The Guinness World Record holder for the longest fingernails ever on a single hand has cut them, the first time he has done so in 66 years.
Shridhar Chillal stopped trimming his fingernails in 1952 after he was told off by a teacher for messing around with a friend and accidentally breaking the teacher’s nail.
The teacher told Chillal at the time that he would never understand what it took to take care of long fingernails, so he set out to prove his tutor wrong.
“I don’t know whether the teacher is dead now or not but I would definitely like to say that the thing for which you scolded me, I took it as a challenge and I have completed the challenge and now, I am here,” he said.
The 82-year-old’s nails grew to a combined measurement of 909.6 centimeters, with the longest one measuring an incredible 197.8 centimeters.
The nails have now gone on display at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum in New York.
“When I decided to cut my nails, it was difficult for me to make this decision,” he said.
“But when I realised that after cutting my nails, my nails will be at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and they’re going to maintain it very nicely and for a lifetime, then I felt like I was doing the right decision and that’s why I decided to cut my nails.”
Despite Chillal’s fingernails causing him to lose function in his left hand due to their weight and length, and his fingers being permanently fused together, he went on work as a photographer for a government agricultural magazine for 22 years.
He also married and had two children, and now has three grandchildren.
