Can YOU name every country in Europe? This record-breaking geography whizz can!

Do you know your way around a map?

Jonathan Feather Ruggles, a 20-year-old university student from Macau, SAR, China, definitely does.

This geography whizz achieved a Guinness World Records title for the fastest time to identify and type all European countries on a map (Sporcle), completing the challenge in a matter of seconds – 45.85 seconds, to be exact!

Jonathan told us that he has been passionate about geography since he was a kid, and attempting a record in the field was very much in character.

So who knows, if you’re into geography, one day it could be YOU breaking a world record.

“I'm not actually sure what my interest spawned from,” Jonathan told us.

“But I've loved [geography] for a long time, and I've been doing the Sporcle geography quizzes since then too.”

In case you didn’t know, Sporcle is the ultimate website and app for trivia games, on topics like geography, movies, sports and more!

So it wasn’t long before that passion turned into a competition, and Jonathan decided to go for a record after a talk with his friend, Buffy Bui, who previously achieved a Guinness World Records title herself – the fastest time to identify and type all of the flags of Oceania (Sporcle).

Her success was an inspiration to Jonathan!

Do your friends inspire you? What do you admire about them?

Jonathan told us: “Seeing that there were other Sporcle records available, I just thought to myself, I can probably do these, and tried doing them as quickly as possible!”

But of course, typing in world-record speed isn’t for the weak!

For Jonathan, one of the main challenges wasn’t his geography skills, but mastering the keyboard itself.

A record like this requires good reflexes and typing practice. 

Can you type fast? See how fast you can type your full name, and challenge your friends!

“I think the most challenging thing for people is when they lose their reference point on the keyboard or fumble over their fingers, which I definitely did not do repeatedly in my attempts…” he laughed. “I was really just trying not to panic and get my fingers in a knot!”

Attempting a world record can be nerve-wracking, so it’s good if you’re able to keep calm and focused.

So what’s next for Jonathan?

Well, he told us that he plans to take his precision beyond Europe. In fact, he might soon attempt to identify the flags of Asia and South America in Sporcle – aiming to get them even faster!

After all, there is nothing better than expanding your collection of record titles, right?

“I just think it's cool to be able to say I've accomplished something that no one else has so far,” he told us. “It's something that everyone's got on their bucket list, to get a Guinness World Record[s title], after all!”

Is breaking a world record on YOUR bucket list?

Congratulations, Jonathan, you are Officially Amazing!