wrrrrld records.

it's women's history month,
& american women are undoubtedly under attack —
by presidential candidates, media moguls, local lawmakers.

but what you pay attention to grows.
so i don't want to dwell too deeply upon the current
he-man woman-haters club members invading our lady-space lately.

i just want to quickly clarify two points:
1) women's history month does NOT mean it's the month to make women history, fellas; &
2) contrary to popular "our gang" beliefs, girls are NOT the bunk. :p

now, moving along to more uplifting women-centric items . . .
how about five world records recently set by women??

:: longest distance solo swim: penny palfrey.
last summer, 48yo australian grandmother penny palfrey broke the world record for
longest unassisted solo swim, crossing the 67 miles
from grand cayman to little cayman in 40 hours, 41 minutes.
she wore only a swimsuit & goggles, & contended with sharks & jellyfish
along the way, but never left the water.

:: biggest worldwide jumping-jacks organizer: michelle obama.
last fall, u.s. first lady michelle obama led 450 kids
on the south lawn of the white house — & other organized events nationwide,
totaling 300,625 americans — in simultaneous jumping jacks,
leaving the prior record of just 20,000 jumpers lamely lacking.

:: fastest appalachian trail hiker: jennifer pharr davis.
[& i don't mean the appalachian trail hiking used as a euphemism
by former sc governor mark sanford for an argentinian booty call.]
last summer, 28yo writer jennifer pharr davis hiked up to 47 miles & 16 hours a day
to cover the 2,175-mile backwoods trail from maine to georgia
in just under 47 days. it was davis' third time hiking the appalachian trail,
but not her first serious athletic achievement; she has also summited mount kilimanjaro,
completed an ironman & set a women's record for the long trail.

:: longest distance on a treadmill: sharon gayter.
last winter, 48yo british endurance runner sharon gayter jogged an average of
74 miles & 18 hours a day to complete 517.33 miles on a treadmill in 7 days.
no novice to athletic accomplishment, gayter has run over 22k miles
in over 1,000 races, over 300 marathons & over 100 ultras around the world.

::most academy award nominations: meryl streep.
2012's best actress oscar winner has been nominated 17 times, won thrice.
her closest competitors for this record are katherine hepburn & jack nicholson,
who tie for the runner-up honor with a paltry dozen noms a piece.
at 62yo, the magnificent ms. streep has also earned eight golden globes, two emmys
& myriad other honors, not to mention her degree from the yale school of drama.


image sources: poorly noted. :}