A man from Boise, Idaho, says he accomplished his goal of setting 52 Guinness World Records over the course of 52 weeks in 2021 — an average of one record each week.
David Rush, an author and public speaker, said he set the goal to promote STEM education by encouraging students not to give up on challenges simply because they are hard.
“STEM is hard, and when a student struggles with science or fails at math, they may say they can never be an engineer,” Rush told NPR. “In 2015, I broke my first GWR to create a tangible example for folks to show that if you set your mind to a goal, believe in yourself, and pursue it with a passion, you can accomplish nearly anything. Going on to break an average of one a week is an extension of that to inspire kids to pursue hard STEM subjects and anyone to pursue anything that’s hard.”
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The world records ranged from the most soap bars stacked on top of each other in a minute by a pair (47) to the longest time juggling blindfolded (32 minutes, seven seconds). He also accomplished the most kiwis sliced in one minute with a Samurai sword while standing on a Swiss ball (62), and the most axes caught consecutively while juggling (2,919).
Rush chronicled his journey to break 52 on his website and blog. He also published a video summarizing his experience on his YouTube channel.
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A spokesperson from Guinness World Records told NPR that Rush successfully set 43 records in the 52 weeks so far, with the others still under review. The process of certifying a world record can take up to three months, the spokesperson said.
Rush says he has now broken a total of over 200 world records, including setting one on NBC’s America’s Got Talent in 2020 when he set the record for most T-shirts torn in one minute while wearing them. More than 150 records were confirmed before his 52-week stunt.
