Man Sets Sights on Eye-Popping Record

In this combination picture of before and after, Claudio Paulo Pinto pops his eyeballs at least 7 millimeters (0.3 inches) out of their sockets, a national record for eye-popping according to RankBrasil, an organization modelled after the Guinness Book of World Records that lists Brazilian records. Credit: AP Photo/Eugenio Savio

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) ─ Claudio Paulo Pinto is looking to break an eye-popping record. Literally. Pinto can pop his eyeballs out of their sockets at least 7 millimeters (0.3 inches), a national record for eye-popping according to RankBrasil, an organization modeled after the Guinness Book of World Records that lists Brazilian records.

A former driver, Pinto got a job scaring visitors in a commercial haunted house in Belo Horizonte, 210 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. But he recently was laid off, and now he seeks international recognition for his ability.

"I was measured by an opthamologist on television in January. I could pop my eyes out 7 millimeters,'' Pinto said by telephone Saturday. "Since then, my capacities have improved over 50 percent.''

That could put Pinto close to the record. The title of "furthest eyeball popper'' in the Guinness Book of World Records currently belongs to Kim Goodman of Chicago, who can pop her eyeballs 11 milimeters (0.43 inches) out of her sockets.

Pinto's ability is called "globe luxation.'' Doctors say it can strain blood vessels and nerves between the eyes and the head and feels unpleasant but usually doesn't cause lasting damage.

Pinto says he's been luxating his globes since he was 9 years old and "it doesn't hurt a bit.''

• Nepal boy claims to be shortest in the world
• The World's Longest-Running Experiments
• World Trivia