Exhaustion; chafing; sand in multiple bodily crevices -- these are just some of the hindrances your standard triathlete has to deal with during a race. It's a tough sport, but not tough enough for Joe Salter, who this year completed the Mullet Man triathlon in Florida's Perdido Key while juggling.
Swuggling (swimming while juggling), buggling (biking while juggling), and joggling (guess!) do not make for the most efficient triathlon, but Salter finished the race with a very respectable sub-two-hour time. Watch the video to find out how he kept his balls in the air during all three legs.

Fueled by enough coffee to overcome a brutal 6am wake-up call, Vancouver skateboarders Chris Haslam, Ryan Decenzo, and Mark Appleyard grabbed their boards, jumped into a van, and hit the road. Their mission: to shred as many skate parks as possible in 24 hours. Rain, fatigue, and the occasional humbling fall onto concrete were no obstacle for the determined trio, who managed to skate 31 parks across British Columbia's Lower Mainland. Their snazzily edited video of the experience proves they did it in style, showing off some tricky moves and gaining admirers along the way.

A deserted field; a man holding a red hand mirror; a crossbow in the grass and the curled remains of a burst balloon. This is not the set of a David Lynch film, it is the setting for one of Doug McManaman's many impressive world records. Displaying enviable patience and steadiness of hand, the Canadian crossbow enthusiast took careful aim over his shoulder at a balloon pinned on a board 25 yards behind him. With only the small mirror to guide him, McManaman shot his projectile smack-bang into the balloon, rupturing it with a satisfying pop.

When you've gone two nights without sleep, you start seeing weird things -- a Hyperion cyborg, perhaps, or a psychotic adolescent orphan by the name of Tiny Tina. Matt Siegfried, known in the competitive gaming world as BLiTZ, encountered both of these characters when he spent over 43 consecutive hours playing Borderlands 2. Immediately after attending the game's midnight launch, BLiTZ bunkered down in his computer room, vowing not to rest until he had ascended all 50 levels. The rising and setting of the sun faded into irrelevance as BLiTZ vanquished enemies and completed quests, emerging fragile but triumphant almost two days later.

As those who have flown from Sydney to LA in an economy middle seat are well aware, 13 hours can feel like eternity. Imagine having to talk the whole time. Imagine there's a backbeat, and your words, which you make up on the spot, have to match the rhythm of the music. With only three-second breaks at a time. For 13 hours. It seems beyond human capabilities, but rapper Street Light did it this year. Standing in front of a DJ booth in LA's Think Tank Gallery, the Detroit native rocked the mic like a vandal, destroying the pre-existing Longest Freestyle Rap record of 12 hours. (Note: his record was recently beaten.)

Ultra-fit humans may find the exercise less difficult -- even exhilarating. These people include Alicia Weber of of Florida and Andre Turan of New York, who have lately been engaged in a battle for squat-thrust supremacy. Turan kicked things off with his 196-thrust attempt, which Weber bested by 10. Turan took the record back, only for Weber to swoop in again -- this time wearing a top hat with rabbit ears attached in honor of Halloween. Turan holds the current record with 340 thrusts, but given Weber's multiple fitness record categories and never-say-die approach, expect the battle to continue.

When you call yourself CoolJuggler, you'd better have the skills and charm to back it up. Thankfully, the Californian behind this record lives up to his name. Riding in the bike lane on a quiet street -- a set of conditions we recommend if attempting the feat -- CoolJuggler casually tossed three balls in the air behind his back as he pedaled. He kept it up for four minutes and 19 seconds, a new world record. CoolJuggler, perhaps it's now time for a name change to something less modest.

"I do enjoy bowling very quickly," says Eric Smyth. No kidding. In a whirlwind 60 seconds, Smyth used his trademark two-handed flinging technique to score nine strikes at his local bowling alley. Though most of his balls initially looked to be heading for the gutter, all but one of Smyths throws resulted in a strike. This is the thrill of watching the 21-year-old in action -- his apparently casual "chuck it without looking" approach is actually a calculated, carefully honed technique.

When things aren't going your way and the daily grind is getting you down, sometimes you just need to put a bird in a slingshot and fire it at a pig. This explains the colossal success of Angry Birds, the game in which you can do just that. Belgian pair Ward Versonnen and Sirdan Dalle are especially fond of Angry Birds, a fact they demonstrated when they devoted 48 hours of their lives to a non-stop gaming session. Dressed in matching blue polo shirts and encased in a glass-walled room, the duo dragged their fingers across their iPads for two exhausting days, sending a record number of irritated birdies hurtling into unsuspecting swine.

When group conversation flags and everyone looks awkwardly at their toes, there is one guaranteed way to pep things up: a conga line. It works in every context: dinner party; annual shareholders' meeting; parent-teacher conference. To take it to the next level, make roller skates mandatory. The results will be memorable, as seen in this year's record for the Longest Roller Skating Conga Line, set in Miami. Just under 200 people laced up their four-wheelers, grabbed a stranger's hips, and rolled into the record books.

For Takeru Kobayashi, grilled cheese is not a comfort food: it is a competition food. The professional speed-eater, known to his many fans as Kobi, can swallow 13 of the sandwiches in 60 seconds. The cheddar-chomping dynamo achieves this by dunking every sandwich in water, squishing it into a log, and cramming it into his mouth at a furious pace. Wide-eyed spectators, who got splashed with the lukewarm dunking water, barely had time to count each sandwich before it disappeared down Kobi's throat.

Patting your head while rubbing your belly is a challenge. Doing chin-ups while hula-hooping is the stuff of a fevered imagination unconstrained by earthly physics. But try telling that to Pete Moyer, who can perform 10 chin-ups in a row while swiveling a hoop around his hips. This is but one achievement from the multi-talented 19-year-old, whose current records include Most Stairs Climbed While Juggling, Farthest Behind-The-Back Basketball Shot, and Most Questions Asked During A Visit To KFC. BTW, Moyer parlayed this record into a recent appearance on David Letterman.

The great advantage of unicycling underwater is that it's almost impossible to fall off. The great disadvantage is that it's almost impossible to pedal -- that pesky force by the name of buoyancy gets in the way. However, using a combination of SCUBA gear, science, and sorcery, Zakk Shanks this year managed to ride his unicycle 30 feet along the floor of a swimming pool. Shanks got the idea for the record when he realized that his two newest hobbies -- unicycling and SCUBA diving -- had crossover potential.

Clint Poore of Albany, Kentucky, is a strongman with a soft side. Best known for his physically demanding feats, such as breaking apples in half with his bare hands and bench pressing a giant pumpkin, Poore also holds the record for holding the most kittens in one hand. The fusion of brawn and fluff is also on show in this record. As Poore uses his meaty hands to crush a frying pan into a cylinder, a cat wanders past and sniffs his leg, seemingly unfazed by the display of might. In the cat's defense, Poore’s amazing strength achievements are so frequent and numerous that they probably seem humdrum to feline eyes.

Set at 20 in 2010 and broken nine times since, this tricky record requires patience, a steady hand, unwavering concentration, and a calm mind. Oh, and a bucketful of skill. Current record holder Mamuka Kucia, from the nation of Georgia, has long been engaged in a gripping rivalry with Vermont's Tony Duncan. While admitting that Kucia's abilities are "scary," Duncan believes that, with a few solid months of intense training, he could reclaim the title. Until then, the skittering sound of a dropped ping-pong ball haunts his dreams.