World's Biggest Things | Did you know? | Free Documentary

did you know that the biggest tree in the world is called general sherman it's home the usa near the coast in the forests of northern california there are trees that make the fir trees we know from home look like blades of grass if a tree like this is in the way of a new road there are two options drive around or through it like in this case despite the tunnel this giant redwood is perfectly healthy but what is the secret behind these trees growing to these enormous heights for the biologists amongst us the latin name for these trees is sequoia sempervirens [Music] they are thousands of years old and originate from a time when the usa was only inhabited by indians but why do these humongous trees grow to heights of over 100 meters [Music] shayna de hart and vanessa williams know everything about giant sequoias the tree experts are out and about in the treetops every day to monitor the development of this ecosystem [Music] almost like when in the mountains the downhill part is always the most fun [Music] an interesting job where vanessa and her team also get to let tourists in on the secrets of the redwoods we're in like a 400 year old christmas tree right now so merry christmas um these used to be the tallest tree in the world we log these trees a lot use them for toothpicks so they're no longer the tallest today only three percent of the original amount of giant trees is still in existence in california among the remaining ones we can find the biggest in the world for shaina and vanessa this is a fascinating job 96 feet in the air is that the highest part um this is the highest platform okay so this is my favorite platform of all because we're so high up right now and we only have 15 feet ahead of us the tallest redwood in the world is 380 feet tall it is called hyperia and it is the highest tree on earth this giant redwood is 115 meters tall and higher than some cathedrals but volume wise it is not the record holder this is the gigantic general sherman tree standing at 83 meters and with a tree trunk diameter of 11 meters this is the biggest redwood tree on earth experts have conducted research where they counted the tree rings and they think it is 2 500 years old but how does a tree grow this high for a start it has gigantic roots that support it they grow around the tree in a 30 meter radius also redwoods don't they have very shallow roots they go down about like eight to twelve feet and they go out really far and interlock with other trees which keeps them strong but that means that it's gonna sway so heads up these trees are gonna start swaying yes really it is very easy to bring these trees into motion but the roots are not responsible for their height [Music] scientists assume that the trees reach such tremendous heights here because it is often very foggy here the fog always brings enough moisture to the trees whose crowns are so high up this means that they don't have to draw the water up from the ground through their roots and transport it upwards themselves you could say that the trunk is the tree's biggest route the redwoods of california are not only the biggest trees on earth but are also the fastest growing ones an average redwood grows by 1.2 meters a year in comparison a european birch only manages 50 centimeters did you know that the longest building in the world is located on a german island praora also called the monster by the sea is a total of 4.5 kilometers long a building with a history that couldn't be more controversial built by the nazis used by the gdr regime would you have thought that prora is the longest youth hostel in the world today and is supposed to become a holiday paradise due to the luxury flats that are being built there but how will this complex be able to take the step to the future without it being forgotten what happened here at the southern end the old ruins have already turned into a 500 meter long building site architect ulrich stuka has taken on a mammoth project with broad 2 500 windows have already been replaced by his team and 8 000 tons of rubble were extracted from only one tract of the building permission to turn the lost place broura into a luxury resort soon new noble roof terraces with a sea view are supposed to exist here what the investors are counting on is the fantastic location of the building right by the sea praora is located on rugen the biggest german island at the most northeasterly point of the republic right by the baltic sea per year here there are about 100 hours of sun more than in munich 56 kilometers of sandy beaches attract about 1.5 million holidaymakers and nature lovers per year the very appealing location was also the reason for praora being built here did you know that adolf hitler had it built as a propaganda project in 1936 the building's developer was the ns organization kdf which means strength through joy whose goal it was to create a holiday resort for 20 000 germans eight blocks were built along the coast from 1936 onwards and a gigantic festival hall was also planned but it was never constructed holidaymakers also never arrived here as in 1939 the second world war broke out this meant that the project had to be stopped all that is left of the monster by the sea is the shell of the building in block one the structure of the building was not in a safe condition anymore so it had to be torn down combining the present and the past this is the big challenge for the architects in praora today next to the rundown building the big surprise here there are some beautiful already finished apartment blocks about one-third of the 4.5 kilometer colossus has already been done up and opposed to