Featured Image Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor via Getty
People have broken world records for some pretty unique stuff.
Some are champions of creating the Eiffel Tower with just matchsticks or building an electric car that can travel 1600 miles on one charge, while others have become internet famous for having the world's strangest diet.
Well, this might be one of the most unexpected of them all.
One record-breaker took home a trophy for doing absolutely nothing. No, seriously!
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Meet Denis Kwan Hong-Wang, who just achieved something most of us would probably consider impossible.
In his article for The Guardian, the father-of-two wrote how he discovered the Space-Out competition through social media last year.
Created by Korean artist Woopsyang, the event challenges participants to 'appreciate downtime' and 'space out' in our hyperconnected society where everyone's distracted and busy.
This push against constant productivity has even led to some more extreme and dangerous TikTok trends like 'rawdogging'.
Woopsyang started the competition in Seoul in 2014 as a performance art piece responding to society's obsession with constant productivity. The concept has since spread worldwide, with competitions held several times a year in different locations.
"It was a hot afternoon and the event was held in an open space inside a busy mall in the centre of the city," Hong-Wang described at Space-Out. "About 100 people took part, each sitting on a yoga mat that had been laid out neatly on the square."
He added: "We were guided through a series of stretches before we settled down for the 90 minutes. You have to sit there without any significant movement; you cannot sleep, make any noise or check your phone."
Hong-Wang pointed out the most 'nerve-wracking' part was when the' judges measured participants' heart rates every 15 minutes.'
After 90 minutes of enforced stillness, spectators vote for their top 10 finalists based on who seemed most at peace.
Judges then consider the contestants' reasons for participating and their expressions during the challenge.
"Though it was a “space out” competition, I was doing the opposite: actively practising mindfulness, observing my mind and my breath," he added.
The winner is then determined by whoever maintained the steadiest heart rate throughout the competition.
While not everyone's cup of tea to sit in complete silence for 90 minutes while being monitored, Hong-Wang said he found the experience 'very enjoyable' and was 'surprised' when he was announced the winner.
"I think it’s vital to take time to come back to ourselves. In many parts of the world, people live day in, day out, never stopping – it’s as if stopping is a kind of laziness," Hong-Wang explained. "Although the event was just for 90 minutes, it gave us a way to just be ourselves, and I hope it reminds people that productivity isn’t always the most important thing."
Hong-Wang's trophy is reportedly based on Rodin’s The Thinker statue which proudly sits in the winner's living room.
