A bid by a French hobbyist to set a new world record with a matchstick model of the Eiffel Tower was rejected due to the use of non-standard matches. Richard Plaud, a 47-year-old from Montpellier-de-Médillan, France, faced disappointment when Guinness World Records informed him that his 7.19m (23ft) replica did not meet the criteria because the matches he used were not the approved type.
"This is a dream of mine that has disappeared," he shared with the media.
The construction of his model, which scaled down to 1/45th of the actual tower, took eight years, utilized 706,900 matchsticks, and required 23kg of glue. He finished the model on December 27, coincidentally marking 100 years since the passing of Gustave Eiffel, the tower's namesake engineer.
Plaud hoped to have his creation officially recognized and displayed it with an invitation to Guinness World Records for validation. However, his choice to use matches without the traditional sulfur tips - a decision made to avoid the tedious process of removing the sulfur from each matchstick - led to his disqualification. Guinness World Records mandates the use of commercially available matches for record attempts, and Plaud's custom-ordered, sulfur-less sticks did not comply.
"They argued that my matches were not for sale, thus disqualifying them," Plaud expressed, frustrated and feeling the decision was unjust. "It's quite surprising and bothersome. They fail to recognize the effort, time, and mental energy I invested, which was significant."
Plaud still plans to exhibit his tower in Paris during the Olympics in July, despite not holding the record, which remains with Toufic Daher of Lebanon for his 6.53m tall Eiffel Tower model built in 2009, adhering to the official matchstick criteria.
Jean Dubreil