Guinness World Records (GWR) has highlighted the record-breaking achievements of the Arab world, including Bahrain, as it celebrates 70 years of chronicling the extraordinary across the globe.
Created in 1955, when its founder Sir Hugh Beaver sought to settle a hunting dispute about the fastest game bird in Europe, GWR has since then featured more than 65,000 awesome records in its database, including 1,600 from the Arab region.
Bahrain has also found its place in the document with a few remarkable feats, including the fastest relay-swim around the island and the most hearing tests carried out in 12 hours.
“As we mark the 70th anniversary of the release of our first edition back in the 1950s, we are proud to be building on 70 amazing years as the global curator of superlative facts and achievements,” GWR editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said in a statement.
“We have seen so many iconic moments, the most amazing feats of strength, skill and endurance from talent across the globe, and long may it continue.”
In April this year, four swimmers – Bahrain Aquatics Federation president Abdullah Attiya, board member Fatema Al Mahmeed, along with Saudi swimmer Mariam bin Laden and Scottish-Australian marathon swimmer Andy Donaldson – took up a challenge to swim around the circumference of Bahrain.
Dividing up the 170km trek among themselves and rotating every three hours, they completed 180km, surpassing the original record by 10km and finishing the challenge in 59 hours, 59 minutes and 6.52 seconds.
In May 2023, Bahrain’s Royal Guard set the world record for the most hearing tests carried out in 12 hours.
The event was staged under the patronage of National Security Adviser, Royal Guard Commander and Supreme Defence Council Secretary General Lieutenant General Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
From 8am to 8pm, military personnel and members of the public received clinical auditory screening at the guard’s headquarters in Al Rawdha, near Riffa.
More than 200 volunteers, including 34 hearing specialists and 10 doctors from 17 hospitals took part.
People were screened using a special headset, or audiometre, which ENT specialists placed on their heads.
Different beeping and clicking sounds were played to the patients, and they were required to click a button if they heard any noise, no matter how soft.
Guinness World Records official adjudicator Kanzy El Defrawy attended the event to monitor the process, review the evidence and award the record.
Another record was broken in August 2023 in Bahrain by Adam Saeed, who identified 103 currencies by banknotes in one minute.
He also set the fastest time to identify all national flags in 2.55 minutes.
The UAE leads the Arab world with 680 records, including Burj Khalifa for being the world’s tallest building, Dubai Mall for being the largest shopping centre by total area and One Za’abeel for the longest cantilevered building.
The UAE also has the world’s longest fireworks waterfall in Ras Al Khaimah.
Saudi Arabia follows with 300 records, from the first Arab astronaut Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud in 1985 to the first Arab woman in space Rayyanah Barnawi in 2023.
The Guinness World Records has developed into an international phenomenon, selling 155 million copies in more than 40 languages.
The publication itself is listed as the world’s bestselling copyrighted book.
This year, GWR has also given regular folks a way to get into the list of their famous accomplishments – offering 70 unclaimed potential titles and creating an online quiz to help readers match personality types to possible records.
“We are now looking forward and celebrating the current and next generation of record breakers,” Mr Glenday said.
“We want everyone to be part of it, whether that is using our new record selector tool or having a go at one of our 70 unclaimed records.”
julia@gdnmedia.bh
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