When Dictionary.com featured “behemoth” as their Word of the Day, something unexpected happened in my Google Photos. Among the search results for “behemoth” appeared a tiny figure from my past – a one-inch tall King Kong, wearing what looks like a bronze patina but is actually just well-worn plastic.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. Here was King Kong, the legendary monster who scaled the Empire State Building, reduced to pocket size. But back in 2011, I gave this miniature monarch his own architectural conquest: the Wrigley Building in Chicago.
Armed with just my camera and this tiny figure, I created the illusion of Kong scaling Chicago’s architectural icon. I even climbed onto one of the windows to position him higher — though perhaps I shouldn’t admit to that part (YouTube video). Through the magic of perspective, our one-inch hero transformed into the behemoth he was meant to be, beating his chest victoriously atop one of Chicago’s most recognizable landmarks.
What makes this rediscovery even more amusing is Google Photos’ interpretation of “behemoth.” Among the search results were several photos of Ewoks – those tiny furry warriors from Star Wars. It seems the AI has a sense of irony, connecting these diminutive characters to a word that means “anything of monstrous size or power.”
The original tiny King Kong no longer sits in my collection, as I left him on the Wrigley Building. But the photos serve a reminder that sometimes the biggest stories come in the smallest packages. And while he may not have sent the Wrigley Building’s employees running in terror (as my 2011 story dramatically claimed), he did manage to make his mark on Chicago’s skyline – even if only in photographs.
This post was inspired by Dictionary.com’s Word of the Day “behemoth” (January 23, 2025) and a Google Photos search that reminded me that size is all about perspective.