The Canadarm 2, built by the Canadian Space Agency measures 17.5 m 57.7 ft in length and weighs 1641 kg 3618 lbs. It was attached to the International Space Station on 22 April 2001 during a 7-hour spacewalk by US astronaut Scott Parazynski and Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield – the first Canadian ever to walk in space. This new arm is based on the technology of the original Canadarm, which is used on the space shuttle. Canadarm 2, which will remain permanently in space, can Continue reading →

The largest royal family is the house of Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, which had over 4,000 royal princes and 30,000 royal relatives in 2002. The kingdom was established by the patriarch, King Abdul Aziz in 1932, who had 44 sons by 17 wives, four of whom have ruled the kingdom since the King’s death in 1953. The country has a strong cultural tradition of polygamy and the extended family. Sons: King Saud (1953-64), King Faisal (1964-75), King Khalid (1975-82), the current ruler King Fahd Bin Continue reading →

Saturn V (USA) was the largest rocket, but not the most powerful.  It was 110.6 m (363 ft high) with the Apollo spacecraft on top and weighed 2,903 tonnes (6,400,000 lb) on the launch pad. saturn 5 had a lift off thrust of of 3,447 tonnes (7,600,000 lb). (The first Saturn 5 was launched in 1967 and the 13th, and last, in 1973.)

The largest ever predatory shark was Carcharodon megalodon, which was around 16 m (53 ft) long, with a mouth perhaps 2 m (6 ft) wide.

The world’s largest ship of any kind is the oil tanker Jahre Viking (formerly the Happy Giant and Seawise Giant), at 564,763 tonnes (1,245 billion lb) deadweight and 260,815 grt. The tanker is 458.45 m (1,504 ft) long overall, has a beam of 68.8 m (226 ft) and a draught of 24.61 m (80 ft 9 in). Declared a total loss after being disabled by severe bombardment in 1987-8 during the Iran-Iraq war, the tanker underwent extensive renovation in Singapore and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Continue reading →

The largest live audience for a simultaneous rock concert is an estimated one million people for Live 8 held at concert venues around the world in 10 cities, including London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg, Rome and Moscow on 2 July 2005. source bbc online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4645823.stm struggling to get reliable figures…

American internet tycoon Mark Cuban, from Dallas, Texas, USA, bought a Gulfstream V business jet over the internet in October 1999. The jet changed hands for $40 million (£25 million).

The Earth’s inner core is a sphere of mostly iron around 2,442 km (1,517 miles) across. At 5,000-6,000 C (9,000 – 11,000 F) it is solid rather than liquid, due to the immense pressures in the Earth’s interior. Many geologists now believe that this gigantic ball of iron is actually a single crystal. This is due to differences in the bahaviour of seismic waves passing through it in different directions. This huge hot ball of iron is about three-quarters the size of the Moon, and Continue reading →

The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) achieved ‘first light’ on 13 July 2007. Located on the island of La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, the GTC has a main mirror made up of 36 hexagonal segments giving it a total diameter of 10.4 m (34 ft). The huge telescope and its 35-m (114-ft) dome cost 130 million euros to construct over seven years.

The largest species of river dolphin is the boto (Inia geoffrensis), famed for its striking pink colouration. Inhabiting the Amazon and Orinoco rivers of South America, it attains a total length of up to 2.6 m (9 ft).