23-year-old Tapala Nadamuni holds the Guinness Record for the World’s Smallest Functional Vacuum Cleaner, with an electronically-powered suction device smaller than a pinky fingernail (0.65 cm).

If you ever find yourself searching for meaning in whatever it is you are aiming towards, remember that someone spent two years of their lives putting together the world’s smallest vacuum cleaner. Indian student Tapala Nadamuni previously held this record from 2020 until 2022, with a tiny gadget measuring just 1.76 centimeters. However, he lost the record to someone who managed to build a functional vacuum cleaner less than half the size (0.85 cm), so Tapala spent the last two years of his life trying to win it back. After having some of his attempts rejected by Guinness and pouring hundreds of hours into research and development, the 23-year-old student achieved his goal with a vacuum cleaner measuring 0.65 centimeters.

Photo: Tapala Nadamuni

Tapala Nadamuni has been tinkering with various gadgets since he was a little boy, but creating the world’s smallest vacuum cleaner not once, but twice, was definitely the highlight of his career as an inventor. His second success was definitely the most challenging to achieve, as he had to make several adjustments to ensure that his creation met the standards set by Guinness Records.

To be acknowledged as a valid world record attempt, a vacuum cleaner is defined as an electrically powered device that picks up debris with suction resulting from a negative internal pressure. Importantly, the vacuum cleaner is measured by the shortest axis of its body, which means the handle and the power chord are not included.

Photo: Tapala Nadamuni

The new world’s smallest functional vacuum cleaner consists mostly of a modified ballpoint pen with bits of metal and plastic. The suction required to gather debris is created by a tiny rotating fan powered by a four-volt vibration motor. It sounds simple enough, but Nadamuni claims that he really struggled to get it down to the required size. He had to change the design of his first vacuum cleaner completely, and after a couple of rejected attempts, he prepared over 50 schematics and diagrams to make sure it met the Guinness requirements.

The Indian student spent around 20,000 rupees ($240) building the world’s smallest functional vacuum cleaner, but his time investment into the project was a lot greater, almost two years.

 

Tapala Nadamuni’s first record