Monday, February 24, 2014
Crunch time for apple-bob world record at Massey
Ducking your head into a bucket of cold water was the ideal activity for a scorcher of a day in Palmerston North on
Friday. That’s what hundreds of Massey University students and staff did to break the world record by 31 for the most
people bobbing for apples at the same time.
A total of 628 people plunged faces into buckets of water to bob for apples in a bid to break the current record held by
a healthcare organisation in Jackson, Ohio, where 597 people bobbed in sync in 2012.
Tension and excitement grew around midday before the start of the event on the Manawatü campus Concourse as new students
and staff lined up to simultaneously bob ten apples from their individual buckets.
With a $500 voucher from Student Flights awarded to the first person to bob all ten apples, it was no surprise that
there was a tie-breaker between two students.
To decide on an overall winner Nick Putt and Scott Cudby had an apple bobbing face-off where Nick, a first-year Bachelor
of Agri-Science student, came out on top.
“I give full credit to the boys, and my job in a vege shop. This is another great win for Matai [student hall of
residence],” says Nick.
Dr Sarah Golding, Events Coordinator for the university, said the event took hours to set up with tables bearing
hundreds of buckets and apples, as well as cordons and independent stewards needed to count and then monitor
participants to make sure they did not cheat.
The Warehouse Palmerston North donated buckets, a Hawke’s Bay fruit producer Crasborn donated apples, and the Palmerston
North Fire Service provided a truck to help fill the buckets with water.
ENDS