Viking ship made of MILLIONS of ice cream sticks

American Rob McDonald, right, now a resident of the Netherlands, stand on the stern of a ship he built from wooden ice cream sticks at the launch of the replica Viking ship in Amsterdam harbor, Netherlands, Tuesday Aug. 16, 2005. McDonald estimates he used 15 million birch wood ice cream sticks to build the 'Mjollnir', named after the hammer used by the mythic Nordic god Thor. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Man Launches Ice Cream Stick Viking Ship
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050816/ap_on_fe_st/netherlands_viking_ship_2

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A former Hollywood stunt man now living in the Netherlands launched his greatest project to date Tuesday: a 45-foot replica Viking ship made of millions of wooden ice cream sticks and more than a ton of glue.

"I have a dream to show children they can do anything," McDonald said before the launch. "If they can dream it, they can do it."

He said he was confident the ship would float, but organizers had prepared an alternate press statement just in case something went wrong. The biggest fear was that the ship's keel might be too light and it would capsize. But the launch went smoothly, and McDonald plans to apply for a mention in the Guinness Book of Records.

McDonald set the previous record in 2003 with a smaller version of a Viking ship built from 370,000 wooden ice cream sticks, which has been approved by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The inside of the boat was reinforced with fiberglass and it can be propelled by its modern mast and sail, or oars, or a backup motor.