Historically the greatest ransom paid was that paid for Atahualpa, the last emperor of the Incas, to the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1532-3 at Cajamarca, Peru, which constituted a hall full of gold and silver, worth in modern money some $1.5 billion (£1 billion).

The greatest insect builder is the termite (order Isoptera). Mounds in eastern Australia have measured 6 m (20 ft) in height and 30.5 m (100 ft) in circumference.

The greatest flow of any river in the world is that of the Amazon, which discharges an average of 200,000 m³/sec (7,100,000 ft³/sec) into the Atlantic Ocean, increasing to more than 340,000 m³/sec (12,000,000 ft³/sec) in full flood. The lower 1,450 km (900 miles) average 17 m (55 ft) in depth, but the river has a maximum depth of 124 m (407 ft). The flow of the Amazon is 60 times greater than that of the Nile.

Temperature range – world The greatest recorded temperature ranges in the world are around the Siberian `cold pole’ in the east of Russia. Temperatures in Verkhoyansk (67ø33’N, 133ø23’E) have ranged 105degC 188degF, from -68øC -90øF to 37øC 98øF.

The country whose citizens spend the greatest amount on holidays abroad is Germany. In 2009, Germans spent $81 billion (then £51 billion) while on holiday in foreign countries according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The USA was second, with $73 billion (then £46 billion), and the UK third with $50 billion (then £31 billion). The top 10 ranking by international tourism spenders shows one remarkable change in 2009, with China ($44 billion, £27.5 billion) overtaking France ($38 billion, £23.8 billion) and thereby moving into Continue reading →

The tree with the greatest girth ever, measured 57.9 m (190 ft) and belonged to the European chestnut (Castanea sativa), known as the Tree of the Hundred Horses (Castagno di Cento Cavalli) on Mt Etna, Sicily, Italy, in 1770 and 1780. It is now in three parts, widely separated.

On the basis of the average annual flow, the greatest waterfall in the world is the Boyoma Falls in The Congo (former Zaire), with 17,000 m³/sec (600,000 ft³/sec). The flow of the Guaira (Salto das Sete Quedas) on the Alto Parana River between Brazil and Paraguay had on occasions in the past attained a rate of 50,000 m³/sec (1,750,000 ft³/sec). However, the closing of the Itaipu dam gates in 1982 ended this claim to fame.

The animals that are the greatest survivors in outer space are microscopic eight-limbed creatures known as tardigrades or water bears. In 2007, scientists sent two species of tardigrade into orbit, where they were exposed not only to the vacuum of space in which no human can breathe unaided but also to sufficient radiation to incinerate a human. When they were brought back to earth, a third of the total number of tardigrades that had been sent up were still alive, thus becoming the only animals Continue reading →

The most massive single issue of a newspaper was the 14 September 1987 edition of the Sunday New York Times, which weighed more than 5.4kg (12lb) and contained 1,612 pages.

The heaviest bell still in use is the Mingun bell, weighing 92 tonnes with a diameter of 5.09 m (16 ft 8 in) at the lip, in Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma). The bell is struck by a teak boom from the outside. It was cast at Mingun late in the reign of King Bodawpaya (1782-1819). The heaviest bell hung in Great Britain is `Great Paul’ in the south-west tower of St Paul’s Cathedral, London. Cast in 1881, it weighs 17 tonnes, has a diameter of 2.9 Continue reading →