Jeff Ondash, nicknamed Teddy McHuggin, breaks hug record with 7,777 hugs in a day, incidentally V-Day
Jeff Ondash, nicknamed Teddy McHuggin, breaks hug record with 7,777 hugs in a day, incidentally V-Day
A 51-year-old American has embraced the Valentine's Day spirit faster than anyone before, giving 7,777 hugs in 24 hours for a new world record.
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Jadoo ki jappi: Odnash is now eyeing the world's longest single hug -- currently 24 hours and one second. Pic/AP |
Jeff Ondash, who sought the squeezes under the costumed alter ego Teddy McHuggin, broke the record on Saturday night outside the Paris Las Vegas hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
"When you hug somebody, they all walk away smiling," said Ondash.
Ondash said he wanted to become the world's hugging champion to raise money for the American Heart Association. The cause is important to him because his brother and father both died relatively young because of heart problems.
His daughter Carlie, who tallied her father's hugs with a manual counter at the start of his attempt on Friday, came up with his pseudonym to make his spectacle a bit more fun.
Ondash of Ohio already held the record for most hugs in one hour -- 1,205. The previous record of 5,000 hugs in one day was set last year by Siobhan O'Connor in Dublin. To break O'Connor's mark, he needed more than 208 hugs per hour -- or about three and a half hugs per minute. Ondash logged just over 700 hugs during his first hour of embraces on Friday.
Ondash said he did not expect Guinness World Records to certify his record for several weeks. He is now eyeing both the world's longest single hug -- currently 24 hours and one second -- and breaking his current two records consecutively.
"It's like climbing the Everest twice," he said.
"I don't even know if I can do that but I'm going to attempt it," Ondash said. "It's like climbing Mount Everest twice -- same thing."
