Man is the crown of nature's creation and its perfect embodiment. Truly, our body is unique and amazing in its functions.
It is interesting that there are no absolutely identical people in the world, even if we are talking about twins, and our bodies are asymmetrical. However, there are proportions that nature has provided for a specific purpose.
As a result of genetic mutations, abnormal developmental conditions and other external factors, people with unique abilities and characteristics can be born. Many of them end up in the Guinness Book of Records and become famous throughout the world.
Today we present a selection of 10 people with the longest languages in the world.
Woodpecker
Everyone knows that the woodpecker has a very strong beak, with which it makes holes in the bark of trees to get food for itself. But few people know that this bird has the largest tongue. There are specimens with a tongue longer than 10 cm. In order to accommodate it, nature has endowed woodpeckers with a special section of the skull. And at the end of the woodpecker’s tongue there is a small hook, with which it captures small insects hiding under the bark.
Emily Schlenker
It turns out that Byron's peculiarity can be inherited. Thus, the world record holder’s own daughter inherited her father’s impressive muscle size. Her tongue is slightly smaller than Byron's and is 7.3 centimeters wide , but this is larger than that of the previous record holder.
Emily Schlenker and her father are registered in the Book of Records as the couple with the largest tongues. Of course, the girl was also subjected to ridicule from peers and family friends, but she is optimistic about her peculiarity.
Chameleon
Chameleons are rightly called the most unusual lizards. The length of their tongue is usually equal to the length of the body. And the longer the chameleon itself, the larger its tongue, the average length of which is 50 cm. They need the tongue for hunting. It is impossible to observe this without special equipment, since it acts with lightning speed. A chameleon needs only 3 seconds to recognize and catch up to 4 insects.
Byron Schlenker
The funny, plump American man, at first glance, is no different from other people, until he opens his mouth. Byron Schlenker is the owner of the longest and widest tongue (it reaches 8.6 cm !).
Just so you understand, Schlenker’s tongue is wider than a beer mat or the screen of an iPhone 6. The man broke the previously set Guinness record by a full centimeter, thanks to which he became a celebrity in his hometown.
Byron's wife confesses that his comrades still make fun of the man, but he is quite good-natured about their jokes. The man happily signs autographs and takes pictures with fans, of whom he has many.
Komodo dragon
Adult monitor lizards grow up to 3 m in length and weigh about 70 km. Moreover, the lizard has a 70-centimeter tongue, with which they can easily kill a large bull. But for this they do not need to attack their victim and fight with her in a duel. It is enough for a monitor lizard to sting its victim with its tongue, and then everything will be done by its saliva. It turns out that the Komodo dragon’s saliva contains a huge amount of decay products, which, when they enter the victim’s blood, infect it. And the monitor lizard can only wait for the moment when the toxic substances begin to act.
Nick Afanasiev
A Russian emigrant, now living in the United States, decided to announce himself to the world and become famous. So, he discovered that the length of his tongue was 8.9 centimeters .
This feature could help him gain fame, especially since Nick Afanasyev dreamed of becoming a popular actor. The ability to reach his nose and elbow gained fame for the guy when he posted a video online. Then the views reached more than a million, and the guy began to receive long-awaited invitations to auditions.
Thus, the unusual young man starred in the teen series iCarly, and now his filmography has exceeded 10 projects. It turns out that not only speakers and singers can make money with a language.
Blue whale
This mammal is not only the largest and heaviest animal on the planet. Its features include the longest tongue. This organ in a blue whale can reach 3 meters. The whale uses this organ to filter tons of water that enters its mouth from shrimp and other food.
It turns out that for every living creature, the tongue plays its own special role, helping them not only in the process of eating.
Adrianna Lewis
Young Adrianna's tongue is one of the longest among girls - more than 10 centimeters . She did not hesitate to publish a video online showing off her unusual organ in all its glory. The video collected hundreds of thousands of views, and the girl gained curious fans.
