To quote the famous Irish satirical comedian David o'Doherty, "the true definition of sports is people trying very hard to accomplish pointless tasks." But that doesn't mean the spectacle can't be entertaining.

Even more absurd and meaningless tasks than sports are sometimes featured in the Guinness World Records. Case in point– Remember Krishna Kumar? The Indian man who holds the world record of most hugs completed in one minute.

With sincere apologies to Krishna, the latest Guinness World Record, however, will make a difference to some people's lives.

For its 60th anniversary, the makers of Play-Doh – Hasbro -- have created a massive mural inspired by Huichol art, that is being displayed from September 23 to 25 at the forecourt of the Republic Square in Mexico city.

After the mural is exhibited, the containers of Play-Doh will be donated to the association United Way Mexico, that will deliver them to various care institutions for children and will also be used for teaching children with different needs.

"At Hasbro we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of Play-Doh, what better way to do that in this way, getting a new Guinness World Records for the City of Mexico with a mosaic that honors our Mexican culture and its cultural richness," publimetro quoted Carlos Callejo, Hasbro director of Mexico, as saying.  

To set the world record, 20 people worked continuously for 12 hours with 26, 896 cans of Play-Doh of 20 different colours to create the Huichol inspired mural.

Huichol art broadly groups the most traditional and most recent innovations in the folk art and handcrafts produced by the Huichol people, who live in the states of Jalisco, Durango, and Nayarit in Mexico. The unifying factor of the work is the colourful decoration using symbols and designs, which date back centuries. The most common and commercially successful products are "yarn paintings" and objects decorated with small commercially produced beads

To officially acknowledge the new world record, Guinness World Records adjudicator Carlos Tapia measured the mosaic and counted the containers. A new criteria and category was created for the granting of the record. The minimum area that the mural had to cover was decided to be 100 square meters and it must actually represent a Huichol design. After completion, the Huichol mural measured at 121 square meters.

"This record is momentous because it takes up Mexican culture and at the same time shows the creativity of Mexicans and the importance of children for it," Carlos Tapia was quoted saying.

Here are some pictures of the event:

Oh and just in case you were wondering on challenging Krishna's record, the most hugs given in a minute is 79.