US man is champion telephone book ripper

[CVX]

An Oregon man has won back his title as the world’s greatest ripper of telephone books. Ed Charon ripped up 39 Portland white page directories in three minutes in front of a 100-strong crowd.

The 69-year-old went through the first book like it was only a few pages rather than 1,004. He tossed the two pieces into a box at his feet and grabbed the next book off of a table. After the first 60 seconds, Charon had already ripped through 16 phone books - three less than he tore through two years ago when he originally set the world’s record.

After two minutes, he had gone through another dozen, and only twice did any of the books give Charon a problem. He paused slightly on the 32nd phone book and again on the 34th before splitting each in half. He’d almost finished ripping the 40th volume when time expired.

“Oh, I wanted 40,” Charon said. Charon lost his title in late 2002, when Mike West, a fitness and judo instructor from Indiana, ripped through 30 phone books.