In structure, Adrianna Lewis's resembles a snake - nimble and quick, capable of reaching the elbow, contrary to proverbs. A girl can also lick the tip of her nose and even reach her eyes with her tongue. After active negotiations with representatives of the Book of Records, the girl was able to record her record.
Andrianna's peculiarity was noticed by her mother when she was still 12 years old and actively ate ice cream. Adrianna enjoys taking pictures, showing off her muscles, and runs her own YouTube channel, where she posts funny tricks.
What does this organ look like in a healthy person?
The normal color of the tongue is light pink. There is a fold running across its entire surface. A healthy organ has moderate moisture and normal sensitivity. The shape of the tongue is distinguished by smooth outlines and the absence of curvature. Fungiform papillae are clearly visible on the back of the tongue (we recommend reading: enlarged papillae on the tongue: causes, symptoms and treatment).
It should feel soft to the touch. Normally, the formation of a whitish, thin plaque is acceptable. The morning is suitable for examining the tongue; the patient should stick out his tongue, but not too far, as physical stress can affect its appearance. You can see what this organ looks like – healthy and sick – in the photo accompanying the article.
READ ALSO: What disease is a crimson tongue a symptom of?
What color should the tongue be?
As mentioned above, the tongue is normally pale pink. If the examination reveals changes in the shade of this organ, it means there is some kind of pathology. Sometimes color helps to make a diagnosis quickly and accurately. Examples of changing the color of the tongue can be found in the photo accompanying the article. The most common conditions of the organ during examination, which indicate the presence of diseases:
Giraffe
The giraffe (lat. Giraffa camelopardalis) is the tallest of all mammals living on Earth. It is not surprising, but the giraffe sometimes lacks its height, so it quite often resorts to the help of its long tongue (45 cm). In addition to the fact that the giraffe's tongue is long, it is also very agile.
flickr/Timfy Mills
With its help, the animal easily removes foliage from trees and bushes. It is interesting that the lips and tongue of a giraffe are designed in such a way that they are not damaged at all, either by thorns or tree branches.
Nick Stoberl
The young man defeated the previous record holder four years ago - the length of his tongue was just over 10 centimeters . The record holder comes from America, where he works part-time as a comedian and artist.
He optimistically and cheerfully demonstrates the peculiarity of his body to everyone, takes pictures with fans and maintains personal pages on social networks. The guy is glad that he can amuse his friends and fans with his tricks. Nick Stoberl admits that his father also had an unusually long tongue, meaning the phenomenon was inherited.
The guy said that it was not easy to officially register his record, since his ambitions coincided with the 60th anniversary of the existence of the Book of Records. So, before the anniversary edition, all record holders were checked very meticulously, but the guy was able to get into it, which he is very proud of.
Ant-eater
Anteaters (lat. Myrmecophagidae) lack teeth, but they do not need them, since anteaters feed on small insects such as ants and termites.
flickr/ellenm1
But they definitely can’t do without their sticky and long tongue. For example, the tongue of a giant anteater (lat. Myrmecophaga tridactyla) can reach up to 60 centimeters in length. The frequency of movement of the anteater's tongue is about 160 (!) times per minute.
Girls with long tongues
There is such an expression as “too long tongue.” This is often said about those who are not averse to gossiping or discussing a person. However, in the world people have long tongues in the literal, and not just the figurative sense of the word. It is not clear how such people have an extra-long tongue that fits in their mouth.
Annika Imler, the woman with the world's longest tongue
There are a lot of photographs on the Internet in which you can see girls and others showing off their long tongues. Annika Imler is the official owner of a long tongue among women. The outer part of her tongue is seven centimeters. Another record holder is Chanel Tapper, who lives in California. The length of her tongue is 9.8 centimeters.
Records for human tongue length
If in animals the need to have such a long organ is explained by the capture of food and survival conditions, then for humans this feature remains a mystery. However, among the inhabitants of the planet, amazing indicators of tongue length are relevant, which will be interesting to get acquainted with.
