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Tennessean's 5-day dive sets world record
HAMPTON, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man beat his own record for staying underwater with scuba gear after five days in a lake — complete with recliner, a checkerboard, music and good friends to keep him company.
Jerry Hall's hands are a bit shriveled after setting the underwater record.
By Ron Campbell, Johnson City Press via AP

Then Jerry Hall cheerfully signed a pledge to his wife never to do it again.

"I had the easy job," Hall said. "It was my dive team that did all the work. I kept them hopping all the time, and they never once complained. Whatever I wanted or needed, they were there for me."

Hall, 39, of Bluff City, Tenn., already is in the current edition of the Guinness World Book of Records for staying underwater with scuba gear for 71 hours, 39 minutes and 40 seconds.

He surpassed that at 9:56 a.m. Wednesday and didn't leave eastern Tennessee's Watauga Lake until Friday morning with a record time of 120 hours, 1 minute and 25 seconds.

"That knot in the pit of my stomach is gone and I'm glad he's all right," said his wife, Vicky Hall.

Hall and his team of 10 divers had been training for this effort for a year.

They used a platform lowered down to 13 feet below the surface. A recliner was harnessed to the dive deck, and Hall napped there for up to four hours at a time. An underwater speaker broadcast music, and Hall passed the hours with a checkerboard made out of an aluminum plate.

"Everybody that came down there to play checkers beat me," Hall said. "I'm giving them up."

During the dive, Hall nibbled on food that was sent down to him, such as apples and candy bars, by temporarily removing his breathing gear. But he relied mostly on water from a pouch-like drinking system used by cyclists and hikers.

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Woman breaks record for living with 6,000 scorpions
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian woman has broken a world record by enduring 32 days enclosed in a glass box with 6,069 scorpions, suffering seven stings in the process, her sponsor claimed Tuesday.

Nur Malena Hassan, 27, will remain in the case, on display in a shopping mall in the eastern city of Kuantan, until Saturday, said Bohari Rahmat, whose biscuit company sponsored the stunt.

Late Monday, Nur Malena surpassed the previous record held by Kanchana Ketkeaw from Thailand, who spent 31 days in a glass box with 3,400 scorpions, Bohari said.

Bohari said he hadn't talked to Nur Malena since she reclaimed her record, which she first won in 2001 by living for 30 days with 2,700 scorpions.

"We don't want her to lose focus, thinking that this is enough," Bohari said. "If we can reach 36 days, it will be more difficult for someone else to beat us next time."

Sujatah Nair, a spokeswoman for the Malaysia Book of Records, told The Associated Press that video and other documentation were being sent to the Guinness Book of Records.

Nur Malena, nicknamed Scorpion Queen in this Southeast Asian country, has been stung seven times by the poisonous arachnids since she began the stunt.

"She was stung on her leg three times last Wednesday and could not walk, but she's recovered," Bohari said. "She left the room on Saturday for two minutes to cut a cake and celebrate her 27th birthday."

Otherwise, she has left the room only once a day for a 15-minute bathroom break.

Nur Malena has built up resistance to stings after five years of training, but can pass out if stung three times within a short span. A doctor has remained on standby to treat her if necessary.

Thousands of Malaysians have visited the mall to observe Nur Malena in the room, where she sleeps, eats and performs Muslim prayers, moving very carefully to not upset her dangerous roommates.

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