NETHERLANDS: The Netherlands' Domino Day will attempt to break its own world record in toppling dominos
- 00:02:29
- ITN Source
NETHERLANDS: The Netherlands' Domino Day will attempt to break its own world record in toppling dominos
The 8th Domino Day is fast approaching. The simple task of toppling as many dominoes as possible in as many different ways imaginable has made Domino Day a spectacle which is broadcasted live in 10 European countries and Russia. This year, Domino Day is on Friday November 17 at 19.00 GMT. Robijn Paul Weijers, founder and creator of Domino Day, started building dominoes in 1986, after being approached by an unnamed KLM employee, who saw dominoes toppled on a small scale in Japan and suggested it might become a new marketing tool for the Netherlands, instead of clogs and cheese. Last year's Domino Day made world news, not just for the the record attempt itself, but for a bizarre incident involving the death of a sparrow. The sparrow in question knocked over 23,000 dominoes after flying through an open window and would have tipped all of them before the official attempt, if not for built in gaps in the set up. The bird was shot shortly afterwards, for fear it would knock over more dominoes. The incident sparked outrage among animal lovers and killing even became a criminal matter after it was discovered that the bird was a house sparrow protected as an endangered species by Netherlands law. A memorial service was held for the ill-fated bird and a website created in its honour. The incident received so much attention that it led to plans to have the bird enshrined at the Rotterdam Natural History Museum. When the first televised attempt was made on the World Domino Toppling record in 1996, the contestants sadly failed. But they proved a huge hit with viewers. A staggering 8.2 million Dutch viewers, more than half the population, watched. Then in 1988, competitors toppled 1,382,101 dominoes, and established a new World Record. Since then the World Record has changed hands several times, and Domino Day has become a successful format across Europe and the USA.
ITN Source | November 11, 2006
