Chomsky, the 13.5-foot (4.12m) icon that stands astride Homegrown Mini Golf and Kelder’s Farm about 110 miles (176 km) from New York city has held the Guinness World Book of Records title for four years -- until now.
The loss of the title has hit his supporters hard, including Chomsky's creator Maria Reidelbach, who has also questioned the fact that the Polish gnome is carved from fiberglass.
Guinness rules, she said, require that a subject be composed of the same material as its inspiration -- a giant candle has to be made of wax, for example.
“Garden gnomes are made of concrete. So is Chomsky. Even the Iowa gnome is,” she said. “Fiberglass just doesn’t seem right.”
But she did concede the Polish gnome was “cute.”
Others local artists and fans are proposing ways that Chomsky can retain his title, including digitally altering images of him to give the gnome platform shoes and retrofitted the figure with the world’s largest bobble-head.
