# Largest man made 'object' ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2005, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993 "2005-04-25T07:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/1 "2005-04-25T07:50:00Z")
I took pleasure in telling someone recently that the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island (Wiki page [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_Kills_Landfill) and official [website](http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/fkl/ada/forum/3_3.html) here) was the largest man-made object in the world (and I believe ever?), not the Great Wall of China. But according to the Wiki page the place isn’t a landfill anymore. I google but I can’t find- is Fresh Kills still the biggest man-made thing on earth? Was it the biggest ever made? (I know that we do not know everything made in the past 6,000 years , but we can have an idea 😉 ) I pretty much already know the answer is yes. Here are the stats for it: (according to [allrefer.com](http://allrefer.com): “6 times the size of La Guardia Airport, 4 times the size of Disneyland”) (according to official website: 1200 acres of garbage) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/2 "2005-04-25T07:59:30Z")
Maby the hole in the ozone layer is bigger? Thats if we made it of course. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/3 "2005-04-25T09:22:36Z")
I guess it depends on how wide the interpretation of the word “object” is. Mankind has been systematically clearing vast forests for tens of millennia: one could arguably call England’s patchwork quilt of fields or the the sub-Saharan Sahel a “man-made feature”. And is a _city_ not a man-made object? If so, Tokyo and Mexico City are pretty big by area (although I once, bizarrely, heard that Mount Isa in Australia was, somehow, enomous in this respect??) Less equivocably, vast quarries and man-made lakes like Lake Nasser behind the Aswan Dam would likely beat the Staten Island landfill. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/4 "2005-04-25T09:38:27Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > (although I once, bizarrely, heard that Mount Isa in Australia was, somehow, enomous in this respect??). Mt. Isa has one of the largest mines in the world located within the city limits. Based on the sheer size of the thing (depth, multiple levels) its been estimated the actual surface area of the mine is about the same as Switzerland. Also the towns main street is [188km](http://www.mountisa.qld.gov.au/welcome/The_City_Today/the_city_today.html) long. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/5 "2005-04-25T12:48:31Z")
> [@alaska56](#): > > Maby the hole in the ozone layer is bigger? > > Thats if we made it of course. A hole _isn’t_ an object, it’s the _lack of_ an object. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/6 "2005-04-25T13:12:54Z")
You need to define your terms more clearly. If a pile of dirt and garbage is an object then I’d say that a manmade lake is no less of an object and some of them are vastly larger. A city is not a single structure. The great wall of China is a series of structures though some of the largest segments may qualify. The largest movable objects are probably cuise ships though I think the Hindenburg had more total volume. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/7 "2005-04-25T13:17:06Z")
Lots of things are bigger than Fresh Kills, although I would like you to better define ‘size’ and ‘object.’ Off the top of my head, the North American road and highway system is a single object (I guess) and is huge. Perhaps the North American rail net at its height was bigger, heavier, whatever. The European canal system certainly moved more dirt. The worldwide telephone and power line systems cover more area. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/8 "2005-04-25T15:01:11Z")
If we are limiting ouselves to discrete, single objects, the [Troll ‘A’ production platform in the North Sea](http://www.answers.com/topic/troll-platform), installed in 1996, is a probable candidate. It is generally considered the tallest object ever moved, and is surely among the most massive . ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/9 "2005-04-25T18:40:10Z")
> [@Padeye](#): > > The largest movable objects are probably cuise ships though I think the Hindenburg had more total volume. Nope. Non-merchant marine people often think that big cruise ships are big (because they make the news more), but they’re actually pretty modest. ULCC’s (Ultra Large Crude Carriers) are much bigger. The biggest is the [Jahre Viking](http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/jahre-viking.htm) (aka Seawise Giant, aka Happy Giant) which is about 400 feet longer and 100 feet wider than the world’s largest cruise vessel, and has an enclosed volume 90,000 GRT greater (about 9 million cubic feet). The Jahre Viking fully loaded displaces about 560,000 tonnes, which is a little less than Troll A, but she is longer (at 485m) than Troll A is tall. Cruise ships don’t publicise their DWT (displacement) but given that even the Queen Mary 2’s max draft is about 40% of the Jahre Viking’s, she isn’t in the hunt when it comes to mass. Even an ordinary VLCC (Very Large Cargo Carrier) would usually be bigger than the largest cruise ship ever built. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/10 "2005-04-25T19:45:37Z")
