Man Gives 7,777 Hugs In 24 Hours - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Family Ties Forever! · 02-15-2010, 10:49 PM

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Embracing History: Man Sets Hugs Record In Vegas
Man Gives 7,777 Hugs In 24 Hours
Oskar Garcia, Associated Press Writer

Posted Saturday, February 13, 2010
Updated: 8:14 am CST February 14, 2010

Las Vegas -- A 51-year-old Ohio man has embraced the Valentine's Day spirit faster than anyone before, giving 7,777 hugs in 24 hours for a new world record. Jeff Ondash, who sought the squeezes under the costumed alter ego Teddy McHuggin, broke the record Saturday night outside the Paris Las Vegas hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip. "When you hug somebody, they all walk away from each other smiling," Ondash said. "They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away; a hug a day -- it's just fun."

Ondash said he wanted to become the world's hugging champion to raise money for the American Heart Association during American Heart month. The cause is important to him because his brother and father both died relatively young because of heart problems, he said. His daughter Carlie, who tallied her father's hugs with a manual counter at the start of his attempt on Friday, came up with his pseudonym to make his spectacle a bit more fun. As Teddy McHuggin, Ondash sports a red NASCAR-style driver's suit with hugging logos and a wrestling-style championship belt.

"Jeff Ondash breaking a record really doesn't mean a lot," he said. "Teddy McHuggin on the other hand, he's the reigning world speed hugging champion, now going after the world marathon hugging champion. "No one on earth has ever attempted something like that before," he said. Ondash, of Canfield, Ohio, already held the record for most hugs in one hour with 1,205, according to Guinness World Records. The previous record of 5,000 hugs in one day was set last year by Siobhan O'Connor in Dublin, Ireland, Guinness spokesman Philip Robertson said.

To break O'Connor's mark, Ondash needed more than 208 hugs per hour -- or about 3½ hugs per minute. Ondash logged just over 700 hugs during his first hour of embraces on Friday night. He said he embraced all kinds of people throughout Friday night and Saturday and was tired from being on his feet and not eating. But Ondash said he wasn't planning to go to sleep right away. "I'm going to go and enjoy the town tonight," he said Saturday.

Ondash said he did not expect Guinness World Records to certify his record for several weeks. The organization did not have a judge present at his attempt. Instead, independent judges who tracked Ondash in shifts were to submit affidavits to the organization. Ondash says he, as McHuggin, is now eyeing both the world's longest single hug -- currently 24 hours and 1 second -- and breaking his current two records consecutively, which he said was "unheard of."

"I don't even know if I can do that but I'm going to attempt it," Ondash said. "It's like climbing Mount Everest twice -- same thing." Additional Resources: Hug Teddy for Charity
American Heart Association

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

OH Nuts! · 02-15-2010, 11:04 PM

That's a lotta hugging! Whatta cool record.

Janice · 02-16-2010, 12:36 AM

catlover79 · 02-16-2010, 01:09 AM

How awesome. I love it!!

Family Ties Forever! · 02-17-2010, 05:41 AM

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Originally Posted by Janice

He's a hugging machine.

catlover79 · 02-17-2010, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Family Ties Forever!

He's a hugging machine.

That reminds me of that song, "Love Machine". "And I won't work for nobody but you..."

MickeyMac · 02-17-2010, 06:43 PM

To be honest I dont know if I would want to hug that many people at one time.

Marvo301 · 02-17-2010, 07:14 PM

They should call this guy "huggy bear"!

theshark8777 · 02-17-2010, 08:11 PM

Canfield is like 20 minutes from where I live.

OH Nuts! · 02-17-2010, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janice

Love all the

- sez it just right!

Retro4Life · 02-17-2010, 10:10 PM

I can only imagine this fellow was VERY cautious about who he hugged. I can imagine many people who would not be too crazy about a stranger's spontaneous embrace, myself among them!

catlover79 · 02-17-2010, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvo301

They should call this guy "huggy bear"!

Retro4Life · 02-17-2010, 10:55 PM

LOL, somehow the idea of Huggy Bear doing all that hugging does not seem particularly "in character".

howierules86 · 02-18-2010, 12:35 PM

This guy must know a lot of sweet ladies (personally, I think sweet ladies deserve to be hugged myself).

catlover79 · 02-18-2010, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by howierules86

This guy must know a lot of sweet ladies (personally, I think sweet ladies deserve to be hugged myself).

02-16-2010, 12:36 AM	#3
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	The guy loves his hugs, lol

02-16-2010, 01:09 AM	#4
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	How awesome. I love it!!
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

02-17-2010, 07:14 PM	#8
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,460	They should call this guy "huggy bear"!
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

02-17-2010, 08:11 PM	#9
theshark8777 Hats for Bats Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 23, 2001 Location: northeast Ohio. Posts: 5,315	Canfield is like 20 minutes from where I live.
	__________________ Who ate all the pecan Sandies??

02-17-2010, 10:10 PM	#11
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	I can only imagine this fellow was VERY cautious about who he hugged. I can imagine many people who would not be too crazy about a stranger's spontaneous embrace, myself among them!
	__________________ Alex Reiger :[Trying to convince Louie not to antagonize Bobby] "It's not hard to make people feel bad about their lives. What's hard is making people feel good about their lives."

02-15-2010, 11:04 PM	#2
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	That's a lotta hugging! Whatta cool record.

02-17-2010, 06:43 PM	#7
MickeyMac Member Forum Star Join Date: Jun 18, 2008 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan Posts: 19,008	To be honest I dont know if I would want to hug that many people at one time.

02-17-2010, 10:55 PM	#13
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	LOL, somehow the idea of Huggy Bear doing all that hugging does not seem particularly "in character".

02-18-2010, 12:35 PM	#14
howierules86 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 05, 2007 Location: Opelika, AL Posts: 29,745	This guy must know a lot of sweet ladies (personally, I think sweet ladies deserve to be hugged myself).
	__________________ I love me some Susanna Hoffs - http://www.susannahoffs.com And many other very talented ladies too.