A world record for the most watermelons stacked vertically has been set by Ashkan Rohollah Doshmanziari, a civil-engineering professor and construction company owner from Iran.
This record has remained vacant since 2015 despite multiple people attempting to achieve it every year.
Ashkan balanced four watermelons on top of each other, becoming the first person to meet the minimum number required.
All the watermelons were washed with water immediately before the attempt to ensure that no adhesive materials were applied.
New record: Most watermelons stacked vertically - 4 by Rohollah Doshmanziari (Iran) 🍉 pic.twitter.com/o9VtQEze9T
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) October 31, 2023
Now aged 43, Ashkan has been stacking watermelons ever since he was a young child growing up on his father’s farm in southern Iran.
“[He] planted watermelons in the field, and I stacked watermelons for fun,” he recalls.
Ashkan also enjoys piling various other objects, such as rocks, cans, books and boxes.
“Everything I see at the right time and place, I try to stack them,” he said.
“In general, I like the arrangement and order of things on top of each other for beauty, stability, and challenging myself.”
Through years of practise, stacking became second nature to Ashkan. He believes that his hobby has helped him in other areas of life, improving his concentration and making his mind stronger.
He describes his technique as follows: “I try and concentrate to stabilize two objects on top of each other so that a bigger structure can be built step by step.”
But Ashkan doesn’t just stack watermelons; he also holds a world record for smashing them. In 2017, he achieved the fastest time to crush three watermelons between the thighs (male) with a time of 10.88 seconds.
In fact, he’s set a total of seven Guinness World Records titles, and currently still holds three. Besides the two watermelon records, he has one for the most soccer passes in one hour by a pair (3,864), which he achieved with Mohammad Hosseini in 2022.
One of the most impressive records Ashkan previously held was the fastest 100 metres skipping, which he achieved in 2016 with a time of 14.43 seconds. The record is now held by fellow Iranian Jafar Ashouri, who clocked 14.10 seconds.
Ashkan still does three hours of sports training every day, and he plans to reclaim some of his old records, in addition to breaking “a large number” of other records.
He also wants to continue helping other Iranians set records and receive recognition for their talents.
“I shared my experiences with the rest of my compatriots, and today Iranians are one of the active countries in this field,” he said.
“Achieving any goal that you have worked hard for is sweet. Therefore, I feel very good.”
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