French Richard (47) had a dream and he spent eight years working on it. In eight years he built an identical replica of – how could it be otherwise – the Eiffel Tower using 700,000 matches. He hopes to end up in the Guinness Book of World Records. However, he apparently overlooked one small detail. As a result, he narrowly missed the world record. OMG.
Eiffel Tower of 700,000 matches
In 2015, 47-year-old Richard Plaude started fulfilling his dream: building an Eiffel Tower with matches. But of course he didn’t just do this. No, Richard immediately went for a world record! That record is now held by Toufic Daher at 6.53 meters. It was certainly not easy, because he first needed a good chassis. It ultimately takes eight years before he completes his work of art. On December 27, 2023, he will complete the Eiffel Tower, consisting of 700,000 matches. Richard himself suspects that he spent a total of around 4,200 hours working on the masterpiece, which is 7.19 meters high. You might think that is more than worthy of an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. Well, it certainly is! However, he does not get the world record after all. Wait, huh? The Frenchman apparently accidentally overlooked one small detail. Oh oh…
Wrong matches
No, there’s nothing wrong with the height of his Eiffel Tower replica. It’s really a small, measly detail. Apparently Richard used the wrong matches for his Eiffel Tower. OMG! According to the official rules, real matches with flammable heads must be used. That sounds dangerous, but you can scrape off the flammable part. Ah! Only Richard used matches without a flammable part. These come directly from the manufacturer who produced the matches. Of course Richard himself is disappointed, he tells the AD: “This is so disappointing and unfair.”
By the way, he found out about the small detail later, in October. Only at that moment he decides not to change anything. “I kept hoping that they would approve my construction after all,” says Richard. Unfortunately, the jury didn’t even bother to look at the artwork at all. Richard is still considering appealing the decision. Although it seems like a useless idea. Apparently they are very strict with the Guinness Book of World Records. In any case, the world record is still in Toufic’s name for the time being.
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