THE WORLD RECORD for the longest human mattress domino chain was broken in New Orleans, La. Guinness World Record rules dictate for a chain to be valid there must be a consecutive chain of toppling mattresses and each person attached to the mattress must touch the person behind them, all of which was achieved.
The previous record was broken last year in Belgium, with 550 people in the chain. The newly set record counted 850 people, the final one landing on a red carpet.
La Quinta Inn & Suites hotels, which organized the event, selected volunteers from its employees. The mattresses were supplied by the Simmons Bedding Company and will be donated to benefit local communities.
After the first person was pushed and toppled into the person in front of him, the record-breaking chain took approximately 11 minutes to complete. A Guinness representative was on-site to judge the event and present those involved with the world record certificate.
In accordance with Guinness World Records rules, participants were instructed to remain lying on their mattresses until the final mattress fell, but once it was announced they had in fact broken the record, confetti was thrown, champagne opened, and participants allowed to jump on their mattresses in celebration.
Before last year’s 550-person mattress domino in Belgium, Spain held the record with 526 people. In 2010, Kelly Ripa and Anderson Cooper participated in the human mattress domino in New York City, with 378 others. According to the Guinness World Records, “The record for the largest human domino line without mattresses stands at an incredible 10,267 participants,” a record set in 2010 in China.
—Spencer Van Dyk
