A 15-year-old boy from Kolkata, Arnav Daga, has set a new Guinness World Record for creating the “world’s largest playing card structure.” Using playing cards and without the use of tape or glue, Arnav spent 41 days constructing four iconic buildings in his home city: the Writers’ Building, the Shaheed Minar, Salt Lake Stadium, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. The finished project measured an impressive 40 feet in length, 11 feet 4 inches in height, and 16 feet 8 inches in width.
Arnav’s record-breaking achievement surpassed the previous record held by Bryan Berg, whose playing card structure of three Macao hotels measured 34 feet and 1 inch long, 9 feet and 5 inches tall, and 11 feet and 7 inches wide. Prior to starting his project, Arnav visited the four sites to study the architecture and dimensions closely. He then scouted around 30 locations to find the perfect site for his own “card-chitecture.”
According to Guinness World Records, Arnav’s technique involved using “grids” and “vertical cells.” The “grid” consisted of four horizontal cards stood at right angles, while the “vertical cells” comprised four vertical cards inclined towards each other at right angles.
During the 41-day process, Arnav faced challenges when the Shaheed Minar repeatedly collapsed, requiring him to improvise and start over. Balancing his schoolwork and record attempts was also tough for the teenager, but his determination helped him overcome all difficulties.
Arnav has been passionate about card stacking since the age of eight, but he began taking it more seriously during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 when he had extra free time. Starting with smaller structures due to limited space in his room, he honed his skills and gained confidence, leading him to attempt a world record.
Arnav expressed his overwhelming feeling of living his dream and accomplishing something he aspired to in 2020. He believes that three years of hard work and practice in creating smaller structures contributed to improving his skills and ultimately achieving the world record.
Image source: NDTV.com