Crina Popescu (again)

The 16 years old Romanian alpinist Crina "Coco" Popescu is the first climber to complete the "Seven Volcanoes" circuit. The circuit includes the highest volcanoes on the seven continents:

• Elbrus (5.642 m) – Russia, Europe
• Kilimanjaro (5.895 m) – Tanzania, Africa
• Damavand (5.671 m) – Iran, Asia
• Giluwe (4,368 m) – Papua New Guinea, Australia and Oceania
• Ojos del Salado (6,891 m) – Chile / Argentina.  South America
• Pico de Orizaba (5,636 m) – Mexico, North America
• Mount Sidley (4,285 m) – Antarctica

Photo from here

She is also the first woman who conquered Mt. Sidley and the youngest woman who climbed Mt. Vinson. Crina Coco Popescu climbed already six of the Seven Summits and wants to complete the circuit before 18yo.

Săruleşti Lake

Săruleşti Lake is one of the most famous lakes in Romania, and one of the best carp fishing trail in the world. It is located 55 km from Bucharest, in Săruleşti-Sănduliţa village, Călăraşi County. The lake was created in 1980, by the communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu in an attempt to transform Bucharest in port by building the Dâmboviţa-Danube Canal . Three villages were flooded, after which the project was abandoned, but fishermen have benefited from the union of some famous fish farms. The lake covers an area of about 500 hectares, has a maximum depth of only 16m, with an average of 5-6m. The bottom of the lake varies from very muddy to very hard.

Image from here

The Săruleşti Lake is populated with carp, bream, cteno, zander, bass, perch, pike, catfish, roach and other secondary species, but it is a real heaven for carp fishermen, being named “Jurassic Carp” or “Big Fish Mecca”, frequently being captured specimens over 30 kg. In the World Top Ten carp catches, eight are from Săruleşti. Here is organized the Carp Fishing World Cup and were established several world records.



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The largest photo-mosaic in the World

The largest photo-mosaic in the World was realized by the Romanian magazine Unica. The 1.014.653 photos were uploaded by the readers of the magazine and were assembled to form an unique giant photo. Statistically, 41% of photos uploaded represent children, 21% pets, 16% family, 10% friends, 7% holidays, and 5% miscellanea. The mosaic was exposed at Băneasa Shopping City, Bucharest.

The software that plays the mosaic image was created especially for this project by Arxia company in Cluj. Browsing the images is very easy - the mouse helps you do zoom in and zoom out in the crowd of shots. The world record is to be approved by Guinness Book of World Records.

Dacia Duster

Renault-owned, Romanian budget marque Dacia has proved a big hit in Europe with its range of value-for-money family models. Dacia has been transformed under the Renault banner to the point that it has sold 1.25 million vehicles in the past five years, thanks to a cocktail of price, space and equipment.

The Dacia Duster is the cheapest SUV with seven seats on the market and will be sold under a range of brands including Renault, Logan and Sandero depending on the country of sale, and goes on sale in Europe following the Geneva Motor Show. Like all Dacias, value for money is key, with the Duster offering plenty of space and equipment for the money - at over 4300mm long and with a boot capacity ranging from 474 to 1636 litres, it's a similar size to a Toyota RAV4.

According to World Records Academy, the mid-sized Dacia Duster 4×4 (measuring in at 4.31m long x 1.82m wide) has been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show and will be available in 4×2 (for or 10,500 Euros, tax included) and 4×4 specification (for 13,900 Euros) - setting the new world record for the Most affordable SUV.

Dacia Duster is available with a choice of engines that include one petrol (1.6-litre / 82kW) and two diesel units (1.6-litre / 63kW & 1.6-litre / 82kW). The diesel versions emit from 135g of CO2/km (for the 4×2 version) and from 145g of CO2/km in the case of the 4×4 version. Available in 4×2 and 4×4 specification, the light-weight Duster weighs in at 1,160kg and 1,250kg respectively; the Duster is based on a platform sourced from the Logan family and uses a wishbone (front) / multi-arm (rear) suspension arrangement.

