School kid makes world’s longest paperclip chain

By Rachel Swatman

Published 09 May 2017

Ben Mooney from Belfast in Northern Ireland achieved his first Guinness World Records title in 2014 after making the world’s Longest loom band, aged just seven years old.

Aged nine, he started looking for a new challenge and decided to make the world’s Longest paperclip chain.

A determined Ben spent hours linking about 66,000 metal paperclips.

He worked on it after school and at the weekend while watching the television.

Ben and his mum started hanging the chain in his wardrobe, but when it became too long they had to buy a special clothes rail!

When he had finished, Ben laid out the chain on the ground of a car park where the chain could be measured for the record:

However, Ben's mum says this proved pretty difficult:

There were several flocks of magpies living in the surrounding trees to the carpark who made an appearance as soon as the paperclips were laid on the ground and started glistening in the sunlight. All family members – including Ben’s grandad – had to take turns to chase the magpies away, so that they didn’t thwart the measurement attempt!

However, in spite of this, Ben managed to set an impressive new record of 1,997.9 metres.

Not only this, he also raised a £400 for cancer charity Marie Curie in the process!