Navy neurologist during the Korean War. “Anyone who was discharged from the Navy for neurological reasons, if his residence was east of the Mississippi, I had to examine him before he could be discharged,” Tucker told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Dr. Tucker practiced neurology at a time when CT scans and MRIs didn’t exist, so diagnosed his patients using little more than his knowledge of medicine.

“We used to have to really think through a problem because there weren’t any diagnostic tools of that magnitude,” Tucker told JTA. “We used to agonize over a problem. Is this a pattern of a tumor? Is this a pattern of abnormality with a stroke? In those days we had to work harder, but it was fun.”

It’s no surprise that, as a neurologist, he believes keeping mentally active is the secret to a long life. He told News 5 Cleveland that he tries to learn something new every day with a focus on new advancements in the medical field.

He stresses the fact that people should remain active as they age, whether that means staying in their careers or engaging in mentally challenging hobbies.

“I think that to retire, one can face potential shriveling up and ending in a nursing home. It’s fun staying alive and working," he told TODAY. “It’s delightful work. Every day I learn something new.

“I’m going to caution (people): If they retire from their work, they should at least do something as a hobby, whether it be communal work or self-hobbies,” he continued, “you need a stimulus for the brain daily.”

Dr. Tucker clearly knows what he’s talking about both as a centenarian and a medical professional. A 2016 study of 3,000 adults published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that staying at work for an extra year reduced the risk of dying from any cause by 11%, over the following 20 years.

"Retiring earlier would seem healthy because you might escape a stressful workplace or have more time to exercise—a few studies have shown this," CBC longevity columnist Sharon Basaraba said. "But more and larger studies have concluded that early retirement is actually a risk factor for early death."

Dr. Tucker attributes his longevity partially to his genetics because his mother lived to be 84 and his father, 96. But lifestyle habits are important, too. “Everything in moderation, except no cigarette smoking—that’s about it,” he told TODAY.

He also has a philosophy he lives by.

"Study each day as if you were to live forever, and live each day as if you were to die tomorrow," he told WKYC. "I've carried that with me all the time."

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Pop Culture

100-year-old man has worked at the same company for 84 years, taking dedication to a new level

Can you fathom working for the same company for almost your entire life? Walter Orthmann can.

Walter Orthmann, still working at 100.

Would you want to work for the same company for most of your life? Usually, after a handful of years, people are ready to move on to something new; it's a perfectly normal occurrence. But for one Brazilian man it wasn't. That's right, there's a man out in the world who has spent the vast majority of his life not only working, but working for the same company. Guinness World Records shared the story of record breaker Walter Orthmann, who has been working at the same company for 84 years and 9 days, verified on January 6, 2022.

It's important to note that Orthmann broke his own record, first set in 2019 when he had been working for 81 years and 85 days. Can you imagine?

Orthmann, who turned 100 years old in April 2022, started working for Industrias Renaux S.A. (now known as RenauxView), a textile company based in Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 1938. He was 15.

His family had fallen on tough times and young Walter was tasked with finding a job. Because he was born in Brusque, a small town in Santa Catarina with a large German population, he could speak pretty good German, which made him stand out to his future employer.

"Back in 1938, kids were expected to work to help support the family. As the oldest son of five, my mother took me to find a job at the age of 14," Orthmann said.

Even though he got a job out of absolute necessity, he was eager to get started. His willingness to learn and prove himself led to him moving swiftly up the ladder at RenauxView. He started as a shipping assistant, then was promoted to a position in sales and eventually became sales manager.

Obviously, Walter Orthmann has seen a lot in his life—not just at his job, where you can imagine a lot has changed since 1937, but also in the world around him. He credits his long tenure at the company to his willingness to adapt with the times.

Interestingly, it seems that Orthmann continues to work because he wants to and not out of any necessity. Why would a 100-year-old man still need to work? He loves what he does and doesn't really see the point in stopping if he's still able to do it. Although the idea of working until the age of 100 seems absolutely ludicrous to most of us, some older people like to find ways to keep busy. Personally, gardening sounds like a better option, but if Walter's happy, I'm happy for him.

"I don’t do much planning, nor care much about tomorrow," Orthmann said, sharing his belief in remaining in the present. "All I care about is that tomorrow will be another day in which I will wake up, get up, exercise and go to work; you need to get busy with the present, not the past or the future. Here and now is what counts. So, let’s go to work!"

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