A French man spent eight years fulfilling his dream of becoming a world record holder for stick after stick, but judges disqualified him for using the wrong materials in the longest matchstick carving record. But days after news of his disappointment made headlines around the world, Guinness World Records chose to reverse its ruling, multiple media outlets reported.
Richard Blood said he spent eight years making a 23.6-foot model of the Eiffel Tower using 706,900 matchsticks and more than 50 pounds of glue. However, Guinness initially said he had used the wrong type of match, disqualifying Blood from breaking the existing record.
But days later, Guinness reversed its decision, and records director Mark McKinlay told… The New York Times In an interview they were “a bit harsh” regarding the regulations on matches.
Guinness did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment, but McKinley shared Reuters“We're really excited to be able to get it approved…Richard's bid is truly amazing officially.”
song He posted about the award on Instagram: “The Eiffel Matchstick Tower has finally been recognized as the tallest matchstick structure in the world 🏆 Thank you all for your support 🙏 The adventure is just beginning… 😁”
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Blood ordered custom matches without match heads
Blood, a local authority council employee, said Guinness told him that because the matches were not commercially available and were not recognized as matches, his attempt would be disqualified. He added that the organization said that matches cannot be cut, dismantled, or distorted beyond recognition.
Blood initially bought matches from the supermarket and cut off the match heads for each one, a process that became frustrating. He eventually reached an agreement with a manufacturer and obtained 33-pound boxes of headless matches, French newspaper Le Parisien reported. However, this convenience came at a cost as regular customers could not purchase matches, which eventually led to a Guinness dispute.
He said on social media after the ruling:
“The Guinness World Records judges issued their ruling without actually seeing my role,” Blood wrote in French on his website. Facebook page. “A huge disappointment, disappointment and lack of understanding😟🥺. Tell me that the 706,900 rods stuck one after the other are not identical!!?? And that they are so cut that they are unrecognizable!!??”
McKinley told The Times that he later learned that the practice of removing match heads was common within the matchmaking community so as not to start a fire.
The Eiffel Tower in Blud reached 23.6 feet high using more than 700,000 matchsticks
He was the previous record holder Tawfiq Daher, from LebanonWho made the Eiffel Tower matchstick reaching a height of 21.4 feet in 2009 with 6 million matchsticks. The Plaud version is about two feet higher.
Since December 2015, Blood has been working for a long time on making the tower identical for every match, according to Le Parisien. With every piece he placed and attached, he stuck to his goal of surpassing the 2009 record.
It took 706,900 matches and more than 50 pounds of glue.
He finally completed the project on December 27, 2023, the centenary of the death of French civil engineer Gustave Eiffel. Eiffel developed the famous Paris Tower named after him.
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