I would assume that something along the line of the 3 Gorges Dam would be a strong contender for largest man-made object. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/11 "2005-04-25T20:18:21Z")
> [@](#): > > But according to the Wiki page the place isn’t a landfill anymore. Nor does Wkipedia claim that Fresh Kills was ever the largest man-made anything. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/12 "2005-04-25T20:46:36Z")
Just out of interest, i googled “largest man-made object.” The first five or six hits all had qualifiers of some sort, like: “largest man-made object in prehistoric Europe” “largest man-made object ever to orbit the Earth” “largest man-made object ever to fly” “largest man-made object ever sent into orbit” “largest man-made object ever to fall from orbit” (what’s with all the flying stuff?) Anyway, the first result that actually sopke about the largest man-made object, period, was [this site](http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/wastedisposal.htm), which offered the Fresh Kills landfill as the winner: > [@](#): > > The landfill on Staten Island in New York City is one of the most amazing products of waste in the world. It is undoubtedly the largest man-made object in the world and can be seen from space. Of course they give no citation for their claim. Also, like the OP, they don’t really say what qualifies as an “object,” or whether the issue is one of volume, mass, surface area, length, height, or some combination of all these. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/13 "2005-04-25T21:12:46Z")
The Fresh Kills landfill is still a landfill; it just isn’t in operation any more. It’s not like the thing has already been converted to condos and golf courses. I’d have to be convinced on the whole “visible from space” thing – even from the ground it looks like what it is. It’s a huge honkin’ pile of dirt (OK, several piles) which happen to have garbage underneath. But there’s grasses and dirt piles and little ponds and all kinds of stuff that’s indistinguishable from non-landfills. If it’s visible from space it’s because it’s the place on Staten Island which looks least man-made! ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/14 "2005-04-25T22:36:49Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > Nor does Wikipedia claim that Fresh Kills was ever the largest man-made anything. And so it is written in Wikipedia, so it is absolute and final truth. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/15 "2005-04-25T22:54:14Z")
OK, here we go. [Here’s a Google-hosted satellite image of the area.](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=fresh+kills+landfill&ll=40.583496,-74.181747&sll=40.583333,-74.150000&spn=0.045748,0.063343&sspn=0.130127,0.233502&t=k&hl=en) The landfill is basically everything in the picture that doesn’t have houses on it. It runs from the bottom left of the image and completely surrounds the forked inlet in the middle there. Pretty much everything the inlet touches is landfill. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/16 "2005-04-25T23:20:21Z")
I had trouble loading that from a Mac. ( Safari and whatnot ). Try [This satellite image with dotted outlines](http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/gif/fkl/about/1_2_0c_final_lg.jpg), which - if not what our **Manny** was linking may be so close that it’s okay to post anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/17 "2005-04-25T23:42:33Z")
I’ve seen satellite photos like what he just posted, off [bored.com](http://bored.com), but never had seen Google map. It’s not listed under the Google directory. It’s a special program, right? What does one need to access special google programs? ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/18 "2005-04-25T23:44:48Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > A hole _isn’t_ an object, it’s the _lack of_ an object. :dubious: ‘Dunkin Donuts’ sell donut holes… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/19 "2005-04-25T23:54:55Z")
> [@ltfire](#): > > ‘Dunkin Donuts’ sell donut holes… > 😃 They _also_ sell Bear Claws, but that doesn’t mean that there’s a steaming pile of _discarded grizzlies_ in back o the donut shop! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Jon\_the\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Jon\_the\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jon_the_Geek)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993/20 "2005-04-26T00:17:14Z")
\ > [@andrewdt85](#): > > I’ve seen satellite photos like what he just posted, off [bored.com](http://bored.com), but never had seen Google map. It’s not listed under the Google directory. It’s a special program, right? What does one need to access special google programs? Google maps can be found at [http://maps.google.com/](http://maps.google.com/) or by typing an address into a normal Google search. Click “satellite” in the upper-right to see any satellite images of that area, at varying levels of detail (depending on the area). I know it works on Firefox and IE on my PC, and I’ve seen it on Safari on a Mac, but I don’t know exactly what plugins it might require (none as far as I know, but it MIGHT be more than just images; I think they’re pngs, and that could cause a problem on some setups). \ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-man-made-object-ever/300993.md?page=2)