The largest metal mirror is a 183-cm (72-in) reflector, made by the third Earl of Rosse (1800-67), and set up at Birr Castle, Co. Offaly, Republic of Ireland in 1845. The mirror was made of speculum metal (an alloy of copper and tin). With it, Lord Rosse discovered the spiral forms of the galaxies. It was last used in 1909, but was restored with a mirror made of aluminium in 1998.
The largest millipede in the world is a full grown African giant black millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas) which is owned by Jim Klinger of Coppell, Texas, USA and measures 38.7 cm (15.2 in) in length, 6.7 cm (2.6 in) in circumference and has 256 legs. The average length for this type of millipede is between 16-28 cm (6-11 in).
The largest mille-feuille weighed 435.5 kg (960 lb 1 oz) and was made by Gruppo Alpini Caronno Pertusella Bariola (Italy) in Caronno Pertusella, Italy, on 17 May 2009. The mille-feuille measured 32 m (104 ft 11 in). The ingredients include 126 kg puff pastry, 299 kg vanilla cream and 20 kg powdered sugar.
The world’s largest military division made up of sea mammals, is the US Navy’s Marine Mammal Program, of San Diego, California, USA, established in 1960. In April 2003 the program had 75 Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and 20 Californian sea lions (Zalophus californianus californianus) all trained for deployment. The program also had two beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), although as of April 2003 they were on a breeding program. The marine mammals are trained to safely locate and/or mark the position of enemy mines or divers, rather
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The largest and most massive satellite is Ganymede, which is 2.017 times as heavy as the Earth’s Moon and has a diameter of 5,267 km (3,273 miles). The diameter of Ganymede – discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610 – is greater than the width of the USA. It is the largest moon of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is made of ice and rock and is believed to contain an ocean of salty water around 200 km below its surface.
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The largest monolithic (or rock-hewn) church is Bet Medhane Alem in Lalibela, Ethiopia. The structure measures 33.5 m (110 ft) long, 23.5 m (78 ft) wide and 11 m (36 ft) high. It was carved from volcanic rock in the 12th or 13th century AD by King Lalibela (1181-1221). Bet Medhane Alem (‘Saviour of the World’) is one of 11 monolithic or rock-hewn churches in the Lalibela complex, known as ‘the Eighth Wonder of the World’. Perhaps the most famous of them is Bet Giyorgis,
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The largest Mongolian wrestling tournament involved 6,002 participants. It was organized by the Mongolian National Wrestling Federation (Mongolia) and was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, between 17 and 25 September 2011. The tournament began in Central Stadium at 2 p.m. on 17 September 2011. Wrestlers came from 21 different provinces and 325 “soums” (sub-provinces), with some travelling as far as 1,700 km (1,050 miles) to attend the event.
The largest money box measured 3.67 (12 ft) high, 3.66 m (12 ft) wide and 6.78 m (22 ft in) long. The box was manufactured by the Sariyer Belediyesi (Municipality of Sariyer) to attract attention to World Savings Day, in Sariyer, Turkey, on 31 October 2007.
DNA was discovered in 1953 by James Watson and Francis Crick at Cambridge, UK. This double helix-shaped molecule contains all the genetic code required to build an individual. Each of the ten trillion cells in the human body contains this code. If each DNA molecule could be unwound and stretched out, they would each be around 2 m (6 ft) long. If the combined DNA from all cells in the body could be stretched out and laid end-to-end, it would reach the Sun and back
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The most people performing a mohiniyattam dance was 1,200 as part of the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Art of Living Foundation at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Cochin, Kerala, India on 28 November 2006.