The World's Biggest Road Trip Story...
Written by Juliet Potter: 18-March-2008
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The Big Oyster. The Giant Prawn. The Big
Pineapple. Just a few Aussie 'bigs' that seem that much 'bigger' after
hours of being exposed to the same scenery, company and mundane conversation on
your road trip. And in
So, tighten your seatbelts and allow me to take you on the ultimate 'All American Road Trip', pointing out, ala Clark Griswold style, some of the more unique American tourist icons that make the Big Banana seem, well, far less a' peeling'.
"Everybody in the car. Boat leaves in two minutes...or perhaps you don't want to see the second-largest ball of twine on the face of the earth."
Clark Griswold
The World's Largest Lemon
When Ron Burgundy uttered the line, "You stay
classy, San Diego",
perhaps at the forefront of his mind was the World's Largest Lemon. This
10-foot wide concrete lemon can be found in the suburb of Lemon
Grove (now you're getting it) where the locals aren't nearly as
sour or twisted as the native fruit. Now this is definitely one to squeeze into
your itinerary (oh so many puns, so little time).
The Burt Reynolds (& Friends) Museum
For those who worship the ultimate man's man, there is
a god. His name? Burt Reynolds. So imagine the pure joy of seeing the man himself
(or a wax replica) in the official
Hello, we're talking Burt's belts and boots that he actually wore in the film Smoky and the Bandit, the canoe used in the movie Deliverance, his countless prestigious TV Awards (including his People's Choice Awards and his Golden Globe nomination from 1971), and even gifts from his real-life celeb-u-type friends (that were always earmarked to be re-gifted or were headed straight to the pool room).
And for those who want to take home a little bit of Burt, on sale are the official Burt golf clubs, Burt coffee cups, Burt baseball caps and, for the die-hard fans – a 14 K gold 'Bandit' charm that retails at a mere $89.95.
And could too much Burt Reynolds ever be enough? Perhaps. Suspiciously missing was a copy of his 1972, 100 per cent nude Cosmo Centrefold. Now, we ask you – how could you possibly misplace a priceless gem like that?
The World's Largest Prairie Chicken
They say if you build it, they will come. And so on
June 10, 1975, when Rothsay was awarded the prestigious title of Prairie
Chicken Capital of Minnesota, they decided (as you do) to build the World's
Largest Prairie Chicken.
The town's 'golden goose' weighs in at a whopping 9,000 pounds and is 13-feet tall – big enough to make even Colonel Sanders salivate. They came, they saw, they um left.
The World's Largest Kaleidoscope
So many great things came out of the 1960s – flared
jeans, Bewitched, the Lava Lamp, David Bowie – it's pretty hard to nail
just one down. But definitely right up there in the top-3 is the World's
Largest Kaleidoscope.
Found in Mount Tremper, New York, the psychedelic artist Isaac Abrams and his son Raphael felt a little inspired after watching an episode of Doctor Who and spent a little spare cash ($250,000 in fact) to create a 6-story, fully functional kaleidoscope inside a converted silo. Now that's pretty far-out man.
The World's Only House Made Outta Beer Cans
Yes, like many men, John Milkovisch had a big dream. To capitalise on his
6-pack and daily beer habit; and to justify having his friends over for a few.
So what could be more obvious than to turn his house into an ode to the gold by
turning 18 years' worth of beer cans into the siding, curtains, walls and
decorations of his home? Hey, it put him on the map. The design, they say, is cutting-edge.
The World's Biggest Car Spike
Yes, it's big and the Wayne's World movie made it bigger –
it's the world's biggest 'car spike'. Located in Illinois since 1989, the giant spike was created by local artist Dustin Shuler who felt
the need to express himself by impaling 8 cars on a metal spike. Ooh and aah's
aside, we hear a local woman is still walking around the local Cermak Shopping Centre
trying to remember exactly where she parked her vehicle.