There has been an increase in record-a-thon attempts in Nigeria, which has prompted Guinness World Records to issue a warning.
In a response to a record-a-thon initiative by one user on Instagram, Ọláwùnmí Àjọkẹ́ (Livingwithajoke), Guinness World Records wrote: “Please enough with the record-a-thons”.
Ọláwùnmí Àjọkẹ́ announced her decision to break the Idea-a-thon and puff puff-a-thon titles. “Get ready,” she added.
Another user interested in this initiative and the response from Guinness World Records asked the international institution whether it was not fed up with the numerous attempts made by Nigerians to break current world records.
Guinness World Records replied saying: “We welcome applications from all over the globe, we can all be friends.”
Nigerians have gained the appetite to break world records after their very own Hilda Baci officially broke the record for the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes.
The previous record of 87 hours 45 minutes was set by Lata Tondon (India) in 2019.
The 26-year-old Nigerian chef began on Thursday 11 May and continued through to Monday 15 May, cooking over 100 pots of food during her four-day kitchen stint.
Hilda attempted to set a record of 100 hours, however, almost seven hours were deducted from her final total because she mistakenly took extra minutes for one of her rest breaks early on in the attempt.
Since then, Nigerians have gone bananas to continue to put their country on the map.
Chef Damilola Adeparusi has attempted a 120-hour cooking marathon in Oye Local Government Area in Ekiti State with the intention of breaking Chef Hilda’s record.
Another chef who tried to surpass Hilda Baci’s record was Oluwaseun Oyedele, who cooked for 105 hours in June 2023, but his attempt was disqualified due to rule violations.
Away from cooking, Sugartee, a musician from Nigeria, announced that he will be hosting the proposed 72-hour kissing marathon intended to break the current Guinness World from Friday, July 7 to Sunday, July 10.
This prompted the Ekiti State Government to place a ban on the planned three-day kissing marathon to set the Guinness World Record in the state.
As it's #InternationalKissingDay today, learn more about the (unsanitary) reasons why we don't monitor the longest kissing records anymore…https://t.co/Nl93iLnoHf
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) July 6, 2023
On its website, the Guinness World Records notes that due to the volume of applications it receives, the standard application process currently takes up to 12 weeks.
“Sometimes the 12 weeks waiting time is extended during high demand,” it adds.
However, there is the Priority application which provides a speedy reply.
If you choose the Priority service, Guinness World Records will respond to you within five working days (as opposed to the usual 12 weeks).
The Priority Application service for existing titles costs £500 / $800 US / €630 (plus VAT where applicable), while the cost for new titles is £650 / $1,000 US / €820.
Source: The Independent Ghana | Andy Ogbarmey-Tettey