World record set in Warwick

Sanfordville Elementary fourth-grader puts on 215 pairs of underwear at one time for a good cause, By Nancy Kriz WARWICK — A Sanfordville Elementary School fourth-grader is anxiously awaiting official confirmation by the Guinness Book of World Records that he’s broken the international record for the most pairs of underwear worn. Yes, that’s the most skivvies worn at one single time. By wearing 215 pairs of undies on June 13, Jack Singer expects to be able to claim he is the new world record holder, breaking the record of 200 pairs worn at one time by an Australian, whose record lasted only a “brief” seven months. Jack used the occasion of his 10th birthday party to go for the world record. “I wanted to do something really special,” said Jack. “So I decided I wanted to go for a Guinness world record. My parents came up with the idea of underwear and I said, ‘Why not give it a shot?’ I read about it. That was the only record I saw that didn’t have any pain. As it turned out, every record (someone’s looking to set) has pain.” And so Jack set out on his mission, with his parents purchasing large quantities of briefs from Wal-Mart and the area’s big and tall men’s shops. There were practice sessions, too, with Jack’s parents helping him develop the right technique of putting on the tighty whiteys. They got close to the 200 mark during those sessions, with his parents eventually taking over the dressing duties as the volume of briefs became too much for Jack to handle himself. “It hurt,” said Jack. “I couldn’t feel my feet.” ‘Semper ubi sub ubi’ But there was a dual purpose at that 10th birthday party as well. As determined as he was to set that record, Jack also wanted to use the party as an occasion to help someone in need. In lieu of birthday gifts, Jack asked his guests to come to the party, have a good time, watch him attempt to break the world record and donate money to benefit Sgt. Eddie Ryan, a Marine from Ellenville who was severely injured in Iraq five years ago. “I have too much stuff,” said Jack, who has been studying about wars and the military. “My dad told me about Eddie Ryan. I wanted to donate something to help him.” Just as Ryan and his Marine colleagues live by the Marine motto, “Semper Fidelis,” (Always Faithful), Jack also lived up to a similarly famous motto last Sunday: “Semper ubi sub ubi” (Always wear underwear). In front of family and friends, he appeared in single pair of white briefs, and with his parents as assistants, began the process of putting on layer after layer of underwear. His guests’ cheering grew louder and louder as the 100 mark was reached. By the time Jack reached 190 pairs, his feet had fallen asleep and his legs had grown weak, so his parents sat him down and continued onward, layering Jack’s body with the larger sized briefs over the smaller ones. At the 18-minute mark, his father held up the final size 7XL brief, which had ‘215’ written on it, for all to see, and both parents stretched them over the monstrous snowball-sized lump of undies covering Jack’s torso. “It felt really tight, that’s the only way I can explain it,” said Jack. “That underwear must have weighed 100 pounds. When they pulled everything off, it was such a relief. I was really, really proud too. ” More than just a lark Now, the Singers have to submit paperwork to authenticate his expected record-setting feat to the London-based Guinness organization. Once everything is organized and sent to the United Kingdom, they hope to hear back in four to six weeks time. In the meantime, Jack’s mother Melissa Singer said her son is “enjoying his moment in the sun” and was thrilled he was able to complete the challenge. “People do this type of stuff (attempting to break world records) all the time,” she said. “This is one of those more attainable records. But we’ve kept everything. We thought about donating the underwear, but they are all too stretched out. And if he had to think about breaking it again, we’ve already got all the stuff.” Despite the levity surrounding Jack’s quest, Melissa Singer felt attempting to break the world record was a good learning experience for her son. “I was proud that he made a decision to do this,” she said. “He learned what he had to do. He set his mind to doing something, and he did.” There were additional benefits to Jack’s “Fruit of the Loom” record-setting experience too. “In these trying times, with so much going on in the world, everyone is just getting a kick out of this,” said his mother. “And to help Sgt. Ryan, it’s such a good cause.” Jack has already issued his edict to anyone considering breaking his expected record. “I don’t want anyone to break my record,” he said. “If they try, I wish them good luck, because they will need it. If they do, I’ll just break their record again.”

Watch Jack do it
Watch Jack Singer put on 215 pairs of underwear, breaking the Guinness Book of World Records, on YouTube by visiting: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyD6bGW0vCk