The woman who holds the world record for the world's longest tongue has spoken out about how people react when they see it.
California resident Chanel Tapper, 34, has spent over a decade astonishing the world with a tongue that defies expectations — and scientific averages.
Measuring a jaw-dropping 3.8 inches (9.75 cm) from the tip to her lips, Tapper holds the Guinness World Record for the longest female tongue - a title she’s maintained since 2010.
Tapper recently opened up in a candid interview with Guinness World Records reflecting on her journey to becoming a world-record holder and the unforgettable reactions her unique feature continues to provoke.
“Honestly, the best reaction I could ever get when someone sees my tongue is screaming,” she said. “I actually do like when people yell or scream in shock, or horror sometimes. But that’s probably my favorite one because it’s funny to me because it’s a dramatic response.”
Those dramatic reactions are frequent — understandable given that her tongue is longer than a credit card. Her talent for surprising onlookers has been a part of her life since childhood. Tapper recalled being around 11 when she first started sticking her tongue out to amuse her peers, who were consistently stunned by its length.
Just a few years later, she went viral after being spotted on a YouTube video, where viewers couldn’t get enough of her tongue’s seemingly impossible size.
That early viral fame eventually caught the attention of Guinness World Records, which invited her to a 2010 event in Los Angeles for an official measurement. Tapper beat out two close competitors for the title and has remained unbeaten ever since.
To put her record into perspective, the average female tongue measures around 3.1 inches, while the average for men is about 3.3 inches, according to a University of Edinburgh dental study cited by Healthline. Tapper exceeds both, surpassing the female average by nearly three-quarters of an inch.
But Tapper’s tongue isn’t just long, it’s also impressively dexterous.
Over the years, she has wowed audiences with her ability to perform a slew of quirky party tricks. She can remove Jenga blocks from a stacked tower, flip plastic cups, touch the tip of her nose and even the area under her chin, and raise a spoon using only her curled tongue. “I like little fun, silly things like that,” she told Guinness.
That sense of humor and wonder has been central to her experience as a record holder. “My favorite thing about being a record holder has to be when I get to travel and meet other record holders as well,” she said. “It’s fun, and of course, I get to see the parts of the world I’ve never seen before.”
Her world record has even landed her a spot in a high-profile ad campaign. She traveled to Milan to participate in the Welcome Successful Living campaign for Italian fashion brand Diesel, where she posed for photos with her tongue painted blue and green. Other Guinness record holders joined her for the campaign, celebrating unique human traits in a bold and artistic way.
While Tapper embraces the comparisons — some online commenters have even likened her to Marvel's tongue-wielding villain Venom — she clearly views her record as a joyful part of her identity. “It’s fun,” she said simply.
And speaking of world records, the woman previously known as "The World's Hairiest Girl" has now shaven off much of her body hair and revealed what she looked like now.
Supatra "Natty" Susuphan, now 23, has an extremely rare genetic condition called Ambras Syndrome - also known as Werewolf Syndrome - which is a kind of hypertrichosis that leads to excess growth of body hair.
She previously told the Guinness World Records: "I don't feel any different to anyone else, and I've got lots of friends at school.
"Being hairy makes me special. There were a few people who used to tease me and call me monkey face but they don't do it anymore.
"I'm very used to this condition. I can't feel the hair as it has always been like this. I don't feel anything. It does sometimes make it difficult to see when it gets long. I hope I will be cured one day."