Woman’s tongue — ‘wider than a soda can’ — sets world record. ‘Pretty weird looking’
Jenny DuVander’s wide tongue has always surprised people.
The Portland, Oregon woman, though, never thought much of it, Guinness World Records said in a Feb. 27 news release.
But as DuVander was flipping through the pages of the 2023 Guinness World Records book with her son before bedtime, something caught her eye: a photo of the man with the largest tongue circumference in the world, the release said.
“I didn’t know that tongue circumference was a thing,” DuVander said in the release. “Right away, I had to measure mine at home and saw that it was at least 12 cm.”
To measure her tongue’s circumference, she had a doctor wrap “dental floss around it and then measured the length of the floss,” the release said.
DuVander’s tongue circumference measured 13.25 centimeters, or 5.21 inches. That’s “wider than a soda can.”
With encouragement from her son, DuVander applied for the female title of largest tongue circumference.
And now, her “pretty weird looking” tongue holds the record.
“My son, Evan, loves Guinness World Records and pores through the hardcover books every year,” she said. “My record is definitely inspired by his love of facts and human abilities.”
DuVander said when she shows others her flexed tongue, their eyes grow wide.
“People might think I’m turning it sideways until they realize it’s that big all around,” DuVander said.
Talk of her unusually wide tongue usually comes up in conversations about other tongue tricks people can do.
Despite its girth, DuVander said “she can flip her tongue upside down and touch her tongue to her nose.”
DuVander noted that the “tongue is pure muscle and very agile.”
“We use it all the time to speak and eat. It moves around all day and never gets tired,” DuVander said.
As a flutist, her powerful tongue comes in handy for “playing fast notes,” she said.
“When you articulate a note on a flute, they actually call it tonguing,” DuVander said.
While her ability is a natural trait, she said others can practice.
“Maybe start by parting your teeth and trying to get your tongue to reach both the top and bottom teeth at one time,” she said. “Then gradually increase the distance between your teeth.”
