By Mary Reardon
MADISON, Wis., April 10 (Reuters) - Defying the stereotype that Wisconsin is all about large blocks of cheese, students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Friday set about creating the world's biggest Rice Krispies cereal treat at 7-1/2 tons.
The team of about 30 students planned to work through the night to create the 15,000-pound dessert made by combining Rice Krispies cereal, marshmallows and butter that will be chopped up and sold to raise money for Wisconsin charities.
The idea came to physics student Joe Tarnowski and two friends after they made a 15-pound Rice Krispies treat in their dorm. "We decided, why not scale it up?" he said.
Organizers found themselves in a sticky situation as wind and rain made a rough start of the launch on Friday.
They are combining 9,000 pounds of marshmallows, 5,500 pounds of Rice Krispies and 900 pounds of butter all donated by manufacturers to make the colossus.
The current world record for a cereal treat is 10,314 pounds, set in 2010 by a team in the city of La Canada Flintridge, California, according to Guinness World Records. Their Rice Krispies treat measured 12 feet by 8 feet by 7 feet, Guinness said.
Tarnowski said the team will submit videos and paperwork to Guinness to verify the record. (Reporting by Mary Reardon; Editing by Eric Beech)