ER doctor wins ironic record for sticking matches up his nose: “luckily they came out”

In the 16 years that Scott Koncal (USA) has worked as an Emergency Physician, he’s recovered a concerning amount of objects from the human body – but on 22 December, he decided to take a page out of his patients’ playbook and stick some stuff in his nose… this time for record-breaking purposes. 

The 45-year-old doctor from Fairborn, Ohio recruited some of his pals from work to help him challenge the Guinness World Records title for the most matches held in the nose a few months ago, after spending years searching for a title he could reasonably accomplish. 

And sure enough, following 15 minutes of cramming stuff where it shouldn’t be, Scott’s steady hands were able to place 91 matches (safely) within his nose – conquering the record of 81 set by Martin Stroby (Sweden) in August!

“Anyone that knows me well definitely finds it entertaining that I chose a record that involves sticking objects where they don't belong,” said Scott to GWR. “In the ER, there's no shortage of unique objects that get stuck in unique locations. Some are more challenging to remove than others. 

“Luckily all of the matches that I put in, came right back out!”

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Scott said that he had been craving a Guinness World Records title for a while, but it took time for him to find a suitable record that he could actually accomplish which didn’t require any specialized equipment. 

Finally, his friend from work found the matches record, and they knew it would at least be fun to try. 

“Although this record didn't require any extraordinary skill, it has provided a lot of laughs to a lot of people!” said Scott.

Please note, these actions were taken by trained professionals – so don’t stick any objects in your body without taking proper safety precautions!

On the day of the attempt, Scott was joined by several of his coworkers, who were all excited to see someone stick something into their nose (on purpose). 

“Many of them actually helped me during the process,” he explained. “A nurse found the record to begin with, a medical student found me the room at the medical school where the attempt was completed, and a PA filmed the attempt.”

Eventually, after almost 15 minutes of uncomfortable labour, Scott finally had a prickly mustache made of matches sticking out of his nose – and with the addition of his last two matches, he was able to take his long-awaited record. 

And even though we’re sure that he was excited to finally take the crown, no doubt it was more thrilling to finally be able to take all the matches back out. 

Nevertheless, he does have a few words of advice for anyone else who wants to challenge his record: just “go for it!”

“You really don't have to insert the matches very far in order for them to stay in place,” he added. “Also, over time your nostrils stretch, so you can insert more matches into each side if you wait a few minutes.”

Scott also mentioned that his record-breaking experience was joyful for everyone involved, and he encouraged anyone awaiting their own moment of glory to just stick it out (pun intended).

“The happiness this record has provided to many people keeps growing!” he said.

So congratulations to this ER doctor and his record-setting nose  – you are Officially Amazing!