It’s been an INCREDIBLE weekend in Paris!!
Our NEW SUSTAINABLE, PLANT BASED BUBBLE MIX HAS BROKEN THREE WORLD RECORDS!
As you know we are constantly working on improving our Bubble Mix. Our latest innovation has seen us create a mix that is not only plant based BUT also the plant materials are SUSTAINABLY SOURCED! Of course it is still fully biodegradable and vegan too.
Breakthrough in High- Performing Plant Based Bubble Mix
This has been a HUGE breakthrough for us at DR Zigs, and has taken cumulative years of trial and error. We still have a little way until it is fully integrated across all our product range - but we’re so excited, proud and utterly thrilled with the work we’ve done so far, and testing our mix under the extreme conditions of breaking a Guinness World Record was huge.
Collaborating with a talented Artist
This weekend was therefore huge for us. This new, world-leading, sustainable Bubble mix was to be put through its paces by international artist Pierre-Yves Fusier as he attempted to break four highly technical Guinness World Records using our new Dr Zigs mix.
The World Records Pierre-Yves wanted to break were:
- The tallest tower of Bubbles (current record 24 Bubbles Stacked)
- The most Bubble Carousels hanging (a new world record - never attempted before)
- The longest Bubble Chain hanging IN a Bubble (current record 21 Bubbles)
- AND
- The largest exploding Bubble (current record 43cm)
Working with a Plant Based, eco Bubble Mix:
Normally Bubble Artists will work on making their own Bubble Mix specifically for the occasion, using surfactants (soaps) and polymers. If you remember, in 2018, when we at Dr Zigs hosted the Bubble Festival in North Wales - and we broke our very own first TWO World Records (for the most people ever making Giant Bubbles with our Giant Wand and with our Multi Wand), we also hosted a full day of World Records - and these can be found on a double page spread in the 2019 Guinness World Record Book - every artist there made their own bespoke mix for the event. None of the mixes were plant based - to date we are the first in the world to make a fully plant based Bubble Mix! - and several of the records that were attempted and/or broken that day, are ones that Pierre-Yves was trying to repeat and break with our mix this weekend.
Bubble Tricks and Skills - The Tallest Bubble Tower
It was a hugely tense morning! The tricks that Pierre-Yves Fusier was attempting are incredibly complicated and skillful and few in the world could even come close. The most challenging attempt was for the Bubble Tower. This involves making a largish Bubble Dome on a wet, flat surface. Then, gently blowing a Bubble on top of that, with another Bubble on top of that one. To make them rise higher, and ‘defeat’ gravity, some helium has to be skillfully added to some of the Bubbles. The amount of helium, the judgment needed, the size of the Bubble to be made - was purely down to the skill and experience of Pierre-Yves.
Some twenty times he tried, each time building a tower to the 15, 16 20 Bubbles high mark. Then it would collapse! A Bubble would pop, or one would detach. Again and again he had to start again. Patiently, slowly, each tower taking between ten and fifteen minutes to build. Each time the tower grew and grew in height, slowly, carefully getting taller. He never gave up. Patience and perseverance, and all of us had our heart in our mouths. Finally, after nearly two hours of getting very close, Pierre-Yves managed 27 Bubbles stacked!
Woohoo! And so we had the first record under our belt.
Picture of the tallest Bubble tower as Pierre-Yves adds the next to last Bubble, and picture of Pierre-Yves knowing he’s just beaten the Guinness World Record!
The Longest Chain of Bubbles
Next it was onto the Bubble Chain hanging suspended INSIDE a Bubble - this was trickier. Pierre-Yves himself had set this first record at 11 Bubbles, but since a Spanish Bubble Artist had overtaken this record by a huge 21 Bubbles. Despite several attempts this was not a record he was able to break.
Picture of the Chain of Bubbles in a Bubble
The Most Bubble Carousels
From there we moved to the chain of Bubble Carousels. A Bubble Carousel is made of two Bubbles connected, one above another, with a belt of smaller Bubbles, circling around the middle. This is a great Bubble trick done by some artists - a greater challenge is to make consecutive ones of these hanging next to each other - but FIVE?! Unheard of!
The way that this complex Bubble sculpture is made is based on working on a very small scale. Many Bubble artists are used to working on stage, making large Bubble structures for their audience to see. Yet the beauty of this work is in it’s small and incredibly delicate size. And the challenge - can you imagine, is holding the structure up long enough for you to build it before your arm feels like it will fall off! Even though it is so delicate - it is a hugely physical challenge too.
It is a huge accomplishment for us to know that our Dr Zigs new Plant Based Bubble Mix is capable of working at such intricate, delicate scale as well. For us this really was a huge success!
Picture of the Carousels
The World's Largest Exploding Bubble!
And finally the most spectacular record of them all. The LARGEST EXPLODING BUBBLE! This had been held by an Australian couple and was set in 2017 at 41cm. We’re still waiting for confirmation about the final measurement but we’re looking at at least 47cm!! AND this has been created by using our Dr Zigs Eco Bubble Mix. And isn’t this picture just phenomenal?
