Update
The community’s May 1 attempt to set a new Guinness World Record looks like it was a success.
Although there’s paperwork to be completed and Guinness still needs to review the results, the completely unofficial count from yesterday’s disc toss topped 1,100, beating the current record of 853 set by Bethel College in 2005.
Congratulations to everyone who participated!
Check out the video Stacey Puls, audio-visual support specialist, took of the event. The countdown for the toss starts around 3:10.
“Grinnell Day” World Record Attempt
Join the fun Tuesday as Grinnell College and the community of Grinnell team up to set the Guinness Book of World Records largest simultaneous flying disc throw.
5-01-12 equals 50112! At least that’s what Dan Hirsch, residence life coordinator, saw in the upcoming May 1 “Grinnell Day.”
“When I saw the date and zipcode correlation, I thought ‘that’s cool. We should do something with this.’” So he began working with the Student Government Association (SGA) and community members to set a Guinness World Record for the most people — College and community — to simultaneously throw Frisbees.
“We’re inviting townspeople to join us so we can break the record,” Hirsch said, which is now set at 853 people throwing a disc at the same time. All Frisbee throwers should plan to gather by 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, on MacEachron Field. Frisbees will be issued to all participants who will gather in a large circle around Mac Field, with music provided by campus FreeSound. Hirsch will document the number of participants for Guinness, based on the number of discs that will be given away that day. Unfortunately for all the alumni asking if they can participate from where they live, Hirsch says "Guinness rules stipulate we can only count people at the venue."
“Following the toss, we are also encouraging all Frisbee participants to head downtown to support the local restaurants and other businesses,” Hirsch adds. Premiere Printing will imprint the 2,500 Frisbees ordered for the record-breaking event.
The 50112 idea stems from Hirsch’s own experience at Carleton College, where each incoming class of approximately 500 first-year students perform a similar Frisbee-toss ceremony. “As a Carleton alum, I thought it would be funny if Grinnell held the World Record for a Carleton tradition, just to add some fuel to that rivalry.”
There is no rain date for Grinnell Day — because then it would be 5-02-12, not to be confused with Ogden, Iowa.
