Thailand breaks Guinness World Record for hula hoop dancing

As you surely know, the modern hula hoop as we know it was first introduced by the Wham-O toy company in 1957. But America’s world hula hoop domination came to an end today, as nearly 5,000 participants at Thammasat University, Pathumthani, Thailand, performed in a hula hoop competition to break the Guinness World Record for most people dancing with hula hoops. This is a sad day for the U.S., which will surely be mentioned in tonight’s State of the Union address. Associated Press:

The Thai contestants celebrated in full swing after having set a new world record for the most people dancing with hula hoops simultaneously in one place. Guinness World Records adjudicator Seyda Subasi-Gemici said Tuesday that 4,483 people had swung hula hoops to dance music for seven minutes without interruption.

Norville Barnes is furious.

It also occurs to me that being a Guinness World Records adjudicator must be a pretty nice gig.