Yale’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library Photograph by Lauren Manning The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (BRBL) at Yale University was a 1963 gift of the Beinecke family. The building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Gordon Bunshaft of the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. It is the largest building…
The Cupola is an ESA-built observatory module of the International Space Station (ISS). Its seven windows are used to conduct experiments, dockings and observations of Earth. It was launched aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-130 on 8 February 2010 and attached to the Tranquility (Node 3) module. The Cupola’s 80 cm (31 in) window is…
Photograph by LEGO On May 23, 2013, LEGO unveiled the world’s largest LEGO model, a 1:1 replica of the LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing starfighter, in New York’s Times Square. The massive replica took 32 master builders, five million LEGO bricks and over 17,000 hours to complete. The model weighs nearly 20,865 kilograms (46,000 pounds),…
THE SPIRIT OF DETROIT Photograph by coreoski on Reddit Located on the westward-facing wall of the Russel’ Industrial Complex’s Building #2 is this colossal 8,750 square foot (813 sq m) mural by artist Kobie Solomon. Dubbed The Chimera, it’s purportedly the largest graffiti mural in the state of Michigan and can be…
Artwork by Florentijn Hofman | Photograph by South China Morning Post Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman’s Rubber Duck has made its first visit to China. From May 2 – June 9, the 16.5 meter (54 ft) inflatable rubber duck will be bobbing around from Ocean Terminal to Harbour City, Hong Kong. Hofman’s inflatable rubber duck…
The Allure of the Seas is the largest passenger ship ever constructed and the statistics are simply mind-boggling: – 225,282 GRT (gross register tonnage) – 1,187 feet (362 meters) long – 215 feet (66 meters) wide – 213 feet (65 meters) high from the water line – 30 feet (9.1 meters) draft – 22 knots…
Located in Singapore, the Float at Marina Bay is the largest floating stage in the world. Made entirely of steel, the floating platform measures 120 meters (393.7 ft) long and 83 meters (272.3 ft) wide. The platform can bear 1,070 tonnes and is fixed to the seabed by six pylons. The gallery at the…
Every winter, artists from around the world gather in Jukkasjärvi, northern Sweden, for an art project that has become known as ICEHOTEL. It is the world’s first and largest hotel built of snow and ice. Jukkasjärvi is a small village in northern Sweden with a population of 900 residents and about 1000 dogs. Each…
BRUSSELS FLOWER CARPET Photograph by Gaston Batistini The first Brussels flower carpet took place in 1971 on the Grand-Place by the landscape architect E. Stautemans. Since then there have been 18 flower carpets and they have appeared every other year since 1986. The main component of every carpet is the begonia. A…
To see the world’s biggest bonfire you’ll have to visit Alesund, Norway, where wood pallets are stacked over 40 meters (131 ft) high on an artificial island. The occasion? Sankthans, or ‘Midsummer’, an annual festival in commemoration of John the Baptist’s birth. The day is celebrated on the 24th of June (around summer solstice)…