10 impressive records broken by Wisconsinites
From sports feats, to scientific wonders, to a huge collection of memorabilia, Wisconsinites have shattered plenty of fascinating, and impressive, records.
It’s quite an accomplishment to be a world record holder—to have certification that you do something better, faster, or more than anyone else on the entire planet. Guinness World Records started compiling records held throughout the world in the 50s, and people have been trying to break them, or start their own ever since, including several Wisconsinites who have proudly broken and continue to hold their world records.
While many of the records broken by Wisconsinites are connected to sports, the state and its residents also claim some pretty silly, yet no less impressive, records as well. From a massive collection of memorabilia to lengthy careers to a staggering amount of burgers consumed, there are plenty of reasons for Wisconsinites to boast about the impressive records that they’ve broken.
1. The largest human waterskiing pyramid formation
The Rock Aqua Jays, a water ski show team based in Janesville, Wisc., were facing some steep competition when they claimed the world record for the largest human waterskiing pyramid formation in 2022: themselves. The team had previously captured the record in 2018, when its pyramid, made up of 80 people, traveled more than 1,100 feet along the Rock River in Janesville.
In 2022, the team broke their own record, with a human waterskiing pyramid formation of 93 people, also on the Rock River. The famed waterskiing team, which performs shows throughout the summer each year, has also captured other records, including the most barefoot water skiing pyramids towed behind a single boat, with eight different pyramids in 2021.
2. Most Big Mac burgers eaten in a lifetime
Most people in the United States have probably had a Big Mac, one of the signature cheeseburgers from McDonald’s, at some point in their lives. But no one has ever eaten as many Big Mac burgers as Don Gorske, a Fond du Lac resident who has had more than 35,000, as of March 15, 2025. Gorske first came to prominence in the 2004 documentary “Super Size Me,” where he said that he has eaten a Big Mac almost every single day since 1972.
In honor of the Wisconsinite’s 35,000th burger earlier this year, the McDonald’s on South Military Road in Fond du Lac held a ceremony for the Big Mac-lover, and March 15 was named Don Gorske Day in his hometown. The Fond du Lac resident doesn’t just eat McDonald’s, he also collects memorabilia from the fast food chain. His collection totals more than 100,000 pieces, including Happy Meal toys and meal boxes.
3. The largest lawn mower parade
Parades are normally made up of a wide range of methods of transportation: trucks, convertibles, ambulances, police cars, and bicycles. There was just one method of transport in a 1997 Port Washington parade, though: lawn mowers. On Aug. 15, 1997, 800 different ride-on lawn mowers passed through more than 1.2 miles of Port Washington, Wisc., to claim the record for the world’s largest lawn mower parade.
The parade was held in honor of Simplicity Manufacturing Company’s 75th anniversary. The Port Washington-based company manufactures lawn and garden equipment. Approximately 750 of the tractors used in the parade were limited edition models made for the company’s anniversary.
4. The largest collection of Winnie the Pooh memorabilia
When it comes to showcasing love for Winnie the Pooh through a memorabilia collection, no one can beat Waukesha resident Deb Hoffmann, literally. The collector has been recognized by Guinness World Records as having the largest Winnie the Pooh and Friends memorabilia collection, with 27,488 unique items in the collection as of Nov. 2025, according to Hoffmann.
The Wisconsinite’s collection began when she was two years old and received her first plush Winnie the Pooh. The collection grew exponentially when Hoffmann was in her 20s. In 2008, Hoffmann submitted her collection to Guinness World Records for judgment, and she received her first certificate, recognizing her collection as the world’s largest with 3,891 unique items. It’s only grown from there—Hoffmann has her collection adjudicated every year as it continues to grow.
5. The largest cheese platter/board
Is it any surprise that Wisconsin is home to a cheese-based world record? America’s Dairyland is well known for its cheese production, so it makes sense that the state could produce the largest-ever cheese platter/board. The board was put together by Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, a non-profit organization based in Madison that markets and promotes Wisconsin-produced dairy products.
The organization’s cheese board used approximately 145 different types of cheese, including a wheel of Mammoth cheddar that weighed more than 2,000 pounds. The cheese board was produced as part of a fundraiser for the Great American Milk Drive, and more than 45,000 people were in attendance to try some of the board’s many cheese options.
6. The longest glowstick
In 2009, the world’s longest glowstick was three meters long, but the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater shattered the previous record with a glowstick more than 50 times longer: 152.5 meters, or more than 500 feet long, and required more than 90 volunteers to crack and activate the glowstick.
The feat was part of the university’s sesquicentennial anniversary, celebrating 150 years since its establishment. Understandably, the glowstick’s color was purple—just like the school’s that it was celebrating.
7. Most llamas pulling a carriage
It’s unusual to see any llamas in Wisconsin in general, especially when there are 56 of them at once. But Stratford, Wisc., resident Floyd Zopfi was able to hitch 56 llamas, as well as eight ponies to a cart, and break the world record for most llamas pulling a carriage.
Zopfi drove the dozens of llamas on reins that were nearly 300 feet long on Sept. 1, 1997. Zopfi continues to manage a llama farm in Stratford, Lonesome Pine Llamas, where he proudly advertises the world record on his signage.
8. Longest career as a dance teacher
There is a saying that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. It’s arguable how true that is, but what’s undeniable is Betty Hayes-Baxter’s dedication to her career as a dance teacher. The dance teacher and resident of Avoca, Wisc., worked for 76 years and 53 days as a dance teacher, securing the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a dance teacher in 2023.
Hayes opened the Betty Hayes School of Dance in Avoca in 1947, when she was 17 years old. More than seven decades later, the dance school is still operating, offering tap, ballet, hip hop, jazz, and lyrical dance classes, some of which continue to be taught by Hayes-Baxter.
9. Oldest neon sign maker
Neon signs were in their heyday when Wisconsin resident Dean Blazek first started making them in the ’50s. Over the following decades, the method of signmaking was used less frequently, but Blazek never stopped. Instead, Blazek was certified as the oldest active neon sign maker in Dec. 2024, when he was 90 years and 312 days old. Blazek began his career working at Everbrite Signs in Milwaukee, and then at the Northern Wisconsin Neon Workshop in Antigo, where the neon sign maker is still based.
In addition to continuing to work in neon, Blazek was also determined to preserve and save some of the finest work from his generation. Now, Blazek has an impressive collection of neon signs, showcased at his business, DB Collectibles.
10. Most siblings to complete a marathon
It’s a big accomplishment when one person completes a marathon, so the Kapral family certainly had a lot to celebrate when 16 siblings in the family finished the First Fox City Marathon in Appleton on Sept. 20, 2009. The siblings and Oshkosh natives ranged in age from 18 to 44, and all completed the 26.2-mile race in under six hours, with times ranging between 3:09:51 and 5:31:49.
All 16 of the Kapral siblings attended Lourdes Academy High School, and they weren’t the only family of siblings from the school to all complete the same marathon. In 2007, 13 siblings in the Weisse family, also Lourdes Academy High School alums, held the record for one month, until an Irish family broke the record, taking part in the Dublin Marathon.
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