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This competition is part of the National Onion Championship which is sponsored by Kitchen Garden.

What makes this man amazing – yes, the man and not his onion – was that he also won the award for other giant vegetable classes. He took the prize for the longest cucumber (32.5 inches), heaviest potato (6lb 10.75oz), longest runner bean (31 inches), heaviest tomato (2lb 11.25oz), and heaviest cabbage (64lb 2oz).

The contest was held during the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show 2011.

Heaviest Onion

Giant Cabbage

Via Harrogate Flower Show

Goliath Bird Eating Spider – Technically an arachnid, this is roughly the size of a dinner plate; it eats lizards, frogs, small snakes and baby birds

Giant Water Bug – Four inches long, feeds on tadpoles, small fish and even tadpoles

Atlas Moth – Can reach more than 62 square inches of wing

Giant Walking Stick –  Can reach up to 21 inches long

Goliath Beetle – The biggest recorded goliath beetle is 4.5 inches long and weighs 3.5 ounces

Via The Animal Planet

When the words “giant” and “warrior” are put in the same sentence, you’re probably imagining a 7-foot tall, muscle-bound guy who has several black belts in different martial arts. Well, the giant warrior wasp is exactly that guy in the insect kingdom. It’s 2.5 inches long, and has bigass jaws that are longer than its legs when open and can wrap around its head when closed.

The jaws are multipurpose: they are used to guard the nest from insect robbers and for protection, plus the jaws are used to hold the female when mating. The said macho wasp was discovered on the Mekongga Mountains in Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. It’s called Garuda, after the half human, half eagle warrior of Hindu mythology. Check out the Garuda’s photos below and tell us how you’d likely react if you see one straddling your arm.

via [ LiveScience ]

Nature has some pretty big vortex zingers up its sleeve: tornadoes, cyclones, hurricanes, and whirlpools, among other things. Today’s video, we’ll see another natural occurrence of a massive swirling mass – of bugs. It was observed in Iowa, and has been dubbed the “Bugnado.” It’s as it sounds like, a tornado of bugs. Take a look-see:

LiveScience explains the phenomenon in an article. Apparently, this massive swarm of bugs is actually in the middle of a mating ritual. The males try to impress the she-bugs trying to select a suitable mate. The article indicated that this doesn’t happen often, and that though this looks like a perfect B-movie scene of murderous swarming bugs of death, the Bugnado isn’t at all dangerous.

via [ LiveScience ]

Entomophobics (those who have a fear of insects and arthropods) and Myrmecophobics (those who fear ants), you can look away now. A fossil of a giant ant was found in Wyoming by paleoentomologist Bruce Archibald. Archibald, from Simon Fraser University, reported the specimen to be a “monstrously big ant.” Here, see for yourself:

Oh my God, are those wings!?

Are you having a hard time picturing its size? It’s around 2 inches long (5 centimeters), around the size of the modern hummingbird. To take things into perspective, we’ll just go and say that if the two existed in the same period, hummingbirds would probably be the ants’ prey.

Archibald recognized the species as similar to the ones found in Germany from the same time period. Reportedly, the giant ants may have crossed an Arctic land bridge that connected Europe to North America during a warm period. The giant ant has been given a fitting name: Titanomyrma lubei. It basically means large ant; the lubei part is there for Louis Lube, the one who first discovered the specimen.

Well, paleaentomologists can’t decide whether the ants originated in North America and spread to Europe, or the other way around but one thing’s for sure: The ants crossed the Arctic and crossed it at temperatures that were barely survivable for tropical ants. Impressive as they are though, let’s hope modern ants never grow as big as that anymore.

via [ LiveScience ]

When we hear the word “animals”, we instantly think about two kinds of animals. The first kind is the untamed-and-will-devour-or-maul-you-if-you-make-a-move which consists of wolverines, grizzlies, polar bears, walruses, lions, tigers, hippopotamuses, and venomous snakes, among many other wild animals. The second type is the domesticated kind such as pet cats and dogs; non-venomous snakes, spiders and other reptiles usually kept in terrariums are also included in this category.

