Daniel Reneer was one of the BYU students who attempted to break the world record for most stacked hammocks in 2016.
The tallest recorded hammock tower recorded was 30 hammocks and about 60 feet tall, according to Reneer.
Reneer said three things made the record impossible to break: the area in which the students attempted to break the record didn’t allow for a tall enough hammock tower, the hammocks couldn’t touch in order for them to break the record and safety became an issue.
“The thought of putting people that don’t necessarily have a lot of experience with rock climbing or hammocking that high in a hammock gets really scary and legally complicated really fast,” Reneer said.
Reneer said he had a good experience communicating with Guinness World Records and may attempt another record in the future.
The Guinness World Record website outlines basic standards for recording and obtaining a world record. World records must be measurable, breakable, standardizable and verifiable. It is key to understand the specific standards that apply to individual records in order to hold the record.
The Guinness site expressly advocates against certain record types, including excessive eating, illegal activities and wasting food.
Self-service record approval applications for existing titles are free of charge, and applications for new titles cost $5. Applications take 12 weeks for approval.
Records by BYU students
- BYU Student and Academic Advisement Services hosted the world’s largest water balloon fight in 2010. The event lasted six minutes and included 3,927 participants and 120,021 balloons.
- The World Record Academy recognized BYU in 2012 for the longest maple bar (Cougar Tail). A marketing class made the Cougar Tail along with BYU Dining Services. The maple bar measured 1,328 feet long.
- BYU alumnus Romane Armand obtained the Guinness World Record for the longest freestyle rap in 2016. The rap lasted 24 hours and 49 seconds.
- BYU All-American runner Rory Linkletter broke the world record for the fastest mile ran in blue jeans in 2017. He completed the mile in 4:16.00 at 4,600 feet of altitude in Provo. The mile time was adjusted to 4:11.00 after standardizing based on the altitude.
- Dimension Data & Playworks broke the record for the largest game of follow the leader in Salt Lake City in 2015 with 768 participants.
- The Utah Summer Games Opening Ceremony in Cedar City, Utah broke the record for the largest game of Simon says with 12,215 participants.
- The Utah Undie Run in Salt Lake City achieved the largest gathering of people wearing only underwear in 2011 with 2,270 people.
- The Delta Centennial Committee in Delta, Utah set the record for the largest bunny hop in 2007 with 3,841 participants.
- USANA Health Sciences in Salt Lake City held the largest gathering of people dressed as scientists in 2017 with 893 participants.
- Casey Williams and Mike Price ran the fastest three-legged mile in Logan, Utah in 2013. The mile clocked in at 7:50.
