Images not to scale

0–1

00

kg

100

–1,0

00

kg

“Tri

chob

ezoa

r” is

th

e m

edic

al n

ame

for

a h

airb

all,

wh

ich

occu

rs a

s a

resu

lt o

f tr

ich

oph

agia

– e

atin

g on

e’s

own

hai

r. Th

e la

rges

t tr

ich

obez

oar

surg

ical

ly r

emov

ed

from

a h

um

an w

as a

hai

rbal

l wei

gh

ing

4.5

kg

(10

lb),

fou

nd

in t

he

stom

ach

of

an u

nn

amed

18

-yea

r-ol

d w

oman

tre

ated

at

Ru

sh U

niv

ersi

ty M

edic

al C

ente

r in

C

hic

ago,

Illin

ois,

US

A, i

n N

ov 2

00

7. T

he

exci

sed

tric

hob

ezoa

r m

easu

red

37.

5 x

17.5

x 1

7.5

cm (1

5 x

7 x

7 in

).

The

kori

bu

star

d (A

rdeo

tis

kori

) is

fou

nd

in S

outh

an

d E

ast

Afr

ica.

Th

e h

eavi

est

reco

rded

sp

ecim

en w

as

a m

ale

that

wei

gh

ed 4

0 lb

(18

.1 k

g).

It

was

sh

ot in

Sou

th A

fric

a by

big

-g

ame

hu

nte

r H

T G

lyn

n in

193

6. H

e la

ter

pre

sen

ted

its

hea

d an

d n

eck

to

the

Bri

tish

Mu

seu

m in

Lon

don

, UK

.

Gia

nte

ss A

nn

a B

ates

(née

S

wan

, CA

N) m

easu

red

7 ft

11

in (2

41.

3 cm

). O

n 19

Jan

18

79, s

he

gav

e b

irth

to

a b

oy

wei

gh

ing

22

lb (9

.98

kg)

and

mea

suri

ng

28 in

(7

1.12

cm

) at

her

hom

e in

Sev

ille,

Oh

io, U

SA

.

A G

aláp

agos

tor

tois

e (C

hel

onoi

dis

nig

ra) n

amed

G

olia

th m

easu

red

135

.8 c

m

(4 f

t 5

in) l

ong

, 10

2 cm

(3

ft

4 in

) wid

e, 6

8.5

cm

(2 f

t 3

in)

hig

h, a

nd

wei

gh

ed 4

17 k

g (9

20 lb

) at

his

hea

vies

t.

Gol

iath

live

d at

th

e Li

fe

Fello

wsh

ip B

ird

San

ctu

ary

in Seff

ner, Florida, USA, 

from

196

0 t

o 20

02.

Hea

vies

t...

SUPERLATIVES

The

hea

vies

t m

an w

as 6

3 ti

mes

hea

vier

tha

n th

e h

eavi

est

bab

y, a

ltho

ugh

only

hal

f th

e w

eigh

t of

the

hea

vies

t ca

rniv

ore

on

lan

d. B

ut is

the

hea

vies

t b

ell

heav

ier

than

the

h

eavi

est

tank?

And

can

any

thin

g on

Ear

th o

utw

eigh

a b

lue

wha

le?

GW

R h

as t

he a

nsw

ers.

Man

tle

of b

ees

63

.7 k

g

Ru

an L

ian

gm

ing

(CH

N)

wor

e a

63

.7-k

g (1

40

-lb

6.9

5-o

z) m

antl

e of

bee

s in

Fen

gxi

n C

oun

ty,

Yic

hu

n C

ity,

Jia

ng

xi

Pro

vin

ce, C

hin

a,

on 1

5 M

ay 2

014

. An

esti

mat

ed 6

37,

00

0 b

ees

mad

e u

p th

e m

antl

e,

incl

ud

ing

60

qu

een

s.

Obj

ect

rem

oved

fro

m t

he

stom

ach

4.5

kg

Flyi

ng

bir

d 18

.1 k

g

Bir

th

9.9

8 k

g

Ch

isat

o Iw

asak

i (J

PN

) gre

w

an a

pp

le w

eig

hin

g 1.

