Today, October 4, is National Taco Day. For many of us that, simply means adding the word “National” to a description of our (minimally) seven-times-a-week favorite food indulgence. The taco, though, has truly become a nationwide obsession.
In 2013, Americans devoured 4.5 billion tacos. Piled up on a scale, that comes in at 775 million pounds (or about the weight one feels after a particularly muy grande taco-fest); laid end-to-end, that’s 490,000 miles (or about the distance it feels like between you and the bathroom just prior to the final stage of a particularly muy caliente taco-fest). U.S. taco consumption is on track to top those numbers this year; just imagine, percentage-wise, how much of taco-gorging goes down on college campuses. Seriously, put down the taco that’s presently in your hand and ponder it as you chew.
For National Taco Day, let’s line up and add the following ten taco-related world records into our collective tortilla of knowledge. Each achievement, whether soft or crunchy, represents a key ingredient in the ultimate triumph of the taco. Why can’t Taco Day come 365 times a year? Oh yeah, because it already does.
World’s Largest Taco
Donde: Mexicali, Mexico
Cuando: March 8, 2003
Que y Como: A staff of 80 manned eight grills to produce a taco that measured 35.9 feet long and 33.8 inches wide wide. It contained 1,182.5 pounds of grilled steak, 186 pounds of of dough, 179 pounds of of onions, and 106.3 pounds coriander. An additional 100 kilograms of guacamole did not count toward the record—but definitely did count toward extra deliciousness.
World’s Longest Taco
Donde: Webster Universty in St. Louis, Missouri
Cuando: April 22, 2014
Que y Como: Webster students assembled a massive taco in the shape of a “W” that measured 851 feet, easily besting the previous record of 654 feet. The taco incorporated 1,600 tortillas, 220 pounds of refried beans, 120 pounds of ground beef, 120 pounds of shredded cheese, 80 pounds of shredded lettuce, and 16 gallons of salsa.
World’s Largest Serving of Tacos (Made in World’s Largest Clay Pot)
Donde: Metepec, Mexico
Cuando: September 7, 2014
Que y Como: Mexico’s municipality of Metepec teamed with the renowned cokking institution Escuela Culinaria Internacional to concoct 1,968.73 pounds. Participants simultaneously broke a second world record, by preparing the feast in the single largest clay pot ever created in human history.
World’s Longest Taco Line
Donde: University of Rochester, New York
Cuando: February 8, 2012
Que y Como: Rochester Students handily swamped Michigan State University’s standing taco line record (835 tacos served) by lining up, piling on ingredients, and voraciously wolfing down 1,036 tacos.
World’s Greatest Competitive Taco Eater
Donde: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Cuando: July 15, 2010
Que y Como: Global competitive eating superstar Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas successfully downed 53 Taco Bell Soft Tacos in 12 minutes. That’s a record among both male and female eaters.
World’s Largest Taco Rice
Donde: Japan
Cuando: November 14, 2010
Que y Como: Kincho Shokokai led 2,100 volunteers in Nature Miraikan Koryu Hiroba in Kin-cho, Okinawa, Japan in preparing 1,644 pounds of taco rice. The participants then ate everything they cooked.
World’s Largest Pork Taco
Donde: Querétaro, Mexico
Cuando: November 21, 2011
Que y Como: The Mexican city of Querétaro got together to create a pork taco coming in at 239 feet long. It consisted of 330 pounds of pork, 661 pounds of onions, 45 pounds of cilantro, , 1,102 pounds of tomatoes and 1,543 pounds of tortillas.
World’s Largest Fish Taco
Donde: San Diego, California
Cuando: May 23, 2014
Que y Como: U.S. Foods busted out the world’s largest fish taco in sunny San Diego, immediately wrapping it in plastic to fend off predatory seagulls. It measured 254 feet long,
World’s Coolest Taco Bell
Donde: 5200 Coast Highway, Pacifica, California
Cuando: Seven days a week, open late on weekends
Que y Como: Of Taco Bell’s more than 39,000 outlets worldwide, only this location —about 20 minutes outside of San Francisco—qualifies as a travel destination and indisputably elegant dining experience. The wooden, beach-house-style restaurant sits on sands just a few yards from the ocean, it boasts an exquisite wraparound porch on which you can down your chalupas, there’s a walk-up window for those getting in there sun and surf time, and while one side faces the mighty Pacific, the other overlooks sumptuous Northern California mountains.
World’s Greatest Hit Song by a Guy Named Taco
Donde: Every radio everywhere, in heavy rotation on MTV
Cuando: June 1983
Que y Como: Flamboyant (to say the last) single-named Dutch singer Taco scored a worldwide smash with his high-tech new wave cover of the 1927-penned Irving Berlin pop standard “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” The single sold over a million copies in the U.S. alone and, with no popular follow-up, established Taco as one of the great one-hit wonders of the ’80s. He has always worn that distinction well–although he may not be too proud of the video…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eubhg1gTyj8]
10 Taco-Riffic World Records for National Taco Day
