A five-year-old boy’s big idea has turned into an official Guinness World Record, after his family sent a Slinky down 53 stairs at a sports stadium in the United States.
Axel Luchsinger came up with the plan after discovering Slinkys and finding out that a world record existed for the most stairs one could descend. When he and his parents, Joe and Christelle, looked up the existing record, they found it stood at just 30 stairs. That seemed beatable.
“Our son Axel is at the age where everything needs to be the biggest, fastest, or most extreme version of itself,” said Joe Luchsinger.
The family headed to Otterbein Stadium in Westerville, Ohio, armed with a six-inch rainbow Slinky. They chose the stadium because of its long, open staircase, which gave the Slinky plenty of room to do its thing.
The attempt took place on 14 May 2025, and the colourful spring made it all the way down 53 stairs, well past the previous record of 30. Guinness World Records has now officially confirmed the result, meaning the Luchsinger family has taken the title from Marty Jopson and Hugh Hunt.
If you have ever played with a Slinky, you will know how satisfying it is to watch one flip and tumble downstairs. Now imagine doing that 53 times in a row, all in one go.
