The weirdest world records ever achieved in New Jersey

New Jersey has built a reputation for a lot of wonderful things: Delicious food, diverse communities, proximity to the beach, mountains and cities.

It has also earned an infamous wrap for its super-high taxes, higher cost of living and in some places a lack of pedestrian safety.

Read More: New Jersey's average property taxes soar to new high in 2023

Seems like a good time to point out that NJ's wacky side is going strong, too.

Just check out these current world records held by New Jersey or its residents.

There's also a few records that have since been broken by non-NJ folks, which could be worth an attempt to reclaim.

✂ Longest ribbon for ribbon-cutting ceremony

Following the devastation of Superstorm Sandy in fall 2012 — NJ was ready to reopen the Shore in time for summer 2013.

A blue ribbon that ran 5.51 miles long was cut by then Gov. Chris Christie, assisted by his wife, Mary Pat Christie, to kick off Memorial Day weekend.

The official ribbon was cut during the May 24, 2013 broadcast of NBC’s The Today Show, in Seaside Heights. A second ribbon was cut hours later, as part of a ceremony declaring the day’s official Guinness World Record.

👅 Most piercings in the tongue

Since 2017 — Francesco Vacca has held the world record for most tongue piercings — 20! — set at Invisibleself in Lyndhurst.

He previously held the record with 16 piercings — before upping his total.

@guinnessworldrecords Most #piercings in the #tongue ♬ original sound - Guinness World Records

🍕 Most pizza boxes folded in a minute

In 2020, out of Monmouth County — Randy DeGregorio used his speed to fold 18 pizza boxes in 60 seconds. DeGregorio honed in on his skills as a delivery driver for Mezza Luna in Manalapan.

He broke the previous record of 14 boxes, set by a man in Italy.

🍕 Largest collection of pizza-related items

Union County’s own Pizza Girl — Telina Cuppari has amassed the world’s largest collection of pizza-related items.

The Kenilworth resident first achieved the record in 2021 with 669 items.

In 2023, she reset the record with 793 items.

World’s oldest tick

Home of the “ancient hairy tick” — add it to undesirable titles accumulated by the Garden State.
In 1999, a Guiness World Record \-setting parasite was found, preserved in a piece of amber collected in Sayreville.

An entomology curator from the American Museum of Natural History told ABC News at the time that such a tiny find would make a big impact —helping scientists better determine the diets of living creatures some 90 million years ago.

To be fair — it appears this record has since been broken, though not certified with Guinness.

In 2017, a tick that was roughly 10 millions years older was found in a piece of Burmese amber, according to the American Museum of Natural History.

Which brings us to a few lost titles still worth mentioning...

🙁 World records once held in NJ

For a brief while, NJ was title holder of the world’s largest zombie gathering.

In October 2013, New Jersey Zombie Walk drew 9,592 people to the Asbury Park boardwalk. The annual event previously set a world record in 2010.

Alas, a year later, Minnesota went big and saw 15,458 participants in a Zombie Pub Crawl in Minneapolis in October 2014.

Another world record once held in NJ — most sandcastles built in an hour.

In 2012, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ocean County had a team that built 1,068 sandcastles in 60 minutes in Point Pleasant.

A year later — some guys in Germany “kicked over” that world record — building 2,230 sandcastles in an hour. 

A different world record held several times along the Shore in NJ — tallest sand castle.

Ed Jarretts is a self-billed “world-renowned sculptor & 4x Guinness World Record holder for Tallest Sandcastle.”

In 2013, he constructed one that stood 38 feet 2 inches tall in Point Pleasant Beach along Jenkinson's Boardwalk.

Jarrett, and his co-creator, Bettē Brower, have still been active sculpting, creating and looking to set new records, as Pine Barrens Tribune reported.

Yet another notable record set for a charitable cause in NJ — the Cranford Teen Advisory Board once built the world's largest can pyramid— 25,585 cans in 2013.

All the canned goods were then donated to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.

In December 2015 — a team in the United Arab Emirates broke that record, creating a pyramid of 31,001 cans. 

Here's to some inspired NJ residents, looking to reclaim one of those elusive world records in the future.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom