Tiny Empire: Toothpick Sculpture is World's Smallest

By Tom Midlane @GoldenLatrine

HERE is the Empire State Building as you've never seen it before - carved out of a single TOOTHPICK.

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Toothpick artist Steven Backman holds his miniature Empire State Building in the palm of his hand

A pagoda sculpted using a single toothpick

Mini architecture: Steven was even able to sculpt the Eiffel Tower from a toothpick

All The President's Men: The iconic White House building in toothpick form

A bridge to nowhere: London's Tower Bridge whittled from the wood of a toothpick

The artist shaves tiny fragments off the wooden sticks with a razor blade before gluing them into famous landmarks

Steven's model of the Empire State Building - officially the world's smallest toothpick sculpture

The replica is only 19.86mm (0.782in) tall and 4.97mm (0.196in) wide, earning it the Guinness World Record for 'smallest toothpick sculpture'.

Supersize Me: the artist compares his toothpick model of the Empire State Building building against the real thing

A qualified engineer from the New York State Society of Professional Engineers verified the likeness, while a professional model maker was called in to confirm the proportions.

The model of the iconic New York skyscraper, which took eight hours to create, is the work of toothpick artist Steven J. Backman.

This mini pagoda was carved out of a solitary toothpick

Steven said: “I am so excited about receiving a world record. It is a dream come true.

"I chose the Empire State Building because it is one of my favorite buildings in the world.

"My father has always wanted me to achieve a world record. He always taught me if you believe in something strong enough, you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it."

The master craftsman has been creating toothpick art for over 40 years and makes art both from whittling down individual toothpicks and from putting them together in amazing ways.