I can see little itsy bitsy people standing alongside that ball of string. Goodgawd!! That cat alone must be 100 feet tall just lying down!!!

Sorry, but it won't be a slide show. And the people next to the giant ball of twine will be my daughter Cathy and my son Anthony and the guy who did all the saving of the twine, Mr. Johnson, who is no longer with us.

It will be a while yet as I am still at work.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: biplane1, 04 January 2007 09:43 PM

Philnic: Utterly "H..U..G..E! Terrifying. Right out of a Ray Harryhausen movie.

O.K. You asked for it and you are going to get it. The photo of the one-time world's largest ball of twine located in Darwin, Minnesota.

This photo was taken several years ago so therefore Mr. Johnson is no longer with us, but my son and daughter are.

Anthony,_Cathy_Francis_and_Ball_of_String.jpg (40 Kb, 12 downloads)

My monitor displays it too darkly to see the ball o' twine itself...

I see what you mean. It was a dark photo due to the ball of twine being in the building. But the top of the ball is about five feet above Mr. Johnson's head. It was big, but I think that there is another ball that has surpassed this one in size.

Sorry about the poor quality of photo.

Perhaps this photo is the other one biplane referred to, as gaining the title of largest ball of twine... Goes to Frank Stoeber, Cawker City, Kansas. 8 Feet in diamter.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nard Kordell, 05 January 2007 07:53 AM

twine.jpg (28 Kb, 10 downloads)

I bet the late Mr Johnson was disappointed when Stoeber beat him. Cawker City's claim is detailed here:
http://www.kansastravel.org/balloftwine.htm

Cawker City, KS, is quite a place, Phil! The World's Largest Ball of String, the Mona Lisa, the American Gothic, and Andy Warhol's Soup Can -- amazingly all in the same town!

I have already begun making plans for our cross-country tour this summer. Thanks for the lead. My wife and kids are going to love it.

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
My monitor displays it too darkly to see the ball o' twine itself...

Ball o' twine is a funny term.

quote:

Originally posted by fjp451:
I have already begun making plans for our cross-country tour this summer.

Oh, are you venturing to the left coast? Coming to see Mr B?

Goodness, gracious! Great Balls o'Twine!

Here's a good summary of the tales of the Big Three.
http://www.thom.org/gallery/set/twine.html

And, Butch, depending on how much time you want to spend wending your way hither, search out some of these not-to-be-missed bits of Americana:
http://www.wlra.us/

Thanks Braling II for confirming that my posting the photo of the Darwin, Minnesota Ball of Twine was worthwhile as I certainly wouldn't bore anyone with drival.

BralingII, that's a wonderful collection of giant beings! I've been trying to think of equivalent British giants. The only one I can think of is the Angel of the North..

You see what happens when you visit this site? Everybody has 2 cents to throw in. Now, a simple vacation to see twine and priceless works of art, has become complicated by all of these options to consider. Maybe we'll just load up the old Winnebago and head to Indiana:
http://www.commonplacebook.com/photos/big_things/indy/

(If I had a Winnebago...!)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: fjp451, 07 January 2007 05:15 PM