A Va. woman's burp was louder than some motorcycles. It set a record.
Kimberly Winter could feel a bubble rising through her digestive tract. She smiled before opening her mouth, believing the noise she was about to produce would cement her name into history.
Winter was on-air at a Maryland radio studio, where she was attempting to break the world record for the loudest burp by a woman. The 33-year-old had envisioned this day for months, so nerves hindered her from breaking the record on her first few attempts.
But after Winter released a belch on her fourth try, she nodded to her friend, who was monitoring a decibel meter about eight feet in front of her. When he read 107.3 from the device - 0.3 decibels louder than the previous record - Winter yelled and jumped around the studio, along with DC101 radio hosts.
Last week, Guinness World Records announced that Winter's burp from April broke the 14-year-old record. Her belch was louder than a blender, an electric handheld drill and some motorcycles.
Growing up in Fauquier County, Va., Winter modeled her burping after Homer Simpson and Shrek. Winter would avoid burping at school, but when she went to dance practice afterward, she would let out belches to make her friends laugh. Winter's parents begged her to stop, and as she grew older, her boyfriends asked her to refrain from burping near their families.
Winter's friends and family members told her she burped loudly, but she didn't realize how noisy she was until 2014. While bar hopping in Ocean City, Md., for a bachelorette party, Winter burped after sipping a beer. She said the bartender slid Winter her tab and asked her to leave.
"I just kind of like being loud and proud," Winter told The Washington Post.
Last September, Winter burped in a TikTok video, prompting her followers to commend its volume. Winter continued burping in her videos, and she soon built a following by belching after eating different foods or while saying her followers' names.
In October, Winter bought a decibel meter and said one of her burps registered at 109 decibels. She contacted Guinness World Records about breaking the mark, but the organization had conditions Winter needed to meet.
The record-breaking burp had to be recorded in a quiet room or area by a sound engineer on a microphone that was 8 feet and 2 inches from the belcher. Two witnesses also had to confirm the burp.
Winter didn't know where to look. She emailed her high school band teacher, who suggested Winter contact a former classmate, Eric Messick, who had recently started a music company.
Messick agreed to help. In March, Winter contacted her favorite radio station, DC101, to inquire about using one of its soundproof rooms to set the record. The alternative rock station, based in Rockville, Md., booked Winter to appear on "Elliot in the Morning" in April.
Leading up to the show, Winter took notes on which foods and drinks helped her burp the loudest. About a week before her record attempt, Winter was out with her husband, her 6-year-old son and her 2-year-old daughter when she stopped at a Dunkin' for iced coffee. Winter doesn't know which ingredients contributed, but she said she burped loudly after just a few sips.
As she drove to Rockville from her home in Spotsylvania Courthouse, Va., on April 28, Winter said she went back to Dunkin' for an iced coffee and a sausage, egg and cheese croissant. She also brought a Coors Light to drink in the studio. Winter was confident she would break the record but started feeling nervous when she arrived.
Starting at 9:30 a.m., radio hosts interviewed Winter while she periodically interrupted them with burps. After Messick set up the equipment, Winter told the hosts: "I'm ready to go. I've been ready."
She was aiming to surpass Elisa Cagnoni's burp from 2009 in Italy. Winter's first three attempts came up short - 97.5, 107 and 103 decibels.
But about 15 minutes after starting, Winter took a deep breath to prepare for her fourth attempt, and Messick read the record-breaking number from the decibel meter. Winter then sent the video to Guinness World Records.
Although Winter eventually claimed a world record, she said she still felt dissatisfied when she left the studio that morning.
"I can be so much louder than that; that was nothing," Winter said. "I'm really excited that I beat it, but I'm even more excited to break the record again."
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Video: Kimberly Winter, 33, broke the world record for the loudest burp by a woman with a belch that was 107.3 decibels loud in a Maryland radio studio on April 28.(The Washington Post)
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