Divers set 51-hour underwater Uno world record

Divers in St. Valentin, Lower Austria, have set an unofficial world record by playing Uno continuously for 51 hours at a table two metres underwater, ORF reported.

The attempt took place in a rented diving container because the ESV ASKÖ St. Valentin had no other suitable diving pool. A table was secured to the bottom, with three divers playing at a time.

The plastic cards had loops so they could be fastened to the table and would not float away. To change colour, players touched the relevant colour marked on the table. Calling Uno with one card left was more difficult: the player had to remove the oxygen mouthpiece and shout. Spectators could detect the call only through the resulting bubbles.

A total of 53 divers from Lower and Upper Austria took part. One of the three players was replaced every 15 minutes. The game ran nonstop from Friday at 10 a.m. until Sunday at 1 p.m., including overnight.

The previous record was 50 hours and had been set 13 years ago. Walter Brunbauer, chairman of the St. Valentin diving club, was involved then and came up with the idea of breaking the record. He also played and organised the event.

Brunbauer said he had spent four days at the venue and slept only a few hours at a time in his car, but praised his team for ensuring that everything ran smoothly. The event raised 7,000 euros for the St. Valentin branch of the Austrian Red Cross through participation fees and a small festival.