Take 60 sleep-deprived students — easy enough to find in Rolla — and add 450,000 strips of newsprint and 530,000 staples. What do you get? A 40.67-mile paper chain. In March 1997, S&T students spent nearly 24 hours in the Student Recreation Center constructing the chain in an effort to beat the previous record of 37.06 miles, according to The Guinness Book of World Records. “Breaking a Guinness record is something I’ve wanted to do since sixth grade,” says Patrick Painter, who organized the event during his sophomore year. Painter earned an engineering management degree in 1999 and an economics degree in 2003. He is now chief financial officer at Chicago-based Industrial Flow Solutions.
While the team did set a record, it was short-lived. The new 24-hour record for a team paper chain, set in 2005, is over 54 miles.
Share This Story
Spark a Memory?
Share your story! Fill out the form below to share your fondest memory or anecdote of S&T. If you'd prefer not typing, you can also share by phone at 833-646-3715 (833-Miner150).
Remembering Bataan
Gene Boyt, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering; Robert Silhavy, ceramic engineering; and John McAnerney, civil engineering, were called…
EV pioneer
As the auto industry begins to fully embrace the notion of electric vehicles, it has EV pioneers like Jon Bereisa…
Behind every weather forecast
The next time you’re watching the Weather Channel, you might want to thank S&T alumnus Harry Smith for equipping today’s…
Year after year, the ‘Best Ever’
Since George Menefee first donned a bishop’s hat and robe and rode a rail handcar into Rolla on March 17,…
Courtney (Mandeville) and Josh Weber
Courtney (Mandeville) met Josh Weber at a Greek life mixer that she attended with her roommate in April 2015. “Going…
Bringing it all together
Before retiring, civil engineering graduate John Mathes headed his own multidisciplinary engineering business that specialized in high-profile contamination projects. In…