This isn’t just about enjoying a drink.
A young girl left viewers stunned when she accidentally knocked down a massive beer coaster tower, which took an artist over a month to construct. A clip of the moment has gone viral, racking up millions of views.
Artist Benjamin Klapper, 49, explained to Jam Press that he dedicated around 120 hours to creating this sculpture at the Rheincenter shopping center in Cologne, Germany.
The impressive structure was made from 63,000 beer coasters, aiming for a new Guinness World Record. Klapper began building it on October 31 of last year, completing it on December 8.
However, on January 10, his aspirations took a turn. In a widely shared video, a girl pulled a beer mat from the structure, causing it to tumble down reminiscent of sand collapsing.
Fortunately, the outcome wasn’t as disastrous as it could have been. Interestingly, Klapper noted that the tower began to sag under its own weight just before it was fully finished. To lighten the mood, he invited guests to engage in a playful game of “beer mat Jenga” with the remaining pieces.
“Everyone took turns trying to remove mats, and eventually, they all came crashing down,” he reminisced. “The winner was my assistant’s daughter.” He added, “On her very first attempt, she pulled out a piece that was lying flat and, well, it all came down.”
As the head of media company M-Vi 3D GmbH, Klapper mentioned that footage of the tower’s collapse has sparked various reactions, with comments like “This is AI!” and “It’s a shame it didn’t last.”
Ultimately, the structural issues meant it wouldn’t claim the Guinness title for the largest drink coaster structure. That record remains with Sven Goebel, another German artist, whose Matterhorn, standing 9 feet 10 inches tall, was constructed with 70,000 coasters back in 2004.
Still, Klapper’s creation is a significant achievement. He has been crafting beer coaster structures since he was a kid. “Over time, my projects have become larger,” he shared. “My first major piece was 33 years ago.”
Since then, he has periodically created stand sculptures and showcased them in public spaces like movie theaters and art galleries. “Creating these sculptures is about more than just the final product; I want the audience to experience the process,” Klapper said.
