“Looks Bigger In Person”: 50 Times People Were Surprised By The Sheer Size Of Something (New Pics)

As a Texan, I’m definitely familiar with the idea of things being unnecessarily large. As they say, everything’s bigger in Texas! And my partner made it very clear to me that was absolutely true during his first trip there. Wide roads, massive trucks, large houses, gigantic portions of food served at diners and more. But no matter how many times I’ve seen abnormally large things, I will never be desensitized to them. The Absolute Units subreddit still finds a way to surprise me.

This online group is dedicated to featuring the biggest versions of anything and everything. And clearly, many people do believe that bigger is better, as the group has amassed an impressive 1.7 million followers. That’s an absolute unit of a subreddit! Here, you can find anything from gigantic cars to monkeys who could probably stand to lose 40 pounds. As long as it’s big, it’s welcome here!  

For some reason, many of us find it incredibly amusing to see something that’s not the size we expect it to be. The internet loves videos of people cooking in teeny tiny kitchens and extremely small versions of well, anything and everything. They’re adorable, entertaining and unexpected. But clearly, there are plenty of people who love the opposite as well: absolute units of things.

According to Clever, comically large objects actually make for great home decor as well. You can cover your floor with a huge piano rug that actually plays music when you step on it, or place a giant Rubik's cube in the corner to function as a side table. Massive heat-resistant pieces of pasta can be used on hot pot handles, and huge boxes shaped like Lego bricks can be used to store all of your children’s Lego pieces.      

Some people actually turn absolute units into pieces of art. Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen worked together to create a series of sculptures that turned small, regular items into massive, eye-catching pieces of artwork. These include a massive shuttlecock, a huge sprinkler hose, a giant bow and arrow, bowling pins and a bowling ball that could easily crush a person, a saw large enough to slice through a street and more.

“We feel free to use all the approaches that come naturally to our non-monumental works: variations in scale, similes, transformations, a wide range of materials, and, of course, our use of familiar objects,” Oldenburg told My Modern Met.  

Bruggen also opened up about what it was like to create these absolute units of sculptures with Oldenburg. “Working together supposes an almost complete understanding of the other, an impossibility in any case, so instead we choose a unity of opposites, a convergence of our different dynamics, of symmetry and asymmetry, of acceleration or implied speed and stillness, of a polychrome and monochrome palette, gravity and lightness — all interrelating and interchangeable elements to be used by either one of us,” she shared.

Not every absolute unit is to be enjoyed forever, though. Some bring us fleeting moments of joy, such as edible absolute units. If you’ve ever been to a restaurant that advertised a challenge to eat a huge plate of chicken fingers, a gigantic pancake, a mountain of nachos or an entire pizza in one sitting, you were likely surprised (and possibly disgusted). But it turns out that plenty of people love these absolute units of food. There are even entire blogs dedicated to finding these food challenges and conquering them. 

FoodChallenges.com, which is run by Randy Santel, features a directory of challenges from all over the world, reviews of challenges that Randy or other “food fighters” have attempted or completed, and tips for those creating or participating in food challenges. It’s safe to say that every challenge featured on the site would be considered an absolute unit. And you can find anything from sweet challenges with waffles and milkshakes to barbecue feasts with various meats.