URDB Record Holder Profile: Michael Smith

We think it’s fair to say that Michael Smith is, without a doubt, the uncontested King of World Records at the prestigious Princeton University. With an imagination that’s created everything from scientific records like Most Yeast Plasmid Transformations Performed in a Single Setting (useful AND impressive!), to a more lighthearted record featuring a group of half-naked Ivy Leaguers, pizza and an inflatable pool in the snow, it should be no surprise that Michael’s URDB career is one we care for. We spoke to Michael about his extraordinary feats and discovered a few of his record mysteries. 

Your first record on URDB was for Most College Students In An Inflatable Pool With Snow On The Ground. Where did the idea for that come from?

The idea didn’t actually start as a record for URDB.  It was a group of friends, and we wanted to put up a pool outside after the snow. As we were in there, many more people who walked by joined in. I had used the pool previously, but never had that many people in the pool, and figured that it was probably a universal world record, so we took a photo, and submitted it. My sister had informed me of URDB, and I wanted to be a part of it, but hadn’t thought of anything specific until we were all in there.

Was it cold being in the pool?

Not at all.  We actually routed hoses from the upstairs hot water showers. We also had people going up and down with large trash cans of hot water, so it was quite comfortable.  Thus the passersby joining in.

Was there actually 16 people inside the pool, or 15 as the record has been corrected to? What happened to the participant who did not quite make it inside the pool?

The photo that I submitted had 15 people, and it was my mistake when counting, because I didn’t see Sam Gulland in the back, who wasn’t actually in the pool.

However, he was in the pool before the photo was taken, and we had times when we probably had more than 16 people. The photos were from friends, and I wanted to show the URDB record as a surprise to the pool participants afterwards, so I foolishly didn’t try to get a photo with the max number of people. Sam Gulland was heartbroken that he wasn’t a part of the record. He’s actually now enlisted in the Army, but I don’t think the URDB experience was a deciding factor for that.
What made your record setting transition from a ridiculous group record to two far more scientifically-involved records?

During the year, I was spending lots of time in the lab for my senior thesis. It’s not that I wasn’t still doing ridiculous things, but figured I could include some of that into my lab work. Lots of lab work is very repetitive, and in my case, large scale personal work.

Tell us a bit more about those records. What was the thinking behind attempting them? Did they prove useful in the lab after the records had been set?

I started joking around the lab that I was setting records within the lab for highest output. Much of what I did can now be done by robots, or more high-tech methods. But I was still chugging along, and made a significant dent in the number of knockout genes screened. I had started with smaller scale undertakings, but they constantly had to be increased. Once I knew that I was doing the largest one I’d be able to do, and the largest one the lab had ever seen, I’d make sure to have some evidence of the event.  That way future Rose Lab members will know who was the true master of lab work. As for useful… I mean… I needed those strains for my experiments. None of them came up with anything groundbreaking to my core questions, but they made significant dents for the next people.

Did your professor, Mark Rose, know about URDB? And how did he feel about being witness to your record breaking?

He also did not know that I was setting a URDB until afterwards. He knew I was doing some larger scale projects, and knew the scope, but had no idea what it was for. Originally the records were going to be a surprise for when I handed in my thesis, but he saw the URDB email that mentioned New Jersey, and fatefully clicked on the link. So he saw them, and I suppose you’d have to ask him to know what his reaction was.

How long did it take you to set those records?

Each of those were done in one sitting, as stated. That meant they were done in one lab day, including the time for setup, and breakdown. I was probably in the lab those days for about 10 hours in total. I didn’t include the incubator time, ‘cause that can be anywhere from overnight to a couple of days.

It’s been a few months since you’ve set a record. Any more ideas for future feats, scientific or otherwise?

I’m now working in a bee lab. Once I see something that I think I can set the standard for, I’ll do it. I think I will stay with the science ones though, because its part of my work, and adds a bit of something to the daily grind.

I also considered submitting a URDB record for ‘Most URDB Records In A Senior Thesis’, which would be two, since I included them both in the appendix.

Has your record setter status gained you a new standing among Princeton students and professors?

Absolutely not. I don’t think a single Professor knows about it, except Professor Mark Rose and Professor Gammie.

-Laura Yan

H2Whoa! Pool World Records to Keep You Cool

It’s an unbearably hot summer’s day here in NYC, and if you’re anything like us, you’re clenching to the comforts of an air-conditioned room, and dreaming of an arctic escape. Though changing the season would be a bit challenging, it might help to envision yourself as one of these cool (har) record setters who turned to the pool for a world record. It could be just the push you need before you leap to your own.
 
Highest Splash Made From A 10-Meter Diving Board Jump

You might opt to imagine yourself as record setter Ben Jones, with the hot sun attacking your skin as you hover on a 10-meter diving board. Add in the backdrop of the perfect blue summer sky and the span of the pool in front of you. Now imagine the refreshing plunge into the water, and how delightful it’d be to have sparked that 11.9 meter (that’s 39 feet, Yankees!) splash of cold, cool droplets into the air.

Most Consecutive Push-Ups In A Pickup Truck Swimming Pool

When lacking a full-sized swimming pool in your backyard but still desperate for breaking a world record and staying cool, get innovative and use what you have, like young Gavin Martin, who armed himself with goggles and his swimming trunks to complete seven full pushups and set a world record—in a pickup truck swimming pool. Yes, that’s right, he turned the bed of a 93 Mazda into a pool so that he could complete seven pushups in a pickup truck. Keep on truckin’ AND swimmin’!

Fastest Time to Run Across a Covered Swimming Pool

Alternatively, you could have the full-sized swimming pool and go for a quick run across it—without getting wet (just like that “liquid mountaineering” viral marketing campaign but in real life!), like Shin Clinton, who sprinted across his freakin’ covered pool surface, stirring up ripples galore. Just remember, though, Shin is a running-on-covered-water professional. We wouldn’t advocate trying the same task without a lifeguard on hand and top-notch swimming abilities.

-Laura Yan