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Stretch! Man’s elastic mouth measures 17 centimeters wide

Get ready for something truly jaw-dropping. Francisco Domingo Joaquim, a 20-year-old from Angola, has a mouth so stretchy it earned him a Guinness World Record for widest mouth on the planet.
/ Source: TODAY contributor

Get ready for something truly jaw-dropping. No, seriously.

Francisco Domingo Joaquim, a 20-year-old man from Angola, has a shockingly elastic mouth. It’s so stretchy, in fact, that Joaquim has earned a Guinness World Record for possessing the widest mouth on the planet.

The word “wide” almost fails to do this mouth justice. It measures 17 centimeters — 6.69 inches — across. Joaquim, also known as “Chiquinho,” can fit an entire soda can in there — sideways! — with ease. Not only that, he’s got enough room to spare that he can even spin the can with his tongue and quickly pop the can in and out of his mouth.

Talent-scouting Guinness World Record researchers discovered Chiquinho’s special abilities and almost swooned when they had an opportunity to measure his gaping maw. Chiquinho’s jaw seems to unhinge, python-like, exposing rows of straight white teeth.

Guinness World Records 2011

Slideshow  48 photos

Guinness World Records 2011

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The official mouth measurement — the one that secured the world record for him — happened on the set of “Lo Show dei Record” in Rome, Italy, on March 18, 2010.

“Guinness World Records invited a handful of record holders to Rome to film a TV series for the Italians,” said Craig Glenday, editor in chief of “Guinness World Records 2011.” “Among the giants, dwarfs, hairy families and daredevil stuntmen that turned up, one talent stood out for his unique abilities. He was Francisco Domingo Joaquim.”

Chiquinho has been making headlines in Angola and around the world because of his memorable mouth. Not bad for a guy who started out using his elasti-skills to perform at local markets around Luanda, Angola’s capital.

While in Rome, Chiquinho told the newspaper Il Messaggero that he would love to go to school and study.