India just shattered the record for tallest statue in the world.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday unveiled the newly-completed statue of Vallabhbhai Patel, which is 597 feet tall and cost $400 million to build, The New York Times reports. This makes it the world's tallest statue by far, with the runner-up being the 420-foot tall Spring Temple Buddha in China. For comparison, the Statue of Liberty is 305 feet tall.
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In just a few years, though, the statue is set to be dethroned, the Times reports, as the country has plans to complete a memorial to 17th century king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 2021. That one will be nearly 700 feet tall, meaning there's a non-zero chance Tom Cruise will end up jumping off of it in a Mission: Impossible movie. Brendan Morrow
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