CBS anchor retires with 1,531 pairs of socks sent by viewers and a Guinness World Record

Retiring from work can be a bittersweet moment for all, but when CBS Philadelphia news anchor Jim Donovan retired, he ended it on a high note, leaving behind a legacy. Viewers often took notice of Donovan's colorful socks during his programmes, and they became synonymous with his appearance on TV. On the day of his retirement, Donovan unexpectedly became a Guinness World Records holder, all thanks to his viewers. Sharing the interesting story with his Instagram followers on December 20, Donovan's video (@jimdonovoncbs3) garnered more than 119k likes.

After 20 years as a news anchor for CBS Philadelphia, Jim Donovan decided to end his career on an interesting note. In his two-decade-long career, Donovan often appeared in colourful socks that he wore on air. This caught the attention of viewers over the last eight years, who would send him many more pairs. "Sometimes I'd receive several pairs of socks a week," Donovan shared. CBS reports, "Early in the morning as he got ready to go on air, he'd often share a picture on Instagram showing the socks he was wearing, with the hashtag #JimSocks." The socks included characters from Charlie Brown, sports teams, Heinz Ketchup, Hulk, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and one pair even featured Donovan himself wearing a Santa hat. The news anchor is very proud of his collection, so he thought about trying to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

Over the weekend, Donovan collected all of his unique pairs of socks and laid them on the floor of the Great Hall at CBS Philadelphia, with each pair including a sticky note with a serial number and a corresponding row in a spreadsheet that included a description of each sock alongside a photograph. CBS shared that over a span of 40 hours during his last work week, Donovan had created more than 262 pages of spreadsheets with a count of 1,531 pairs of unique socks with no duplicates. Juliana Guglielmi-DeRosa and Jeneene Bailey-Allen, members of the fashion and textile design program at Thomas Jefferson University, checked the official count and verified the news anchor's sock collection. "We've now heard back and it's official. I now hold the Guinness World Record for the world's largest sock collection," Donovan said. As per CBS, Juliana and Jeneene gave Jim a pair of TJU socks after visiting the station, which brought his final count to 1,532 pairs — 367 pairs more than the previous recordholder.

A 2015 report by The Atlantic noted that most people who pursue Guinness World Records do so for psychological reasons and not just fame or money. The report states that individuals may choose niche records because they give them a chance to stand out and be officially recognised, even if the accomplishment seems trivial to others. While a sock collection may sound trivial and funny, it still holds a special place in Donovan's heart. Soon after the post went viral, many users reacted to his unique collection. @dansarge69 wrote, "Congratulations of holding a Guinness Book record and on your retirement! Enjoy!!" @emily.shah commented, "Jim that is hilarious. What a way to retire! Congrats." @christopher_valino wrote, "Nice not only retiring but left a legacy by breaking a world record."

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