849

kg

(4 lb

1 o

z) a

t h

is a

pp

le f

arm

in

Hir

osak

i Cit

y, J

apan

, on

24 O

ct 2

00

5.

Ap

ple

1.

84

9 kg

1,0

00

–7,0

00

kg

On

21

Jan

19

93, a

1.6

9-to

nn

e (3

,739

-lb)

filled dou

ghnut was served up by 

rep

rese

nta

tive

s fr

om H

emst

rou

gh

t’s

Bak

erie

s, D

onat

o’s

Bak

ery

and

the

rad

io s

tati

on W

KLL

-FM

(all

US

A) i

n U

tica

, New

Yor

k, U

SA

.

Pu

mp

kin

1,19

0.4

9 kg

Bel

gium

’s M

athi

as W

illem

ijns

grew

a

pum

pkin

th

at w

eigh

ed 1

,190

.49

kg

(2,6

24 lb

9 o

z), a

s au

then

tica

ted

by t

he

Gre

at P

um

pki

n C

omm

onw

ealt

h (G

PC

) in

Lud

wig

sbu

rg, G

erm

any,

on

9 O

ct 2

016

.

Dou

gh

nu

t 1,

69

5 kg Th

e M

1A2

Ab

ram

s m

ain

bat

tle

tan

k, p

rod

uce

d by

Gen

eral

D

ynam

ics

Lan

d S

yste

ms

(US

A),

has

a c

omb

at w

eig

ht

of

63

ton

nes

(13

8,9

00

lb),

mak

ing

it t

he

hea

vies

t ta

nk

curr

entl

y in

op

erat

ion

al s

ervi

ce. I

t is

eq

uip

ped

w

ith

one

120

-mm

gu

n an

d h

as a

to

p sp

eed

of 6

8 km

/h (4

2 m

ph)

.

Tan

k (p

rese

nt

day

) 6

3,0

00

kg

Car

tila

gin

ous

fish

2

1,5

00

kg

7,0

00

–60

0,0

00

kg

Bu

ildin

g 70

3,5

00

,00

0 k

g

The

Pal

ace

of t

he

Par

liam

ent

in B

uch

ares

t,

Rom

ania

, is

con

sid

ered

to

be

the

hea

vies

t b

uild

ing

in t

he

wor

ld. I

t co

nta

ins

700

,00

0 t

onn

es

(771

,617

.9 t

ons)

of

stee

l an

d b

ron

ze c

omb

ined

w

ith

1 m

illio

n m

³ (3

5.3

mill

ion

cu f

t) o

f m

arb

le, 3

,50

0 t

onn

es

(7.7

mill

ion

lb) o

f cr

ysta

l g

lass

an

d 90

0,0

00

m³

(31.

7 m

illio

n cu

ft)

of w

ood

.

> 6

00

,00

0 k

g

Bel

l sti

ll in

use

9

2,0

00

kg

The

Min

gu

n b

ell w

eig

hs

92

ton

nes

(2

02

,825

lb) a

nd

has

a d

iam

eter

of

5.0

9 m

(16

ft 8

in) a

t th

e lip

. Lo

cate

d n

ear

Man

dal

ay in

B

urm

a, t

he

bel

l is

stru

ck b

y a

teak

boo

m f

rom

th

e ou

tsid

e.

It w

as c

ast

at M

ing

un

late

in t

he

reig

n of

Kin

g B

odaw

pay

a (1

782–

1819

).

A scien

tific

ally recorded

 whale 

shar

k (R

hin

cod

on t

ypu

s)

caught off

 Bab

a Island, near 

Kar

ach

i, P

akis

tan

, on

11 N

ov

1949

, wei

gh

ed 2

1.5

ton

nes

(4

7,4

00

lb).

At

12.6

5 m

(41

ft

6 in

) lon

g, i

t w

as a

lso

the

larg

est

fish

. Car

tila

gin

ous

fish have skeleton

s mad

e of 

cart

ilag

e, r

ath

er t

han

th

e h

ard

bon

e of

man

y ot

her

fish species.