Nick Afanasiev
The American posted a video on YouTube, demonstrating the almost 9-centimeter tongue in all its glory and immediately became famous. The decline in popularity helped the young talent make a career as an actor.
Stephen Taylor
A teacher from Coventry was included in the Guinness Book of Records, who was able to stick out his tongue 9 cm on one of the television shows. Surprisingly, it continues to grow and today is already 9.8 cm. Steve admits that the process is due to systematic training, and also frequently demonstrating one’s peculiarity to people.
Stephen managed to kiss the famous actress Brigitte Nielsen. Stallone's wife herself asked for this on one of the broadcasts of an entertainment television show. She wondered what it would be like to have an almost 10-centimeter tongue in her mouth. However, Taylor’s girlfriend already knows this, so she asks him not to resort to such caresses often.
Nick Stoberl
A 22-year-old guy from California broke Stephen's existing record in 2015 by showing off his 10-centimeter tongue. It is worth noting that that year the famous publication turned 60 years old, and the selection of participants was carried out with the utmost care. Therefore, the young artist can now rest on his laurels of fame with full confidence in his uniqueness.
Annika Irmler
In 2001, the whole world learned about a young German schoolgirl of 12 years old, who then took first place in the Guinness Book of Records. The girl was able to stick her tongue out of her mouth 7 cm, which at that time was an insurmountable achievement among the fairer sex. True, she failed to remain a winner in this area for long.
Chanel Tapper
This girl already knew about her gift as a child. She could easily reach her nose with her tongue, and when stuck out, it hung even below her chin. This feature was discovered in kindergarten when a girl posed for a photo on Halloween. Later, a student from California pondered for a long time whether she should apply to the Guinness Book of Records. Today she is considered the woman with the longest tongue in the world - 9.75 cm. Chanel said that at school she was ridiculed by her peers. Therefore, the decision to announce the “talent” to the whole world was difficult.
Adrianna Lewis
The American has already submitted an application to record the record several times, but for some reason she has not yet been accepted. However, the measurements showed something surprising. The length of the tongue of an 18-year-old girl from Michigan is 10.16 cm. It is not a problem for her not only to touch her nose with it, but even her eyes, if she helps a little with her hand.
Byron Schlenker
The American set a record that deviates slightly from the theme of the rating. He does not have the longest, but definitely the widest tongue in the world - 8.6 cm. Surprisingly, genetics allowed his daughter, Emily Schlenker, to take first place among girls according to the same criterion. The width of her tongue at 14 years old is 7.3 cm. And who knows how it will grow further.
Yagya Katuval
But for this man from Nepal there is no line in the Book of Records yet. And all because such a feature is so rare that he simply has no one to compete with. But the Internet space gave the school driver worldwide fame. His uniqueness lies not so much in his long tongue, but in his ability to control facial expressions at a masterly level. So, it is not difficult for a man to cover his own nose with his lips. And if you try, Yagya can even lick your forehead. But it is worth noting that this spectacle is truly shocking.
Schoolchildren and adults can rarely hide a hint of disgust when looking at such a terrifying picture. However, apart from world fame, this ability did not bring much wealth to Yagya. He continues to give children rides to school. Some predict a career in horror films for Katuwal. Adding at the same time that a man will not need makeup.
Radmila Yusupova
A young girl from Russia lives in the city of Ufa and is known for her virtuoso command of the language. The measurements in the videos say that it was not for nothing that Radmila was dubbed a snake. Such an important part of her body reaches 11.8 cm. This is the longest in a person today. The Russian woman gained fame from the NTV program “We Talk and Show,” in which the girl gave Nikita Dzhigurda a mysterious liquid. With her help, Yusupova shared, she achieved such results.
Radmila has her own accounts on popular social networks. In them she posts videos in which she shows new tricks. Naturally, the girl has enough fans. In an interview, Yusupova shared that she dreams of becoming a famous singer.
