Memory-master and fast-talker Lara Nunan has used her skills to earn a third Guinness World Records title! 🤩
The 16-year-old schoolgirl from Sydney, Australia, achieved the record for the most United States president portraits identified in 30 seconds.
Lara named 40 presidents, breaking the previous record of 28.
Lara was so speedy that she named almost all 45 US presidents within the time limit. 😲
The two other record titles Lara holds are:
- Most Marvel characters identified in one minute - 88
- Most cartoon characters identified in one minute - 102
“I wanted to go for the hat-trick of getting three Guinness World Records in a 12-month period." – Lara Nunan
Preparing to break this third record was a bit more difficult for Lara than her last two records.
Lara is an expert on Marvel and cartoon characters, but she didn’t know many US presidents. 👴
"As I am Australian, I was not familiar with some US presidents. I spent many hours practising how to say their names very fast," she said.
Did you know?
Barack Obama, president from 2009-2017, holds a record for being the first African-American president of the USA.
Another challenge Lara faced was the long names of some of the presidents. They could be quite a mouthful! 😵
"This was different to my first two records where the characters had shorter names."
It won’t come as a surprise to you that Lara’s least favourite presidents were William Howard Taft and William Henry Harrison because "they took the longest to pronounce quickly and clearly."
Lara’s favourite presidents were the ones with short and simple names, such as John Adams and John Tyler.
Did you know?
Donald Trump, president from 2017-2021, has the most viewed Wikipedia page for a person (male), with 236 million views.
On the day of the Lara’s record attempt, her main challenge was remaining calm and focussed.
"I know I can interpret things quickly and speak very fast," she said.
When the timer began, Lara started naming presidents at her usual super speed. She was able to answer over one per second! 😎
Lara performed at a similar speed during her last two record attempts. Watch her in action below 👇
"It feels incredible to now have three Guinness World Records titles." – Lara Nunan
Lara’s top tip for achieving memory records is to "practise consistently every day."
"Once you have memorized all the characters, it is important to practise them in random order consistently."
Lara is already planning her fourth record attempt later this year. She hopes her achievements will inspire other young people to go for a Guinness World Records title of their own! 😀
