Family Cracks Record of 50 Generations! Traces History Back to 600 AD

Dani clan from Saurashtra traces history back to 600 AD; has applied to Limca and Guinness record books for recognition.

Devanshu Dani - left - points to the first member of the family, while Jayesh Dani points to the last. The 2 are residents of Borivli. A 5-member committee traced the clan to Anang Sha who migrated from Rajan to Gujrat

In a rare event, a Gujarati family has traced 50 generations and has now created a family tree, which, members claim, dates back to the seventh century.

The Danis, who hail from Saurashtra, had a grand get-together of over 500 family members from across the world at Mahuwa in Gujarat on November 2 where they formed the Dani Kutumb Mandal and released a copy of their family tree. The family is now aiming for recognition in the Limca Book of Records and Guinness World Records and has approached their authorities.

The 500 members of the Dani family at the get-together at Mahuwa, Gujarat, on November 2

HOW IT STARTED
“It struck us that we had a many about our recent generations. We decided to start working on our family history and held get-togethers (as many as 10),” said the Kutumb Mandal chairman Jayesh Dani. Initially a five-member committee was formed.

The committee approached the family’s elders and got talking to them about their history. In fact, from just one member they got the list of a few generations.

It wasn’t tough getting contact details of those abroad as the Gujarati community keeps a directory which mentions each member. The process took 18 months and at the end of it, the family had been traced to 50 generations. “It was a Herculean task, but the fruits were sweet,” said Jayesh Dani.

HOW THE DANIS TRAVELLED
The Dani family has traced their clan up to Anang Sha (about 600 AD) who migrated from the then marketplace of Ajmer in Rajasthan to Palanpur in Gujarat.

His primary task was to collect transit tax on goods — roughly 2.5 per cent of the goods. At the end of the day, he was required to sell off the collected goods and deposit the proceeds to the state treasury. He would get commission from the proceeds.

The family moved from Palanpur and Patan in Gujarat. The Danis stayed put in Patan, which was one of the richest towns in India then, despite plundering by Mohammed Ghazani, but later moved to Sri Nagar, which was then known as Paar-Khar (beyond desert). The family moved to Saurashtra around 1420 AD and then struck roots there. The long journey of the Danis thus ended at Gohilwad, Saurashtra, where many of the current descendants of the family live.

ORIGINS OF THE SURNAME
There were three main sources of income for the state — Aan, Dan and Khan (taxes and mining). The Danis had the responsibility of collecting transit dues on commerce within state. Those who collected taxes were named Dani. The task entrusted to the Danis was to collect 2.5 per cent tax on goods transiting through the state.

HOW THEY ARE PLACED TODAY
The Danis are now spread across the world. At the Dani Kutumb Mandal Mahotsav held at their native place in Mahuwa in Saurashtra, over 500 Danis from UK, US, Dubai and Singapore came to celebrate the family history.

The mandal’s general secretary Devanshu Dani said, “We had organised musical nights, game shows along with cultural programmes and navchandi yagna to attract youngsters. Every member took part in all the programmes. Now we will approach Limca Book of Records and Guinness World Records.”

Danis arranged various games to keep the family entertained

Devanshu Dani performs the Navchandi yagna

Locals at Mahwa village welcome the Danis

Source: Mumbai Mirror

Travis Fessler: The Man Who Kept 11 Live Cockroaches in his Mouth

Yuck: The cockroaches Travis Fessler put in his mouth were at least 2.5 inches long

Kentucky (USA): Have you ever seen a cockroach scamper across the living room floor and wondered, just what is the record for the most cockroaches in someone's mouth? No?

Well, that didn't stop Travis Fessler from the American state of Kentucky from claiming his moment of fame. Fessler knew the record was nine. But Fessler thought that if he just did 10, it would only encourage someone else to break it. So, he got 11 cockroaches of the Madagascar hissing variety, all at least 2.5 inches long, and held them in his mouth for the required 10 seconds (those are the roach rules). Another rule: The bugs had to come out alive. They did. He now eagerly awaits word from Guinness.

The 90-Year-Old Who Has Cheated Death 14 Times!

The Lukiest man on Earth, Alec Alder survived four car crashes, three wartime bombings and even a plane crashing into his room.

