It takes extreme patience and dexterity to put an object in a state of equilibrium in an upright position. So, by finding the center of gravity of an object, or its balance point, you are practicing the 'art of balance'.
Over the past couple of years, Guinness World Records has witnessed an exceptional interest in the world record title for the tallest stack of M&M's®.
Recently, Ibrahim Sadeq (Iraq) managed to place an additional sweet on the top of the existing record, taking the record-breaking total to seven M&M's®.
In a video of unbelievable, gravity-defying skill, 29-year-old Sadeq was able to stack the 7 chocolate sweets on top of each other in no more than 2 minutes. An attempt that took so much more to be achieved by the previous record holders over the years.
"I am using a mix of mind and body focus but people usually define it as a gravity defying act," said Sadeq.
Sadeq, from Nasiriyah, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq, is also the current record holder for the most eggs balanced on the back of hand, along with Jack Harris (UK) who both managed a total of 18 eggs.
The tallest stack of M&M's® has a long history on Guinness World Records' systems and it is getting longer every year. People at home thought such feat would be fairly easy to achieve, however, people who actually tried it know it takes months of practice to add one additional piece on the top of that stack.
The title of the tallest stack of M&M's® came to light in December 2016 when an Italian man named Silvio Sabba managed to balance 4 on top of each other. Tonnes of applications have been received since then with the aim to break this title, including one in November 2020 by 22-year-old Brendan Kelbie (Australia) who is a serial record breaker and managed to equal the title with 4 M&Ms®.
Less than 3 months later, during the UK’s third lockdown, Will Cutbill, a British civil engineer, tried his luck for fun and managed to balance 5 M&Ms®, bringing this record title back into the spotlight. A couple of months later, this was then equalled by Rocco Mercurio in Villa San Giovanni, Italy, until the familiar name of a previous record holder, Brendan Kelbie, had another go at the record, achieving a stack of six in October 2021.
Sadeq started balancing objects 6 years ago after he saw videos online of people balancing rocks on a running river.
"I could possibly balance anything, but it gets really tough with light objects or liquids," said Sadeq.
On his social channels, Sadeq shows of his balancing skills with feats such as standing a chair on one leg or balancing an upside-down TV screen on the rim of a Coke bottle.
This has made him a popular entertainer for many followers online, as well as securing him multiple live entertainment segments on TV.
"My achievements in Guinness World Records changed my life for the better. The sense of fun and global recognition is exceptional. I now have many friends, which I have never met in person, sharing the same passion I have for this art."
These kind of 'balance acts' gets really competitive and has its own 'artists', including Mohammed Muqbel (Yemen) who broke his own title twice for tallest stack of eggs, which currently stands at 4 in total.
The next time you are munching through a bag of M&M's®, think how much higher this stack could get - and maybe give it a try yourself!
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