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When talking Guinness, Moroccans are the best, funniest and most entertaining. Several are the records that Morocco has set since the creation of the reference book. Some of these records were crazy challenges and others were mere coincidences and phenomena that happened centuries before the start of record-setting trends.
According to the Guinness World Records, originally the Guinness Book of Records, Moroccans have managed to have their names featured in multiple lists, achieving unusual records. From the man with the longest feet and the heaviest human pyramid to the sultan with the greatest number of descendants, let us discover their targets, achievements and insane records.
The sultan with the greatest number of descendants
Whether he likes or not, this Moroccan sultan’s name is on one of the Guinness World Records’ lists. Alaouite sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif, who ruled Morocco from 1672 to 1727, was a prosperous ruler who fathered over 1,000 children.
The sultan is described by the records’ book as the man with the «greatest number of descendants». «Moulay Ismail, known as the Bloodthirsty, was reputed to have fathered a total of 525 sons and 342 daughters by 1703», Guinness World Records wrote on its website.
The sultan «achieved a 700th son in 1721», the same source added. In a recent study, it was concluded that this big number «could have been possible if the ruler had sex about once a day for 32 years».
Relying on computer simulations, the study suggested that «Ismaïl needed to have sex an average of 0.83 to 1.43 times per day in order to father 1,171 children in 32 years». Researchers also revealed that the Moroccan sultan «did not need a harem of four wives and 500 concubines to sire that many offspring —he needed a harem of only 65 to 110 women».
The man with the largest feet
In October 2011, it was confirmed that Morocco’s Brahim Takioullah was the man with the largest feet in the world. The then 29-year-old man, has a «left foot measuring 38.1 cm in length, while his right measures 37.49 cm», World Guinness Records said.
The latter recalls that Takioullah is also the world’s second tallest living man, only «five cm» behind Sultan Kosen of Turkey who stands at 243.84 cm. Born in a small village in Morocco, and living in France, Takioullah «had a massive growth spurt during his teens which saw him grow three feet in just one seven centimeters in just one year», Guinness wrote, adding that surprisingly «no-one thought to investigate his unusual size until he was 18».
«The school doctor noticed that I was this enormous size and asked me to do some blood tests. I did that, and I was diagnosed with a very rare condition called acromegaly», recalled Takioullah.
After he was told to «seek surgery», Takouallah left Morocco for France, where he studied geography. Although his size and rare condition allowed him to make it to the records book, his life is not an easy one. In addition to his health issues, the Moroccan national has problems finding clothes his size and has difficulties living in his small apartment in the suburbs of Paris.
A pile of t-shirts and a human pyramid
This record is a rather funny one. These two Moroccan brothers set a record in March 2012, for wearing the most t-shirts on in one minute. They wore a total number of 31 t-shirts in a Kuwait mall. The two brothers are Waleed and Yassine Bellarha.
This record is added to an older one set by Moroccan acrobat Tahar Douis who «supported 12 members of the Hassani Troupe». The performance took place at the BBC TV studios in Birmingham, UK, on 17 December 1979.
The human pyramid was dubbed the heaviest in the world by the World Guinness Records, which indicates that Tahar Douis held on his shoulders three levels in heights, weighing 771 kg.
Tahar Douis belonged to the Hassani troupe, an acrobat’s team created by Moroccan Ali Hassani and his wife Tamara in Britain.
The troupe was featured in several performances around the continent, attending the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome, a circus ring venue built in 1903 in England, the Bell Vue International Circus in Manchester, the London Palladium and the Royal Albert Hall in Great Britain.
In Europe, they were featured at Switzerland’s Circus Knie, Cirque Amar, and Cirque Boulglione in France, Paris’s Cirque d’Hiver and Circus Krone, Circus Barnum and Circus Willy in Germany, recalled Circopedia.
The Hassani troupe’s fame reached the United States after they were hired to perform in a James Bond movie. In 1983, Ali, Tamara and their acrobats «featured in John Glen’s film Octopussy, where Roger Moore (English actor) as James Bond, dressed as a clown, runs in the main arena of Octopussy’s circus pitched on an American airbase in West Germany».
The largest film stunt explosion and Mustapha Danger
In October 2015, fans of the James Bond films were delighted to discover Morocco in the film directed by Sam Mendes. A month later, the production received an award given to Chris Corbould, the special effects director of the film, by the World Guinness Records. It was a certificate recognizing the record the film set, having the largest stunt explosion ever made for a movie.
It was in Erfoud that the film crew used 8,418 liters of kerosene and 33 kg of powdered explosives to stimulate an explosion equivalent to 68.47 tonnes of TNT. The breathtaking scene, which was shot in Erfoud on June 29, lasted for 7.5 seconds.
While the explosion was not very dangerous, Mustapha Danguir’s chanllenge was full of suspense. The Moroccan acrobat, also known as Mustapha Danger, crossed the highest tightrope using a motorcycle. Yes, a motorcycle. The Moroccan performed his stunt in Benidorm, Spain, on the 16th of October 2010. According to Guinness, Mustapha set a record, crossing the 130 m in height and 666.10 m in length.
Now that you have an idea about the craziest Moroccan World Guinness records, which one sounded the most breathtaking?
