Marianne van der Steen and Dennis van Hoek from Tilburg climb a colossus of ice at lightning speed. The couple thus became European Champion. Omroep Brabant delved into its own archive, looking for sporting and other top performances. What about the record eating frikandellen or the cleanest toilet bowl in the Netherlands?
Pipe Smokers Guild
Ever heard of the World Pipe Smoking Championship? The chances are not that great, but there is still a real Brabant Pipe Smokers Guild that participates in that World Cup. Cees van Broekhoven from Rijen was there six times and has been a member of the guild for thirty years. Cees’ tips: “Tactical smoking.”
READ ALSO: Cees tries to become world champion pipe smoking: ‘With tactics and experience’
Cleanest toilet bowl
If you need to go to the bathroom, it is hoped that you are near Welberg. Because the public toilet of Stella Maris, a guest house for migrant workers, shines brightest and emerged as the cleanest in the National Toilet Survey 2013.
READ ALSO: Great urgency? The cleanest toilet bowl in the Netherlands is in Welberg
25 frikandellen in half an hour
Eating twenty-five frikandels within half an hour and then also trying to keep this king size portion down for twenty minutes. That performance was delivered by 22-year-old Kevin van Ooijen from Oss in 2015 in Schiedam. Van Ooijen was allowed to call himself world champion eating frikandellen for a year.
READ ALSO: Kevin van Ooijen from Oss is world champion eating frikandellen, 25 pieces within half an hour
Styling nails
About two hundred women and one man participated in the Brabant Championships nail styling in Drunen in 2020. That one man is Rob (22) from Lummen (Belgium). He has been styling nails since he was fifteen, did various courses and owns a nail studio. Rob didn’t have high expectations, because the competition was fierce.
READ ALSO: Two hundred women and one man compete for the Brabant Championship nail styling
Lightning-fast drones
A little nerd, a dash of dexterity and a good dose of reaction speed. With these qualities you could go far as a drone racer. In 2018 the NK drone racing was held in Vught. A serious challenge for the spectators to follow the game.
READ ALSO: Lightning-fast drones pass by at 120 km/h: ‘almost impossible to follow with the naked eye’
Fifty hours of pole sitting
For years it was a tradition at the Klundert fair: sitting on the pole. Until ten years ago no one wanted to participate anymore. Since then, poles are only used during anniversaries of the fair, such as in 2018. The fair existed for 45 years and that is why 12 people sat on a pole for no less than 50 hours. For the good cause.
READ ALSO: Everything for a good cause, even sitting on a pole for fifty hours
Throw air fryer
Frietboer Nick Waaijenburg from Mierlo hates air fryers. The owner of Eethuis Reintje wanted to convert his aversion to hot air fryers into something fun and that is why he is going to organize a real NK airfryer throw. “I wanted to come up with something to get rid of those things,” he explained his special plan.
READ ALSO: ‘Fries must be fat’ and that is why Nick is organizing the NK airfryer throw
Gold and silver parakeets
In 2013, a parakeet owned by Jan van Lanen (70) became world champion for the third time in a row. This time it was a stone parakeet with which the inhabitant of Middelrode won the gold. A brown-eared parakeet won silver. The world championship, the Confédération Ornithologique Mondiale (COM), was held this year in Hasselt, Belgium. There, judges choose the most beautiful animal for each parakeet species. “Good food and a bath every day,” Jan told about the secret behind his champion bird.
READ ALSO: Stone parakeet from Middelrode takes gold, silver for brown-eared parakeet
READ ALSO: Dennis and Marianne win the European Ice Climbing Championship: ‘Being afraid is part of it’