Guinness World Records has recognized a 7.19-meter Eiffel Tower model as the tallest matchstick construction, reversing a prior disqualification.
The BBC reports that the model initially faced disqualification due to the use of non-standard matches. Yet Guinness reevaluated him and praised Richard Plaud, the creator, for his achievement.
Plaud, 47, described the week as a tumultuous experience. Over eight years, he used 706,900 matches and 23kg of glue for the tower. Initially working with commercial matches, he switched to plain wooden ones for efficiency after consulting with the manufacturer.
From Montpellier-de-Médillan, France, Plaud finished the tower on December 27 and sought Guinness’s verification, which was initially denied because the matches weren’t “commercially available.” Guinness later adjusted its criteria.
Mark Mckinley of Guinness lauded the decision, acknowledging the initial oversight on match types and celebrating Plaud’s work as “officially amazing.”
Plaud aspires to display his tower in Paris during the upcoming Olympics.
The former record was a 6.53-meter tower by Toufic Daher of Lebanon, built-in 2009.
