Home-made Eiffel Tower IS unmatched! Guinness World Records admit they ‘were a little bit too harsh’ in rejecting Frenchman’s 23ft model for using the wrong type of matches – and WILL recognize it as the tallest
- Richard Plaud, 47, is the new record holder for the tallest match Eiffel Tower
- Guinness World Records admitted they had been too harsh
- The record for the tallest structure had not been broken for fifteen years
A Frenchman who built a 6-metre high Eiffel Tower using matchsticks to set a Guinness World Record has finally achieved his dream – a day after his bid was rejected for using the wrong type of matches.
“We’re very pleased to be able to approve it… we’re happy to admit that we were a little too strict about the type of competitions that were required in this attempt,” said Mark Mckinley, director of Central record services at Guness World Records .
Their turnaround came a day after Richard Plaud’s fate made headlines around the world.
His model, which the married French council worker had worked on for eight years, was rejected after officials ruled he had used matchsticks that were not ‘commercially available’.
But Mr Mckinley confirmed: ‘Richard’s effort is officially great.’
Richard Plaud said his final week was an ’emotional rollercoaster’ with the Guinness World Records having a change of heart
Guinness World Records originally rejected the entry because Mr Plaud had arranged with matchmakers to purchase matchsticks that did not have the distinctive head attached – thus saving him the trouble of having to cut them off.
Mr Plaud said he has been on an “emotional roller coaster” since his model was rejected.
The replica contains 706,000 matches stuck together with 23 kilos of glue β and towers to a height of 7 meters.
Mr Plaud said: ‘For eight years I always thought I was building the tallest matchstick.’
When Mr Plaud heard the news that all his efforts would not be taken into account, he said it was “disappointing”, “frustrating” and “not very fair play”.
The ruling organization has praised Mr Plaud and admitted they were too harsh
Councilor Plaud was furious at the original decision β shocked that his patriotic project had met its match against record-breaking bureaucracy
Mr. Plaud had several structural problems during construction
Plaud was said to be devastated when he heard the original news.
The match maverick, who is apparently usually very patient, lost it on social media.
In an angry post he wrote: ‘Tell me how 706,900 sticks stuck one by one are not matches.
‘My match tower still stands and will be 7.19 meters tall for a long time to come.’
Mr Plaud, who works in the engineering and bridge department of the Charent-Maritime department council in south-west France, finally completed his project on December 27, the centenary of the death of the tower’s original engineer.
The astonishing tower dwarfs the old record holder of Lebanese craftsman Toufic Daher, who created a 6.53 meter high model of the Eiffel Tower in 2009.
Mr Plaud, who works in the engineering and bridge department of the Charent-Maritime department council in south-west France, finally completed his project on December 27, the 100th anniversary of the death of the tower’s original engineer (pictured).
Mr Plaud, who has loved making models since he was eight, originally bought matches from supermarkets to build the structure
He encountered technical problems along the way Le Parisien that he had to make a number of ‘fairly complex calculations’ to ensure that the legs of the tower would support the weight.
He estimated that he had put 4,200 hours of his time into the project since it started in December 2015.
Before his victory, Mr. Plaud’s wife spoke to a local television station about her hope that he would finally be successful after more than two decades of dreaming.
βThat way I can get my living room back,β she laughed.