Anchorage Daily News

A massive green cabbage captured the Guinness World Record at the Alaska State Fair on Wednesday, crushing a record set in 1989 by nearly two pounds.

The whopper submitted by Wasilla resident Steve Hubacek tipped the scales at 125.9 pounds, said Dean Phipps, marketing director for the fair. The cabbage's head measured about 21 inches across, and its leaves spanned about 5 feet.

"I was there when they put it on," he said. "When they put it on everybody took a couple steps back and went like, 'Oh, my gosh.' They all had versions of that and then they started jumping up and down."

The entry period for the green cabbage category ended at 9 p.m. Wednesday, making the super-sized cabbage the winner in its category, said Kathy Liska, superintendent for giant vegetables at the fair. But there is still a giant cabbage weigh-off on Friday, and officials said they expect even larger cabbage there -- Hubacek said he's got a bigger one still at home.

The previous world record, set in Wales, United Kingdom, in 1989, was 124 pounds, Liska said.

That broke a record that lasted 124 years. "So maybe we'll sit on this one for a while," she said.

Also this year, the fair saw two world record rutabagas, both submitted by Scott Robb of Palmer, she said. The first weighed more than 79 pounds and the second 82.9 pounds.

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