Submit a TILFWorld-renowned sideshow performer 'The Space Cowboy' earned a jaw-dropping Guinness World Record by pulling a 907-pound rickshaw using only specialized hooks secured to his eye sockets.
Credible sources disagree on this claim; both sides are presented below.
Australian Chayne Hultgren, who performs under the stage name "The Space Cowboy," set an incredibly terrifying record for the heaviest weight pulled with eye sockets. By attaching specialized hooks to his lacrimal bones (the bones just behind the eyelids), he successfully pulled a rickshaw containing a person and giant metal weights totaling 907 pounds (411.65 kilograms).
Australian sideshow performer Chayne Hultgren hooked metal clasps into his lower orbital bones to drag 411.65 kilograms of rickshaw, passengers, and weights. He set the eye-socket pulling world record in 2009 by distributing the mechanical strain directly across the lacrimal bones beneath his eyelids. The feat stood unchallenged for over a decade until another performer dragged an entire Cadillac the same way.
Key Highlights
- 1Chayne Hultgren pulled 411.65 kg using metal hooks anchored in his eye sockets.
- 2The hooks rested on the lower orbital bones rather than pulling on ocular tissue.
- 3The 2009 payload consisted of a rickshaw loaded with three women and metal weights.
- 4Andrew Stanton smashed the record in 2023 by pulling a 2,413 kg Cadillac.
The Deep Dive
Chayne Hultgren, performing under the moniker The Space Cowboy, spent years conditioning his facial anatomy for extreme weight distribution before attempting the orbital pull in Milan, Italy. The stunt relied on custom-moulded metal hooks slotted beneath the lower eyelids, anchoring directly against the orbital rim. Rather than pulling against delicate soft tissue or ocular muscles, the load applied mechanical tension straight into the lacrimal and maxillary bone structures.
The mechanics of an orbital pull depend entirely on bone density and precise directional force. The human skull can withstand substantial horizontal shear when force spreads evenly across the orbital ridge, provided the anchor hooks do not slip into soft cartilage. A slight angle deviation risks tearing the lower eyelids, severing the lacrimal ducts, or damaging the globe of the eye itself.
On 25 April 2009, Hultgren verified the technique under official measurement by dragging a combined mass of 411.65 kilograms (907 pounds). The payload included a wheeled rickshaw carrying three passengers alongside dedicated steel counterweights. Guinness World Records ratified the attempt, establishing a formal standard for orbital traction feats that stood intact for fourteen years.
Pop-culture retellings often claim Hultgren was pulling only a single passenger, understating the actual setup. Others incorrectly assume the hooks loop behind the eyeball itself. In reality, the hardware seats exclusively against the bony ledge of the lower socket, leaving the ocular globe untouched but entirely vulnerable to catastrophic pressure if balance fails.
Hultgren's mark eventually fell on 3 February 2023 when sideshow artist Andrew Stanton hauled a 2,413-kilogram Cadillac using the exact same orbital hook technique. The escalating record leaves open the question of where human bone tolerance actually ends before the facial skeleton shears under mechanical load.
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