Inside, the five-seat cabin is modern, uncluttered and functional, and offers several areas that can be modified with different colors and surface finishes. Particular attention has been paid to cabin ergonomics to ensure that the controls are conveniently positioned and that driving data is easy to read.

Active safety features include ABS, EBA, EBA, ESC (an option on some versions), CSV understeer control and Traction Control, while on the passive front, dual front airbags and three-point inertia reel seatbelts are standard. Depending on the variant, and country sold, side and curtain airbags are also available.

There will be four versions of Duster: Standard, Ambiance, Laureate, Prestige, and several optional packs. The first customer to receive the new Dacia Duster 4×4 is the Romanian President, a very active promoter of another Dacia brand - the Logan model which he use frequently and drive by himself. Alan Prost, the French champion in Formula 1, who piloted a competitive vehicle Dacia Duster in 'Andros Trophy 2010', was the one who launched officially the new SUV in Romania, on March 18, 2010.

Most expensive newspaper copy

According to World Records Academy, the world record for the most expensive newspaper copy in the world belongs to a Romanian newspaper, Zimbrulu şi Vulturulu (The Auroch and the Eagle), printed in Iaşi on November 11, 1858. The newspaper was exposed in the World Philatelic Exhibition EFIRO 2008, in Bucharest, Romania. It returned home in Romania after more than 2 years in London, in a British collection, and dozens of other years in a bank in Switzerland.

The copy was bought by Joseph Hackmey, a famous art collector, at an auction held in Geneva by the "David Feldman" auction house. The piece had a starting price of 500.000 Euro and was sold for 700.000 Euro. With fees and commissions involved, the final price reached 829.500 Euros.

It has become the most valuable copy of a newspaper and the most precious philatelic piece (it is also a collection of postal marks) from a random happening - as the Romanian Post representatives said. The famous copy was sent in November 1858 with destination Galaţi. Because the package was weighting very much, on the copy were applied 8 postal marks Auroch Head (Cap de Bour), one of the most rare and appreciated stamp. It was franked with eight 5 Parale (coins) First Printing Cap de Bour, comprising a quarter of the 32 known used pieces on bluish paper. This is the most famous set of stamps and postal marks applied on a correspondence. At Galaţi it was sold to a bookseller and collector of stamps.

Lăpuşna Castle

Lăpuşna is a village belonging to Ibăneşti commune, Mureş County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in Gurghiu Mountains, 45 km far for Reghin, in an area of outstanding beauty.

The story of the Lăpuşna Hunting Castle (or the Royal Hunting House) starts in 1923, when King Ferdinand I of Romania (1914-1927) had visited for the first time the area of Gurghiu Mountains. Charmed by the picturesque beauty of the landscapes, he decided to build in Lăpuşna a hunting lodge. The castle was built between 1925-1926.

The ensemble is composed of of 7 buildings with 35 rooms and a park of 4 hectares. It seems that the firs planted around the buildings form the contour of Romania. Not far is the wooden Lăpuşna Monastery (1779), brought here from Comori village by King Carol II, church that served as a place of worship for the Royal House. Once the relocation of the church, were brought here icons which proves the strong links between Moldavia and Transylvania during the 18th century.

The Hunting Castle was owned by the Royal House of Romania. King Ferdinand I, King Carol II (1930-1940) and King Michael I (1927-1930 and 1940-1947) often came here to hunt. It was nationalized in 1947, and was administrated by the commune of Ibăneşti.

Then, the castle became the favorite hunting place of the Ceauşescu family, the dictator bringing here numerous heads of state as Nikita Khrushchev, Todor Jivkov or Josip Broz Tito. Ceauşescu used the castle at least three times a year.

After the fall of Communism in 1990, the castle was used as a hunting base by Ion Ţiriac, Prince Dimitrie Sturdza, and many American and European hunters. Here were established several world records for trophies of Carpathian brown bear, black goat and deer. In total, there were obtained more than 300 gold medals for hunting trophies. Here is also a good place for trout fishing in Gurghiu River.

Images from here.

The longest romantic poem

A young poet from Iaşi, Cristian Bodnărescu, shot down the world record at... poem, composing the longest romantic poem of universal literature. Cristian is a journalist with studies in philosophy, and this is his first appearance in the sphere of literature.


