The world's tallest and shortest men have met in London at an event organised by Guinness World Records.

The little and large act met as people across the globe tried to break all manner of weird¹ and wacky world records, including banging heads, catching² spears and throwing thongs³ on Guiness World Records Day.

Turkey's Sultan Kosen, who stands 2.51 metres tall, met with Chandra Bahadur Dangi from Nepal, who measures up at 55 centimetres tall.

Mr Kosen, a 31-year-old farmer, stooped down to shake hands with 74-year-old Mr Dangi opposite the Houses of Parliament in London.

"I was very interested how tall he was going to be, about how far up my legs he would go, and of course once I saw him I realised how tiny he was," Mr Kosen said.

He said meeting Mr Chandra was "amazing", although he admitted bending the long, long way down for photographs was difficult.

"I do have problems with my knees so if I stand too long I do get tired," he said.

Mr Kosen added: "Even though he is short and I am tall, we have had similar struggles throughout our lives and when I look into Chandra's eyes I can see he is a good man."

As well as being the tallest man, Mr Kosen's hands are the biggest in the world - an impressive 28.5 centimetres from the wrist to the tip of his middle finger.

Meanwhile Mr Dangi, a primordial⁴ dwarf⁵ who makes placemats and head straps⁶ for villagers carrying heavy loads, is the shortest adult to ever have been verified by Guinness World Records.

"I was very pleased to see the tallest man in the world, I was curious to meet my extreme opposite," he said.

"I'm so pleased to be a Guinness record holder⁷.

"Thanks to this I have visited many countries and met many people. I really love it."

Brewing⁸ firm Guinness launched their famous records book in 1955 to settle disputes among drinkers.

The books have sold more than 132 million copies in more than 100 countries.