Extreme Moments of 2010

The year certainly brought extremes in weather, as records were broken for hot and cold throughout the United States. Poor South Dakota, now gripped in the chilly embrace of a blizzard-laden winter, had no less than seven presidential disaster declarations in 2010. But attention turned east when Washington, D.C., was brought to a standstill by snow and when a rare tornado dared to skip through Brooklyn.
We also witnessed some whoppers of a fish tale this year. In France, angler Raphael Biagini reeled in a 30-pound koi carp that wouldn't fit in your average ornamental pond. The "legendary goldfish," however, was allowed to return to the lake whence it came -- after a snapshot, of course. In South Africa, a sea critter was the aggressor: A 40-ton whale body-slammed a yacht, but seafarers Ralph Mothes and Paloma Werner were able to motor back under their own power.
Other jaw-droppers in 2010:• Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper at 818 meters andthen some, officially opened in January.• Sultan Kosen of Turkey is currently the world's tallest man at 8 feet, 2 inches -- but misses the record by 9 inches.• Khagendra Thapa Magar of Nepal is currently the world's smallest man at 26.4 inches. His stature's good enough to get him a gig as Nepal's goodwill ambassador.• It's Christ the King versus Christ the Redeemer, as the Polish town of Swiebodzin takes on Rio de Janiero for world's tallest Jesus. According to the 78-year-old priest, Reverend Sylwester Zawadzki, who got the statue built, it measures 33 meters (108 feet), a meter for every year the religious figure lived. If you include the mound and the crown, it's 167 feet, taller than Rio's 125-footer.• A bad landing caused Lufthansa Cargo flight LH8460, reportedly carrying chemicals and weapons, to bounce three times on the runway, split open, and catch fire, but everybody survived.• And always captivating: the best meteor showers of the year.