This is what the record holders for tongue length look like. It must be said that competition in this area is quite high, since this part of the body turns out to have the ability to grow due to training.
Australian echidna
The Australian echidna (lat. Tachyglossus aculeatus) is an oviparous mammal with an elongated tubular nose, at the end of which the nose and mouth are located, in fact, like all representatives of the animal world. But the oral cavity of this animal is narrow, and the tongue is very thin and long.
flickr/crijnfotin
In addition, the tongue is covered with a special liquid, which is produced by the salivary glands of the echidna and helps to capture insects. The animal's tongue protrudes outward by 18 centimeters, and this despite the fact that part of it still remains in the mouth.
Chanel Tapper
The American also became a record holder in the Book of Records (the length of her tongue was 9.75 centimeters ).
The girl noticed the peculiarity at the age of 8, when she was photographed with her mother on a holiday. Then she noted that her tongue was visually 2 times longer than her mother’s. Subsequently, the peculiarity was noticed by her classmates, to whom Chanel Tapper gladly demonstrated various tricks. She calmly reaches her elbow and nose with her tongue, and also goes below her chin. The girl admits that she no longer has any complexes about the unusual length of the organ and is proud of her achievements.
How many years do poisonous snakes live?
Depending on the type of snake. On average, 10-20 years, if we take as an example any snakes that can be kept at home. However, there are also those species of snakes that live very short lives, and there are also long-livers.
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Radmila Yusupova
The young girl noticed her peculiarity in early childhood, when she wanted to appear on television.
Mom said that people who appear on “TV” have something special and different from others. Radmila began to carefully examine herself in the mirror, try out different facial expressions, and casually noted that her tongue, it turns out, was longer than that of others. After measurements, it turned out that the length of the girl’s tongue is more than 11 centimeters , and this is a record for Russia, which clearly looks like a TV story.
Now Radmila Yusupova is actively using her peculiarity and maintains pages on Instagram and YouTube, not hesitating to post photos and videos with masterly “language” tricks.
Radmila’s dream also came true - on the air of the “We Talk and Show” program, which airs on NTV, she was able to please her fans with tricks and even talk with Dzhigurda.
Annika Irmler
Now Annika Irmler's , a tongue 7 centimeters long, has long been broken, but back in 2001 it was an undoubted leader. During the competition, it was necessary to pull the muscle out of the mouth as far as possible, which was achieved by a 12-year-old girl.
Of course, this feature gained Annika fame and popularity at school. And even before that, as a child, she demonstrated an unusual organ to everyone who asked.
The longest tongue of an animal
There are a large number of animals that have very long tongues. Until recently, it was believed that the chameleon had the longest tongue. In this animal, the length of the tongue and the length of the body are always approximately the same. On average, the length of the tongue reaches fifty centimeters. In a large and long individual, the tongue is correspondingly longer. It is impossible to see it extended to its full length with the naked eye. Only slow motion can help, since the chameleon throws out its tongue only for 0.05 seconds. By making well-aimed “shots” with their tongues, animals provide themselves with food.
Chameleon tongue reaches record size
The South American bat, which is considered quite rare, has the longest tongue among known mammals. Its tongue is as much as 1.5 times longer than its body. The bat stores its tongue in the chest, and the tongue is somehow compressed three times and is located between the heart and sternum in a special place.
This mammal was discovered only in 2003 in Ecuador. The discoverer was an American biologist, who was very surprised when he determined that the tongue is fifty percent longer than the mouse’s body. So, its length is about 8.5 centimeters, and the body length of this bat is about 5-6 centimeters.
The tongue of a bat is 1.5 times longer than the body
The South American bat feeds on the nectar of a flower with an extremely long corolla. Its name is Centropogon nigricans. Only the tongue of this little bat can “reach” the nectar inside this flower. In half a second, the tongue of a mammal manages to dive for nectar into the “flower tube” seven times. It turns out that these flowers can only be pollinated by this species of bat. It seems that nature created them for each other.
The South American bat uses its long tongue to get its food.
