This Worm Was Chilling in a Lab for Years. Turns Out It’s a Record-Breaker

At their longest, ribbon worms can grow up to 180 feet, or the equivalent of two blue whales or 720 gummy worms. Turns out, these lanky crawlers also have lengthy lifespans.

For over 20 years, the 3-foot-long ribbon worm Baseodiscus the Eldest (B for short) was more a “long-time acquaintance” than an experiment to Jon Allen, a biologist at the College of William & Mary. Until, that is, Allen decided to give B a genetic checkup.