‘Records are meant to be broken’ is an old saying that describes the fragility of achievements and encourages individuals to keep pushing in spite of their success.
The Guinness World Record has been documenting extraordinary feats of man and natural extremes for 68 years. Most recently, Nigerian Chef, Hilda Baci, broke the all-time record for marathon cooking with 93 hours 11 minutes.
News of a Kenyan Chef, Maliha Mohammed, surpassing Baci’s record hit social media yesterday. She reportedly set a new record after cooking for 95 hours. The GWR is, however, yet to confirm the claims. If confirmed, this would make Baci one of the shortest GWR holders in history.
These record holders, irrespective of their short reigns, left a mark on history.
- The World’s Oldest Person
Masazō Nonaka from Japan held the record for just 112 days. Masazo was confirmed as the record holder on 10 April 2018 aged 112 years 259 days. He passed away aged 113 years 179 days at his home in Ashoro on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido on Sunday, January 20, 2019.
- The Longest Fingernails
Lee Redmond from the United States was named the person with the longest fingernails in the world. When measured, it had a length of 28 feet 4.5 inches (8.65 meters). Tragically, in 2009, she lost her nails in a vehicle accident, along with her world record.
- The Tallest Living Man
Robert Wadlow was irrefutably the tallest man in recorded history. At a height of 8 feet and 11 inches, Wadlow held his record until his death at the age of 22 in 1940.
- The Shortest Living Man
Khagendra Thapa Magar became the world’s shortest man in 2011. Khagendra took the title from Edward “Niño” Hernandez of Colombia, a reggaeton DJ who stands 70.21 cm (2 ft 3.46 in). The record for shortest living mobile man reverted back to Edward Hernandez after Magar’s death in 2020.
- The Tallest Living Dog
Giant George measured 1.09 m (43 in) on February 15, 2010 and was as tall as two average golden retrievers. The new record holder, Zeus was one inch taller than Giant George, who measured measured 1.118 m (44 in) tall on October 4, 2011 and also lived in the USA.