47-year-old Richard Plaud of France spent the past eight years assembling a model of the Eiffel Tower out of matchsticks in order to become the Guinness Book of Records record-holder in that cherished category, “World’s Tallest Eiffel Tower Model Made Out of Matchsticks.”
Aside: How many parts of that sentence justify a “What? For God’s sake, why, and who cares?” Why is there a published record for matchstick models of anything? Does the Guinness Book of Records include records for matchstick Chrysler Buildings, Pentagons, Statues of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridges? Big Ben, the London Eye? What’s special about the Eiffel Tower? Why should holding an obscure record in a book few people read or care about matter to anyone except pathetic losers desperate to give meaning to their empty lives? How shallow must a man be to devote eight years to assembling something with no utility whatsoever other than to win him mention in that silly tome?
Back to poor Richard: after he completed his project, he discovered that even though his model, at 7.19 meters, is easily taller than the current record holder for matchstick Eiffel Towers, the 6.53-meter-tall model built by Toufic Daher in 2009, his opus was ineligible for the honor. Why, you ask?
The guidelines for matchstick models adopted by the Guinness people require that the matches used must be “available commercially,” and that the matchsticks “must not be cut, disassembled or distorted beyond its recognition as matchsticks.” Although when Plaud first started building the thing he used common store-bought wooden matches, the process of removing the flammable heads was driving him crazy. He asked the French matchstick maker Flam’Up if it could sell him headless matchsticks that he could use without having to cut off the heads. Seeing a promotional opportunity to become the go-to match company for all those other aspiring matchstick Eiffel Tower builders out there, the company sent him a giant supply of headless matchsticks. Because such matchsticks are not commercially available (what good is a headless match, except for, you know, building matchstick models of famous landmarks?), Plaud’s entry was disqualified for the record.
“It’s disappointing, frustrating, incomprehensible, and not very fair play,” Richard Plaud complained to every reporter who would listen, which I’m guessing is two. “My matchstick tower still stands and will be 7.19 meters for a long time. Tell me how 706,900 sticks stuck one by one are not matches?” He added,”It’s part of the dream that has escaped. It’s pretty astonishing, and actually rather annoying. What hurts most is that they don’t acknowledge the work that I put in, the time I spent, the mental energy – because I can tell you it was not easy.”
His lament wins him an Ethics Alarms “Kaufman.”
I don’t care that some Frenchman’s dream of setting the Guinness Book of Records record for matchstick Eiffel Towers was dashed, and I question the priorities and values of anyone who does care. Furthermore, he cheated. He deserved to be disqualified, and the fact that Richard would spend eight years on a project without making certain in advance that his efforts would comply with the exact terms and requirements to qualify for the honor he craved demonstrates serious cognitive deficits beyond even those indicated by his belief that such a boondoggle was a good use of his limited time on earth.
Ethics Alarms 
The obvious answer is for Flam’Up to start selling headless matches. I assumed that was what they were going to do once they saw the model-builder market could be interested in their materials. They’d also get the prestige of being the sponsor of a Guinness World Record holder. Everyone wins. Unless the rule was that the materials had to be commercially available at the time they were purchased?
The obvious question, though, is doesn’t removing the heads already violate the definition of matchsticks in the first place? Did nobody bring that up?
The less obvious question is, how closely does the model have to match the architectural design of the Eiffel tower? There’s some fine detail work that went into that, but does it have elevators?
Memories of the period of time my elementary school held this record: https://clas.wayne.edu/news/wayne-state-sets-record-for-worlds-largest-periodic-table-56144
way back in the late 20th century.
And yes, the Guinness people may be holding a silly contest, but they are dead serious about everyone involved following the rules.
The article says he spent 4200 hours on the model, with translates to less than 30 minutes a week over eight years. This falls pretty well within a normal person art or hobby time.
Thanks for doing the math. He’s trying to get sympathy “for all his hard work.” If it’s art, he’s doing it for love, and records shouldn’t matter. If he spent 30 minutes a week for 8 years for fame and fortune and blew it, he’s an idiot. Either way, no sympathy is due.
I think you have the math wrong. 4,200 hours over 8 years is 525 hours a year, or roughly 10 hours a week. I’d say this changes things.
Ugg, my stoichiometry got messed up with time being in both the numerator and denominator (hours/8-years to hours/weeks).
If he asked if they would sell him headless matches does that not mean what he used was acquired in a commercial transaction? With that said can a headless matchstick be called a match?
The “stick” is the rigid stem upon which the incendiary heard is mounted, making the combination a “match”. So if that stem was manufactured for use in a match, it could be considered a “matchstick” based on its intended final use, whether or not it made it that far in the process.
And that’s it for my 30 minutes this week.
So you have added the readers of Ethics Alarms to the 23 people who learned of it from other sources.
I rhink you chose this only so you could cite Kauffman. Good job.
I love that Kaufman quote!
My guess would be that the issue lies with the length of the match sticks. Buying commercially available matches and removing the head makes each stick slightly shorter. I’d bet that the headless matches provided had never had the head added and were therefore about a quarter inch longer than matches with the head removed. Not a big deal, until you multiply by 700,000 and remember the point of the exercise is tallest tower.
If that is the case, this was definitely cheating, in a relatively obvious way.
But wooden matches aren’t uniform in size. They range from the small ones that fit into a pocket-sized matchbox to ones about a foot long used in lighting fireplaces. Unless the rules specified a size range, I don’t see a problem with the length.
Perhaps he should research to see if any supplier offered bare matchsticks during the time he was building. I doubt the rules specified a required brand. You have long been able to buy packs of “popsicle” sticks for craft use that have never seen the inside of a treat, and apparently, now, blank matchsticks as well: https://www.amazon.com/Multicraft-Imports-CW524-Craftwood-750-Piece/dp/B00KC09M7U/ref=asc_df_B00KC09M7U/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167124288385&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12065320693138563410&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1015431&hvtargid=pla-307799901795&mcid=c8a777f27f72357582409e648259342a&gclid=CjwKCAiAt5euBhB9EiwAdkXWO_13B_LYuECkudPO-xgVDlw4_yvO-WjyODHskNJHnjRRoykJu36fZBoCINoQAvD_BwE&th=1
Don’t know if those were available when he needed them.
Guinness has reversed course: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/man-built-eiffel-tower-700k-matchsticks-awarded-world-record-rcna138051
Oh bloody hell.