Ryerson University students unofficially broke the Guinness World Record for the most people simultaneously blowing chewing gum bubbles.
As part of Ryerson’s Frosh Week, 1,203 people came out to help break the record, according to Lauren Clegg, Ryerson’s media relations officer.
The previous record was set in Spain in 2014 by 737 people.
“Everyone was blowing bubbles and the bubbles were bursting all over their faces and you could tell that people were having a real blast,” Clegg said.
It was the schools 10th time trying to break a Guinness World Record as part of orientation week festivities, she said.
Each year, Ryerson attempts to break a world record during frosh.
The school has broken records in the past, including the most people playing paddle-ball, largest cowbell ensemble, biggest maracas ensemble, and largest Soul Train dance, according to Ryerson’s website. The student-led orientation team plans each record breaking event in April and May by researching potential group records on the official Guinness website.
Clegg said the aim of the world record challenge at Ryerson is to help students meet one another and get excited about being there.
“They become not just individuals, but a group, a class of 2020,” she said.
Though the record seemed to be successful, it will take some time until it is official.
Clegg said the school has to provide evidence to the official Guinness authorities, which takes a few weeks for approval.
“We had a third party on site to watch what we were doing and make sure that we were following proper protocol,” she said.
While this year’s record will definitely stick, not all of Ryerson’s record-breaking attempts were as successful.
“Last year we actually didn’t manage to break the record,” Clegg said. Since 2007, the school has failed to break a world record twice, according to Ryerson’s website.
“We were very happy to re-establish our reputation again this year,” Clegg said.
