2019 Guinness World Records Set In Massachusetts

MASSACHUSETTS — Massachusetts had some major news events in 2019, but not all of them regard world records. The Guinness World Records website shares records and where they were set, including in the Bay State.

From a local's collection of whale-related items to the first-ever direct image of a black hole, here's a list of Guinness World Records set in Massachusetts:

Largest collection of whale-related items

• Where: Topsfield
• When: May 24, 2019
• What: Cynde McInnis collected the largest collection of whale-related items, totaling at a whopping 1,347 items.

Oldest competitive footbag (hacky sack) player

• Where: Boston
• When: August 2019
• What: Ken Moller was confirmed as the oldest competitive footbag, or hacky sack, player at age 72 years and 34 days at a competition in Boston from Aug. 16 to 18. On most days, he practices from 30 minutes to an hour.

First direct image of a black hole

• Where: Cambridge
• When: April 10, 2019
• What: Through an immense amount of research and data science, humans produced the first-ever direct image of a black hole. It was announced in Cambridge. Computer scientist Katie Bouman, 29 at the time, is credited with largely developing the algorithm used to capture the historic image.

Loudest bird call (honorable mention)

• Where: Brazil
• When: Oct. 21, 2019
• What: The loudest bird call measured came in at a whopping 125.4 decibels, as a collaboration of efforts by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia in Brazil. A thunderclap is measured at 121 decibels, according to Industrial Noise Control, but the male white bellbird is even louder.