Due to the physical difficulties in directly measuring the size of a distant star, the identity of the largest star is a matter for debate amongst astronomers. The current most likely candidate is VY Canis Majoris, a red supergiant some 5,000 light years away. Estimates of its size give it a diameter of between 2.5 and 3 billion km (1.55 and 1.86 billion miles), or 1,800 – 2,100 times that of the Sun. If placed at the centre of the Solar System, its outer surface
Continue reading →
The world record for the most people to ‘Stand Up Against Poverty’ in 24 hours was set on 16 – 17 October 2007 for the United Nation´s Millennium Campaign and involved a massive total of 43,716,440 participants in 6,540 events around the globe.
The largest stamp mosaic measured 162 m² (1,743 ft²), and was created by a joint group of volunteers from the South African Post Office and the Hatfield Tuition College (South Africa), at the Tshwane Events Centre, Pretoria, South Africa, between 12 September and 12 October 2010. The mosaic contained approximately 120,000 stamps, 800 m? (8,611 ft?) of wood, 130 litres (28.3 gal) of glue, 20 kg (44 lb) of screws and nails, 20 litres (4.4 gal) of varnish. 115 volunteers contributed to the mosaic.
The largest street hockey tournament consisted of 205 teams totalling 2,096 players in the 2010 Walter Gretzky Street Hockey Tournament in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, from 4 to 6 June 2010. Walter Gretzky is the father of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky and still calls their hometown of Brantford home. Among participants in the tournament was film director/actor Kevin Smith, who fielded a team and played as goalie. Competitive divisions included Youth 7-9, Youth 10-12, Youth 13-15, Teen Boys, Ladies, Adult Competitive, Adult Intermediate, and Adult Recreational.
The largest straw hat measures 6.65 m (21 ft 9 in) in diameter and is 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) high. The hat was made by Atalia Bis & Partners Company in Kozieglowy, Poland, and measured in August 2006.
The largest straw bale pyramid measured 28.95 m (94 ft 11 in) high and was made up of 1,500 bales. The structure was made by members of Le Cercle Des Jeunes Agriculteurs du Pays de Sarrebourg, in Voyer, Sarrebourg, France on 22 August 2004. The base measured: 25 m x 25 m (82 ft x 82 ft).
The largest set for a stop-motion animation was a section of beach measuring 1025.04 m² (11033 ft²), used for the production of the film Nokia ‘Gulp’ by Aardman Animations (UK) and premiered in 2011. The entire film was shot on a mobile phone: the Nokia N8.
The statue of the God of Longevity is the largest stone carving measuring 200 m (656 ft) wide and 218 m (715 ft) high and is on the northwest side of the peak, Guimeng, in the Meng Shan mountains near Pingyi, Shandong, China. The God of Longevity has a high head, witty long white moustache and is represented with one long stick in one hand and an immortal peach in the other. The statue can be admired from a distance of 20-30 km.
The largest stir-fry weighed 1,818.91 kg (4,010 lb) and was achieved by the University of Massachusetts Dining Services in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA, on 5 September 2011. The pan the stir-fry was cooked in was 4.27 meters in diameter (14 feet) and 45.72 centimeters deep (18 inches). It was made especially for the event. The main chef for the event, Jet Tila, is a previous record holder for the largest stir-fry, set in September 2004.
The largest sticker measures 63.98 m x 127.26 m (209 ft 10 in x 417 ft 6 in) with a total area of 8,141.84 m2 (87637.69 ft2) and was made by IGA Digital Printing for Samsung (China). It was displayed on the Zheng Jia Square Building in Guang Zhou, China, on 1 November 2010. The building had a sticker on all four sides. For the record, only the largest sticker on one of the sides was measured.