The previous record was held until recently by a 126 years old poem, also Romanian: "Evening Star" by Mihai Eminescu, recognized in 2009 by the World Record Academy in Miami, as the longest poem, with 91 quatrains and 364 stanzas of verse.

The poem "She Demon" is, besides the world record of romantic poetry, "an original artistic work, a penetration of the demonic spirit world, an attempt to get starting finding a truth. The poem is apparently influenced by romanticism, but dominant is the fabulous perpetuity", as stated professor Theodore Teo-Marsalcovschi.

Cristian Bodnărescu's poem, of 109 quatrains, will appear in volume in early October, at "Renaissance Publishing House" in Bucharest. Now some details still to be added to the final form of poems and the translations in English, to be approved by the World Record Academy.

The longest relay in the World

This month, in the Herăstrău Park in Bucharest ended the Gillette Phenomenal Tour, the longest relay in the world. In this competition were covered over 3,000 km in 15 days, by 15 professional athletes participating at the event which runs in shifts of five, joined by amateur athletes. The group consists of an escort of four cars plus a runner. The run round the clock, in three teams, which changed every eight hours.


A representative of Guinness Book of World Records recorded the details of the event and has validated the performance. The previous record was about 1,500 km and was made in Japan.


The tour was opened by Răzvan Lucescu, the coach of the National Football Team of Romania on September 21, in Union Square; the relay passed through 24 important cities of Romania and concluded in the evening of October 5, by Ionuţ Lupescu, from the Romanian Football Federation. Also participated in the relay famous sportmen such as Ivan Patzaichin, Silviu Lung Jr. and Cristi Balaj.

Hunting world records

The tradition of hunting is a vigorous component of Romanian material and spiritual culture, the originality and diversity of its forms of manifestation having its origin in the richness of fauna characteristic of the space around the Carpathian arch, along the Danube to the shores of the Black Sea. "...An universe dominated by the mystical solidarity between hunters and animals"(Mircea Eliade).


The impressive number of medals and recognition as a world record for the most representative species of big game in Europe, confirm the great value of the Romanian fauna heritage.

Thus, Romania holds:
*** the absolute world record at horns of chamois, the famous trophy Hessheimer (141,10 points), obtained in the Făgăraș Mountains in 1934; 16 of the first 20 world trophies come from Romania.
*** the absolute world record at wild cat skull, from 1967, with 21,40 points.
*** the world record at brown bear skull, from 1997, with 69,47 points.
*** the world record at bear fur with 687.7 points (1985); in fact, the first ten trophies in bear fur in the world ranking are from Romania.
*** the world record at wolf fur, from 1997, with 186,17 points; 7 of the first 10 world trophies are from Romanian wolfs.

Iolanda Balaş-Söter

Iolanda Balaş (married Söter, born December 12, 1936 in Timişoara) is a Romanian former athlete and an Olympic champion in high-jump, considered one of the greatest high jumpers ever.


Iolanda Balaş got into athletics through her caretaker, former high jumper Luisa Ernst-Lupşa. She made her debut in 1949, and developed a jumping technique which was not deemed advantageous, a variation of the scissor technique but without the rotation of the torso and with the legs opening, instead of coming together towards the bar.


In 1955, before the Melbourne Olympic Games, she jumped 1.75 m setting the first of her 14 world records (plus 4 indoor). She was the favorite at the Australian Olympics, but she placed only fifth and the winner, the American Millie McDaniel, broke Balaş's world record. On 22 June 1958 in Cluj, she became the first woman to exceed 1.80 m. She won her first gold at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, reaching 1.85 m, 14 cm more than the second placed. "My first obstacle is the bar. It would be good to have a rival", she often repeated at the time. In Japan, at Tokyo Olympic Games, despite suffering from tendon and knee problems, she won the gold by jumping 1.90 m. The tendon problems forced her to abstain from the European Championships in 1966, but for years she was to be associated with other well-known abstainers, who forfeited to avoid gender checks, which had recently been introduced by the International Federation. She retired officially in 1967, losing a competition after 140 consecutive victories (unbeaten since 1958). During her career she won two European golds (1958-62), and one silver (1954), apart from the indoor gold in 1966. Her last world record, 1.91 in 1961, lasted for 10 years. After retiring she married her former coach Ian Söter, taught physical education in Bucharest, and from 1988 to 2005 was president of the Romanian Athletics Federation.


