What is the biggest thing in the world? A list of the 10 largest things on the earth

We live in a world full of billions of objects, both natural and man-made, large and small. Usually, most tiny things go unnoticed, some not even visible to the naked eye. But, on the other hand, big things never go unnoticed, with their enormous size awing many people. What is the biggest thing in the world?

Some things in the world are unimaginably big, even beyond our expectations. From trees over 250 feet tall to living organisms that cover miles of space, nature is full of surprises.

What is the biggest thing in the world?

Below is a list of some of the biggest things in the world. From the biggest animals and trees to the largest known living organisms, the enormous size of some of these things will surely change your perspective on our world.

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1. The Trembling Giant (Pando)

If anyone would ask you what the largest living organism in the world was, you are most likely to think about an enormous animal. But instead, that honour befalls a tree, or rather a colony of trees known as the Pando aspen grove.

Pando is a single colony of aspen trees found in Fishlake National Forest in Utah. It is comprised of over 47,000 stems of aspens, spreading over 106 acres. The colony is unique because it is a single living organism, interconnected through one root system, with the tree cloning itself and sprouting new stems now and then.

The Pando is thought to have emerged from one single seed over 80,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest living organisms. It is also the heaviest organism, measuring over 13 million pounds in biomass.

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2. The Antarctic blue whale

There are many contenders for the largest animal in the world, but the top spot goes to the Antarctic blue whale. The enormous animal can reach up to 100 feet in length and weigh more than 400,000 pounds in full maturity.

To put that into perspective, an adult blue whale can weigh as much as 40 elephants and has a heart that is as large as a small car. It is also one of the loudest animals in the world, emitting sounds of more than 180 decibels (louder than a jet engine).

3. General Sherman (tree)

The biggest tree in the world is General Sherman, a giant sequoia found in Sequoia National Park, California. The tree reaches 275 feet high and has a massive trunk that goes as far as 36 feet wide.

It is considered the largest tree in the world based on size, with an estimated volume of more than 52,000 cubic feet. However, it is not the tallest tree in the world; the Hyperion (a coastal redwood in Redwood National Park measuring 380 feet tall) is.

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4. The honey mushroom

Another top contender for the world’s largest living organism is a mushroom, or more specifically, the biggest mushroom in the world. The mushroom is Armillaria ostoyae (or the honey mushroom), a mycelium found in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon.

The Armillaria ostoyae covers more than 2,300 acres and is believed to be between 2,0000 and 8,000 years old. Some people also think it has biomass as big as Pando, making it one of the biggest things in the world ever to be discovered.

5. The largest fruit in the world (jack fruit)

Ever wondered what the biggest fruit is in the world? It is none other than the jack fruit. The fruit can reach up to two feet in length and weigh over 100 pounds.

It also grows on some of the tallest know fruit trees, with the jack fruit tree reaching up to 80 feet tall. The fruit is also highly nutritious, containing a blend of nutrients such as proteins, Vitamin B, Potassium, and others.

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6. The Rafflesia arnoldii flower

Most flowers are relatively average in size, but some blooms are famous for being some of the biggest things known in the world. For example, the world’s largest flower is known as Rafflesia arnoldii, which is found in the forests of Indonesia. It can reach as wide as three feet and weigh as much as 15 pounds.

Rafflesia arnoldii’s large size is not the only unique characteristic; the flower is also parasitic – it attaches itself to host plants to obtain nutrients. It is also famous for its pungent odour (like rotten meat) when blooming, earning it the corpse flower nickname. On the positive side, the smell does attract insects, which helps with pollination.

7. New Century Global Centre

Talking about the world’s largest objects without considering buildings is impossible. And when you consider all aspects, including the floor area, the largest building in the world is the New Century Global Centre, located in Chengdu, China.

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The building covers a massive floor size of 18.9 million square feet. It is 500 metres long, up to 400 metres wide, and reaches a height of 100 metres. However, in terms of height, the tallest building in the world is Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is 828 metres tall.

9. The Sơn Đoòng cave

Another of the most astronomous objects in the known universe is a cave – the Son Doon, located in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Central Vietnam. The cave is naturally occurring, measures over 1.35 billion cubic feet in volume, and is over 250 feet deep. It is also one of the world’s oldest caves, considered over 3 million years old.

10. The Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge

Aside from buildings, bridges are another popular type of megastructure in the world, with some of the biggest bridges seeming to defy the laws of science. For example, the biggest bridge in the world – The Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge – is over 100 miles long and takes over two hours to cross. It is located in China and was constructed through rough terrains such as lakes, canals, rivers, and rice paddies.

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The largest structure made by living organisms

Do you know that the world’s largest structure was not built by human beings? While human beings have been known to construct marvellous and enormous structures– for example, the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the largest one in the world, were built by coral animals.

The structure is none other than the Great Barrier Reef, a reef network found off the coast of Queensland in Australia. It covers a distance of over 2,000 kilometres and comprises over 3,000 reefs and 900 coral islands, all interconnected into one massive giant structure. It is estimated to have formed as early as 20 million years ago.

The earth is full of many enormous, awe-inspiring objects. The biggest thing in the world is naturally occurring, which helps us appreciate nature's wonders. Others are man-made, a testament to human beings’ creativity. However, it is not only humans who can create enormous objects; some, such as The Great Barrier Reef, were created by animals.

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Yen.com.gh published an article about visa-free countries for Ghana in 2022. What does this mean for a passport holder? You can get into the countries without a visa.

According to the World Passport Index, Ghana's passport is ranked 65th worldwide. With it, you are legible to visit any of these countries in the world.

Source: YEN.com.gh