A round-up of BIG news highlights across the globe, and other BIG finds we want to share!

A FUN FIND!

Matt called me from his guys’ weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he went to watch the college basketball MAAC tournament in mid-March. “I’m at the Basketball Hall of Fame, and a huge basketball is part of the building,” he said. “Google it and see if it’s the world’s largest.”

Well, it isn’t. The world’s largest basketball is actually part of the architecture of the Women’s National Basketball Hall of Fame building in Knoxville, Tennessee. But this one is pretty cool in its largeness, too! It’s a steel, three-level, hemisphere-shaped dome. The 80,000-square foot interior contains a full-sized basketball court, as well as exhibits.

NEWS OF THE LARGE

News which caught our attention over the past month:

The Norwegian Breakaway, the largest ship ever constructed in Germany, has been completed and is on its way to New York City, where it will be the largest cruise ship to depart from the Port of New York. The ship, over 1,000 feet long, can carry 4,000-passengers.

The Norwegian Breakaway

The Bay Lights, the world’s largest LED light sculpture, has been installed across the Bay Bridge West Span in San Francisco, California. At 1.8 miles wide and 500 feet high, the collection of 25,000 white LED lights will be on display through 2015.

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, the world’s largest rattlesnake roundup, took place March 8-10 in Sweetwater, Texas. The event, which drew more than 40,000 visitors, began in 1958 as a way to control the local snake population (yikes.)

FROM OUR READERS

We received a nice “hello” in the form of an email from the Tourism Director in the City of Greensburg, Kansas. Stacy just wanted to share some of the BIG stuff in her community, including The Big Well. The world’s largest hand dug well, The Big Well is 109 feet deep and 32 feet across. Completed in 1888, it was not only the town’s original water supply, but a marvel of pioneer engineering.

The Big Well, Greensburg, KS