Vienna World Record Day

In the same week that a mysterious turn-of-the century Viennese conjurer arrived on our screens in the Hollywood epic The Illusionist, denizens of real-life magicians have been descending on the capital for the mighty Guinness World Records Day.

So what can travellers see if you happen to be in town? Well, what can't you see would be a more apt question. Every eccentric skill under the sun will get an airing this week, so there's no excuse for hanging around the coffee houses pretending to be Kafka.

Rio's Claudio Paulo Pinto is trying his luck as the world champion of 'globe luxation' (put in normal lingo, that's making your eyes pop out like those of a mischievous zombie). Senor Pinto can make his goggles eject a staggering 0.3 inches and he's confident that he can blitz the standing record of 0.43 later this week. Meanwhile, local chappie Marco Hort has just broken the world record for stuffing his mouth with drinking straws. He managed a magnificent 264, and very much the showman, he chose a cheery mixture of bright green, yellow, orange and pink to trounce his rivals. Moving into macho territory, Franz Muellner - again a local lad - succeeded in landing a 1.8 ton helicopter on his shoulders, supporting it for an entire minute. Definitely not something to try at home.

But towering above every single one of his fellow competitors was Xi Shun, the world's tallest man, who had travelled all the way from the wilds of Mongolia to pick up his prize. The seven foot eight gentle giant revealed that back home he slept in a specially designed house and bed. And although he had felt awkward about his height as a young man, the Mongolian told the Viennese that he had come to enjoy his stature.