Articles tagged as World Records | Smithsonian Magazine

The mountain guide topped out on the world’s tallest peak twice in just the last week

May 22, 2019

Cool Finds

This Is the World’s Tallest Tropical Tree

The yellow meranti in Malaysia’s Sabah state is 330 feet tall and weighs more than a jetliner

April 9, 2019

Lee Spencer smashed the previous record by 36 days, rowing his boat solo and unsupported from Portugal to French Guiana in just 60 days

March 13, 2019

Cool Finds

Found: Sailboat From Teen’s Abandoned Round-the-World Attempt

Abby Sunderland’s boat was dismasted in the Indian Ocean in 2010 during her controversial bid to become the youngest to circumnavigate the world solo

January 7, 2019

It took Colin O’Brady 53 days to drag a sled 921 miles from the Ronne to the Ross Ice Shelf

December 27, 2018

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Cave Could Be Among Canada’s Largest

The “Sarlacc Pit,” as its been informally dubbed, was discovered last spring during a caribou survey in British Columbia’s Wells Gray Provincial Park

December 6, 2018

New Research

This Humongous Fungus Is as Massive as Three Blue Whales

A new estimate suggests this mushroom is 2,500 Years Old and Weighs 440 tons

October 15, 2018

Denise Mueller Korenek just broke the Cycling World Land Speed Record

Cyclist Denise Mueller-Korenek hit 183.932 MPH while drafting behind a drag racer in Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, besting the previous record of 167 mph

September 20, 2018

Emirates Flight Catering and Crop One Holdings announced plans this week for what would be the world’s largest vertical farm, to be based in Dubai. This is another one of Crop One’s vertical farms, which don’t use pesticides and are more water-efficient than their soil counterparts.

Dubai Will Be Home To the World’s Biggest Vertical Farm

An indoor megafarm might be the best way for the United Arab Emirates—a country that imports an estimated 85 percent of its food—to attempt to feed itself

July 16, 2018

After growing out the nails on his left hand for 66 years, Shridhar Chillal has sold the 31 feet of keratin to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not

July 13, 2018

In an effort to keep the fad alive, Wham-O created new hoops, including one in 1982 that smelled of mint.

The Iconic Hula Hoop Keeps on Rolling

How the loopy 60-year-old toy maintains its popularity

July 2018

Calmer seas in this 2015 picture of an albatross flying toward Campbell Island.

Record-Breaking Wave Reaches Height of 78.1 Feet

A buoy recorded the wave in the Southern Ocean last week

May 14, 2018

India Is Building the World’s Tallest Statue

The monument will stand nearly 600 feet tall and it honors India’s first deputy prime minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

April 5, 2018

Cool Finds

Nearly 9-Hour Rainbow in Taiwan Sets New Guinness Record

Last November, researchers recorded more than 10,000 photos and videos documenting the long-lasting weather phenomenon

March 19, 2018

The Oxford medical student, who died on March 3 at age 88, broke what was believed to be an impossible record

March 5, 2018

Evel Knievel's trademark red, white and blue leathers, with accompanying cape and boots, joined the Smithsonian's American history collection in the early 1990s.

This Woeful Wipeout Made Evel Knievel an Instant Legend

In 1967, a bone-shattering spill at Caesars Palace spawned a career in self-endangerment

December 26, 2017

Jutras came close to the record a few years ago, but his squash split, disqualifying it from competition. This year, he wasn't taking any risks.

Joe Jutras’ 2118-pound squash makes him the first person to earn the record for largest pumpkin, longest gourd and heaviest squash

October 12, 2017

The beefy behemoth was recently bestowed the title of world’s largest commercially available burger

July 25, 2017

Engineer Mark Rober posing with his Super Soaker creation

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Ex-NASA Engineer Builds World’s Largest Super Soaker

More than a mere toy, this water gun can slice through glass and watermelons

July 14, 2017

Chris Bertish at his finishing line in Antigua

South African surfer Chris Bertish spent 93 days paddling 4,050 miles between Morocco and Antigua

March 10, 2017