Japanese city builds 1,585 snowmen in an hour; breaks Guinness record

Photo from Kyodo News

TOKYO – The new record for most snowmen built in an hour has been set by the townspeople of a small city in Japan, which experienced nine inches (23 cm) of snowfall in a 24-hour time span.

Turning the winter storm to their advantage, more than 600 people from Iiyama City shaped and stacked snow to build a record-breaking 1,585 snowmen in one hour.

“We’ve been preparing the event since last year,” said an Iiyama city official on Monday.
Their wintry dreams did not melt away, as their efforts landed them a Guinness World Record.

To qualify, each snowman had to measure at least three-feet (90 cm) in height, and possess facial features and ornamental arms, as stipulated by Guinness.

The previous record was set in 2011, by a group of 306 people in the United States.