UK plays a part in Guinness World RecordsTM attempt at LEGOLAND® Deutschland

Gu?nzburg, 8 March 2010 – At the leisure park LEGOLAND® Deutschland in Bavarian
Gu?nzburg a spectacular Guinness World Records attempt will be taking place from
30 March to 13 April 2010. For a period of 14 days the Australian marine biologist and
adventurer Lloyd Godson will be living in a house measuring just four square metres
in the underwater world of LEGOLAND ATLANTIS by SEA LIFE – without surfacing
once. Before the eyes of visitors, he will attempt to generate the largest amount of
electricity that has ever been generated by pedalling under water.
He is a marine biologist, environmentalist and adventurer. He loves the water and the
challenge. For one and a half years, Lloyd Godson has been preparing for his world
record attempt which will begin on 30 March at LEGOLAND Deutschland. During his
two weeks under water the 32-year-old top athlete must produce 2500 watt-hours of
electricity with his bicycle pedals. An official Guinness World Records judge will be
there to verify the new record on 13 April – provided, of course, he succeeds. The
internal dimensions of the house that Lloyd Godson will inhabit during his record
attempt are just 2.5 x 1.6 metres. He must spend 336 hours in this small living space for
all his activities, including eating, sleeping, using the toilet and personal hygiene. Over
the last few weeks, divers have been busy installing the bright red house. In several
steps the stainless steel frame and eight concrete blocks, each weighing 1.9 tonnes,
have been lowered through the opening in the roof of the aquarium and submerged.
The house is constructed like a diving bell with a hatch at the bottom and has a
buoyancy of approximately 8 tonnes. For this reason it had to be completely flooded
before it could be submerged and then pumped empty with oxygen. During the
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attempt a compressor will supply Lloyd Godson with air so that he can breathe. Valves
will keep the air pressure in the house at a level constantly above that of the water
pressure. This ensures that in an emergency the aquanaut can leave the house at any
time through the 70 x 70 cm floor hatch and divers can provide him with fresh water or
food without water flooding into the house. Godson will be sharing his underwater
world with measuring instruments which will monitor the air quality and his body's vital
functions. Over the course of the remaining few weeks, Godson will install all the
furnishings, the electricity generator and the technical instruments in the house with
the help of divers. With his computer he will be keeping in touch with the outside world
via the website www.LEGOLAND-Unterwasserrekord.de.
The world record attempt will also benefit science. NASA bio-engineer Dennis
Chamberland is researching the long-term effects of living underwater and hopes to
gain new findings for developing permanent underwater colonies. The international
medical organisation Divers Alert Network (DAN) will also be tracking Godson’s
experiences with a scientific study. Among other things they will be investigating the
effect on his blood circulation and with the information gathered they hope to increase
the safety of diving as a sport.
Developing the underwater house presented the designers with numerous challenges
during the one-and-a-half-year project phase. As the underwater habitat is located in
an aquarium, this places special requirements on the materials and operational
procedures. The air flow must be continually guaranteed, wastewater produced by the
toilet and shower must be collected and an adequate supply of food must also be
ensured. To guarantee the safety of the fish in the aquarium, all elements, such as the
stainless steel framework and the sealing materials, must be saltwater resistant. This
means that they must not rust or release substances into the water.
The adventurer Lloyd Godson will certainly find ideal conditions for his attempt at
LEGOLAND ATLANTIS by SEA LIFE. In 2009 the Ocean Tank with its 535,000 litres of
water was opened. Around 1,300 fish, including sharks and rays, as well as numerous
amazed visitors will be able to watch Lloyd live. Contact with people, especially with
children, is important to Lloyd. With this experiment he wishes to make visitors aware
how fragile and vulnerable the ocean environment is and the challenges involved with
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living under water. This is also something that is reflected in his work. When he is not in
the middle of one of his adventures, he is busy working on innovative school projects
aimed at informing children about the importance of protecting the sea and its
inhabitants.
This experiment would not be possible without the help of numerous partners. The
following sponsors have supported this project, for example with technology, special
foods or equipment: Adventure Food B.V., Bauer Kompressoren, Con-Space
Communications Ltd., Dallmeier electronic GmbH & Co.KG, DAN – Divers Alert
Network, Der Freistaat – Caravaning & More Sulzemoos, Die-Seeigel e.V., DLRG,
Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, Evonik Röhm GmbH, Johnson Outdoors Vertriebsgesellschaft
mbH, UKE – Underwater Kinetics Europe GmbH, LEW Lechwerke, Masimo
Europe Ltd., Oase Outdoors, Olympus Europa Holding GmbH, Ortlieb Sportartikel
GmbH, Panasonic Computer Products Europe, Phaesun GmbH, Separett TC-Vertrieb,
Submersible Systems, Vegourmet Veganversand, Windstream Power LLC.
Photos and further information about the project and Lloyd can be found at
www.LEGEOLAND-Unterwasserrekord.de.
Editorial note:
LEGOLAND® Deutschland was opened on 17 May 2002 in Bavarian Gu?nzburg and is one of the four most
visited leisure parks in Germany. Action, fun and adventure await the visitors to the park. In eight theme
areas with over 50 exceptional attractions, live shows and workshops anyone can slip into the role of a
real hero, pirate, princess or racing car driver. Whether in a canoe on an adventurous jungle expedition or
a wild water fight, everyone can determine their own adventure. 'The Year of Records' is the motto for 2010
– from incredibly large to extremely small, completely crazy or simply unbelievable, one extreme follows
the next. The LEGOLAND holiday village offers overnight accommodation directly at the park. The park is
part of the Merlin Entertainments Group, which with 38 million visitors and its world famous leisure brands
is the second largest operator of visitor attractions in the world. Detailed information about the park can
be found at www.LEGOLAND.de. Entrance tickets and overnight packages can be booked here online.
Telephone information is available on 0180-570075701 (14 cents/min. from a German landline; mobile
phone rate within Germany max. € 0.42/min.).
2010 season: 27 March - 7 November.
Contact:
LEGOLAND Deutschland Freizeitpark GmbH Annette Uhlmann, Head, Press & PR
LEGOLAND Allee Stefanie Feifel, PR Officer
89312 Gu?nzburg Tel.: +49 (0) 8221-700 221