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Child Topples Guinness World Record Beer Mat Tower While Playing Jenga

TL:DR – “Child Topples Guinness World Record Beer Mat Tower While Playing Jenga”

• A young girl inadvertently caused the collapse of a 63,000 beer mat tower, built by artist Benjamin Klapper as part of a Guinness World Record attempt.
• The structure fell under its own weight shortly before completion, not due to external factors.
• Guests enjoyed ‘Beer Mat Jenga’ with the remaining tower.
• The project took 28 days to create, with about 120 hours invested.
• Videos of the incident have since gone viral, capturing public interest in the remarkable beer mat tower.

Child playing jenga brings down Guinness World Record attempt beer mat tower | News World

A young girl brought down a giant tower made of 63,000 beer mats which took the artist a month to build.

Benjamin Klapper constructed the tower in the hope of setting a new Guinness World Record, but it collapsed earlier this month.

The 49-year-old was trying to set a new Guinness World Record with the tower when the young girl went to grab one of the coasters. Very graciously, Benjamin said he did not blame the young girl, noting that the tower partially collapsed under its own weight just before completion.

Guests were also invited to play ‘Beer Mat Jenga’ with the remaining part of the tower.

Benjamin said: ‘It was submitted to Guinness World Records as a world record attempt. I aimed to break the existing record of 70,000 beer mats and a height of 9.8ft (3m).

The group was playing ‘Beer Mat Jenga’ with the tower (Picture: Jam Press/Benjamin Klapper)

The girl picked one of the beer mats, partially collapsing the 63,000-strong tower
(Picture: Jam Press/Benjamin Klapper)

‘Unfortunately, this didn’t work out, as the sculpture collapsed under its own weight two days before completion, seemingly without any external cause.

‘I worked on it for 28 days between 31 October and 8 December last year.

‘Each level took around four hours to complete and, on average, I built one level per day.

‘So, in total, I spent about 120 hours constructing the sculpture.’

Benjamin, who comes from the town of Pulheim in Germany, built the tower in the Rhein-Center shopping centre in nearby Cologne.

The self-employed media engineer said the remaining ‘ruins’ of the sculpture were brought down on 10 January and the footage has gone viral.

He explained: ‘I invited my project helpers to play ‘Beer Mat Jenga’ that day.

‘Each person took a turn removing a beer mat from the structure until it fell.

‘The winner was the daughter of one of my helpers.

‘She brought “Inside” down on her first attempt by pulling out one that was lying horizontally.

‘The livestreams, videos, and photos of the construction and demolition have garnered millions of views on social media.’

Benjamin, who runs the media company MuVi 3D GmbH, said he started building beer coaster sculptures as a child.

‘Gradually, the constructions became larger and larger,’ he explained.

‘I completed my first large project 33 years ago. Since then, I’ve built large beer mat sculptures every few years.

‘And they are always created in public spaces. That’s also my main motivation for creating these sculptures: viewers aren’t only presented with a finished work of art, they can witness the creation process as well.

Over 200 Fatalities After Mine Collapse in DR Congo | Global News Update

TL:DR – Over 200 Fatalities After Mine Collapse in DR Congo | Global News Update

• Over 200 people, including children, have died due to a coltan mine collapse in Rubaya, eastern DRC, prompted by heavy rains and landslides.
• The mine, held by the M23 rebel group, was reportedly poorly maintained.
• Rescuers have found people trapped in the mud; injured victims are being treated in local health facilities.
• Coltan, vital for electronics, accounts for 15% of global supply.
• DRC faces ongoing humanitarian crises and unregulated mining challenges.

More than 200 people killed after mine collapses in DR Congo | News World

More than 200 people, including children, have died after a mineral mine caved in on them in a volatile region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The disaster struck in the town of Rubaya, North Kivu region, on Wednesday following torrential rain, when a coltan mine collapsed on those working underground.

Sources claim the mine, which is within the area held by the notorious rebel group M23, was not properly maintained, according to WTX News.

The structure gave in after landslides, trapping hundreds of people, the rebel authorities said.

The heavy rains caused landslides at the Rubaya mines, eastern DRC

Among those feared dead are children, women, and miners.

Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, a spokesperson of the rebel-appointed governor of North Kivu, said: ‘For now, there are more than 200 dead, some of whom are still in the mud and have not yet been recovered.

‘Some people were rescued just in time and have serious injuries.

‘We are in the rainy season. The ground is fragile. It was the ground that gave way while the victims were in the hole.’

Those who were rescued with serious injuries were taken to three health facilities in Rubaya before some would be transferred to the city of Goma, around 30 miles away.

Hundreds of people, mainly locals, dig the sought-after mineral manually for a few dollars a day.

The Rubaya mine produces a chunk of the world’s coltan supply – 15%. The sought-after mineral is turned into tantalum, a heat-resistant metal used in mobile phones, computers, and aviation.

The mine relies mainly on local people to dig manually, earning them just a few dollars a day.

Franck Bolingo, a miner, told AFP news agency: ‘It rained, then the landslide happened and swept people away. Some were buried alive, and others are still trapped in the shafts.’

The mine has been under the control of M23 fighters since May 2024 when the group seized control in the area.

People working at the D4 Gakombe coltan mine in Rubaya in May last year (Picture: AP)

DRC, especially its eastern and northern border regions, have been in crisis for decades, causing a large-scale humanitarian crisis with more than 7 million forced to flee their homes.

The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to the eastern DRC, including North Kivu, and any British nationals in the area should leave if possible.

In November, at least 32 people died when a makeshift bridge collapsed in a cobalt and copper mine in Lualaba province in the southwest of the country. The collapse was reportedly in an area where restrictions had previously been put in place following heavy rains and the risk of landslides.

DRC is the world’s biggest source of cobalt, responsible for more than 70% of the supply.

The country is thought to have between 1.5 and 2 million people who work in the unregulated mining industry, according to human rights groups.