Eric built an Eiffel Tower replica from TOOTHPICKS

This teen from Naperville, Illinois, United States loves engineering, so he spent months building a 17-feet-tall tower made entirely out of toothpicks and glue! 

The world’s tallest toothpick sculpture reached the incredible height of 5.28 m (17.32 ft) and its shape was inspired by the Eiffel tower, with a slim body and strong base.

Eric Klabel, the engineering prodigy behind the project, used to hold the record for the tallest ice lolly (popsicle) stick structure back in 2020, when he was even younger!

Then, a few months ago, he decided to set himself a new challenge.

“I wanted to break this record mainly because of how much fun I had breaking the record for the tallest popsicle stick structure when I was younger,” he told us.

“I kind of just wanted to do the same thing but with a harder material, and I learned that toothpicks were tinier and not as strong, so it would definitely be a harder challenge to work with.

“So I started experimenting with my own toothpick sculptures to just kind of get a feel for toothpicks. Eventually, I started on my toothpick tower journey.”

Challenging yourself and doing hard things can be SO rewarding!

Eric, who is now a high school student, simply loves engineering and all STEM subjects…

What is YOUR favourite school subject? Maybe you could break a record in that field!

Excited to show us everything, he took us through the lengthy process step by step.

“What I would do first is to create long chains of toothpicks […] by gluing them together.

“The bottom four legs of the tower are all 8 ft long, and then I made more of them as I go up, so that’s pretty much how I built it.”

And he certainly knew what he was doing, since this wasn’t his first record-breaking build.

“The first time over gave me a lot of experience in time management,” he said. “It wasn’t just a tiny little project, but something that actually took a couple months.”

The tower was created in parts in his house and then assembled outside for a public viewing event in Naperville.

Although Eric led the project and did most of the work, he was glad to have help from his family, especially during parts that needed 2 people.

Family and friends who help you reach your goals are so special.

Eric admitted that the process was anything but easy...

“Physically, my back hurt so much. It was really weird because for such a long time I was just hunched over doing this, non-stop. I don’t know if my posture was bad the entire time, but for some reason my back just started aching.”

But despite the difficulties he faced, he's very happy that he took on the challenge and is proud of the result. 

“Lowkey, it was just a fun experience. It was just really fun, I got to build something that was super super tall and super super strong.”

Eric, you're a legend!

Since the record title for the tallest popsicle stick structure no longer belongs to Eric, he can't help but wonder about the fate of his newest title.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure how long this record will stand,” he said.

“Obviously, if someone takes their time to actually break this record and takes the time to glue all of those toothpicks together, kudos to them. I’m very proud of them, they’re willing to put in the work and energy to do that, so they definitely deserve it.

“So if my record does get broken, that’s perfectly okay, I respect the person who breaks it.”

What a mature approach - after all, life is better when you're just trying your best, supporting and respecting each other, rather than competing against one another!

Ultimately, he hopes his accomplishment will motivate others rather than spark competition: “I hope to inspire other kids who want to venture in a STEM career.”

Congratulations, Eric, you are Officially Amazing!