British Teen Sets New World Record For Assembling Mr. Potato Head Toy

There’s a new record holder in town. Over the weekend, Guinness World Records revealed one British teenager set her first world record for being the quickest to ever assemble a Mr. Potato Head toy. Matilda Walden, 13, technically broke the record last December by piecing together one of the world’s most iconic toys in just 5.69 seconds.

The needed technique to break the record, Walden says, was to master the placement of the nose and mustache at the same time. “I had to be joining the nose and moustache together as I picked them up in one hand,” Walden told Guinness. You can see her break the record in the video below.

The record was previously held by Samet Durmaz, a Mr. Potatoe Head aficionado who broke his own record several times. The last time he broke it was over 10 years ago when he clocked in his assembly at 6.62 seconds.

“I had a fantastic supportive team around me which helped immensely. The biggest challenge was not being able to pull it off under a competitive environment,” the record-setting teeen added in her interview.

Walden decided to go for the world record partially in part to raise awareness for SELFA (Skipton Extended Learning for All), a charity established in 2007 that “aims to create a space where children are accepted and welcomed.”

“I have disabilities and sometimes find that in other community events I was not welcome and people judge me,” Walden added.  “SELFA never did, and they have given me so much confidence I thought a Guinness World Records attempt would be a great idea.”

The record-holder went on to tell the Guiness that she’s currently researching other world records to break. The next one, she thinks, would be to become the fastest person to assemble Mr. Potato Head while blindfolded. That record currently belongs to Germany’s Andre Ortfolf with a time of 14.90 seconds.