Guinness Records Set In Illinois In 2022: See The List

ILLINOIS — Illinois had a record-setting year. From a thousand-plus claps in a minute to crazy fruit displays and dogs attending the cinema, people, animals and things throughout the state made their mark this year.

The following things and people in Illinois were dubbed "officially amazing" in 2022:

The record for largest fruit display was broken by Del Monte Fresh Produce and Jewel-Osco in Westmont on June 8. The display, made up entirely of bananas — 211,000 of them, to be exact — weighed 77,365 pounds and 15.13 ounces.

Geneseo, Illinois, was the town where a man broke the record for most claps in a minute on March 12. Dalton Meyer, who clapped 1,140 times in one minute, first saw the record for most claps in a minute in elementary and set out to perfect his claps ever since.

Salacnib "Sonny" Molina will go down in history as having broken the record for most lanyards worn at one time when he strung 509 on his neck on Oct. 29 in Woodstock. Molina is a serial Guinness World Record-breaker, holding titles including the most ultra marathons completed in a month, farthest distancing walking barefoot on LEGO bricks and largest collection of salt and pepper sachets.

Marcel Hug, of Switzerland, holds the record for fastest time to win the Chicago Wheelchair Marathon, achieved Oct. 9 in Chicago. Hug won his third marathon in three weeks in Chicago, having previously triumphed in Berlin in September and in London in October.

The record for most glow sticks lit (by cracking) in one minute is 58, achieved by Brendan Myers on Aug. 15 in Chicago. The man has been entertained by the idea of using his love of glow sticks for a more significant cause, and succeeded when he became a Guinness World Records titleholder this year.

On Oct. 15, 199 dogs gathered at the Litchfield Skyview Drive-In theater and broke the record for most dogs attending a film screening. The furry friends and their owners watched "A Dog's Way Home" at the outdoor cinema located along Route 66. The event, besides grabbing a record-breaking title, was meant to bring awareness to businesses along the historic route. Attendees also signed a petition agreeing it should be a National Historic Trail.

The largest collection of Lobo-related memorabilia consists of 2,260 items. James Azrael, of Bolingbrook, broke the record on July 23 after spending almost 30 years collecting items relating to the DC Comics character.

A Libertyville family's bunny became a Guinness World Record titleholder when she became the oldest rabbit living. Coal, a mixed breed female rabbit, was at least 15 years and 243 days old as of May 22. The rabbit could be as old as 16 years and 238 days, based on a predicted birthday of Sept. 26, 2005.

The Busy Beaver Button Museum in Chicago became the host of the largest museum display of pin badges — more than 9,000 — as of Jan. 8. The museum was founded in 2010 by siblings Christen and Joel Carter, who wanted to show an American history through pinback buttons.

The largest paper snowflake, measuring 13.58 meters, was created by Northern Illinois University photography students on March 29 in DeKalb. Students were "overjoyed" to return to in-person learning after a year and a half of online classes as a result of COVID-19 when they created the record-breaking snowflake.

A Lake in the Hills woman is the record holder for largest collection of ladybird and ladybug-related items. With 6,047 items, Sheri Cummings broke the record on Feb. 28 when she reclaimed her previously achieved title with 2,050 items in 2007. She lost out to a larger collection in 2009 and again in 2019 by an even larger collection. Cummings' collection started when she received a ladybird tea party set as a 4-year-old. As well as being an avid collector, receiving items from friends and family across the world, she uses her collection to help raise money for local domestic violence shelters.

Bonus: The Kane County Cougars Baseball Foundation attempted to break the world record for largest dog wedding ceremony when they set out to marry more than 178 dog couples — the current record number of dog pairings married in Littleton, Colorado, in 2007. The group didn't achieve its goal — 66 couples were married in a light-hearted ceremony — but raised thousands for K9 for Warriors and 12 other service animal organizations that provide trained service dogs to military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury or military sexual trauma.

RELATED: Largest Dog Wedding: Kane County Cougars Attempt To Break World Record