South Carolina woman receives international acclaim for making the longest strand of Starburst candy wrappers. In a world where true achievement rarely sees the light of day, one woman has managed to do the unthinkable – she made a four year investment to put together a string of Starburst candy wrappers in the longest strand ever seen, earning her a spot in the international record books.
Emily Smith, a resident of Greenville, South Carolina, had a deep desire to make a difference, and what she’s achieved has stunned the world. She wanted to show that with enough time, dedication, and a willingness to waste candy wrappers, you can achieve anything. Now, her name will be mentioned in several tons of newspapers, Googled by people dying to know what other things she’s done with her time, and occasionally whispered in the same breath as world-famous artists, just because she had the diligence to sit down for four years folding pieces of candy-wrapper paper into a never-ending chain.
The journey was not without its obstacles. Smith says she frequently had bouts of frustration, boredom, and despair, as she folded those little glucose wonders again and again, day in and day out for 1,460 days. But there was always something to motivate her – the thought of getting her name in a book that most people have never seen or even heard of.
The resulting chain, made up of over 40,000 Starburst wrappers, is over six miles long. When it was finally measured, laid out flat for all to see, it stretched far beyond anything anyone ever expected. Smith was amazed, overjoyed, and slightly confused as to why anyone would want to spend so much time doing this in the first place.
But she’s not the only one happy about this amazing achievement. The owners of Starburst have reportedly told Smith that they love the idea of people wasting their product in pursuit of a world record. In fact, they’ve been sending her boxes of candy to help her reach her goal.
A Guinness World Records spokesperson released a statement congratulating Smith and noting that her accomplishment is, “A testament to the perseverance and determination of an individual.” The spokesperson also urged people to be mindful of the fact that there are better ways to spend four years of their life, and that perhaps donating to a charity or volunteering their time in the community might be a better use of their time.
But Smith is not too worried about that. She’s got her record, and she’s not letting anyone spoil her moment. She wants people to know that if they just put their minds to it, they too could achieve greatness in the most trivial way possible.
So, next time you’re feeling down and wondering if your life has any meaning, just remember Emily Smith and her six-mile long Starburst wrapper chain.
