World Biggest Truck Ever

Liebherr T 282B large earth-hauling dump truck

The Liebherr T 282B is a large earth-hauling dump truck designed by Liebherr, a German manufacturer of heavy equipment, household appliances, microelectronics, car parts, tool machines and aerospace components.

At the time of its launch in 2004, the T 282B was the largest earth-hauling truck in the world, although it has lost that title to newer products from competitors. The T 282B has an empty weight of 203 tonnes, and a maximum capacity of 365 tonnes. The maximum operating weight is 592 tonnes. It is 14.5 meters long and 7.4 meters tall over the canopy, with a wheelbase of 6.6 meters. The top level model is driven by a 10.5 tonne, 90 litre diesel engine, developed by Detroit Diesel and MTU (Germany), producing 3650 horsepower (2700 kW). This engine powers two Siemens electric traction motors in the rear axle. The top speed of the truck is 40 mph (65 km/h).

The truck costs about US$ 3.5 million. CD-player and air conditioning systems are optional, unusual in the world of professional hauling. Liebherr expects to sell dozens of them every year, primarily to coal, copper, iron and gold mines in the USA, Chile, Indonesia, South Africa and Australia.

The trucks are assembled in a 10 acre (4 ha) factory in Newport News, Virginia, USA, that can handle four 282s at a time.

World Largest Ants

Male driver ants, sometimes known as "sausage flies" due to their bloated, sausage-like abdomens, are the largest known ants, and were originally believed to be members of a different species. Males leave the colony soon after hatching, but are drawn to the scent trail left by a column of siafu once it reaches sexual maturity. When a colony of driver ants encounters a male, they tear its wings off and carry it back to the nest to be mated with the queen.

The army ant genus Dorylus, also known as driver ants, safari ants, or siafu, is found primarily in central and east Africa, although the range also extends to tropical Asia. Unlike the New World members of the subfamily Ecitoninae, members of this genus do form temporary anthills lasting from a few days up to three months. Each colony can contain over 20 million individuals. As with their New World counterparts, there is a soldier class among the workers, which is larger, with a very large head and pincer-like mandibles. They are capable of stinging, but very rarely do so, relying instead on their powerful shearing jaws.

Odd Bikers