More than 20,000 toothpicks and 400 glue sticks later, a Naperville teen appears to have broken the Guinness World Record for the tallest toothpick tower.
17-year-old Eric Klabel set the new, still-to-be-certified record last Friday with his 17.32-foot structure of the Eiffel Tower, measured by a professional land surveyor.
With the guidance of his father, Brian, an engineer, Klabel spent nearly 100 hours building the structure to beat the previous record of 16.7 feet.
“I’m feeling great. I’m really proud of my work. Finally, I’ve done it. I’m really excited. I’m really happy,” he said.
Klabel achieves second world record
But Klabel is no stranger to setting records. An avid builder, the teen set his first world record in 2021 with the world’s tallest popsicle stick tower, which stood at 20 feet tall. This year, he was motivated to take his passion this new heights and try for another record.
The process began with an application to Guinness World Records, stating an interest in breaking the record. He then had to wait for their approval before taking on the tower.
Throughout the year, he built different sections of the toothpick tower separately, before finally gluing them all together, documenting the entire process for Guinness officials, one requirement of the attempt.
“I would spend the majority of my free time just working on this tower. And I would just go to the basement and just start building little portions,” he said.
On Friday, his family, friends and teachers all gathered to witness the finishing touches and his stab at the record.
Once the structure was set, the surveyor took its measurements and ultimately delivered the good news.
“Just the thrill of actually breaking something like the Guinness record, it’s just been so fun…doing something special,” said Klabel.
His father praised his efforts to bring the Eiffel Tower to life right in their backyard.
“It’s very structurally sound, and he put his mind to something. You say you’re going to do it, and then you do it,” said Brian.
New record pending confirmation from Guinness World Records officials
The surveyor’s report will be sent to Guinness World Records officials for final verification of the new record.
Official confirmation of the record is expected to take between 12 and 20 weeks.
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