Celebrating its 95th year, CandyFavorites holds the distinction of being the Oldest Wholesale Company in the Nation. It may not be a world record per se but as the owner conveyed to me, " In the past few years, a year felt like a decade," making this distinction feel like a personal world record.
When I started writing for the company, they told me that as much as they like articles about new candy, the History of Candy and related trivia interest them most. So I guess after nine and a half decades, it is fun and fitting to pay tribute to an industry that helped them achieve this landmark!
After putting on my creative thinking cap, I embarked on an article for the Candy in Pop Culture Section about Guinness World Records relating to candy. Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly), some were very strange and very specific.
So today, I will be trying to set some world records and testing them out to see just how hard setting a world record is. It’s always been a dream of mine to set a world record, but I find the task quite daunting. However, I think today is the day for my goal to come true.
The first record I am going to take on is the fastest time to sort thirty sweets! The current record set at 20.48 seconds and was set by Nicola Spessato from the United Arab Emirates in November 2019
I will be sorting the “Child’s Play” Tootsie Roll candy pack. This pack contains an assorted bunch of Tootsie Roll favorites with 6 different types of candies. I had my sister pick out 30 pieces of candy from the box for me to sort.
NOW … IT'S "GO" TIME….
It took me 18.93 seconds to organize all 30 pieces, so I guess I set the world record!
I used to play this organization game on my phone, so maybe that’s why I was good at this, but I definitely think so many people could beat me. So I would try this one at home because I don’t believe that I am the best person to have ever organized candy, but it was a lot of fun, and I’m psyched that I beat the current world record.
The following few records I am going to try and break all have to do with pretzel M&Ms which is quite strange. I wonder why it is pretzel M&Ms specifically? Why not just plain or mini or peanut M&Ms?
Honestly, I bet the person who set this record just really loves pretzel M&Ms. If it were me, I would definitely pick Fudge Brownie M&Ms because those are the best by far, but I digress.
One of the records using these apparently beloved pretzel M&Ms is the fastest time to sort 25 pretzel M&Ms using chopsticks. The record is currently 16.05 seconds, which Silvio Sabba in Italy in December 2012.
Disclaimer: I am terrible with chopsticks, so this will be interesting.
To start, I set out 25 pretzel M&Ms and got my chopsticks ready. So this was a challenge, and by calling it a challenge, I’m saying that I couldn’t even pick up one!
Picking up round balls with chopsticks is impossible, at least for me it was. So I didn’t even complete the challenge because I was about a minute in and didn’t even have 1 M&M organized.
I learned my lesson next time when trying to set a world record dealing with chopsticks; maybe learn how to use them first!
The next record was the longest line of pretzel M&Ms lined up in 30 seconds which currently stands at 42 M&Ms, set by Silvio Sabba, the same person who broke the previous record.
To get ready, I set my timer and laid out all my M&Ms on the table so I would have no trouble grabbing them. My results were definitely not record-setting, but I made some sort of progress on this one.
It’s safe to say I fell short. I only got 20 lined up in 30 seconds. In my defense, settling round candies to sit in a line is challenging. However, I am happy that I got at least half of what the record has.
This person who set this record is no joke; they must have four hands to line them all up. So if I ever attempt this record again, I’m going to use both my hands simultaneously and try not to worry about the M&Ms rolling all over the place.
For my last record-breaking attempt of the day, I tried to set the record for the most pretzel M&Ms moved in 60 seconds with a straw. This one is interesting, and I wonder who even came up with these records, but nonetheless, I am still willing to give it a shot.
I set out my two bowls, got my straw, and started my timer. 60 seconds on the clock now! The record was 62, and I got 9. That was so hard!
This record was set by Alastair Galpin in September 2012 in New Zealand. Maybe I have inadequate breath control, maybe my straw had a hole, perhaps the person who set the record has enormous lungs.
Either way, I have no idea how anyone could ever move more than one M&M per second to end up with a record of 62 in 60 seconds!
I got one out of four of the four records I attempted to break. I am proud of that, and I encourage you to try it at home because they are usually more complicated than you think, but if you stumble upon the right record, you can be a record-breaker too!
To learn more about Candy Related Guinness Book of World Records or to come up with ideas to set your own, please visit our Candy in Pop Culture Section
