...cool stuff on the giants

TokiEl

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Angus MacAskill





Angus MacAskill (1825 – 8 August 1863) was a Scottish-born Canadian giant. In its 1981 edition the Guinness Book of World Records stated he was the strongest man, the tallest non-pathological giant and the largest true giant in recorded history at 7 feet 9 inches (2.36 m), he also had the largest chest measurements of any non-obese man at 80 inches (203 cm). Angus was said to have completed feats such as lifting a ship's anchor that weighed 2,800 lb (1,270 kg) to his chest and could hold over 250 pounds (113 kg) with only three fingers.

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MacAskill was rumored for feats of strength such as lifting a ship's anchor weighing 2,800 pounds (1,270 kg) to chest height, and an ability to carry barrels weighing over 350 pounds (160 kg) apiece under each arm or reputedly able to lift a hundredweight, i.e. 112 pounds (50.8 kg), with two fingers and hold it at arm's length for ten minutes.[citation needed]

In 1849, he entered show business and went to work for P. T. Barnum's circus, appearing next to General Tom Thumb. In 1853 he toured the West Indies and Cuba.[1] Queen Victoria heard stories about MacAskill's great strength and invited him to appear before her to give a demonstration at Windsor Castle, after which she proclaimed him to be "the tallest, stoutest and strongest man to ever enter the palace", and presented him with two gold rings in appreciation.[2][3]

The fishermen of St. Anns envied MacAskill's strength. While they laboriously bailed their boats, MacAskill set his weight under his two-ton boat, tipped it on its beam ends and reportedly emptied the bilge water. He reportedly single-handedly set a 40-foot (12.2 m) mast into a schooner. He was also said to have been able to lift a fully grown horse over a four-foot fence.[4]



 
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