This is obviously NOT a trick that should be tried by anyone at home with our Bubbles. Of course Pierre-Yves is a highly trained artist and we had great safety equipment to hand. What was interesting in terms of our Dr Zigs Bubble Mix was that a Bubble could hold the required size, whilst being filled with air and gas, and float for long enough for it to be set alight to create this spectacular trick.
This photo really captures the drama, the colour and the size of the Bubble so well. It was absolutely theatrical and a fantastic Guinness World Record for us to finish the day on.
How long does it take to get a Guinness World Record?
Now, it takes around 4 to 6 months for Guinness World Records to be confirmed. There is a fair bit of paperwork to submit, videos, official witness statements and the official photographs. The photographs then have to be submitted with measurements clearly marked on pre-existing markers set out in the room.
How do you enter for a Guinness World Record?
First you have to make an account and enter your details on the Guinness World Records website - then there are two options, you either attempt to break an existing record - OR you have to request to have a new record recognized (for example with the Bubble Carousel) you have to describe the challenge and what you’re trying to achieve. The danger here is that Guinness don’t actually always have experience. I mean - did you know about a Bubble Carousel before you started reading this article?! And so, when they come up with a number that you will have to beat in order to break the record it may seem slightly ludicrous. So FIVE carousels - is a tad optimistic to say the least!! Infact, arguably, alongside Pierre-Yves, there are possibly only 5 other people in the world capable of doing what he achieved.
How do you submit for a Guinness World Records?
When your attempt is agreed by Guinness you will be sent guidelines specific to your record. In the case of a worlds’ biggest, longest, highest etc. you will need to have some form of measurement that this can be validated against. In our case this was having a tape measure clearly set up from the floor to the height of the room, with measurements clearly marked on it, and the 50cm increments highlighted in red, so that they could be easily seen by us, the witnesses present and in each of the photographs.
Do I need witnesses for my World Record?
Most Guinness World Records will require you to have at least one, if not two official witnesses. In this case we had two of the expert scientists from the University of Paris Solid States Physics Laboratory (Laboratoire de Physique des Solides | Université Paris-Saclay)
You can also see our blog post here about our first two Guinness World Records (link please) - on that occasion we needed one official witness, one official timer, PLUS we had the staff, and even the editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records, Craig Glenday, in attendance too - it was some amazing day!
The witnesses will then have to provide statements to the veracity of what happened which will then back up the video and photographic evidence submitted.
On the day of our Guinness World Records we had Marina Pasquet and Emmanuelle Rio from the University of Paris, specialists in the physical properties of Bubbles and their interfaces - I will write more about this in a separate blog post, as it is a fascinating subject. Serge Guichard, professional photographer, Ziggy and myself, both on video cameras. It was a hugely exciting day, with proper tension - wondering if the challenges were too hard for our Bubble Mix.
What makes a great Bubble Mix?
It is unquestionable that the success of the Guinness World Records that we beat was down to the skill, technique and talent of Pierre-Yves. He is a highly skilled and professional Bubble Artist who spends hours upon hours honing his skills - yet our Bubble Mix certainly also played an important role.
In order to build a tower of that size, the Bubbles have to undergo incredible manipulation, tension, pressure, stretching and movement. For some 15 minutes each Bubble has to hold strong whilst more air is added, more Bubbles are added above, and the whole tower sways and wobbles. The forces upon each individual Bubble film are huge.
Seeing movement in the Bubble Film
Whilst watching the Bubbles ‘work’ under the pressure of World Record attempts that Pierre-Yves was putting them through, it was amazing to watch these fluids in motion. Each Bubble was slowly draining into the one below - as you can see here, each Bubble is joined by a perpendicular interface to the Bubble below - the most efficient, minimum surface possible.
Yet seeing this movement and dynamic activity in the Bubble film was hugely reassuring for me as it showed that our Bubble Mix is up to the incredible stresses that such a technical Guinness World Record attempt can put them through.
Collaboration and Partnerships
The success of Dr Zigs and our fantastic Bubble Mix is very much down to the partnerships that we have built over the years. Dr Zigs is all about friendship, inclusivity, and really the good stuff in life - and it is just wonderful and totally fitting that it is through these friendships and collaborations that really incredible things happen.
None of our Guinness World Records would have been possible without wonderful talented people. When we broke our Dr Zigs Guinness World Records in Caernarfon Castle in 2018 it was thanks to 400 members of our local community, together with some fabulous Bubble Artists (including Pierre-Yves! It was the first time we had met). The success of this last weekend was down to Pierre-Yves, working and believing in our Bubble Mix enough to use it for his World Records, and the help from Marina, Emmanuelle, Serge and Ziggy.
To have this endorsement for our new Plant Based Bubble Mix is HUGE.
Celebrating with the Dr Zigs team.
As soon as we had finished, the Records had been broken, the final photos taken - my first job was to call the Dr Zigs team back in North Wales. Their work and perseverance in perfecting our new Plant Based Bubble Mix has been fantastic - and to see the smiles on their faces was absolutely priceless.
Can’t wait to see the smiles on all of your faces too when you get to play with our new Dr Zigs Eco Plant Based Bubble Mix.
https://drzigs.com/products/c5-1l-5-litres
IT’S WORLD RECORD BREAKING BUBBLE MIX
Read more about Pierre-Yves Fusier and his work on his website: https://www.slashbubblesparis.com/
