Dr. James Friend, senior lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Monash University in Australia, is developing a nanobot propelled by a tiny rotor motor measuring about five-millionths of a meter.

CNN: Nanobots get to the heart of the matter

Three 10-meter-long 1997 Terex TS14D motor scrapers -- machines that chew up roads for repaving -- roar past a crowd of 1, 200 in baseball caps and blue jeans at a recent Ritchie Bros. auction in Clinton, Wisconsin.

FORBES: Heavy metal

Despite her impressive dimensions, she is not officially the largest motor yacht in the world, a record held by the 160-meter (525ft) Dubai.

CNN: Al Salamah: The ultimate yacht