Records

When I put “Break a Record” into my 101 list, I didn’t think I would actually be able to accomplish it. I’m not about to grow my nails out really long and there is no way the world’s largest duct tape ball could fit in my crooked little apartment. I can’t pogo stick across the country or pop my eyes out of their sockets. Although I can hope to be the oldest person alive, unless the world implodes and I am the only person left, that won’t be accomplished in the next two years. So what is a girl to do?

Join the largest dodge ball game in the world.

The previous record was around 600 people. My game, run completely for publicity purposes by Samsung, had 730-something people. Because a corporation organized it, we had t-shirts, 600 dodge balls, and official refs. It was single elimination, the kind you played in elementary school before creating all the extra rules like lighthouse, doctor, and something related to a candle. But because there were so many people, the single elimination part didn’t work out so well. If you got hit, you just moved to a different location in the field, picked up another ball to throw, and continued playing. I’m pretty sure the video caught me doing just that. Plus, if you caught a ball, there was no way to determine the individual who had thrown it out of the sea of blue (I was on the yellow team) so they stayed in as well.

I couldn’t throw far enough to make it to the other side (shot-putting record is way out of my league) so I ran out into the middle to push ammunition back to my team. I lasted longer than I thought as a sitting duck but there was no way to pretend I didn’t get hit eventually.

Another group in Texas is trying to break the record. Still, at least for the next two weeks, I can say that I participated in a world record breaking dodge ball game.