Hafthór Björnsson, the Game of Thrones actor who’s currently the second-strongest man in the world, has hobbies, just like the rest of us. Only instead of video games, cross-stitching or Dungeons & Dragons, Björnsson likes to attempt world records by throwing washing machines.
Björnsson took on former strongest man winner Zydrunas Savickas in your friendly neighbourhood game of trying to break the Guinness World Record for throwing a washing machine. The original episode of the Italian TV show Lo Show Dei Record looks to be from 2016, but this is the first time Guinness has shared the results of his challenge. Sadly, neither of them were able to beat the previous record, but it’s perfect if you like watching appliances get demolished in the pursuit of fame and fortune. Screw your rinse cycle, Whirlpool!
It’s funny, because the actual record for farthest throw is kind of debatable. You might think “Who hurled a washing machine the farthest?” would be a pretty easy thing for Guinness World Records to know, right? But nope, there’s an entire rabbit hole of whoddunit.
The official Guinness record belongs to Savickas, who threw it 4.13m several years ago. However, there have been a few people who’ve technically broken it since then; most recently, Sean McCarthy, who threw it almost 4.88m at a baseball game in 2015. Hell, in 2013, Björnsson himself was filmed throwing one over 4.57m.
So what gives, Guinness? Did they not fill out the proper paperwork? Actually, that might be the case, since the process of getting in the book is very bureaucratic.
In any case, Björnsson basically embodies The Mountain in every sense. He placed second in 2016’s World’s Strongest Man competition, and has broken several world records, including Farthest Keg Toss and Who Can Carry Two Fridges On Their Shoulders The Longest. Yes, that one is real, and it looks insane. Look, there’s a reason Cersei chose violence. If I had this guy in my camp, I probably would too.
