World's Biggest Cat

                                           

The "Snowball" story has been circulating since March 2001, but the accompanying photo is at least a year older, first sighted on the Web around April 2000. Several obvious reasons have been set forth for doubting its authenticity, including:

It's quite a feat to do weight-lifting curls with a hundred pounds, yet this guy looks like he's holding no more than 10 to 20.

When a live animal, even a docile one, is held this way, its legs wouldn't normally appear so stiff and lifeless. They would dangle at a sharper angle to the armpits or support points.

The animal has all the appearance of a toy, and the human nearly does too.

In blow-ups of portions of the photo published by Urban Legend Zeitgeist, it's easy to discern that the image is the product of creative manipulation.

The actual Guinness World Record holder (1997) for "longest cat" is 98-pound "Snowbie" of Ellon, Scotland, who measures 41 inches from nose to tail, in marked contrast to Snowball's alleged 69.