The

blu

e w

hal

e (B

alae

nop

tera

m

usc

ulu

s) w

eig

hs

up

to 1

60

ton

nes

(3

52

,00

0 lb

) an

d h

as a

n av

erag

e le

ng

th o

f ar

oun

d 24

m (8

0 f

t). A

hu

ge

spec

imen

cau

gh

t in

th

e S

outh

ern

Oce

an, A

nta

rcti

ca, o

n 20

Mar

194

7 w

eig

hed

190

ton

nes

(418

,878

lb)

wit

h a

reco

rded

len

gth

of

27.6

m (9

0 f

t 6

in).

An

imal

19

0,0

00

kg

Tort

oise

4

17 k

g

Dow

nlo

ad t

his

post

er: g

uinn

essw

orld

reco

rds.

com

/20

18

Su

mo

wre

stle

r S

har

ran

Ale

xan

der

(U

K) w

eig

hed

20

3.2

1 kg

(4

48

lb) o

n 15

Dec

20

11.

Sp

orts

wom

an

20

3.2

1 kg

Jeff

 Peeters (B

EL) b

uilt a bicycle weighing 

86

0 k

g (1

,895

lb 1

5.6

oz)

an

d ro

de

it in

M

ech

elen

, Bel

giu

m, o

n 19

Au

g 20

15.

The

veh

icle

was

bu

ilt e

nti

rely

fro

m

reu

sed

mat

eria

ls.

In 1

960

, a p

olar

bea

r wei

ghin

g so

me

900

kg

(1,984 lb) w

as identified at a frozen ice pack 

in t

he

Ch

ukc

hi S

ea, w

est

of K

otze

bu

e in

Ala

ska,

US

A. I

ts s

ize

was

est

imat

ed a

t 3.

5 m

(11

ft 5

in) o

ver t

he

body

con

tour

s fr

om n

ose

to t

ail,

1.5

m (4

ft 1

1 in

) aro

und

the

body

an

d 4

3 cm

(16.

9 in

) aro

und

the

paw

s.

Car

niv

ore

on la

nd

90

0 k

g

Rid

eab

le b

icyc

le

86

0 k

g

Bon

y fi

sh

2,0

00

kg

Specimen

s of the sunfish (M

ola

mol

a) h

ave

bee

n re

cord

ed w

eig

hin

g ar

oun

d 2

ton

nes

(4,4

00

lb) a

nd

mea

suri

ng

3 m

(10

ft)

bet

wee

n the tips of the fin

s.

The

Pan

zerb

ike,

con

stru

cted

by

Tilo

an

d W

ilfri

ed N

ieb

el

of H

arze

r B

ike

Sch

mie

de

in Z

illy,

Ger

man

y, w

eig

hed

4

.749

ton

nes

(10

,470

lb) o

n 23

Nov

20

07.

Rid

eab

le m

otor

cycl

e 4

,74

9 kg

Wed

din

g ca

ke

6,8

18 k

g

The

wor

ld’s

larg

est

wed

din

g ca

ke

wei

gh

ed 6

.818

ton

nes

(15

,03

2 lb

) an

d w

as m

ade

by c

hef

s at

th

e M

oheg

an S

un

hot

el a

nd

casi

no

in U

nca

svill

e, C

onn

ecti

cut,

U

SA

. It

was

dis

pla

yed

at t

hei

r N

ew E

ng

lan

d b

rid

al s

how

case

on

8 F

eb 2

00

4.

Air

craf

t (e

ver)

6

40

,00

0 k

g

The

airc

raft

wit

h th

e h

igh

est

stan

dar

d m

axim

um

take‑off weigh

t is the Anton

ov An‑22

5 “M

riya” (Dream

). O

rig

inal

ly it

wei

gh

ed 6

00

ton

nes

(1.3

2 m

illio

n lb

), b

ut

between 20

00 and 20

01 its floo

r was stren

gthen

ed, 

which resulted

 in an increased maximum take‑off

 w

eig

ht

of 6

40

ton

nes

(1.4

1 m

illio

n lb

). O

nly

tw

o of

th

ese

beh

emot

hs

wer

e ev

er b

uilt

.

Roc

ket

2,9

65

,00

0 k

g

Sat

urn

V (

US

A) w

as

the

larg

est

rock

et,

alth

oug

h n

ot t

he

mos

t p

ower

ful.

