Trafalgar Square in London routinely serves as a stage for mimes, jugglers and other acts, but the tourist attraction drew an exceptionally curious crowd Tuesday when the shortest man who can walk met the woman with the longest legs.
He Pingping, of China, stands precisely 2 feet 5.37 inches tall. The 20-year-old was born with a type of dwarfism.
He called Svetlana Pankratova’s legs “very beautiful.”
The two met, with He standing at Pankratova’s knees, the publicize the release of “Guinness World Records 2009.” This year’s version of the popular book is due out Wednesday.
Pankratova, 36, who is Russian but lives in Spain, has legs that are nearly 52 inches long, or more than 4 feet. Her upper body has nearly typical proportions, giving her a giraffe-like appearance.
Dressed in a bright-blue mini-dress and low-heeled pumps, Pankratova, 36, said she liked her legs, though they can complicate things. “It’s hard to find clothes, especially pants,” she said.
She isn’t the tallest woman on record. Sandy Allen, of Shelbyville, Indiana, who died recently, held that title, according to the book. And He is the tallest man who is mobile, the books says.
Click here to see a video from Tuesday's event in London
— Speaking of world records, a 14-year-old boy from Blaine, Wash., has broken his own record for blowing up balloons with his nose.
Using only his left nostril, Andrew Dahl inflated 308 balloons in an hour Tuesday, each to at least 8 inches in diameter, for the “Live with Regis and Kelly” television show in New York.
Stuart Claxton, a Guinness Book of World Records representative, announced, “He’s literally blown the record away with 308 balloons.”
Dahl said he was a “little bit” out of breath but felt pretty good. He set the old mark of 213 balloons at his hometown library in April.
Doug Dahl says his son discovered the talent while sitting in a car at age 7.
“That’s something only a boy can discover,” show co-host Kelly Ripa said.
— Mayor James Fiorentini in Haverhill, Mass., hears all the time that city departments are understaffed and overworked.
So he decided to get a firsthand look.
Fiorentini will spend time over the next few weeks working at various city agencies, including the police, fire and public works departments, to gauge their workload.
He started his citywide tour this week working an hour at the circulation desk at the library, concluding that library staff are “not kidding” when they talk about their heavy workload.
Assistant Director Susan Katzenstein says the library has endured staff and hour cutbacks in recent years.
Deputy Police Chief Donald Thompson says he’s looking forward to taking the mayor on patrol so he can see just how busy the understaffed department is.
— And finally, two thieves must have pushed the “going down” button because they were captured when they got stuck in an elevator after a robbery in Belgrade, Serbia.
A local newspaper reported the pair burglarized an apartment in a residential part of Belgrade. The apartment’s owner called police when he realized the two were stuck, and the thieves were arrested after authorities freed them from the elevator.
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