Westchester College Student's Extra-Long Tongue Lands Him In 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not!' Book

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Westchester County college student is tasting fame thanks to his extra-long tongue.

Philip Romano, whose tongue measures 3.9 inches from its tip to the outside of his lips, appears in the 2015 edition of the book "Ripley's Believe It or Not! Reality Shock!"

"About two years ago, I saw the record for the longest tongue in America in the 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' book, and I thought my tongue was longer, so I checked, and then it was," the 21-year-old Purchase College student explained to WCBS 880.

Romano then contacted Ripley's, which set in motion a rigorous process of the Armonk native submitting many photos and a video of his tongue being measured in a manner consistent with Ripley's standards.

"People are usually surprised," he said of his tongue Sunday. "Yeah, it's entertaining to see how different people react. I mean, it came up yesterday. We were at a comedy show in the city, and my tongue came up. And they showed the whole audience. Everyone was screaming. It was really funny."

Romano said not many people at Purchase College know about his tongue -- at least now until now.

According to The Journal News, 36 people from New York state are featured in the latest's Ripley's book, including a Poughkeepsie woman who taught her pet fish how to play soccer.

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