back in the day the holiday makers will be even closer to the baltic sea thanks to their own balconies this view makes you easily forget that you are in the longest building complex in the world of the originally eight blocks there are only five left these were used by the national people's army of the gdr when it was still in existence in 1989 carol burzel attended military school in prora today the 46 year old is visiting the old detention cells in the former access control house cells like these used to exist in every block without a trial soldiers were locked up here for up to 10 days prora became the biggest military facility in the gdr carol would never have dreamed that he would return to praora 30 years later and he would have expected even less that he would one day buy two apartments here but that is exactly what he has done they are located in the same block as the military academy used to be in others condemned the decision to turn the historic building into a holiday resort but what else could be done with this colossus refurbish it at cost to the state too expensive at this size this is why the government has sold four of the five blocks to private investors did you know that prora has another record to show for itself yes it houses the longest youth hostel in the world in block five dennis brosite has been the manager since it opened in 2011. for the start of the season he has to get 96 rooms ready which offer accommodation for over 420 guests what very few of them know the 840 windows are not all the same size and therefore needed to be specially made an incredible structure with an amazing history broura the longest building in the world [Music] these pupils have several thousand schoolmates because it's the largest school in the world did you know it has 47 000 students 2 000 classrooms and 2 500 teachers luck now in india 47 000 kids and teenagers whether by scooter by bus or by bicycle rickshaw they're all on their way to the same [Music] school anshu shows us how she manages to cope with thousands of schoolmates she attends the 11th grade in a moment her second class starts maths yeah for us indians children we are completely used to being surrounded by people because we have many students have joined families also in the roads and all you know there's so much of hustle and bustle and traffic and indian roads are full of people and that's the same in school also 50 50 students but it's comfortable happy happy people so it's not much of a deal the teachers don't call the students by their names but by numbers can you imagine a teacher memorizing up to 600 names there are a lot of children in a school so in order to just identify in any case the id card works because that not every one of the every staff of our school knows each and every child so just for their sake to know us at any time they can see like and identify us the mega school is a private institution with 27 buildings and schoolyards the parents pay fees of up to 100 euros a month even though every class has an average of 50 to 60 students the numbers are still rising even chemistry or computer sciences are taught in front of 50 students at the same time [Music] there are over 20 teachers for the sixth graders alone halpretti is one of them she is responsible for more than 500 students on her floor [Music] it's history lesson now today's topic india during the stone age [Music] open your books page 28 class in india works like this the teacher speaks and the students listen [Music] there's no trick you just need to get across to them and if they understand that this particular time which we get in this 30-35 minutes they know that they have to understand the course content and for which they have to be attentive and when they have their assessments their tests they will not be getting good grades they have their long break after the third lesson did you know these are the only 15 minutes in which the students are allowed to move around freely the breaks take place time delayed with these thousands of students first its sixth to eighth grade at 10 30 a.m it's the elementary school students turn while they are enjoying their break and eat their sandwiches some eighth graders are drilled the exercises are supposed to promote discipline and the community spirit [Applause] competition at the largest school in the world is immense if you want to be one of the best you have to perform very well anshu has performed well these are the mediterranean students of the 10th class board examinations those who scored above 90 percent you believe overachievers are greatly respected in india with more than a billion inhabitants only the best obtain one of these sought after college places actually the goal is to get a good photograph click because then if you get a bad photograph everyone will make fun of you because all the students pass from here and the point in the laugh if your photograph is not good so if you can if you're short of getting a good percentage my advice is get a good photograph clip at 2 pm sharp school is finally over 47 000 students want to go home as fast as possible many are picked up by their parents the so-called transport managers take care of the rest of them they coordinate the school-owned carpool and ensure all the students arrive home safely but tomorrow everything will start all over again at the largest school in the world india here the small village of bhaktan is located preparations for a photo shoot but this isn't going to be a normal family portrait because this isn't a normal family [Music] this is sayona chana his 39 wives and his 94 children all together they are the biggest family in the world 181 people under one roof in