I have caught plenty of things in my mouth for Guinness World Records titles. Marshmallows, apples, raw eggs, popcorn, and caramel corn have all flown at my face. But catching a paper airplane is a different challenge.
Years ago, I applied for the title for the most paper aircraft caught in the mouth in one minute. I folded standard planes but they had points and the test result? Pure pain. Getting stabbed in the lips and checks even at low speed was bad enough, but the real hazard was taking a pointed tip to the eye. I shelved the project for years.
Walking away gave me time to rethink the engineering. The breakthrough came when I modified the fold to create a blunt nose. It still stung, but the attempt went from dangerous to painful and feasible.
Next I needed a thrower. They need consistency and accuracy. I tried practicing with my ten-year-old son, but throwing upward from his height made a slow and steady glide path difficult.
Then my thirteen-year-old niece, Ali, volunteered to step in.
Ali had an advantage from her first throw. Her release angle was higher, and her delivery was remarkably steady (not surprising since she’s a top-tier soccer goalie). We spent a day drilling, burning through hundreds of throws until the timing was good enough to try for the record.
Then we set up the cameras and brought in the witnesses.
The previous record stood at 17. Our first official attempt came up short at 14. We reset, found our groove, and ran it again. Ali fired off some good throws while I caught and dropped it into the container. Sometimes her throws were spot on but she gave me a few chances for highlight catches.
When the sixty seconds expired, we had secured 20 paper airplanes. We officially broke the world record, securing Ali her very first Guinness World Records title.