74-Year-Old Dutch Man Wins World's Biggest Nose Championship After Childhood Accident

Ted Barendse, a 74-year-old man from the Westland region, is now officially the proud owner of the world's largest nose. Measuring in at 132.52 millimeters, his nose secured him first place at the World Championship for Biggest Nose in Langenbruck, Germany, this past weekend.

When Ted was nine years old, he took a hard fall and broke his nose. The bone splinter never fully healed properly, and while the bruising around his eyes faded, his nose just kept growing. "That bone is still somewhere in my nose, I just don't know where," he says.

Standing in front of Ted, you cannot miss the legendary schnoz. "Do you mean the guy with the wide nose? Yeah, then I know they're talking about me. It really is just like that," he laughs.

What advantages does such a large olfactory organ bring? "Well, you breathe easier with it," jokes the former horticulturist. "But whether you smell better? I don't think so." His wife never had a problem with it either. "She always said: you are what you are."

At the competition, Ted dethroned last year's winner, Hans Roest from Leiderdorp (118.4 mm). "I walked into the hall and everyone turned around. Hans said: I've lost now." The German jury was stunned. Before 400 spectators, Ted received a standing ovation, a trophy, and a five-liter German beer mug. "So I can have a beer on my nose too. That mug is a mega-thing."