World joke record set

Australian comic Lehmo has shattered the world joke-telling record.

He rattled off 452 gags in an hour, smashing the previous score of 364, held by an Estonian comedian.

The stunt was staged during the Melbourne Comedy Festival to provide material for Lehmo's hour-long show - My Goodness, My Guinness - about the Guinness Book Of Records,

After the record-breaking marathon, he said: "I'm slightly joked-out now."

He started out at a cracking pace, cracking 50 gags in the first five minutes, but slowed the rate as the hour progressed. The rules only allowed fully-fledged jokes, not witty asides.

Meanwhile, British comic Tobias Jug will be attempt to set a new record for cracking jokes while running a marathon in London later this month.

Published: 8 Apr 2003