Setting a world record can be agonizingly difficult or incredibly easy if you find the right record to break. A man’s attempt at breaking the record for having the most toothpicks in his beard falls somewhere in the middle.
In 2009, George Gaspar attempted to break the record by shoving thousands of toothpicks in his beard. On Saturday, footage was released by Record Setter showing him pull off the somewhat incredible feat.
Gaspar is quite patient in his attempt, carefully adding a toothpick in his big beard, one at a time. He clears one thousand toothpicks as his beard slowly changes color. He miraculously clears another thousand plus toothpicks, finishing with the record breaking two thousand, two hundred and twenty-two toothpicks lodged in his beard. Gaspar ends up looking like a porcupine with all the spikes, but he can proudly put his name in the record books.
This isn’t a record I would want to break. It would take extreme precision to fit that many toothpicks in a beard. Not to mention you’d have to stand completely still the entire time – as one cough and you’d have to start all over again. Gaspar handles it like a champ, mainly due to his beard acting as a barrier between his skin, but I can’t imagine him being entirely comfortable throughout the attempt.
The record is bizarre, yet pretty incredible. I wonder if Gaspar will try to top it by trying a different item to stick in his beard. How about chopsticks? or clothespins? Anything’s possible with determination and a beard like his.
[AV Club]