When Rich Zagorski wandered through the crowd at the MaRS Discovery District on Tuesday morning, he blended in easily with the hundreds of people dressed just like him, with slightly disheveled white hair and matching moustaches.

One young student from Forest Hill Junior and Public School, wearing a white wig and taped-on moustache, stared at Zagorski – a dead-wringer for Albert Einstein – and declared “I thought you were dead.”

“I’m usually that guy that people think looks like Einstein. Here, I’m just part of the crowd,” said Zagorski, who drove seven hours from Albany, New York just to join the horde of Einstein lookalikes.

The group of 404 people set a Guinness World Record for the “largest gathering of people dressed as Albert Einstein” on Tuesday, beating the previous record by 99. Chants erupted when news broke that the group succeeded, with white wigs getting tossed in the air in jubilation.

But Tuesday’s event was about more than setting a record – it also marked the start of “the Next Einstein,” an online competition that offers a $10,000 award for an idea that will “make the world a better place.”

Rami Kleinmann, president of the Einstein Legacy Project, says the competition encourages innovation and free-thinking.

“We’re living in a world where people are not revealing their ideas, they are too afraid to share them,” he said. “What we’re creating here is a way to encourage people to use their imaginations, share their ideas and improve the world.”

Jonathan Sherman, 13, and Daniel Solomon, 14, have their own unique idea on how to improve the world.

Wearing matching white wigs and slightly itchy moustaches, the two Forest Hill students describe what they are hoping will be a $10,000 idea worthy of Einstein himself.

“We’ve basically made a device to stop robberies,” said Solomon.

After Sherman’s family home was broken into, the pair created a security device that includes a motion sensor outside the home, and a hologram inside. When the motion detector is tripped, the hologram turns on and projects an image that makes it look as if people are home.

Although creating the device took many tries and included various challenges, the duo is excited to share their idea.

“This a great opportunity for young people like us who are trying to get into the innovation world and have some good ideas,” said Sherman.

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