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Building the world's tallest hat
Not quite.
Mayank Mardia
May 06, 2025
I’ve always been a big fan of the Guinness Book of World Records.
I’m not sure why exactly — I think it just seemed fun and, honestly, I liked the idea of having my picture in a book. I had a copy of the 2007 book and, as a kid, I used to think about trying to someday break a record.
With school, college, and all, I sort of forgot about it.
That is — until Covid.
In 2020, I had just wrapped up my senior year of college, was living back at home in New Orleans, and had a good six or seven months before my job was about to start.
I was bored out of my mind, scrolling on YouTube, and then randomly saw this dude —
Odilon Ozare — 15 ft 9 in. I spent a lot of time trying to find out who this person actually is (Odilon Ozare is a pseudonym) but had no luck.
You know that feeling you get when you see something and it’s just like — yes.
I felt immediately transported back to elementary school self — and I knew what I was going to try to do that summer.
My first try. Bricks, a metal pole, and string. Not a good first try. Super super heavy.
Next up. Bamboo sticks. Better, but still not even close.
To break the record for World’s Tallest Hat, you have to create a hat that is the same material and same dimensions and the same in every single other way as an existing hat — except the height can be different.
You can’t have a strap or any attachment that helps you balance — you have to pick up the hat, put it on your head, and walk 10 meters.
Nerd stuff:
At around this time, I started wishing that I had paid more attention in physics class.
The biggest challenge — balancing the hat — was made more challenging because forces at the top were MULTIPLIED at the bottom.
If you have 1 lb of force (e.g. wind) applied to the top of a 17ft hat, it actually feels like 17lbs of force at the bottom. Because your neck also operates at a much shorter lever arm (2-3 inches) — it means you have to exert 17 / 0.2 ~ 85 lbs of force with your neck to counterbalance.
Lots of headaches tbh.
Some of the best moments of this journey were the daily trips to Home Depot. The staff started knowing me as the hat guy
Challenge 1 was getting a base that could fit my head and was strong enough to support the weight of the hat. After a ton of iteration, here’s what I settled on.
Pictured: Some sort of pipe thing from home depot, with a mat inside it for cushion, with the base of a Christmas tree above it. Worked surprisingly well.
Solving Challenge 2 — months later — the body of the hat. I called a company in Michigan that made carbon fiber poles. Really lightweight, really strong.
Used cardboard rings as the skeleton
A working proof of concept (with a different base)!! Unofficially the world’s tallest hat at 16ft 6in
With actual hat fabric — learned use a handheld sewing machine
I kind of wish I had taken more pictures of this summer — it took many months of trial and error to get from YouTube video to hat — but it was a ton of fun.
Did I get the record????
No, I did not. (Bummer I know). By the time the hat was ready, I found out that you actually have to get two independent notarized witnesses, a land surveyor to confirm that you actually walked 10 meters, and submit a ton of other evidence. At that point, it was time for me to move to the city and start my job — so I kicked the can.
I keep reapplying — it keeps falling to the bottom of the to do.
Mulch is where I’m channeling most of this energy now — but one day, when this is all done, I hope to one day go back for it.
Hope you have a great week.
Till next week,
Mayank