We want a wonderful onesie world record win

The City of Derry in Northern Ireland this week made the latest attempt to set a new world record for the number of people wearing “onesies” in one place.  The city’s mayor, Brenda Stevenson, is a big fan and wore a wonderful onesie in pink last Monday as she helped launch the world record bid. “They’re actually very comfortable,” she said “You don’t have to worry about what you’re wearing underneath or what you look like. They’d be great for lounging about the house in – I would imagine!”

The 1,185 required to beat the record held by Ringwood School in Hampshire, England, did not materialise, with bad weather resulting in ‘just a few hundred’ onesie’s, however the organisers remain upbeat. Speaking at the event, organiser Siobhan McNally, said the world record attempt was secondary to raising the awareness of the work the charity was involved in. It was organised for Chenobyl Children International to raise funds and awareness of the work it carries out. Every July between 20 and 30 local families host children affected by the nuclear disaster which occurred on 26 April, 1986.

Derry has already become well known for its mass participation record attempts, having dressed up, sang and danced its way into the record books on numerous occasions. Whether its 10,001 Santas making history on the City’s Walls, to thousands of singing and dancing Annies or hundreds of brides turning the Foyle white as they crossed the Peace Bridge, if there a record to be broken, this city will go for it.

Almost one year ago, it was Christchurch New Zealand trying to break the Guinness World Record with a total of 831 onesie lovers taking part.

Interestingly the Guinness Book of World Records is said to have started around 1954 when Sir Hugh Beaver (no sniggering at the back), Chairman of the Guinness Brewery, was out hunting game birds in County Wexford, Ireland, and he missed a shot at a golden plover. Because of his wayward shot, Sir Hugh wondered if the plover is the fastest game bird in Europe and tried to find out. At that time, he couldn’t find a reference book that answers questions on highest, fastest, smallest, noisiest etc. so he hired some people to produce one. In 1999 the book set its own World Record when “The Guinness World Records 2000” was printed in a single run of 2,402,000 copies, the largest single print run of a case-bound book in colour.

If anyone out there wants to have a go at a wonderful onesie world record check out the Guinness web site and let us know what you are up to. We may be able to support a good cause.