Jewish Man Sets World Record For Slicing Watermelons Open On His Stomach

Ashrita Furman clinching his 80th world record in Moscow in 2004 Image by Getty Images

By Jenny Singer July 18, 2018

Our man Ashrita Furman has done it again — the man who is estimated to have set over 700 World Records set another on Tuesday, breaking the previously held record for number of watermelons sliced in half on his stomach in 60 seconds.

The last guy did 20. Furman did 26.

Furman, who identifies as spiritual but was raised Jewish and sent briefly to Yeshiva, is the world record holder for holding world records. In 2011, The New Yorker noted, “He has set more world records than Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Dale Earnhardt, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, the Beatles, the Yankees, and Seabiscuit combined.” And Furman has kept himself busy since 2011.

Local New York channel ABC7 reported that Furman had previously set the record for number of watermelons sliced in half on someone else’s stomach, but this week decided to make his relationship to the summer fruit of the vine more personal. In footage of the record breaking event, Furman looks barely fazed as he methodically chops melons, emitting a single growled syllable for each halved fruit.

The record setter, who describes himself as having a “lifelong commitment to nerdiness,” is not one for waste: the leftover fruit will be donated to a local cafe and used to make juice.

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at Singer@forward.com or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

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