On December 5, 2004, Indiana University Hillel teamed up with Hoosiers for Israel, GLBT, IIPAC and other Indiana University student organizations to attempt to break the highly coveted world record for most dreidels spun simultaneously for at least 10 seconds.
The current titleholder is the University of Maryland, which took the record in 2000, when 535 students spun 535 dreidels at once. Tensions have been high between the University of Maryland and Indiana University since the Terps beat the Hoosiers in the 2001 NCAA basketball finals.
Last year, in an attempt to reclaim some of their stolen glory, students at Indiana University decided to make an attempt at Maryland’s dreidel-spinning record. They succeeded in spinning over 535 dreidels, but they could not claim the official record: there were only 490 students in attendance, and some of those Hoosiers spun their dreidels more than once. So this Chanukah, the students at Indiana decided to have another go at it.
The Guinness Book of World Records has strict stipulations for beating and setting records in order to ensure legitimacy and fairness among all record-breaking attempts. Five hundred students signed waivers agreeing to the Guinness rules. “I had no idea the rules for the Guinness Book were so strict, but it’s great because it makes you feel like you are accomplishing something huge,” said senior Sarah Smiley.
Prior to the official spin-off, students practiced their dreidel-spinning skills. Some showed off by spinning the dreidel upside down, while others relied on the basic moves. But before long, all students encountered the same problem: the wooden dreidels ordered for the event were 8-second dreidels. They were simply not cut out for the job.
“My dreidel only spun for five seconds. It was highly disappointing and I considered lying in order to help break the record, but my conscience got the best of me – I was afraid if I lied I wouldn’t get any Chanukah presents,” said junior Philip Sherman.
Indiana University missed breaking the record by thirty dreidels. Today, Maryland still holds the world record and plans to build on their success by hosting their next dreidel bash at a home basketball game. Indiana was really hoping for a great miracle, but it looks like those only happened in ancient times.
