Aleysa Gulevich, a star with St. Louis’ Circus Flora, broke a world hula hooping record on this date 14 years ago. For her feat, Gulevich spun 107 hula hoops at the same time. The stack reached to her knees! She had reigned as the world-record-holder in this category before, in 2004 and 2007. (The category began in 1985 and has been broken seven times since.) 

The current record is 200 hoops, held by Marawa Ibriham, a Somali-Australian circus artist.

This post was contributed by Ross Malone. A historian and a retired school teacher, Ross has authored many books about Missouri’s history, weird facts, and folk tales. He has also written children’s historical fiction. Visit his website, and buy his books in the Missouri Life store.

Photo credit: Patricia Predente, Unsplash