Almost 300 USF students teamed with some TV reality show stars to set a Guinness record for the world's largest speed-dating event.
It's a brand-new category, but the rules were simple: 20 one-on-one conversations for three minutes each. But the students couldn't make first date small talk--as a matter of fact, they were just as likely to be sitting across from a member of the same sex as the opposite one--they had to talk about what you want to do before you die.
It's a topic inspired by "The Buried Life," a group of four young Canadian men who, while sitting around in a garage one day, made up a list of 100 incredible things to do and then set out to do them, while inspiring others to do the same.
"We put on the list anything we could think of," said Ben Nemtin. "Get on the cover of Rolling Stone, make a TV show, write a book, you know, and we made a TV show with MTV, we just wrote a book ("What Do You Want to Do Before You Die?") that's a #1 New York Times Best Seller. It's proof to us that you can do anything, you know?"
#47 on their list is "Get into the Guinness Book of World Records." 343 USF students joined them in their attempt Wednesday, but 55 dropped out during the 2 and a 1/2 hour event. However, the grand total of 288 participants was indeed enough to set a new record, giving the men of The Buried Life, and the USF students, one more thing to check off their to do lists.
