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World's Longest Straw Chain, 2005
World's Longest Straw Chain, 2005
On Friday, December 16, 2005, students at Eisenhower Junior High School (EJHS) in Taylorsville, Utah, set a new world record for the Longest Straw Chain. According to Guinness World Records, the previous world record for the Longest Straw Chain was 3.87 miles long and was held by a school in Bridgehampton, New York. However, after school was over on December 16, 2005, 133 ninth grade students at EJHS successfully connected 42,963 standard drinking straws to produce a continuous straw chain that measured 4.5770 miles (or 24,166.8 feet) in length. The record took eight hours to achieve, used thousands of red colored jumbo-sized 7-3/4" drinking straws and hundreds of red-lined flexible drinking straws.
To produce the world's Longest Straw Chain--or Mega Straw Chain--students used a unique design system that utilized 18 two-by-four boards which were dotted with medium-sized nails separated one-inch apart. They then connected hundreds of lines of straight straws to numerous flexible straws that allowed the straw chain to wrap around the nails on the boards. (Eisenhower's Longest Straw Chain was constructed in accordance with rules established by Guinness World Records, which were: 1) [The Straw Chain must use] standard drinking straws, made from plastic or similar [materials]; 2) There is no limit to either the time taken for the attempt nor the number of participants; 3) A count of the number of straws used must be taken. This is essential and must be done efficiently; 4) The chain is made by joining individual straws together. Each drinking straw must be joined to its neighbour on either side by inserting it in the end of those next to it in the line; 5) The entire chain of joined straws must be measured accurately along the length of the chain. Measurements will not be accepted which multiply the length of the straws used by the number of straws used, as if joined in the required fashion, this will not be accurate. All joins in the chain must be inspected by the witness[es]--claims will not be accepted for chains in which there are broken or incomplete links.)
All student participants donated $10 each towards this after-school project, which paid for all the straws, event logo T-shirts, and food and drinks. Ramrock Construction contributed all the building supplies used to make the unique design system that supported the straw chain.
Many Eisenhower teachers and staff members supported the students in this record attempt, including the following adults who helped direct and guide the students during the actual event: William Allen, Clayton Brough, Denise Fiack, Fred Hebling, Kelly Huntington, "T" Lealaogata, Robin Lyman, Charles Morris, Michael Roach, Nermin Sasivarevic, Tom Sharpe, Carlos Silva, Danny Stirland, and Malamene Wong.
This world record attempt was accepted by Guinness World Records in England and The Book of Alternative Records in Germany.
Additional and specific information on this world record attempt can be obtained by reading the accounts of the event contained in the Saturday, December 17, 2005, newspaper edition of the Deseret Morning News.
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