A 47-year-old Frenchman, Richard Plaud, has expressed disappointment after his meticulously crafted model of the Eiffel Tower, constructed from over 700,000 matchsticks, was rejected by Guinness World Records.
According to Sky News, Plaud dedicated eight years and 4,200 hours to meticulously assembling 706,900 matches, aiming to create the world’s tallest matchstick structure, measuring an impressive 7.19 meters .
Plaud’s ambition was to surpass the longstanding record set by Lebanese model maker Toufic Daher in 2009, who used a staggering six million matches to fashion an Eiffel Tower replica measuring 6.53 meters.
Despite completing his masterpiece on December 27, Plaud’s application to Guinness World Records was summarily dismissed without review.
In a candid social media post, Plaud conveyed his disappointment with the decision, revealing Guinness World Records’ stipulation that the matches used must be commercially available and devoid of flammable red tips. Furthermore, the matches must remain unaltered and recognizable.
“Tell me that the 706,900 sticks glued together one by one are not matches!!?? And they are too cut to be unrecognisable!!??,” he wrote.
Plaud admitted to commencing his project with commercially procured matches but grew weary of laboriously removing their red tips individually. Consequently, he sought a bulk supply of wooden rods from the main French manufacturer. However, this unintended deviation from the criteria resulted in disqualification from breaking the record.
Despite the setback, Plaud proudly unveiled his creation to a captivated audience of 4,000 people in Saujon in January. Uncertain about the model’s future said he hoped to present it at the Olympics in Paris this summer, but that organisers told him “there was no room high enough to accommodate it”.
‘We might have been a little heavy handed’
Director of central records services at Guinness World Records, Mark McKinley, acknowledged the situation, admitting that while meticulous review is crucial, there may have been an overly stringent approach to Plaud’s application.
He pledged to reassess the situation and review similar record categories to ensure fairness for all applicants.
“We will make contact with the record holder again as well as review rules for similar records as a priority, to see what can be done,” he said.
