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Bring it on: Kenya shines bright in Guinness World Records book
From left: Eliud Kipchonge (ran marathon in under two hours), Chef Maliha Mohamed (broke world record of cooking for 75 hours), and Mohamad Adil Abdool (attempted to break record for most burpees).
Did you know that Kenya holds the world record for the most milk extracted by hand in 24 hours?
Well, as per the Guinness World Records (GWR), one Joseph Love from Kilifi did something no human has ever done — extracting 531 litres of milk from 30 cows on August 25, 1992.
The record might never be broken because the GWR says it is no longer accepting applications for that feat.
Regardless, Kenya still holds more records.
GWR believes that the country’s punishment against using single-use plastic bags – which has been in place since 2017 – may be the toughest in the world.
“With maximum fines of up to Sh4 million or four years in jail for manufacturers, importers and distributors of single-use plastic bags (or a one-year prison sentence for even using one), Kenya currently has arguably the most draconian laws around single-use plastic bags in the world,” says the organisation.
The GWR came into focus last week following a spirited attempt by a Nigerian chef to be the person who ever cooked for the longest time.
Hilda Bassey, alias Hilda Baci, vied for the longest cooking marathon by an individual when she began cooking last Thursday (May 8) and was on her feet all the way till the following Monday.
“She reportedly whipped up 55 recipes and more than 100 meals in a whopping 100-hour stint,” says a post on the GWR website.
“Officials on our records team look forward to reviewing the evidence and hope to be able to verify Hilda’s efforts as a new record very soon,” it adds.
A Kenyan chef is already angling to dethrone the Nigerian.
Ms Maliha Mohammed, who hails from Mombasa, went all out in 2019 and cooked for 75 straight hours in an attempt to join the record books. She now wants to outdo Hilda in August.
In an Instagram video on Wednesday, she said she is currently training to attempt the feat. She said she sent her application to GWR last December and they accepted her application.
“I will be doing my training in May, June and July,” she said to her fans. “Now, I need your support one more time.”
She added: “Records are meant to be broken … Help me bring the record title to Kenya.”
Holding a Guinness record does not bring any cash rewards — only a certificate, prestige and having one’s name in the records.
“We do not pay record-breakers for their achievements or for carrying out a record title attempt. We are also unable to cover any expenses, offer sponsorship or provide equipment for anyone attempting a record,” says GWR.
One of the most recent attempts by a Kenyan to enter the GWR happened in 2021. And it was successful. Mohammad Adil Abdool joined the record books on July 31, 2021 for making the highest number of burpees in 12 hours.
A burpee is a repeated conditional exercise where an individual stands up, jumps, then puts down their hands to go on fours. Using their hands as the pivot, they then push their legs as far back as possible and quickly return them to where they were.
Mohammad did 7,415 of those exhausting moves in 12 hours.
“Mohammad was born with a severe lung infection which turned into chronic asthma. It was through fitness and the right nutrition that he has managed to overcome this and erase all symptoms for the past 11 years,” says a post on the GWR website.
“He trained for two months leading up to the attempt day by designing his own bespoke training and nutritional regime.”
Most records by Kenyans in the GWR involve athletics, and it is not surprising that record breakers Eliud Kipchoge, Dennis Kimetto, Samuel Wanjiru, Robert Cheruiyot are in the books.
There is also a great deal of animal feats from Kenya on the records. Kenya is home to the shortest-lived zebra species, the Grevy’s zebra. Kenya is also home to the world’s most heat-tolerant bird, the African skimmer.
“On some of its breeding beaches, notably Kenya’s Lake Turkana, which is the world’s largest permanent desert and alkaline lake, the ground surface temperature can reach 60°C, and even the air temperature just above this ground can reach 40°C. Indeed, the ground is so hot that in order not to burn its chicks and eggs when it returns to them, while still in flight, the skimmer will lower its feet into water to splash onto its belly in order to cool its surface down before returning,” says a GWR post.
Kenya is also home to the world’s largest forest antelope, the world’s largest warthog, the world’s largest spitting cobra and the world’s most bloodthirsty spider. This spider, the “vampire spider”, is known to only go for mosquitoes that have sucked blood.
“The vampire spider is the first known predator to consume vertebrate blood via this indirect manner,” says GWR.
Historical and archaeological feats also dominate, among them that Kenya is home to the oldest hand-made stone tools used by humans.
GWR also says there is something remarkable about Kenya - a record that was set in 2013 which implies that an average Kenyan produces the least amount of waste than any other person in the world. This category is called Lowest Waste Generation per capita.
“Kenya has the lowest waste generation — with 109.5 kg of waste generated per person per year,” says GWR.
