Measuring 18 centimeters in length, 34 centimeters in circumference, and 289 grams in weight, a strawberry grown by Israeli farmer Ariel Chahi has been confirmed by Guinness World Records as the heaviest in the world.
Coming from the local Ilan variety of strawberries, the heavy fruit is about five times the average weight of a regular strawberry, and roughly the same weight as an adult human heart.
A real chonk.
Chahi had discovered the ginormous fruit in his family farm last year. The moment he saw it, he knew it had 'big potential' as a record breaker. The farmer decided to keep it stored in a freezer so it could survive long enough to be evaluated by Guinness World Records staff.
IMAGE: Reuters
"When we heard, it was an amazing feeling. I jumped in the car, laughed and sang," Chahi said. "We’ve been waiting for this for a long time."
In a video posted on the Guinness World Records Instagram, Chahi can be seen placing the strawberry on a digital weighing scale, proving that it does indeed weigh 289 grams, including the weight of the stem itself.
He also compares it to a minuscule iPhone XR, which weighs just 194 grams – almost 100 grams lighter than the strawberry.
But how is this even possible, you ask? According to Guinness World Records, it was unusually cold in late January and early February of 2021. This slowed down the fruit's ripening process, but allowed for continued weight gain.
IMAGE: Guinness World Records
"The strawberry developed slowly for more than 45 days from flowering which caused its large size at full ripening stage," said Nir Dai, one of the witnesses at the strawberry's weigh-in.
And if we're being technical, the giant strawberry is actually made up of multiple berries that grew and fused together, lending to its unusual appearance, or as a Mashable SEA colleague describes it – like a pumpkin with acne.
IMAGE: Guinness World Records
Whether it's a puberty-stricken pumpkin or a chonky boi, it wasn't the only massive strawberry. It was merely the heaviest example found.
The previous record holder for the world's heaviest strawberry belonged to Koji Nakao from Fukuoka, Japan. The strawberry weighed in at a whopping 250 grams, not too far off from the current record holder. It was the first time in 32 years that the record had been broken.
Read more life stories:
Getting Omicron after vaccine may prevent infections from other strains, study says
Woman calls 'yusheng' a salad, sparks mixed reactions on TikTok
Bangkok's getting a new English name. Here's what it means.
Follow Mashable SEA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Telegram.
