Gay men achieve world’s longest kiss
Two American gay men have broken the world record for the longest kiss – locking lips for almost 33 hours.
Students Matty Daley and Bobby Canciello, who are just friends, hope to win a place in the Guiness Book of World Records for their achievement.
The pair, from the College of New Jersey, said they did the record-breaking stunt to raise awareness of the Trevor Project, a helpline which works to prevent suicide in LGBT young people.
They began their attempt on campus on 11:32 am on Saturday September 18th and finished at 8:02 pm the following day, with their actual time being 32 hours, 30 minutes, 45 seconds and 20 milliseconds.
Guinness World Records rules state that contenders for the longest kiss must not sit down, use the bathroom or wear adult diapers.
The bid has to take place in public and participants’ lips must be touching at all times.
Daley and Canciello said they prepared for the kiss for months, exercising, practising standing for hours and devising a system of hand signals for when one needed to stretch or move.
The pair’s kiss was streamed live on the internet and officials from Guinness World Records will now review the footage to confirm whether they have broken the record.
Speaking afterwards, Canciello said muscle strain was the hardest part, while Daley said he got lockjaw.
But they said the pain was “worth it” for highlighting gay visibility.
Caniciello told NJ.com that a teenager sent them a message saying “because of what you guys did, I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with my sexuality and I think I’m going to come out to my parents”.
The student said: “All the pain was worth it. The second I read that message, I was just like, whatever, who cares about the pain, this is important.”
The pair believe they have beaten the previous record by 23 minutes. This record was held by Nicola Matovik and Kristina Reinhart, a German couple.
