Paramus Collects 39,000 Socks, Beating World Record On Borough's 100th Birthday

PARAMUS, NJ — Something was afoot in Paramus Borough on Monday.

As part of Paramus' 100th birthday celebration, the Centennial Committee chose a knee-high task: beating the Guinness World Record for the most pairs of socks collected in eight hours.

The goal was 40,000 pairs.

Collectors and counters began sorting Monday morning at the Charles E. Reid Branch Library. By 9:15 a.m., neighbors had already dropped off thousands of pairs.

Students and staff from Midland School came by to drop off socks later in the morning, the Centennial Committee said. Soon, the tarps organizers put down were sock-full of donations.

At the end of eight hours, the tally stood over 38,700, event organizers told NorthJersey.com.

That's enough to knock the socks off the previous world record set by the state of Colorado in 2019. The previous record is 37,556 pairs.

Guinness World Records has not yet certified the new record, NorthJersey.com reported.

Mayor Richard LaBarbiera thanked donors and the committee on his Facebook page Tuesday.

"Big shout out to all who most generously donated," LaBarbiera wrote. "Together we broke a world record and more importantly donating almost 39,000 pairs to homeless shelters."

Socks will be donated to local organizations like Paramus Friendly Neighbors, Greater Bergen Community Action, Center for Hope and Safety, Eva's Village, and CUMAC.