Day 188 - Attempting to Set a World Record

I have never attempted to set a world record. Up to this point in my life, I can’t say that I have had the opportunity to engage in such an act, but when I learned of an attempt occurring in Milwaukee, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. In connection with the Variety Children’s Charity, the manufacturer of adult “onesy” pajamas, Forever Lazy, recently announced they would attempt to set the world record for the most adults in one-piece pajamas in one place at one time. With a goal of getting more than 700 people to attend the event and don an adult “onesy” at the Pabst brewery, everything about the event appealed to me. After all, if segments of my “I have never...” journey have proven anything, it is that I have no problem looking ridiculous in public, I’m always game to have a few beers, and I’ all about gaining new experiences. As a result, I recruit Rachael to tag along with me for the experience and headed to the historic Pabst Brewery this afternoon for what would be an unforgettable experience.

When we arrived at the Pabst Brewery, the persistent wall of mist and rain that had hovered over Wisconsin throughout the day showed its effects on the early turnout of the event. The space set aside for the Forever Lazy block party was essentially vacant as those in attendance huddled inside the bar and restaurant bordering the space. Undeterred by the lack of people in attendance, Rachael and I happily offered up our confirmation of a donation to the Variety charity, which gave us access to the event and provided us our own Forever Lazy pajamas. The only thing left to do was to join in the fun.

Ready!

Excited by the idea of making our participation in the world record attempt official, Rachael and I promptly made our way inside and threw on our individual Forever Lazys. The obvious ridiculousness of wearing a fleece bodysuit in a public establishment gave both of us a chuckle as we zipped up and took a look at one another for the first time. Given our early arrival to the event, our appearance also resulted in a few odd looks from some of the restaurant’s midday patrons, but the passing glances did nothing to mitigate our excitement about the upcoming event. Covered neck to ankle in gray fleece, we made our way through the restaurant and took up a position near the bar to wait for the world record event to start.

The growing crowd of pajama'ed adults

Over the next hour, people slowly began streaming into the bar with Forever Lazys in tow. Although the crowd was growing substantially as the minutes past, it quickly became clear it was unlikely we were going to meet the necessary 703 people needed to break the record. As a result, Rachael and I decided to try to do our part in recruiting people, taking time to contact everyone we knew in the Milwaukee area to join us at the event. Unfortunately, the dreary weather was a deterrent to nearly everyone we contacted, which resulted in us only convincing Rachael’s brother, Dan, to join us at the event. Despite our best effort, the clock slowly closed in on the scheduled world record attempt, and with less than 200 people in attendance, it was clear the world record goal was far out of our reach.

Starting the "race"

Taking a breather

Regardless, those in attendance decided to make the most of the day in celebration of the money we raised for the Variety organization. Despite the cold, rainy weather, our substantial group of adults in “onesy” pajamas poured onto the street and danced into the afternoon. Shortly thereafter,  the Forever Lazy crew eventually invited the attendees to participate in 0.1k race down the block as a part of the event’s underlying “lazy” theme. In turn, Rachael, Dan, and I took our time strolling down the roughly half of a block racecourse through the misty late autumn air. As we sipped on our beers, Dan and I decided the effort required by the course was enough to justify a break, which resulted in us taking a seat next to a nearby light pole to “catch our breath.” To the delight of our fellow Forever Lazy world record attendees, we feigned physical exhaustion as we slouched toward the wet pavement and propped our bodies up with elbows and folded legs. Although I’m not usually one to boast, I will say the charade was damn funny, and Dan and I were happy to be at the center of the ridiculousness.

Following the 0.1k event, Dan, Rachael, and I took some time to warm up as we checked out some features of the hotel now occupying part of the old Pabst Brewery. As we walked around looking at the retained fixtures from the brewery, we chatted about our experience with the world record attempt. Although we were all thoroughly disappointed we didn’t set a world record, we all agreed the experience was time well spent on an otherwise uneventful Saturday. It’s not often one gets a chance to be a part of a group of adults rolling down a street in one-piece fleece pajamas, and the fact we were there to experience it will make this a day we will talk about for some time to come. At least I can walk away from the experience knowing I had a great time attempting to set a world record. That more than most people can say, and it gives me the added benefit of saving my first experience setting a world record for another day.