Tower World Records

Yanhao Deng of Chenzhou, Hunan, balanced a stack of 44 round crackers on the base of an upside-down clear cup held by its rim in the teeth. Seated at a classroom desk with head tipped back, Yanhao sets the stack on the cup, straightens it with both hands, then lets go and keeps both hands away for about a second and a half while the tower stays balanced. RecordSetter checked the count of 44 against the ridged edges of the stack, which comes off the cup in one piece and is held up to the camera at the end. Forty-four crackers, one cup, no hands.

Yanhao Deng of Chenzhou, Hunan, stood a 100-yuan practice note, the full-size kind bank tellers train with, on its edge like a half-open book and balanced two AA batteries end to end on top of the fold. Both hands come away and the two-battery column stands on the note alone for about two seconds, while the camera swings round to show nothing else is holding it up. RecordSetter checked the hands-free stand frame by frame in the unedited video. Two batteries, one fold, no glue.

Yanhao Deng of Chenzhou, Hunan, balanced 18 round crackers on top of four crackers standing on their edges. The four base crackers lean against each other in pairs to form two small A-frames, and the rest go on flat, first one at a time and then in short stacks, until both hands come away and the tower stands on its own for about three seconds before the camera moves. RecordSetter checked the count of 18 against the ridged edges of the finished stack. Eighteen crackers, four legs, no glue.

Pavol Durdik of Púchov, Slovakia, sits on his living room sofa with a whole tomato cupped in his left hand and stacks orange fidget spinners on top of it one at a time with his right, the spinners sitting still rather than spinning. In the single continuous video the column climbs past his face, and once the last spinner is settled he raises his free hand clear and the tower stands on its own for more than four seconds before he scoops it up. We counted all 19 spinners from zoomed frames of the finished tower. With nothing under the tomato but a hand, the base never stops moving.

Pavol Durdik of Púchov, Slovakia, shows a whole pear to the camera, then holds it in his left hand and stacks orange fidget spinners on top of it one at a time with his right. In one continuous take he lifts his free hand clear of the finished column, and it stands on its own for about six seconds before he takes it down. We counted all 15 spinners on the finished tower. With only a hand underneath, the pear is a base that never quite stops moving.

Pavol Durdik of Púchov, Slovakia, holds a whole tomato up to the camera, sets it on his living room table and builds a column of orange fidget spinners on top of it, placing them one at a time with the spinners sitting flat and still rather than spinning. In the single continuous video he lifts both hands clear of the finished tower and it stands on its own for more than five seconds, then he points his way up the column counting the layers before scooping it all up. We counted all 19 spinners from zoomed frames of the finished tower. A smooth, round tomato gives the bottom spinner almost nothing to grip, so every layer above it is a balancing act.

Pavol Durdik of Púchov, Slovakia, sets a whole orange on his living room table and builds a column of orange fidget spinners on top of it, placing them one at a time and lining up their arms as he goes, with the spinners sitting flat and still rather than spinning. In the single continuous video he lifts both hands clear of the finished tower and it stands on its own for nearly six seconds before he scoops it up. We counted all 19 spinners on the finished column before it came down. A round orange gives the bottom spinner almost nothing flat to sit on, which makes every layer above it count.

Pavol Durdik pulled a black sleep mask over his eyes, tipped his head back toward the ceiling and built a column of 16 fidget spinners on a table at home in Púchov, Slovakia, working entirely by feel. The single continuous video shows every spinner placed one at a time, his hands coming off the finished tower while he is still blindfolded, and the tower standing on its own for several more seconds after he takes the mask off. We checked the count of 16 against the finished column before he took it apart on camera. Stacking spinners is one thing; doing it without a single glance down is the hard part.

Pavol Durdik of Puchov, Slovakia, sits at his living room table holding a knife level in one hand while the other stacks orange fidget spinners on the blade, one at a time, until the column reaches his chin. The single unedited shot shows all 19 spinners standing on their own for about eight seconds with his free hand pulled clear, before he reaches for a 20th and the tower topples. A narrow blade makes for a wobbly base, which is what makes the height count.

Yanhao Deng of Chenzhou, Hunan, stacked five plastic bottle caps upside down into a freestanding column in 3.15 seconds using only one hand. The caps start in a row on a desk in front of a phone stopwatch, and the same right hand starts the clock, sets each cap open side up on the one below, and stops the clock once the fifth is on top. RecordSetter read 00:03.15 on the stopwatch close-up, checked that the other hand never enters the shot, and watched the column stand on its own until the clip ends. Five caps, wrong way up, one hand.

Yanhao Deng of Chenzhou, Hunan, stacked five plastic bottle caps upside down into a freestanding column in 2.04 seconds. With the caps spread out on a desk in front of a phone stopwatch, Yanhao starts the clock, sets each cap open side up on the one below, and stops the clock as soon as the fifth is on top. RecordSetter read 00:02.04 on the stopwatch close-up and timed the gap between the two taps on the video to confirm it, then watched the little tower stand on its own while the camera circled it. Five caps, wrong way up, in about two seconds.

Yanhao Deng of Chenzhou, Hunan, stacked five square plastic bottles on their sides into a freestanding tower in 2.80 seconds. With the bottles lined up on a desk beside a phone stopwatch, Yanhao starts the clock, sets four empty clear bottles one on top of another over a yellow bottle with liquid inside, and stops the clock as soon as the fifth is in place. RecordSetter read 00:02.80 on the stopwatch close-up and timed the gap between the two taps on the video to confirm it, then watched the tower stand untouched while Yanhao showed that a top bottle was empty. Five bottles, one tower, under three seconds.

Calvin Thayer stacked 28 pennies in a tower in 30 seconds using his left hand.

Pavol Durdik stacked 13 fidget spinners on a tennis ball in Puchov, Slovakia, improving his own RecordSetter mark in this balance category. The tower stayed upright on the small round base long enough to establish a new benchmark.

Trevor Fritch wore 26 hats stacked on his head while riding a bicycle in Sterling Heights, Michigan. He kept the hat tower balanced while the bike moved forward, improving the existing RecordSetter mark for the category.

Diego Cuervo edged out the competition by stacking 14 sealed coffee creamer mini cups into a single freestanding tower, topping the previous record of 13. One cup doesn't sound like much until you're balancing a wobbly column of tiny plastic containers and praying gravity takes the day off.