The woman who holds the world record for the longest fingernails has answered the question she hears most often.
Diana Armstrong, from Minnesota in the United States, has not cut her nails since 1997.
The last official measurement found her nails had a combined length of 42 feet and 10.4 inches. That total makes them longer than a standard yellow school bus.
Armstrong says she has a deeply personal reason for keeping her nails so long. She began growing them after the death of her teenage daughter.
Reason behind the record
Armstrong’s 16 year old daughter, Latisha, died from an asthma attack in 1997. Armstrong said her daughter had helped care for her nails just before her death.
“That was the worst day of my life,” Armstrong said in comments reported by the Daily Star. She said Latisha had polished and filed her nails the day before she died.
After that, Armstrong said she could not bring herself to cut them. “I just couldn’t cut my nails off,” she said.
Latisha had made it a routine to manicure her mother’s nails every weekend. Armstrong said that memory became too important to let go.
She kept the reason private for many years. “My nails are a part of me,” she said. She said she could not imagine cutting them.
Armstrong’s daughter Rania has spoken about her mother’s decision. “If that’s her way of holding on to her, then I accept,” she said.
Daily care and practical challenges
Today, Armstrong’s grandchildren help maintain her nails. She said each nail takes about 10 hours to polish.
They use a woodwork tool to file the nails. Armstrong said it can take up to four days and ten bottles of nail polish to complete a full manicure.
The length of her nails affects many parts of her daily life. She said simple tasks often require adjustments.
Armstrong struggles to zip her clothes. She also needs a knife to open soda cans.
She said she can no longer drive because of the nails. She said she had to stick her hand out the window when she tried.
Public bathrooms also present challenges. Armstrong said she must use the largest stall available.
“When I go to a public restroom, I go to the stall that is the biggest,” she told Guinness World Records. She said she cannot fit into smaller stalls.
Recognition by Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records recognised Armstrong earlier this year. The organisation confirmed she holds two records.
She has the longest fingernails on a pair of hands for a woman. She also has the longest fingernails on a pair of hands ever for a woman.
Guinness said the combined length of her nails measures 1,306.58 centimetres. The group compared that length to a yellow school bus.
The organisation said Armstrong has been growing her nails for more than 25 years. It noted she last cut them in 1997.
Guinness also referenced the family tragedy that led to her decision. The post said she vowed never to trim them again.
Answer to the question she hears most
Armstrong said people often ask how she uses the toilet. She said the process works much like it does for anyone else.
“It’ll be the same as anyone else going to the bathroom,” she said. She said she simply adapts her movements.
She explained that she uses a lot of toilet paper. She said she cannot wrap it around her hand in the usual way.
“I can’t do it like that, because it ain’t going to work that way,” she said. She said she works with her nails differently.
When washing her hands, Armstrong said she does one at a time. She said she cannot pour soap into her hands and rub them together.
Featured image credit: Guinness World Records
