Smithfield, Va. - The town of Smithfield can now boast a new world record.
Smithfield Fast Lube has been officially recognized by Guinness World Records for having the largest bottle of motor oil.
“I don't think it's going to be broken for a while because it's a really big bottle of oil,” said owner Greg Schlickenmeyer.
To get the record, Schlickenmeyer and his brother Mike had to make sure everything was exact, from the unique shape to the detailed label. Even the cap can be unscrewed from the bottle.
It all had to be to scale, and Kurt Beach made sure it was. He and the town manager were asked to serve as judges.
“We had all the formulas in front of us, so I had to put my algebra hat back on … to make sure it was right to scale,” said Beach.
The bottle isn’t just for show.
“[Customers] keep asking me, ‘does that really have oil in it? Is it a real bottle?’ and I say, ‘yes, it's brand new oil.’ We use it in the customers’ cars when they come through here,’” said Schlickenmeyer.
Mobil donated the first fill up. It holds more than 200 gallons.
Getting the record was no easy feat.
“We kept throwing ideas to Guinness World Record and they kept saying no, because they want to standardize everything,” said Schlickenmeyer, “so over a two year process we got the idea finalized down to the largest bottle of motor oil.”
Schlickenmeer says the idea behind it was to help people realize the importance of changing their oil and maintaining oil in their cars.
The auto shop hired one local company to make the bottle out of steel and another to create the detailed label.
After they sent off all the paperwork to Guinness, it took four months to learn whether or not they got the record.
They heard back at the end of September and can now officially say – it’s the world’s largest.
“We’re a proud community. We work really hard at living life full and loving each other, taking care of each other and celebrating with each other when we do great things, and this was a great thing,” said Beach.
This is the official record from Guinness: “The largest bottle of motor oil measures 2.28 m (90 in) high, 1.01 m (40 in) long and 0.58 m wide, and was achieved by Smithfield Fast Lube (USA), in Smithfield, Virginia, USA, on 27 April 2013. The bottle contained 757 litres (26.74 cubic ft) of motor oil.”