Those with gray hair still remember “La fenomenale romena”, “La grande bionda”, “The Deer”, “The Flamingo of the Carpathians”, “The Dragon Fly of Romania” and perhaps, most of all, “Please be quiet, Iolanda Balas is jumping!”… For his incredible 140 consecutive competitions won, she was included in the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records.

Ştefan Popa POPA'S

Ştefan Popa POPA'S (a.k.a. POPA@S, June 11, 1955, Caransebeş), is a famous Romanian cartoonist, included in the Guinness Book of World Records for his achievments.


He studied at the High School of Fine Arts, then moved to the Special School for Mathematics, getting the first place in the Balkan Mathematics Contest. He graduated from Polytechnic University in Timişoara and the Academy of Visual Arts in Poitiers, France.


He started drawing at 5 years and published the first cartoon at 7yo in a local newspaper. At 14 years, Popa published in the only humorous magazine of the time, Urzica. At 19 years he was discovered by Henri Coursaget, first President of UNESCO and president of the Festival in Confolens, during his travels in France, he discovered the universe of cartoons and became a professional. In 1990 he released his first album with satirical cartoons. He worked with famous artists as Salvador Dali, Jerry Robinson (Superman, Batman), Vasquez De Sola, Plantu, Emerson, La Palma, Tim, Morchoisne, Kruger.


Ştefan Popa is member of the Foundation for Science and Arts of the Citá Academy in Rome and of the Association of Plastic Artists (UNESCO). He founded Popa's Academy, a cartoon school. He is now an honorary citizen in 26 cities in the country; in Romania he earned over 100 awards, and other 60 at international contests. He published in major newspapers and magazines worldwide, and over 200 Heads of State and Government have signed portraits made by Popa. His outstanding achievements in the field of graphics have imposed him as one of the most prestigious personalities of contemporary art.


At the International Cartoon Festival of Saint-Estève (France), Ştefan Popa has set the world record of resistance (1527 color portraits in ten days and ten nights). In 1995 he knocked down his own record, with 2772 color cartoons in ten days and ten nights. Also, he has overcome the world record for speed in an hour, which belonged to the Belgian Emile Robin (106 caricatures in an hour), making 131 the caricatures in an hour, and was declared the fastest cartoonist in the world, according to Guinness Book of World Records. In October 1995, André Baur wrote: "(Stefan Popa Popa's) is a force of nature... is the only man who was four seconds faster than the computer".

Crina Popescu, the climber

At an age when most teenagers are preoccupied with shopping, boys and walking through clubs, Crina "Coco" Popescu from Râşnov, Braşov wants to climb the highest mountain peaks in the world.


At 6 years old climbed the Omu Peak (2507 m), at 10 was already in the Alps, climbing the Dente del Gigante (4014). Now she is 14 and she wants to become the youngest climber to complete the "Seven Summits" circuit, the name under which, since the 80s, is known the attempt to climb all the highest peaks on every continent, including the Everest. These days Coco is in the Himalayas, climbing the Cho Oyu Peak (8200 m), together with his father and a director who films her for National Geographic Channel.



She climbed Mont Blanc (4810 m) in the Alps, Kalapatar, Nepal (5545 m), and Alam Kooh, Iran (4850 m) and shot down several world records, including:

• 2007 – Ararat, Turkey (5165m) – age world record
• 2008 – Kazbek, Caucasus (5047m) – age world record
• 2008 – Damavand Peak (5671 m), Iran – age world record
• 2008 – Ojos del Salado, Chile (6893 m), highest active volcano – age world record
• 2009 – Aconcagua, Argentina (6963 m) - part of Seven Summits, age world record
• 2009 – Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (5891 m) – part of Seven Summits
• 2009 – Elbrus (5921 m) – part of Seven Summits


The Romanian Ministry of Youth and Sports awarded Crina with the title "Master of Sports".