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LOOK – Man Held Record for the World’s Largest Tongue After It Measured Wider Than an iPhone 14 Pro Max
Could a simple trip to the library land you in the book of world records? It sounds like something out of a movie, but that’s pretty much what happened to a dad from Syracuse, New York. Byron Schlenker was just a regular guy—he managed property for the state fair, was married, and had three kids. He was helping his daughter find a book for school when he stumbled upon a fact about himself that was pretty mind-blowing.
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He had a feature that wasn’t just wide, it was record-breakingly so. To give you an idea, it was wider than an iPhone 14 Pro Max and even wider than a soda can. That one small discovery set off an incredible journey for his entire family, caught the world’s attention, and showed that sometimes the most interesting things about us are the ones we’ve never bothered to look for.
The Library Trip That Changed Everything
In 2013, Byron was at the library with his daughter, Emily, searching for a book for her school assignment. He picked up the Guinness Book of World Records 2012, and as he flipped it open, it fell to the page for the “World’s Widest Tongue.” At the time, the record was 7.9 cm and belonged to a man in Australia named Jay Sloot.
Something just clicked. The entire ride home, he couldn’t shake the thought. “On the way home I started thinking my tongue is pretty wide; I wonder how wide it is?” Schlenker later said. It was one of those fleeting, funny thoughts that usually disappears a minute later. But when he got home and did a quick measurement himself, he realized he might actually be in the running. This idea wasn’t going anywhere.
Getting into the Guinness World Records, though, is a serious business. They have a strict process to make sure every record is legitimate. The rules were intense: a doctor had to take the measurement with a metal ruler, two notaries had to act as official witnesses, and the whole event needed to be filmed and sent to their headquarters in London for review. It’s a ton of effort, but that’s what makes holding one of their records such a big deal.
After going through all that, he finally got the news: at 8.3 cm, Byron Schlenker was the new world record holder. An ordinary guy from Syracuse had suddenly become, quite literally, one in a billion.
It Runs in the Family
But the story doesn’t stop there. It turned out that this unusually wide tongue was a family trait.
His daughter Emily, the one whose school project started this whole adventure, also had a surprisingly wide tongue. At first, she wasn’t thrilled about the idea of getting famous for it. “I really didn’t want to have anything to do with it at first,” she said. And who can blame her? That’s a lot for a teenager to take on. But she eventually warmed up to the idea of sharing this strange honor with her dad.
In 2015, at just 14 years old, her tongue was officially measured at 7.33 cm (2.89 inches), earning her the world record for women. Just like that, the Schlenkers became a record-holding dynasty. Something that could have easily been a source of embarrassment was now a celebrated achievement known around the globe.
For Byron, the best part of it all wasn’t the fame or having a certificate to hang on the wall. It was the unique bond it forged with his daughter. “The best thing that I think that’s come out of this is the bonding that Emily and I have had,” he shared. They went on TV and traveled together, making memories that would last forever. “It’ll be a memory that Emily and I will share forever.”
The Gobfather’s Guide to Going Viral
With two world records under one roof, life for the Schlenkers got pretty strange, pretty fast. Byron earned the nickname “The Gobfather” in his hometown and the family even made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. During a segment where the host surprised people at home, they proudly showed off their tongues, and Byron joked that he could polish off an ice cream cone in “about six seconds.”
What’s really wild is that all the attention had a physical effect. People everywhere were asking Byron to stick his tongue out for photos. One photoshoot lasted three hours. All that activity was essentially a workout. A year after his first official measurement, his tongue had actually stretched to a new record of 8.57 cm.
His daughter Emily had a theory about it. “Since it’s a muscle, it stretches when you work it out, so since he sticks it out so much, he’s gotten a few millimetres bigger.” His fame was literally making his record-holding feature even bigger.
Byron handled the constant and sometimes awkward attention like a champ. He knew it was odd when strangers would ask him to “let me see it,” but he rolled with it and often used it as a chance to playfully embarrass his daughters—a classic dad move.
He maintained a great sense of humor through it all, joking that the record would be better suited for a “young, single man” and that sticking out his tongue was “the only muscle I’m working out.” His wife, Vicki, was his rock, keeping things light and normal at home. She laughed off the silly comments from friends and was proud of her husband for not taking himself too seriously. Because they were so down-to-earth, the family was able to enjoy the wild ride instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.
The Wide (and Long) World of Records
So the Schlenkers were now part of this super cool, unofficial club of people with amazing body parts. This group includes people with the longest tongues on Earth, too, and their stories are just as fascinating.
The guy with the current longest tongue is Nick Stoeberl from California. His tongue is a whopping 10.1 cm (3.97 inches) long—long enough to lick his own nose, and even his elbow. He’s found a creative use for it, too. He calls himself “Lickasso” and uses his tongue to make art by wrapping it in plastic and “licking” a canvas to create paintings.
The record for the longest female tongue belongs to Chanel Tapper, also from California, with a 9.75 cm tongue. Just like the Schlenkers, she found out about her unique feature as a kid and has learned to love the fun parts of being famous for it, especially getting to travel and meet other people who hold records. For many of these record-holders, the real prize isn’t the title, but the community of other extraordinary people it connects them with.
But these records don’t last forever. They’re always changing as new people find out they have their own unique traits, often inspired by seeing others in the record book. Byron’s record was broken in 2018 by Brian Thompson of the USA (8.88 cm). And after almost ten years, Emily’s record was passed to Brittany Lacayo of Texas in 2024 (7.90 cm). It just proves that there could be another record-holder out there right now, maybe just one library trip away from being discovered.
The Gift of Being Different
When all is said and done, the Schlenkers’ story isn’t really about who has the widest tongue. It’s about how a completely ordinary day at the library can spin into a wild, once-in-a-lifetime adventure. It’s a sweet story about a dad and his daughter sharing something that made them unique, and a masterclass in how to handle sudden fame with a good laugh instead of a big ego.
Life gets serious, so stories like this are a fun reminder that the world is still full of weird and wonderful surprises. It’s also proof that you don’t have to be perfect to be amazing. Sometimes, the coolest thing about you is the quirky part that makes you different. You never know what you might discover about yourself.
Featured Image from Truly @truly-channel on YouTube