Guinness World Records has officially recognized a 58-year-old Australian man from Canberra as the new world record holder for the loudest scream, reaching 122.4 decibels—comparable to the sound of a chainsaw or a jet plane taking off. He broke a record that had stood for over 30 years after screaming the word "Now," which left his voice hoarse for several days.
Joseph McGrail-Bateup, a 58-year-old Australian whose main occupation is an air conditioning technician and who also serves as an honorary town crier, was officially recorded last week in the Guinness World Records as the person with the loudest scream in the world. He achieved a volume of 122.4 decibels by shouting the single word "Now."
This record surpassed the previous champion, Annalisa Flanagan, a Northern Irish teacher who had held the record since 1994 with a scream reaching 121.7 decibels by shouting the word "Quiet." The 122.4-decibel level is hazardous and comparable to the noise of a chainsaw, a jet plane during takeoff, or a nearby ambulance siren.
McGrail-Bateup revealed that this record cannot be rehearsed in advance. "There is no way to practice; you have to conserve your vocal power for the actual day. For a world record attempt like this, I had to try seven times to scream the word 'Now' as best as I could. Afterward, my voice was hoarse for two to three days. It was very strained and bad, so it really can't be practiced. But it was a lot of fun doing it."
He added that he prefers to consider himself "the loudest man in the world" because there had previously been no separate record for men. This means the former champion Flanagan still holds the record for the loudest female voice, which is positive for both parties.
The challenge began when he searched the Guinness Book website for records related to the town crier profession but found no male records, only Flanagan's record. McGrail-Bateup began seriously developing his vocal power after being appointed the official town crier of Canberra, Australia's capital, in 2017. This honorary part-time position, created by the local government, earned him the nickname "Lord Joseph," and he announced news at community events, schools, and car shows.
He is also a member of the Ancient Town Criers Association of Australia and won their 2024 contest by loudly shouting "Oyez, Oyez, Oyez," a call for silence and attention, at 98 decibels. He then experimented with various words for breaking world records, finally settling on "Now." The record was set on 2 May 2024 in a Canberra radio studio under professional sound engineer supervision, witnessed by officials, and the evidence was submitted to Guinness for verification and announced on 19 Jun 2024 GMT+7.
This is the second world record for McGrail-Bateup. In 2019, he set a record for shooting 10 arrows in 60.03 seconds, narrowly beating the previous record from 2015. However, nine months later, a 7-year-old boy shattered his record by 11.4 seconds. He confirmed he has no intention of reclaiming the archery record and does not feel compelled to hold the shouting record indefinitely.
McGrail-Bateup concluded cheerfully, "If someday someone breaks my shouting record, that would be wonderful because records are meant to be broken."
/sourceAssociated Press