Croatian Smurfs Fail World Record Attempt (2008)

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In January 2008, 395 Croatian men, women and children covered themselves in blue paint, dressed up as Smurfs and got ready to go down in history… as failures. The “Croatian Smurfs” had gathered in an attempt to smash the previous world record for “most Smurfs gathered together at one time.” Unfortunately, due to a research error (possibly caused by Gargamel), their attempt was all in vain.

Organizers Should Have Done Their Research… Online

According to the latest, but out of date, Croatian printing of the Guinness World Records book, the record for most Smurfs gathered in one place was 291. With 395 Smurfs, the Croatians thought they were sure to earn a new world record. However, in 2007, a group of students at Warwick University beat them to it. The Warwick students had managed to round up a grand total of 451 Smurfs. And according to Guinness, they currently, hold the world record. The Croatian organizers should have looked up the record on the Internet and not in an out of date book.

They were close, but Croatians needed a little over 50 more Smurfs to beat the Warwick University record. Perhaps they should have contacted Guinness World Records before the attempt.

Not Enough Croatian Smurfs

A somber spokesman for the Croatians had this to say: “We could easily have got more Smurfs. But we thought that over a hundred more than the American record… would be enough.”

What Are “Smurfs”?

In case you’ve never heard of The Smurfs before, they are are a fictional group of small blue creatures who live somewhere in the woods. The Belgian cartoonist Peyo introduced Smurfs to the world in a 1958 Belgian magazine called Le Journal de Spirou. However, Smurfs are probably best known from the 1980s animated Hanna-Barbera Productions television series, The Smurfs.

via methodshop