Fact Check

Is This a Picture of André the Giant Holding a Beer Can?

Big hands or small can? Inquiring minds want to know.

by Dan Evon, Published Nov. 10, 2017



Claim:
A photograph shows André the Giant holding a 12-oz. can of beer.
Rating:
True

About this rating


André the Giant had huge hands, and you know what that means: He made beer cans look like miniature toys when he held them.

A photograph showing famed wrestler and actor André René Roussimoff, best known as André the Giant, holding a can of beer is frequently circulated on social media accompanied by messages of awe and disbelief:

Those who simply couldn't comprehend the sheer size of Andre the Giant (the WWE billed him at 7-foot-4 and 520 pounds, although reports of his size vary) asserted that the can in Andre's hand must have been a miniature. Perhaps this is a smaller 10-oz. can or some sort of prop?

This image originally appeared in the December 1981 issue of Sports Illustratedin an article entitled "To the Giant Among Us." The original picture also featured a shot of Terry Todd, the author of the article and a former superweight powerlifting champion, holding a glass of beer for comparison and was accompanied by a caption explicitly stating that the odd optics of the image were the result of Andre's massive size and not any sort of photographic trickery:


By Dan Evon

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.


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