The Planet's tallest and biggest...

The World's Tallest Building (Height to Architectural Tip)

Overtaken in height by the uncompleted Burj Dubai on August 21, 2007, the Taipei 101 Tower nevertheless retains its current title until the Burj tops out. Called one of the most stable structures in the world, the Taipei Tower, which was completed in July of 2003, stands 1,670-feet-tall (1,473 without its antennae and spire). At night the Tower casts a beam of light that changes color each day and is meant to represent liberty.

The World's Tallest Building (Including Antennae)

Though it has a mere 1,451-foot roof, the nearly 300-foot antennae at its top make Chicago’s Sears Tower the easy winner in this category. Finished just one year after the World Trade Center, The Sears Tower is home to over a 100 different companies, though, curiously, not Sears, Roebuck & Co, which left the building in 1995.

The World's Highest Occupied Floor

Who needs fancy spires and antennae? Not the Shanghai World Financial Center. Opened in August 2008, the Tower’s 100th floor soars 1,555 feet above downtown Shanghai. The building’s most distinctive feature is the aperture at its peak. Originally the aperture was meant to be a circle, but the design was deemed too close to the rising sun of the Japanese flag, so it was altered.

The World's Tallest Building (Proposed)

Its Palm Islands under way, the Burj Dubai, scheduled to completion in 2009, is on track to become the record holder in all four major categories. You might think Dubai would rest on its laurels. Not so. The proposed Nakheel Tower–to be completed in 2020–would be nearly 4,600-feet-tall making it almost three times as tall as the Sears Tower.

The World's Tallest Restaurant

It may not be in the world’s tallest building, but the 360 Restaurant, towering 1,151 feet above the city of Toronto in the CN Tower, is home to the world’s tallest Wine Cellar, which resembles a typical underground wine cellar except for the fact that it is in the sky. A list of over 500 international and Canadian wines—kept cool by a 2.5 ton state-of-the art climate controlling system—complements an award-winning menu drawing heavily on regional ingredients.

The World's Tallest Flagpole

Since 2008 with 133 meters (436 feet) the tallest free-standing flagpole in the world is now the Ashgabat Flagpole in Turkmenistan, beating the formerly record-holding Aqaba Flagpole in Jordan (its size: 132 meters; 433 feet).

The World's Largest Snow Castle

The most unusual item on our list is the LumiLinna snow castle and it is just what its name suggests: a huge castle constructed entirely out of snow. Located in Kemi, Finland, the castle is rebuilt every year—after melting in April—over a period of two months. Temperatures in the castle’s 18 guest rooms average 23 degrees Fahrenheit, but the hotel provides sleeping bags that not only “guarantee the survival” of its guests, but also promise a comfortable night’s sleep.

The World's Tallest Walkway

The Grand Canyon Skywalk stands at 4,000-feet-high, making it over twice as tall as the Taipei 101 Towers. Of course the skywalk has an unfair advantage: It doesn’t rise from the canyon floor, but merely extends 65 feet from the canyon’s edge. Since March of 2007, tourists free of vertigo have been able to gaze straight down through 4-inch thick glass to the canyon floor below.

The World's Tallest 90-Degree Twisted Building

Designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and completed in 2005, the Turning Torso in Malmo, Sweden, stands at 623 feet, easily beating out Frank Gehry’s Dancing House (in Prague) and the Marina Mandarin Hotel in Singapore.

The World's Tallest Dam

Construction began on the Nurek Dam (984 feet) in 1961 while the central Asian nation of Tajikistan was still a republic within the Soviet Union, and was completed an efficient 19 years later. The dam provides 98 percent of Tajikistan’s electrical needs and was one of the first to be constructed with an asphalt central core of cement forming an impermeable barrier along the Vakhsh River.

The World's Largest Man-Made Islands

Perhaps no structure on this list more embodies the original impulse behind the tall building—pure human hubris—than Dubai’s Palm Islands. Composed of three separate islands, Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, the entire construction will add nearly 330 miles of beach front to the city of Dubai. Parts of Palm Jumeirah are currently open for development, with the remaining islands to be completed in the next 10-15 years. When finished, the three islands will contain over 100 luxury hotels while Palm Deira itself will be almost as large as Paris.

The World's Tallest Hotel Not in Dubai

Though eclipsed both by Dubai’s Rose Tower and Jumeirah Emirates Tower, the Baiyoke Tower II in Bangkok, Thailand, nevertheless boasts 88 floors and 673 guest rooms. The 997-foot Tower is located in Bangkok’s Ratchathewi district known for its shopping and its 1.5 mile long artificial lake.

The World's Tallest Hotel Never Actually Completed

Destined for greatness, the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, stands at 1,083 feet, was supposed to boast 105 floors and 3.9 million-square-feet of floor space, and was meant to have seven revolving restaurants. Not surprisingly this towering pyramid’s construction was put on hold in 1992 when North Korea confronted more pressing matters. What remains is the pyramid itself, but it lacks windows and fixtures and has been deemed unsafe for human occupancy.

The World's Tallest Monument

Commonly known as the “Gateway to the West” the St. Louis Arch, designed by renowned architect Eero Saarinen, marks the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The arch is surrounded by a 91-acre national park along the Mississippi River and stands 630-feet-tall. Visitors can take a four-minute tram ride up one of the “legs” of the arch to the observation deck at its center for spectacular views of St. Louis.

The World's Tallest Casino (sort of)

Unsurprisingly located in Las Vegas, the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino boasts a 1,149-foot-tall observation tower and restaurant, making it the tallest free-standing tower in the United States. While you can be shot straight up 160 feet in the air, or ride a mechanical arm over the Tower’s edge, there are no actual games in the tower itself.

The World's Tallest Bar

On the 87th floor of Shanghai’s Jin Mao Tower–literally “Golden Prosperity Building”–is the appropriately titled Cloud Nine. In February 2001, cocktail-sipping patrons observed Han Qizhi, a 31-year-old shoe salesman, climb the 1,214 foot tower barehanded.

The World's Largest House

Indisputably, the Sultan of Brunei’s Istana Nurul Iman is the world’s largest residence. Really more of a palace, this structure boasts an impressive 2,152,782-square-feet of space, comprised of 1,788 rooms (including 257 bathrooms), and is home to the Sultan's car collection, including 165 Rolls Royces. (It easily dwarfs Buckingham Palace's 828,818-square-feet). Unfortunately for non-royals, the Sultan’s palace is only open three days a year for the Islamic festival of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, marking the end of Ramadan. However, in 2009, Indian multi-billionaire Mukesh Ambani is scheduled to complete construction on the world's largest house.

The World's Largest Ancient City

Built in the mid-15th century, Machu Picchu is located 7,875 feet above sea level in the Urubamba Valley in Peru. A gorgeous collection of 150 structures, including temples and residences, the city was abandoned approximately 100 years after its founding and not re-discovered until the early 1900s. Machu Picchu was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.

Source: Forbes