a 4 000 square meter large villa with 100 rooms life in xxl 80 kilos of rice per day and a washing line that is 100 meters long a family of superlatives whose children make up a whole school class by themselves and the football teams only consist of brothers a mega family that works like clockwork 39 women are married to the same man completely normal for the chanas his first wife the man of the house married when she was a teenager every morning 75 year old santiangi holds morning roll call as the oldest wife she is in charge of the household the other women respect her authority santiagi always has the final say in the house and when it comes to issues with the children it has been this way for the past fifty eight years the married life of the china's has very strict rules rule number one and is the boss in the household number two each wife may only share the bed with the patriarch for one week number three only four women take care of the husband at the same time can you imagine that siona chana's children and grandchildren make up one-fifth of all pupils in the village a week siona chana is able to support his family without any help from the state a big reason for this is his carpenter's workshop and as there are hardly any furniture shops in miseram his handmade goods are real best sellers the company is a real family business all the employees are his own sons [Music] while the suns have to work till 2 pm their mothers come back from the fields with the harvest they have brought this requires 80 kilos of rice and 17 kilos of vegetables but life in a big family also means a lot of fun after work the children like to spend their free time by playing football or by cooling off in the swimming pool would you have thought that sayona chana built this himself too despite the family already being xxl he still wants to enlarge his family [Music] and at dinner everything is regulated too each wife is sat at her own table with her children 181 people that are perfectly in tune with each other the biggest family in the world be it valentine's or mother's day for every occasion there is the befitting rose with a length of up to one meter 80 this is the biggest rose in the world but do you actually know where it comes from we are traveling to ecuador one of the biggest exporters of cut flowers one of the biggest rose farms in the country is in matshazi and among all the colorful varieties freedom the biggest rose in the world it can grow to a size of up to 180 centimeters juan paolo is the boss of this rose empire he knows exactly what customers all over the world want to sentiment all together juan paolo owns three gigantic farms 950 000 roses grow on this farm alone all at the same time a sea of thousands of roses they are so big that we can hardly see the blooms and here it is the biggest rose in the world at one meter 60 it is as big as a human the flowering plant is the basis for the huge roses it has deep roots and grows best in the clay and nutrient-rich ground of the andes would you have thought that each of these roses later will become a bulging rose bush the day for the rose workers already begins at sunrise susanna her daughter bianca and her husband edison live on 36 square meters the rose family catch the bus to work every day [Music] edison begins by making a small cut in the outer layer of the rootstock then he removes the bud the so-called eye from another variety of rose and puts it inside the bark to finish he secures the laceration with a special [Music] now mother nature takes its course did you know that due to the thin air and the cold nights the roses grow more slowly here than normal this makes the stems grow thicker and the plants don't break as easily under their own weight four months later the roses have outgrown the farm workers susana has to cut each stem separately [Music] [Music] 90 000 roses fall victim to the clippers every day after this the farm workers pull the freshly harvested roses out of the greenhouses on a wire rope hoist each one carries 24 baskets at 2 kilos each [Music] right after the harvest the roses take a 35 second shower this way vermin don't stand a chance [Music] on average the roses reach a length of 1 meter 40 but some specimens manage to exceed the 180 centimeter mark in the end the huge roses cost 10 euros per piece but only a fraction of the profit is for juan [Music] roses are checked weighed and packaged in the factory every day so this is what it looks like the journey of the biggest rose in the world [Music] isn't it almost too beautiful to be true this mega pool looks a bit like a delusion of grandeur a gigantic pool that is big enough to ride a boat in it but do you know where this pool the biggest in the world can be found [Music] we do some research and find out the largest pool in the world is located in chile in santiago everyone knows the humongous paddling pool so we arrange a meeting with the boss of the pool company there he comes the mega pool builder of course in proper style in a mega expensive sports car this man is behind it all fernando fishman by now builds structures like this all over the world mr fishman yes i am for a viewing of a regular pool flip-flops would be enough but in this case a helicopter is more adequate our destination the holiday resort of alfonso del mar a super modern gigantic hotel on the coast there and there it is the mother of all swimming pools would you have thought that 250 million litres of water fit inside there if you wanted to go on a walk along the side of the pool it might take a little while as it is one kilometer long and we even discover a sailing boat it took four years and cost a whole four million euros to build