Man who spent eight years building 23ft Eiffel Tower with 700,000 matchsticks has Guinness World Record entry rejected
A man has spoken of his sheer frustration after his 23ft matchstick replica of Eiffel Tower was rejected by the Guinness World Records.
Attempting to get your name in the Guinness World Records can be difficult, to put it mildly.
Not only have you essentially got to find something extreme to do, but you also actually have to achieve it.
Maybe it is something that needs rapid speed, or grandeur but whatever you have chosen you would hope you can rest easy when it is finished and recognized.
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Well one French man, 47-year-old Richard Plaud, showed his patriotism to his country with his own impressive entry.
He built an Eiffel Tower monument that was 23ft tall and made out of more than 700,000 matchsticks.
The feat is made even more impressive when you realize it took him over 8 years to complete the tower.
But his satisfaction over his completion has since turned to rage though, after it was confirmed that the Guinness World Records would not be recognizing his efforts.
The organization told Plaud that his matchstick were not commercially available and had been changed beyond recognition from their original form, making his tower unfit for consideration.
After the decision, Plaud shared a picture to his Instagram page and expressed just how frustrated he was on his social media page.
“The Guinness Book judges gave their verdict, without having seen my tower in real life," he wrote, according to a translation.
"As referenced in the guidelines: The matches used must be commercially available. Proof of this must be provided as evidence.
"The matchsticks must not be cut, disassembled or distorted beyond its recognition as a matchsticks."
He added: “As the matchsticks were not commercially available, and were not recognized as matchsticks the attempt has been disqualified.”
“BIG DISILLUSION, DISAPPOINTMENT AND INCOMPREHENSION. Tell me [how] the 706,900 rods stuck one by one are not matches!!?? And they are too cut to the point of being unrecognizable!!??
“Clearly, the English are really different...... My matchstick tower is still tall and will be 7.19 meters for a long time!!!!! No offense to the English”
Despite the less than favorable ending to the story, some social media users praised Plaud for his work regardless.
“Congratulations their weak regulations don't matter it's the result that counts. You created a work of art,” one user wrote.
“Sir very nice job, bravo,” another simply added.
Topics: Guinness World Records, France
Gerrard Kaonga