LONDON: Alec Alder has survived car crashes, war-time bombing and has even walked away after a fighter jet smashed into the side of his house as he slept. Other escapes include a 15ft fall from a tree in 1926 and a close shave when he avoided being sent to Dunkirk in 1939 — where his whole squadron were killed. Now, the grandfather of six from Stroud says he must be the “luckiest fella alive” and is amazed he has made it to 90. The first of his near-death experie n c e s came as a 10-year-old, when he was hit by a car as he cycled down a narrow lane. Alder said, “I went around the corner and there was a car in front of me. I went straight into the car, up into the air and landed spread-eagle on the bonnet.” The driver turned out to be a doctor who was able to treat him at the scene and save his life.

Later, he managed to avoid getting wiped out in Dukirk during World Ward II. In 1942, he was taking part in military training exercises in Yorkshire, when he was run over by a tank. “It had gone over my foot when the engine stopped. If he had gone further, he would have killed me.”

Later that year, he survived a plane crash into his room. “It only missed my head by inches. The roof collapsed around me and the plane burst into flames and crashed into the garden,” he said.

Towards the end of the war, Alder was sent to Burma where he broke his leg playing football. He was sent to a hospital in India where a ward matron converted him to Christianity. He said, “She said, ‘You’re giving only five per cent of your time to God, but He wants a hundred per cent.’

ALEC’S 14 NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES
1926 Fell 15ft from a tree
1929 Collided head-on with a car and landed on the bonnet.
1939 Narrowly avoided death in Dunkirk as his company was changed due to his wedding
1940 Bombed as he guarded an airfield in Kent
1940 Bombed again
1942 A runaway tank’s engine stalled seconds before crushing him to death
1942 Almost hit by a plane that crashed into his room
1943 Avoided being destroyed after the engine on his ship cut out amidst German U-boats
1944 Threatened with being shot by a soldier in Burma
1944 Avoided being killed by the enemy in Burma after a fracture landed him in hospital
1945 Nearly sunk by a ferocious storm off Gibraltar
1947 Avoided being crushed in his car by a lorry
1977 Survived a head-on road collision because the other clipped the kerb.
1997 Nearly hit by doors that swung open on the lorry in front of him while driving

The World's Largest Pencil

This is a photograph of the World's Largest Pencil, a Castell 9000 located at Faber-Castell's facility in Malaysia near Kuala Lumpur. This pencil is nearly 65 feet tall and is housed in a glass enclosure. Completed in 2002, it is made from Malaysian lumber, fitted from small pieces tongue-and-groove fashion. Once the first half was built, a German-made polymer lead running the full length was inserted and the remainder was built, then sanded and finished. The project required over 7000 man-hours over a two year period to complete. The pencil is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest.

The previous record holder:- Is also from Faber-Castell, Germany. The Giant Grip 2001 Pencil is shown with Count Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell in front of the family castle at Stein near Nuremberg. It is triangular in shape, 12 m in length, weighing approximately 600 kg, and made of Weymouth Pine. The lead is genuine graphite about 12 cm in diameter.

The 70-year-old with the world's smallest waist - just 15 inches

Pensioner Cathie Jung has worn tight-fitting corsets for years to become the woman with the world's smallest waist.

The super-fit 70-year-old has a tiny waist which measures just 15in (38cm) - making her figure distinctly hourglass.

The Queen of Corsets, as she has aptly named herself, appears in the new edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

But the super-thin 70-year-old insists there is no, ahem, corset for concern. Grandmother Cathie is perfectly healthy despite having a midriff that can be reduced to the size of a large mayonnaise jar.

And having the smallest living person’s waistline has got her into the new edition of the Guinness Book Of Records. Cathie’s astonishing 39-15-39 figure is the result of spending the last 25 years laced into tight corsets, which only come off when she showers.

Cathie, from Manteo, North Carolina, reckons that while her corsets restrict her waist they don’t hold her back from everyday tasks. She said: “I do everything that I want to do. I eat fairly small meals but I prefer that at my age anyway. I find it tricky sitting in low chairs and sometimes in restaurants I have to sit on the high chairs at the bar.

“I even have a special swimming costume with a corset sewn in it, so I can still go to the beach. And I am still able to do housework — unfortunately!”

Cathie’s husband Bob is an orthopaedic surgeon and he reckons his wife’s unique look does her no harm.

She said: “Bob has carried out X-rays on me and says the corset actually helps support my spine. Everything in the midriff is flexible."