the water feature an artificial sea right by the sea [Music] i remember sitting on the beach thinking that's it there was nothing today there is a complex with 1 300 holiday homes the mega pool is the highlight but how does this make sense a gigantic pool right next to the sea [Music] the explanation due to the strong current swimming here is far too dangerous also an arctic stream never lets the water temperature rise above 16 degrees or would you have thought that penguins even live here of course something like this doesn't attract tourists and that is the reason for the mega pool it is filled with heated sea water underground pipes keep replenishing it from the sea this way the water level remains the same the newly developed filtration technique is so innovative that fernando fishman sells it all over the world 300 projects all over the globe already use it the bottom of the pool is not tiled as per usual but is made from a special kind of sheeting that was especially developed for this project because the water is so clear the material has to be extremely resistant to uv light [Music] just like any other pool it has to be cleaned regularly sigfrido grimau is responsible for this for over 10 years he's been taking care of the upkeep of the pool [Music] every day the floor has to be cleaned that's about 80 000 square meters almost the size of eight football fields on a boat and dragging a hose behind him he makes his way through the water the whole procedure takes about eight hours tifrido grimaud also has to test the quality of the water because the water is never completely exchanged the quality has to be monitored constantly but the guests don't notice any of this on holiday it is cocktail time by the biggest pool in the world [Music] this is it the coco de mer the biggest nut in the world but did you know that these nuts are sold for up to 1 000 euros the exorbitant knot only grows on two islands in the shells which are only accessible with a special permit from the government but how does the nut grow and where exactly can it be found ranger dennis will show us we are here at bellare in the middle of the trail we have a huge area where we can see lots lots and lots of cocodemay for example up there we can see all the green palms on the mountain all of it is kokodeme but from that distance we cannot tell if it's male or female yes actually there's one there next to it i can find something when the nuts are ripe they fall off the palm trees just like coconuts oh yeah there so that's actually the female fruit okay now we can see a female crocodile fruit that probably just fallen down like a one week maximum and we can also see the green gecko on it he will be the one carrying the pollen green from the male flower and then go to the female tree and then enter the small there's a small fruit like that they will enter meet the flower inside and that's everything will start from there and until it will fall down like that it takes seven years for a nut to be ripe and that is exactly why they are so valuable and rare so geckos are responsible for their conception as their job is the pollination as you can see it's really really big dennis has found a real beauty for us to crack this nut he has to use all his strength as a nutcracker he uses a stone with lots of force he repeatedly throws the nut onto it so that the shell breaks [Music] then he has to only uncover the seed [Music] so it's something really really special but now what i will do is that i put them like that like that and i will show you normally it should be like that so one fruit one fruit inside the same skin the shell of the coco de mer reminds us of a woman's lower body and that is why it's considered to be a kind of natural viagra the workers extract the pulp and every single nut is also measured and weighed everything is done by hand everywhere there are bars and cameras almost like in a high security prison [Music] safety safety people will come and stole it make big money with that the shells and the pulp are sold separately so each nut is sawn apart in the middle on the inside no coconut milk so there it is the one that is cut the pulp of the coco de mer is much harder than that of a normal coconut so you have to be very careful not to damage the shell because it's going to sell it so you have to be very careful the pulp is mainly exported to asia as an aphrodisiac a kilo costs 85 euros so from a knot with seven kilos of pulp that makes 600 euros but what is actually worth more the pulp or the shell for us is the inside for the the authorities it's the shell with wood glue the workers stick the shell back together depending on the size the now completely empty shell of the nut is worth another 200 to 400 euros like this the pulp isn't ready to be sold yet it needs to be washed but the flesh of the fruit is extremely firm as opposed to normal coconuts it doesn't suck up any of the water so when it's dry it cracks the inside crack it's much harder than before you see like stone you should fall near feet again the expensive pulp is sent by air freight and the shell is also a top seller from the shells of the biggest nut in the world sculptures for the living room at home are made the coco de mer all in all an incredible nut you

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 526,461

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), worlds biggest, biggest things, worlds biggest things, Biggest Tree, Biggest Family, biggest rose, biggest school, biggest nut, Biggest Swimming Pool, Longest Building, biggest thing in the world, did you know

Id: HSxR5Q42uSU

Length: 35min 46sec (2146 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 02 2020