Before we get too far into this fun fact, let's take a minute to talk about the strongest man in the world.
Game of Thrones fans will recognize him as The Mountain, the giant monster who guards Cersei Lannister. Fans of The World's Strongest competitions know him as Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, this year's winner. Bjornsson's personal deadlift record is 1,041 lb- nearly 3 times the 400 lb man's body weight.
And he still comes nowhere close to the strength of a wooden pallet.
A typical 48x40 pallet is capable of supporting over 40 times its own weight (roughly 1,600lbs). At a 10th of the weight of Bjornsson, it still can carry and transport more than his PR. For a man (or woman) to lift at the same rate as a pallet, they would need to carry 4 tons- roughly the same size as full grown female elephant!
And what about our animal friends? How do they compare?
Gorillas are the strongest mammal, and can lift around 10 times their weight, more than tigers, elephants and grizzly bears could hope to achieve. In fact, the only creatures on Earth that can outlift
a pallet are insects; namely, the woodcutter ant, the rhinoceros beetle and the dung beetle.
Next time someone tells you how strong they are, just remember- the flat, humble, wooden pallet can outlift us all.
