Big Bertha

For more information on Big Bertha, visit Britannica.com.

A 420-mm howitzer used in World War II that fired an 1, 764 lb (800 kilogram) shell about 6 miles (10 kilometers).

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Modern dance in one act with choreography by Paul Taylor, music from the collection of band machines in the St Louis Melody Museum. Premiered 9 Feb. 1971 by the Paul Taylor Company in New York. The ballet, influenced by the macabre cartoons of Charles Addams, shows an American family visiting a fair, where they become dangerously fascinated by Big Bertha, an animated doll on top of a musical box. A television version, which Taylor created as a duet, featured de Jong and Nureyev.