The Phoenix Islands Protected Area, or PIPA, lies about halfway between Hawaii and Fiji. [AP]

PIPA was the world’s third largest marine protected area before the Government of Kiribati announced the expansion of the boundaries of the protected area on Jan 28, 2008… which now encompass an area of 410,500 square kilometres. [Phoenixisland]

World’s largest gold coin (Image courtesy of Xinhuanet)

The gold coin, produced by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007, is approximately 50cm in diametre and about 3cm thick and has a purity of 99.999%.

Although the 100kg coin has a face value of $1 million, it would cost approximately CA$2.6 million (or US$2.4 million) to purchase, based on the market value of gold.

The pool is just beside the coastline… how bizarre…

The swimming pool at the resort of San Alfonso del Mar in Algarrobo city measures 1,013 metres (3,323 ft) in length, covers an area of eight hectares (20 acres), contains 250,000 cubic meters of water and is navigable in small boats. [Xinhuanet]

The previous largest pool in the world is the Orthlieb pool in Casablanca, Morocco, which measures at 480×75 metres. An Olympic size pool is just 50×25 metres.

Brandy… just about the height of a Cola can (Image courtesy of Thesun)

Fact is, both dogs are recognised by Guinness World Records as the smallest dog in the world… the different is that Brandy is the smallest in term of length, while Boo Boo the smallest in term of height.

Cecchini released half a million of coloured plastic balls from the top of the Spanish Steps in Rome on Wednesday (Jan 16)… a prank similar to the famous Sony Bravia commercial.

Cecchini said that he had done the stunt to raise the profile of Burma and the Karen people. He and his three other ‘compatriots’ are later arrested.

The Karen is a minority who have fought for an independent state since 1949, and accuse the military junta of ethnic cleansing. [BBC]

Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has announced that it will start operation of the world’s highest elevator testing tower, named SOLAÉ, on Jan 25, 2008.

The 173 metre high structure is located at Japan’s Inazawa City; the construction of the tower and related facilities cost 5 billion Yen (~USD46 million).

The company says it will use the tower to conduct research into high-speed elevators to serve the next generation of super-tall buildings. [BBC]

The nanotechnology experts at the Technion institute in Haifa say the text measures less than 0.5 square millimeter (0.01 square inch) surface. They chose the Jewish Bible to highlight how vast quantities of information can be stored in minimum amounts of space.

World’s smallest bible… ya, the black dot (Image courtesy of Eastday)

The previous smallest known copy of the Bible measured 2.8 x 3.4 x 1 centimeters (1.1 x 1.3 x 0.4 inches), weighing 11.75 grams (0.4 ounces) and containing 1,514 pages, according to Guinness World Records spokeswoman Amarilis Espinoza. [Metro]

Naja Ashei

WildlifeDirect said the cobras were the world’s largest and had been identified as unique. The species has been named Naja Ashei (Ashe’s Spitting Cobra) after James Ashe, who founded Bio-Ken snake farm on Kenya’s tropical coast where the gigantic serpents are found.

The aggressive reptile was previously identified as a brown-colored variant of the black-necked spitting cobra, though researchers had long suspected that it merited its own species. Now blood and tissue analysis have confirmed this theory to be true.

The snake dwells in the dry lowlands of north and east Kenya, as well as in Uganda and Ethiopia.

[Nationalgeographic and Reuters]

World’s largest flag (Image courtesy of Chinaview)

I am not sure if it is a good idea to lay your flag on the sandy desert though; I have always been taught that national flag shouldn’t be touching the ground. Perhaps it’s a different culture… or perhaps some people were too obsessed in creating a world record and neglecting the basic rules.

The bright magenta “Hanging Heart,” considered one of Koons’ most important works, set records for any living artist at auction, Sotheby’s spokeswoman Lauren Gioia said, breaking the previous record set by Damien Hirst’s “Lullaby Spring,” which sold for $19.5 million at Sotheby’s in London in June. [IHT]

Jeff Koons’ Hanging Heart (Image courtesy of Xinhuanet)

It is a lovely piece of art, but $23.6 million? I just can’t understand how artworks are priced.

The tower in the village of Suurhusen in northern Germany applied in June for the title and this week had it confirmed that it had beaten the famous landmark in Pisa.

Guinness Book of Records officials confirmed it is leaning at a 5.19 degree angle compared to the 3.97 degree of the tower of Pisa.

The leaning church steeple in Germany (Image courtesy of Telegraph)

Personally I don’t think the 2 is comparable. It’s not just about the angle, but the height as well… the German church seems no where near the height of the leaning tower of Pisa.

Quahog clams are known for their longevity. A 220-year-old taken from American waters in 1982 holds the official Guinness Book of World Records oldest animal title. Unofficially, the record belongs to a 374-year-old Icelandic clam housed in a German museum. [Nationalgeographic]

405-year-old quahog clam (Image courtesy of Bangor University)

Airbus 380 takes off from the runway

With 455 passengers, some of whom paid tens of thousands of dollars for a seat in aviation history; the superjumbo soared into the sky on a 7 and 1/2 hour flight to Sydney that launches a new era in air travel. Also on board flight SQ380 are a crew of about 30 including four pilots.

Passengers clapped as the plane disengaged from the dock on schedule at 8am (0000gmt) and taxied to the runway that was widened and lengthened to accommodate the huge plane.

More cheers broke out 16 minutes later as the double-decker aircraft, powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines, lifted smoothly into the nearly cloudless sky tinged pink by the light of the early morning sun.