U.S. woman breaks a Guinness World Record for the largest mouth gape in the world

U.S. woman breaks world record for having the largest mouth gape in the world. (Guinness World Record)

A U.S. woman now holds the Guinness World Record for the largest mouth gape, beating the previous record by a mouthful.

Marie Pearl Zellmer Robinson surpassed the previous record holder Samantha Ramsdell of the U.S. on Wednesday by having a mouth measuring to be 7.23 cm to 7.33 cm, while Ramsdell’s jaw was measured to be only 6.52 cm.

Ever since she was young, Marie Pearl Zellmer Robinson says she would stick oranges and lightbulbs in her mouth to mess with her six siblings.

According to a Guinness World Records news release, Robinson told the Ketchikan Daily News in Ketchikan, Alaska that she was aware of her sizable mouth, but never did anything about it.

She told the news outlet she was devasted to miss out on joining the 1,976 people that showed up at a community event to compete for the world’s largest Wellington boot race.

So later, when Robinson found the video of the older record holders for the largest mouth gape, she saw her chance for being in the record books, the news release says.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s a girl [record] too?‘” she said. “And I just watched the videos a few times. I’m like, ‘Huh, that’s funny. I could fit that kind of stuff in my mouth too! Hey, I wonder if I can beat her!‘”

She “grabbed a ruler” and she measured her mouth, and was convinced she could beat the previous record holder.

The next time Robinson went to her dentist, she asked him to collect official evidence of this.

Robinson’s mouth was measured to be 7.59 cm. (2.98 inches)

According to her, her right jawbone is positioned at the back near her ear canal which gives her a wider range of movement.

“When I’ve dropped my lower jaw, it’s not hitting the tendons and muscles that a lot of people have,” she said. “So, I can open it wider than most people, just because of my jaw positioning.”

Robinson says she doesn’t go around showing it off because it creeps people out.

“That’s a creepy jaw!” she said.