A monumental attempt to secure a Guinness World Record came crashing down in spectacular fashion earlier this month, not due to structural failure alone, but following an impromptu game of Jenga initiated by a young child.
The Ambitious Construction
Benjamin Klapper, a 49-year-old self-employed media engineer from Pulheim, Germany, dedicated 28 days of meticulous work to construct a towering sculpture composed of an astonishing 63,000 individual beer mats. The project took place within the Rhein-Center shopping centre in Cologne, where Klapper aimed to surpass the existing world record of 70,000 mats reaching a height of 9.8 feet (3 metres).
"I worked on it for 28 days between 31 October and 8 December last year," Klapper explained. "Each level took around four hours to complete and, on average, I built one level per day. So in total, I spent about 120 hours constructing the sculpture."
A Record Attempt Cut Short
Despite the immense effort, the colossal tower met its demise just two days before its planned completion. Klapper noted that the structure partially collapsed under its own weight, seemingly without any external cause, dashing his hopes for an official Guinness submission.
"It was submitted to Guinness World Records as a world record attempt," he stated. "Unfortunately, this didn’t work out, as the sculpture collapsed under its own weight two days before completion."
The Jenga Incident Goes Viral
In a gracious turn of events, Klapper did not assign blame for the initial collapse. Instead, on January 10th, he transformed the remaining "ruins" of the sculpture into an opportunity for communal engagement. He invited his project helpers to participate in a unique game of 'Beer Mat Jenga', where participants took turns carefully removing mats until the structure finally fell.
The unexpected winner was the young daughter of one of his helpers, who managed to topple the remaining section, aptly named "Inside", on her very first attempt by extracting a horizontally placed mat. Footage of both the construction and the dramatic demolition has since captivated millions online, spreading rapidly across social media platforms.
"The livestreams, videos and photos of the construction and demolition have garnered millions of views on social media," Klapper confirmed.
A Lifelong Artistic Pursuit
For Klapper, who operates the media company MuVi 3D GmbH, building beer mat sculptures is a passion rooted in childhood. "Gradually, the constructions became larger and larger," he recounted. "I completed my first large project 33 years ago. Since then, I’ve built large beer mat sculptures every few years."
He emphasises that creating these works in public spaces is a core motivation, allowing audiences to witness the artistic process unfold in real-time rather than simply viewing a finished piece. "That’s also my main motivation for creating these sculptures: viewers aren’t only presented with a finished work of art, they can witness the creation process as well," he said.
While the Guinness record remains unbroken, the event has undoubtedly achieved a different kind of success, capturing public imagination through its blend of ambitious artistry, unforeseen collapse, and playful human interaction.
