> In November 2019, an Australian woman broke a world record by spinning whichchildren's toy for a continuous 100 hours?And the answer: hula hoop. Photo courtesy: Robert J. Smith / Time Life Pictures.Over four days, a womannamed Jenny Doan spun a hula hoop around her waist for a continuous 100 hours,achieving a Guinness World Record for "Longest marathon hula hooping." While toycompanies may encourage the idea that they invented the hula hoop in the 1950s,the hoops have been around for millennia.Hoops, in their various forms, have been a part of human history since as earlyas 3000 BCE. Egyptians fashioned hoops out of reeds and rattan to swing and pushon the ground; Greeks' scrap metal hoops were perfect for easy exercise andplay; Eskimo children's hoops were sent rolling before aiming a pole at it topractice harpooning skills. In some First Nation and Native American tribes,specifically the Lakota, hoops held a greater symbolic significance: they servedas a representation of the Circle of Life, and were often engaged in ceremoniesas storytelling and dance props. In this sense, hula hoops as we know them today are simply the trademarkedversion of a popular cultural staple predating any hollow, plastic fad. In themid-20th century, two American toy manufacturers were drawn to the attentiongiven to hoops used by Australian schoolchildren, and created the plasticversion almost exclusively known today. The toy was an instant hit, and soldover 25 million hoops in the first four months of production. Even today, the toy finds its way back into the spotlight. Hula hooping has beena popular world-record seeking endeavor – while Jenny Doan was successful in herlongest consecutive hours hooping, others such as Marawa Ibrahim of Los Angeles[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/23744-most-hula-hoops-spun-simultaneously] takes the cake for the most hoops spun simultaneously. Check out Ibrahim's hooping world record attempt below.