Right, time's up!!! And the answer is ........
PneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosisAt 45 letters long it is "a factitious word alleged to mean 'a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust, causing inflammation in the lungs.'”
This is not the longest word ever … by a loooong way, that honour goes to the full chemical name of the protein titin which is a mind-boggling 189,819 letters long!!!!!
![Wacko [wacko]](./images/smilies/wacko.gif)
As a chemical name it does not qualify for longest word status, and, no, I can neither spell nor pronounce it! It seems to be a mass of “l”s and “y”s. If you are sad enough (like me) to want to see it in full it’s here …
http://sarahmcculloch.appliedgeekery.com/longest-word.htmlMy favourite word to pronounce is floccinaucinihilipilification which is a very long-winded way of describing something as unimportant. This is a mere 29 letters long and is the longest unchallenged non-technical word beating antidisestablishmentarianism by 1 letter.
Here endeth the lesson for today!! I hope you all feel edumikated!
So ... another question then …. easy one this time and revealing another childhood obsession of mine:
Who was the first gymnast to ever score a perfect 10?