14 of the Biggest Balls in the World
Some people’s legacy is their family. For others, it’s their art. For one man, it’s a huge, horrifying ball of human hair.
World’s Largest Ball of String
What’s the largest ball of string? It depends who you ask. Cawker City, Kansas is home to the largest ball of twine built by a community (20,000 pounds); Darwin, Minnesota has the largest ball of twine built by one person (17,400 pounds); Branson, Missouri claims the largest ball of nylon twine (12,000 pounds). Then there’s Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin, whose ball is more potato-shaped than ball-shaped, but outweighs all other contenders at 24,000 pounds.
World’s Largest Snowball
A group of students at ASME Michigan Technological University wadded up the largest recorded snowball in 2013, at 9 feet tall and 33 feet in circumference. Impressive, sure, but extremely beatable considering how plentiful the material is.
World’s Largest Ancient Stone Balls
Known as “The Giant Balls,” there are over 1,000 almost perfectly spherical balls rolling around one part of Costa Rica. The largest is over 8 feet wide.
World’s Largest Ball of Human Hair
Hairstylist Steve Warden gets emotional talking about Hoss, the giant ball of hair that “changed my life.” He decided to construct a huge wad of human hair as he “got more spiritual” and “wanted to leave a legacy.”
World’s Largest Matzah Ball
Now that your appetite is all revved up, let’s talk food. The largest matzah ball was cooked up in New York City’s Noah’s Ark Original Deli in 2009. It took 1,000 eggs and 200 pounds of matzo meal to make the 29-inch ball.
World’s Largest Ball of String Cheese
Two cooks in Mexico used over 2,600 gallons of milk to whip up the 1,402-pound clump of peelable cheese in 2024.
World’s Largest Fish Ball
In 2019, China’s Fujian Yuguan Food Co., Ltd cooked up the 440-pound ball of fish. It took 10 people to make, and 300 people to eat.
World’s Largest Disco Ball
South England’s four-day music fest, Bestival, constructed a 33-foot behemoth in 2014.
World’s Largest Kugel
If you, like I, thought a kugel was pelvic floor exercise, let me explain: a kugel fountain is one of those public installations where a gigantic stone ball rolls on top of a jet of water. The largest is an 8-foot-8 sphere at the Science Museum of Virginia that weighs 29 tons, but can be rotated on its watery throne by a little kid.
World’s Largest Inflatable Beach Ball
The 2017 Baywatch movie made this 65-foot inflatable publicity stunt and dunked it in the River Thames. It’s the limeys’ problem now, innit.
World’s Largest Ball Point Pen
The largest functioning ball point pen was created by Acharya Makunuri Srinivasa in India in 2011. It’s 18 feet long and weighs 82 pounds. The ball itself is the smallest one on this list, but I defy you to find bigger balls inside a pack of pens.
World’s Heaviest Ball of Dog Hair
You thought we were done with the hair? No sir, it gets worse. In 2017, Texas Hearing and Service Dogs clumped up the hair of over 8,000 dogs to produce this 201-pound monstrosity.
World’s Heaviest Balls (Rotated on Back of Hand)
Xie Jiajun of China has broken this record on three separate occasions. I have no doubt he’s an extremely talented ball roller, but I gotta say: I have no clue what this record actually is. My best guess is that it’s like spinning a basketball, or maybe Baoding balls, those fancy spherical fidget toys.
World’s Heaviest Balls (For Real This Time)
Deep down, you knew this was coming. The right whale, or Eubalaena, boasts the largest testes in the animal kingdom. These big honkin’ floaters can grow up to 1,100 pounds and whalejaculate over a gallon of Eub Juice.
