BY THE NUMBERS

246,56m

The depth to which scuba diver Karen van den Oever from Johannesburg dove in the Boesmansgat cave in the Northern Cape. This is a new world record for a freshwater cave dive by a woman. This cave is 283m deep.

1 161kg

The weight of a giant pumpkin that set the American record in October for the heaviest pumpkin. It was grown in the state of Minnesota for about six months. The world record for the heaviest pumpkin is 1 226kg, which was set in Italy in 2021.

99 million

The age of an ancient snail discovered in Myanmar. The snail’s shell was well preserved because it was encased in amber (a substance like tree gum that becomes very hard). The shell has tiny hairs on it, which scientists are now studying to better understand why some snails evolved to have hair.