We have seen the domino effect multiple times, either those simple chain ones or the ones culminating in an artistic image. Can you think of what 1,200 people with 1,200 mattresses and 70,000 square feet of space would do? They would break the Guinness World Record of the longest and fastest Human Mattress Dominoes effect.
These 1,200 people were Aaron’s Inc. employees who grabbed onto mattresses set up over 70,000 square feet of space in two exhibit halls at National Harbor, Maryland, USA. Next, they all fell in a domino effect to take the Guinness World Record away from German company Höffner, a company that set the record in 2012 with 1,150 participants.
The record was broken in the first attempt, taking a total of about thirteen and a half minute to finish the huge topple. A domino expert was also invited to supervise 34 rows of mattresses manufactured by Aaron’s Woodhaven Industries. John Robinson, Aaron’s CEO, did the honor of pushing over the first mattress.
After the successful attempt, Mr. Robinson said:
“Breaking a Guinness World Records title has been a great team building event for the associates we have attending our National Managers meeting. The significance of this event is that through the generosity of our manufacturing plant, Woodhaven, and our ACORP stores, we are able to provide 1,200 beds to needy families in the D.C. area. Our associates had great fun participating and knowing their efforts support our mission of giving back to our communities.”
The attempt was scheduled for company’s annual managers’ meeting at the Gaylord National Resort in Maryland. Their human mattress domino chain was successful to beat the 2012 record by just 50 mattresses.
“Mass participation records like these are pretty complicated,” says Kristen Ott, public relations manager for Guinness World Records North America.
It is hard to make 1,200 people stand in line and then making sure they all fall turn by turn. Besides, there are also specifications for the mattress size, general set up, and the distance between them. For every 50 people, there was a person to monitor them.
The good thing about this World Record was that the mattresses used in the attempt were donated to charitable organizations in the Washington, DC like ‘A Wider Circle,’ an organization that aims to end individual and family poverty, Sasha Bruce, and Wanda Alston homeless shelters for youth.