However, there are some animals that we just can’t seem to classify under any of the types we’ve mentioned – mostly because they look too interesting to be someone’s pet or they don’t look convincing enough as the mauling/devouring type of animal. Here are a couple of these weird-looking and strangely interesting pets:

Red Panda. This critter is a bit larger than the domestic cat and is a herbivorous mammal.

Komondor Dog. That’s a dog alright, not a mop. Its hair grows about 27 inches long and become thick and corded as it matures.

Angora Rabbit. There’s a rabbit somewhere inside. The long, soft hair is a trademark of this particular breed.

Axolotl. This particular creature is closely related to the Tiger Salamander, however, because it fails to undergo metamorphosis, the Axolotl remains gilled and aquatic.

Other animals include the Aye aye, the Tarsier, and the Platypus.

Photo by the Associated Press

Religious monuments serve as not only works of art, but also as an inspiration to devoted believers. Unfortunately, one of Monroe, Ohio’s most revered and admired monuments was burned down in a huge fire resulting from a lightning strike that ignited a six-story monument of Jesus Christ and his cross.

Fondly tagged “Touchdown Jesus,” the “King of Kings” statue on southwest Ohio’s evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 was burned to the ground at around midnight on Monday, June 14. The six-storey tall sculpture measures 62 feet up and 40 feet wide and was made of plastic foam and fiberglass, held high by a steel frame. Today, only the steel frame is visible from the I-75.

The incident caused traffic to slow down and observers to come closer and pick up what was left of the statue, believing that the event had a deeper meaning to it. The fire also damaged the nearby amphitheater, which recorded damages to amount to $400,000.

(via the Associated Press)

Our Amazing Planet’s Karl Tate created an infographic that illustrates Earth from 36,000 feet in the atmosphere to 35,000 under the sea. The infographic mixes fun facts and visual representations. This includes the highest flying bird (Ruppell’s Vulture that can fly approximately at the same altitude as a commercial airplane), the times it takes to boil an egg at different altitudes, diving records, deep sea denizens, and the highest and deepest points of the Earth. It even shows the heights of the tallest building alongside the Pyramids of Giza, the statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building.

The infographic even illustrates how deep the Deepwater Horizon oil well goes. For the complete image, click on the link below.

via [ OurAmazingPlanet ]

According to scientists, Iceland (and the rest of Europe) should brace themselves for another bout of volcano problems in the near future. Scientists have noticed volcanic activity in the vicinity of another volcano, Katla. The said volcano is east of Eyjafjallajökull and is larger and more powerful.

The University College of London Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction released an initial research paper, indicating that Katla’s seismic activity over the last ten years is indicative of an impending eruption. The paper said that Katla’s activity is not linked to the recent Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud incident. It said further, “We conclude that given the high frequency of Katla activity, an eruption in the short term is a strong possibility. It is likely to be preceded by new earthquake activity. Presently there is no unusual seismicity under Katla.”

Iceland President Ólafur Grímsson has issued a warning to the other European governments to prepare for the possible eruption.

via [ MSNBC ]

In Thessaloniki, Greece, officials were baffled when a near biblical deluge (think Moses, Egypt, and a mountain of amphibians) of frogs spilled into a major thoroughfare. The Egnatia highway in northern Greece was closed for two hours following three accidents where motorists skidded off the highway while trying to dodge the frogs.

According to the traffic police chief Giorgos Thanoglou, tiny frogs covered the road by the “millions.” He further commented, “There was a carpet of frogs.”

Well, the authorities said that the frog problem was probably brought about when the tiny critters from the nearby lake went in search of food, so there’s probably little chance of rivers flowing red from blood, hail, and gnats and flies.

via [ Yahoo News ]