It

was

110

.6 m

(3

63

ft)

hig

h w

ith

the

Ap

ollo

sp

acec

raft

on

top

and

wei

gh

ed 2

,90

3 to

nn

es

(6.4

mill

ion

lb) o

n th

e la

un

chp

ad. S

atu

rn V

had a lift‑off thrust 

of 3

,447

ton

nes

(7

.6 m

illio

n lb

). T

he

first Saturn V was 

lau

nch

ed in

196

7 an

d th

e 13

th, a

nd

last

, took off in 1973.

Su

bm

arin

e 2

6,5

00

,00

0 k

g

On

23 S

ep 1

980

, NA

TO a

nn

oun

ced

the

lau

nch

of the first of Russia’s 941 Akula‑class 

sub

mar

ines

(des

ign

ated

“Ty

ph

oon”

by

NA

TO) a

t a

secr

et c

over

ed s

hip

yard

on

the

Wh

ite

Sea

. Th

e ve

ssel

s w

ere

rep

orte

d to

h

ave

a d

ived

dis

pla

cem

ent

of 2

6,5

00

ton

nes

(5

8.4

22

mill

ion

lb) a

nd

mea

sure

171

.5 m

(56

2 ft

8

in) o

vera

ll. F

or m

ore

info

rmat

ion

, see

p.2

11.

Bla

ck h

ole

7.9

x 10

40 k

g

In 2

00

9, a

stro

nom

ers

usi

ng

NA

SA

’s S

wif

t g

amm

a-ra

y sp

ace

tele

scop

e m

easu

red

the

mas

s of

th

e su

per

mas

sive

bla

ck h

ole

at t

he

cen

tre

of t

he

qu

asar

S5

00

14+

81,

bas

ed o

n it

s ex

trem

e lu

min

osit

y. T

he

resu

ltin

g m

ass

of a

rou

nd

40

bill

ion

sola

r m

asse

s m

akes

th

is b

lack

hol

e ap

pro

xim

atel

y 10

,00

0 t

imes

m

ore

mas

sive

th

an t

he

sup

erm

assi

ve b

lack

h

ole

at t

he

cen

tre

of t

he

Milk

y W

ay g

alax

y.

According to Off‑H

ighw

ay Research, the 

hea

vies

t m

ach

ine

cap

able

of m

ovin

g un

der i

ts o

wn

pow

er is

th

e 14

,196

-ton

ne

(31.

3-m

illio

n-l

b) B

agg

er 2

93 b

uck

et-w

hee

l ex

cava

tor,

an e

arth

-mov

ing

mac

hin

e m

ade

by T

AK

RA

F of

Lei

pzig

, Ger

man

y. E

mpl

oyed

in

an

open

-cas

t co

al m

ine

in t

he

Ger

man

st

ate

of N

orth

Rh

ine-

Wes

tph

alia

, it i

s 22

0 m

(7

22 f

t) lo

ng

and

94.5

m (3

10 f

t) t

all a

t its

ap

ex. I

t is

capa

ble

of s

hift

ing

240

,00

0 m

³ (8

.475

mill

ion

cu f

t) o

f ea

rth

per

day

.

Lan

d ve

hic

le

14,1

96

,00

0 k

g

Jon

 Brower Minnoch (USA, 194

1–83) h

ad suffered 

from

ob

esit

y si

nce

ch

ildh

ood

. He

was

6 f

t 1

in (1

85

cm)

tall

and

wei

ghed

392

lb (1

78 k

g; 2

8 st

) in

196

3, r

isin

g to

70

0 lb

(317

kg;

50

st)

in 1

966

and

975

lb (4

42 k

g; 6

9 st

9

lb) i

n S

ep 1

976

. In

Mar

197

8, M

inn

och

was

ad

mit

ted

to U

niv

ersi

ty H

osp

ital

in S

eatt

le, U

SA

, wh

ere

con

sult

ant

end

ocri

nol

ogis

t D

r R

ober

t S

chw

artz

ca

lcul

ated

th

at h

e m

ust h

ave

wei

ghed

mor

e th

an 1

,40

0 lb

(63

5 kg

; 10

0 s

t). M

uch

of t

his

was

wat

er a

ccum

ulat

ion

owin

g to

his

co

nge

stiv

e h

eart

fai

lure

.

Man

(eve

r)

63

5 kg