Eiffel Tower in Paris, France Man who constructed Eiffel Tower model with over 700,000 matchsticks gets world record (Nikada/Getty Images) ByJessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk ...

The record is 6 million matches by Toufic Daher, NBC News reported. His Eiffel Tower was about 21.4 feet high. The record was previously set in 2009.

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. A Frenchman spent eight years building a giant matchstick model of the Eiffel Tower, and he may have used the wrong matchsticks to set a world record.

Earlier this week, the Frenchman was crestfallen when he was told his 23-foot model of the Eiffel Tower — made from 700,000 matchsticks over eight years — could not officially be called a ...

The previous record holder was Toufic Daher, from Lebanon, who made a matchstick Eiffel Tower that reached 21.4 feet tall in 2009 with 6 million matches. Plaud's replica is about two feet higher.

Richard Plaud has spent eight years crafting a 23.6-foot model of the Eiffel Tower using matchsticks. However, Guinness said he used the wrong type.