It may be one of the more obscure Guinness World Records out there, but it’s been broken. Just a few days ago — September 21st to be exact — a group in Japan shattered the record for “an object fashioned with aluminum cans.” Hey, if you’re going to break an obscure world record, you might as well go the distance and obliterate it, right?
Guinness World Records on Sept. 21 certified that the newly constructed “castle” is now the world record holder for an object fashioned with the largest number of aluminum cans, 104,840.
The Toyohashi Junior Chamber had been engaged in the project since June to show the importance of recyclable materials at Toyohashi Park, located on the site of historic Yoshida Castle.
The artwork draws its design from the reconstructed corner tower of Yoshida Castle. The landmark structure was destroyed in a fire during the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and reconstructed shortly after the end of World War II.
The artwork, which was built in a plaza in front of the tower and measures 6.6 meters in width, 5.5 meters in length and 5 meters in height, is entirely constructed with aluminum cans. The cans were affixed with an adhesive agent.
In the certification ceremony held in the plaza, members of the junior chamber cried “banzai” when an official Guinness record adjudicator certified the structure as the new record holder.
The previous record was held by an object built in Saudi Arabia in May, which used 66,400 cans.
If you’re curious, 104,840 aluminum cans translates to about 3083.5 pounds of aluminum. And with the going rate of about 40 cents per pound of recycled aluminum, that structure would earn you about $1,233. However, getting in the Guinness Book Of World Records is probably priceless.