A to Z Of The Weirdest Longest Stuff (A-M)

H) Longest Hunger Strike

This impressive and noble feat is currently being achieved by Irom Sharmila Chanu, also known as the “Iron Lady of Manipur” or “Mengoubi” (“the fair one”). She’s a civil rights activist, political activist, and poet from the Indian state of Manipur.

But why did she start? On 2 November 2000, in a town in the Imphal Valley of Manipur, ten civilians were shot dead at a bus stop. The incident, known as the “Malom Massacre” was allegedly committed by the Assam Rifles, one of the Indian Paramilitary forces operating in the state. Sharmila, who was 28 at the time, began to fast in protest and never stopped. She still hasn’t broken her fast to this day. She has now refused food and water for more than 500 weeks and is currently on trial for attempted suicide.

Indian law declares that a person who “attempts to commit suicide … shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year”.

I) Longest Insect

You wouldn’t want a Phobaeticus chani writhing around in your hair or flying at you from behind the sink when you’re having a nice relaxing dump. This beasty was only first described in 2008. One specimen held in the Natural History Museum in London measures 567 mm (22.3 in). This measurement is with its legs fully extended which is sort of cheating but the body alone still measures an impressive 357 mm. Only six specimens are currently known, all of which were found in Borneo.

J) Longest Jail Sentence

Gabriel March Grandos was a criminal, yes, but did he deserve the sentence he got? I don’t think so… the young Spanish postman, Gabriel Grandos, aged 22, was accused of fraud in 1972 because he failed to deliver 42,768 letters. Yes, that is naughty. But did he deserve 384,912 years? No, that’s just silly.

â˜› Read Next: The World’s Longest Burp