Kevin Whittaker and Cory Jens deserved congratulations after attempting to set a new world record, but they probably didn't want any handshakes.

That's because the pair shook hands with one another Monday for 9 1/2 hours, trying to beat a handshaking record of about nine hours set by two Germans.

The Guinness Book of World Records still must confirm the feat¹, one that Whittaker, 31, and Jens, 30, felt pretty confident they had achieved.

"I looked up what some of the weakest records were," Whittaker said. "I'm not going to break the 100-meter dash record, but I thought I could break this record."

The rules from Guinness appeared easy enough: Handshakers are not required to look each other in the eye or exchangepleasantries; they simply must grip palms and continuously move their hands up and down.

The historic day began at 2:07 p.m. outside the city's Ferry Building, where the duo endured the discomfort² of sweaty palms, arm cramps³ and, of course, bathroom breaks. By nightfall, the two decided⁴ to continue their quest for greatness at a hotel bar, where they found comfortable seats and alcoholic⁵ beverages⁶.

The effort culminated⁷ at 11:38 p.m. with a bottle of bubbly — and some much-needed space.

"It's not that fun, believe me," Whittaker said. "I'm a little tired. My shoulder is tired. In fact, it's extremely painful."

试图创造一项最新世界纪录的凯文·维特克和科里·詹斯的确值得祝贺，不过他们可能不会愿意接受握手祝贺。

因为他们于本周一连续握手九个半小时，试图打破之前由两个德国人创造的握手约九小时的世界纪录。

《吉尼斯世界纪录大全》还需对这一壮举进行确认，但31岁的维特克和30岁的詹斯对此很有信心。

维特克说：“我找了一些最容易破的纪录，我不可能打破100米短跑的纪录，不过我想这个应该没问题。”

《吉尼斯世界纪录大全》上的规则看起来很容易：握手双方不需要对视或者互相寒暄，两人只需紧握手掌，不停地上下晃动。

这项创纪录的活动于当天下午两点零七分在当地的轮渡大楼外开始。其间，两人忍受了手掌出汗、手臂抽筋以及同去厕所等种种痛苦。傍晚时分，两人决定去一个宾馆的酒吧继续“战斗”，那里有舒适的座椅和酒水饮料。

当晚11时38分，两人紧握的手终于松开，他们还开了瓶香槟庆祝。

维特克说：“真的没那么好玩。我有点累，肩膀很累，其实是疼得要命。”