The 57-pound beetroot that stole a flower show

At the Malvern Autumn Show, British grower Vincent Sjodin unveiled a beetroot weighing 26.02 kg (about 57 pounds 6 ounces) — a new world record — plus a 7.8 kg sunflower head. Kevin Fortey answered with a 1.486-meter tromboncino squash, while Graham Barratt's cucumber plant stretched 7.598 meters (about 25 feet). Heaviest sweetcorn cob, at 408 grams, went to Peter Glazebrook. Grown with patience, weighed with ceremony, celebrated with total seriousness.