Talk Audio & Fast Car Assert World Record!

I write with every hair and nearly every portion of erectile tissue on my body tingling. (I’m not quite that bad.) For a not-dared-to-be-believed fantasy has come true!

Talk Audio, In association with Future Publishing’s Fast Car Magazine have established and set a whole entire New Guinness World RecordTM!

In a scene of multiple car audio competition formats, where Sound Pressure Levels reach 180dB and physics-laboratory-calibrated microphones and sensors are used, there has never been a truly rigorous scientific way of comparing one organisation’s World Records with another’s. Also, they have many categories. So, whilst it might seem logical and realistic to have “The World’s Loudest Car Stereo” records in the fabled Guinness book, it has never happened. Guinness World RecordsTM’ reputation for scientific veracity is absolutely unassailable, so getting a record ratified needs some pretty stringent recording and independent witnessing.

For a decade, I have been occasionally gathering up all the loudest cars and vans in the UK and measuring them with, frankly, an Earthquake meter for hysterically funny magazine features under the title “F*** SPL, Gimme Richter!” This most recent time, we had the scientists from a Seismic consultancy called Vibrock and Anglia news TV and some who came just to witness the event. (And eat Pork Pies from a famous Wigan Butcher’s thanks to K&M Acoustics.) Afterwards, the lovely folks at Future presented my case and extensive support material to the Guinness World RecordsTM organisation with a view to it being accepted as a new record.

It took some time but here is the brief but absolutely joyous text entry that Talk Audio & Fast Car get in the next edition of the Hallowed Book.
“Largest Seismic Earthquake Caused By Car Stereos”
The largest seismic earthquake caused by car stereos was caused by 22 cars which made the ground vibrate with a velocity of 6.325 mm/s. The event was organized by Fast Car Magazine and www.talkaudio.co.uk (all UK) at the Santa Pod Raceway, Northampton, UK, on 22 October 2008.

It didn’t mention the equivalent of 300kg of explosives at 500m as possibly that’d mean defining the explosive but WE HAVE OUR RECORD!

I truly feel that anyone who was there in one of those 22 cars deserves to have the event commemorated. We don’t have the funds but we do have the time to organise and administer it, so how about designing and commissioning an embroidered patch? We can’t use the Guinness logo without paying a licence fee so it’ll have to be something like “Talk Audio & Fast Car magazines World Seismic Record Setter” in a circle and a ‘quake image in the middle, maybe the ground cracking?

Whaddaya reckon? Along with the 33Hz thing, I really feel a mark has been made there. We may beat it one day but you guys were FIRST!
I’m so proud of you all.