At the FIRST Robotics St. Louis Championships in 2017, I gave an hour-long talk inspiring students and educators with my STEM story. I then attempted to break the blindfolded speed juggling record: the Guinness World Record for “Most juggling catches in 1 minute blindfolded (3 balls)”. I was successful on my 2nd try but still had 4 seconds left on the clock. So I tried again, and again and again until I finished a full minute and by the time I was done, I had also tied the record for “Most juggling catches in 1 minute (3 balls)”. Period. WHILE BLINDFOLDED!
This week tens of thousands of students, family members, mentors, and spectators will descend on the St. Louis America center for FIRST Robots East nationals – the premier youth robotics program national championship.
Guinness World Record #14 is for the books. In front of hundreds of Cradlepoint’s Partners at our Global Partner Summit in Boise, Idaho at the new JUMP center, I set a new mark for “Longest Duration Balancing a Lawnmower on the Chin (non powered)”. The time to beat was 5 minutes 1 second. My neck is sore and my back will hurt tomorrow but those 5 minutes and 31 seconds were totally worth.
Cradlepoint is powered by continuing advances in science, technology, engineering, and math and we need more students to pursue STEM, more to understand it, and especially more to believe they can succeed. I set Guinness World Records to inspire students to believe they can do amazing things if they set their mind to it and work hard.
My neck and back have recovered just enough after a week and a half to attempt the next lawnmower balancing Guinness World Record. Instead of distance walked (200 meters), the record is for longest duration balancing a lawnmower on the chin (non-powered). The current record is 5 minutes 1 second. The one time I actually tried to practice that long in the living room, I almost passed out. I’m really hoping that doesn’t happen in front of hundreds of people.
The record attempt will be on Wednesday night in downtown Boise at the brand new JUMP (Jack’s Urban Meeting Place) facilities in front of hundreds of Cradlepoint’s valued channel partners. We’re bringing them in for a 2-day conference to show them all the cool stuff we’re up to and to get their feedback. This is part of the festivities.
P.S. I’m really hoping this goes down because my wife really wants the lawnmower out of our living room… and she has a point, it’s been there for months. I love my wife.
I wanted to show these students that if they believe they can get better at anything (growth mindset) and put in the hard work to get better, they can accomplish anything. 200 meters later (covered in 3 minutes 39 seconds), I gave them a proof-point. I broke the Guinness World Record for “Farthest distance walked balancing a lawnmower on the chin (not powered)” by 78 meters. The previous record was 122 meters. The lawnmower was not on, as per the rules, but it still weighed 22 lbs.
Guinness World Record attempt #13 is scheduled for 3:30 PM on Friday, April 7th at the Boise High School track for the track and field team at the start of practice. I’m planning to give a short talk on having a growth mindset and how it can help students academically and with sports. Then I’ll attempt to break the Guinness World Record for longest distance walked balancing a lawnmower on my chin. The current record is 122 meters.
My biggest worry right now is rain… if I can’t beat this record now and get the lawnmower out of my living room soon, then Jennifer might make me practice outside.
The lawnmower I’ll actually be balancing looks more like this…
Promoting STEM education through my story and juggling
At the FIRST Robotics St. Louis Championships in 2017, I gave an hour-long talk inspiring students and educators with my STEM story. I then attempted to break the blindfolded speed juggling record: the Guinness World Record for “Most juggling catches in 1 minute blindfolded (3 balls)”. I was successful on my 2nd try but still had 4 seconds left on the clock. So I tried again, and again and again until I finished a full minute and by the time I was done, I had also tied the record for “Most juggling catches in 1 minute (3 balls)”. Period. WHILE BLINDFOLDED!
