A GERMAN man has received a Guinness World Record for the longest birthday by flying between time zones to extend celebrations for nearly two days.

    Sven Hagemeier kept his 26th birthday going for 46 hours by flying from Auckland in New Zealand, to Brisbane, Australia, before traveling backward in time across the International Date Line to Hawaii.

    The journey won him the Guinness World Record for the “longest birthday” ever, beating a previous time of 35 hours and 25 minutes.

    On the downside, Sven’s celebration may have been tainted by spending most of the elongated party eating airline food, struggling to stay comfortable in a plane seat, and admiring a fairly non-descript view through a small window.

    However, he did find time to take a short tour of Auckland with a taxi driver named Khan who showed him the city’s highlights in 90 minutes: “You will get help, wherever you are in this world,” Sven said.

    The record, of course, only makes sense considering the time in different time zones and how it elongated the date of his birthday — in reality, the actual duration of his journey is much shorter than 46 hours, amassing only about 13 hours and 10 minutes in the air.

    Sven said that he was a “huge fan” of Guinness World Records: “I always asked myself if it would be possible to set a record myself. After I found the perfect record for me, I felt confident I could become a record holder.”

    The record attempt took place last year, but it was only recently verified, after he provided tickets and evidence of the journey to Guinness World Records.

    Sven said that the highlight of his birthday trip was landing in Hawaii at midnight with his wife waiting to meet him, in the knowledge that he had “celebrated” a 46-hour birthday.

    (SD-Agencies)