Entertainment

Hundreds of people dressed up as Albert Einstein to smash a Guinness World Record

Just another average day in Canada.
Just another average day in Canada.

If you were wandering around the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto on Tuesday, you might have stumbled upon a peculiar sight: hundreds of people dressed up as none other than Albert Einstein.

Don’t worry, this wasn’t just a spooky sartorial coincidence, but rather an effort to smash the Guinness World Record for the largest group of people dressed as Einstein. And at 404 strong, the group broke the previous record by 99 white-haired scientists.

The stunt itself was also for more than just the LOLs (although those wigs and moustaches do look like a lot of fun). It marks the start of The Next Einstein competition, where people submit their genius ideas in a bid to win 10,000 dollars (just over £6,000) seed money to launch it.

The Next Einstein initiative has the goal “to recognise new ideas with the potential to change the world for the better”. That sounds pretty great to us, especially if it comes with a large side of dressing up as the scientist himself.

Rami Kleinmann, president of the Einstein Legacy Project, told the Toronto Star: “We’re living in a world where people are not revealing their ideas, they are too afraid to share them. What we’re creating here is a way to encourage people to use their imaginations, share their ideas and improve the world.”

The sky’s the limit with the ideas you can submit. Seeing as you’ve got until April 25 to submit your genius idea, what are you waiting for?