Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores

June 15, 2003 9:15 AM

Where can one find the world's largest loon? The world's largest smoking pipe (fully smokeable, no less?) The world's largest pierogi? These and much more oversized fiberglass statuary can be found at the World's Largest Roadside Attractions site and the related site Big Things: The Monuments of Canada. Inspired by this thread.
posted by Johnny Assay (19 comments total)

Count down to first world's largest loon comment...
posted by jonson at 9:18 AM on June 15, 2003

screw the loon, lead me to that pipe!
posted by quonsar at 9:38 AM on June 15, 2003

This reminded me of Bill Bryson's book about driving around America. His whimsy about all things roadside is funny and touching in equal measure.
posted by dmt at 10:37 AM on June 15, 2003

Lazy research... somebody ought to go out and find the World's Smallest Roadside Attractions. I'd do it myself, but my microscope is in the shop...
posted by wendell at 10:47 AM on June 15, 2003

Great - thanks.
posted by plep at 10:59 AM on June 15, 2003

Woo hoo! Murfreesboro, TN: Home of the World's Largest Cedar Bucket!
posted by sklero at 11:46 AM on June 15, 2003

"Fully smokable" my @$$. Not if it has asbestos in it. Still, I couldn't help wondering where they find pipe cleaners that are big enough.
posted by alumshubby at 12:01 PM on June 15, 2003

Thanks-it's been years and years since I have seen a pic of Albert the Bull (Audubon, Iowa). That bull is bigger than the rest of that town put together...
posted by konolia at 1:27 PM on June 15, 2003

ceci n'est pas un huard
posted by Zurishaddai at 1:32 PM on June 15, 2003

I'm sorry, I know exactly what a loon is, and I was very impressed with the contender brought forward, but you should see some of my friends!
posted by Joeforking at 2:21 PM on June 15, 2003

When I lived in the Midwest, I had a small collection of pictures of giant things I ran across, seen here.

(warning: self-link)
posted by jpburns at 2:27 PM on June 15, 2003

jpburns: your giant things photos include a Muffler Man. This site has a lot of Muffler Man information (might make a good FPP; indeed, it was good enough for memepool). "Know the signs. 18 to 25 feet tall. Silent. Right palm up. Left palm down."

I have a Muffler Man photo in my collections too--I saw the guy on a road just east of the New York/Massachusetts border. I used it on a webpage I made for an intro HTML seminar I taught. I say this to explain why the photo is now an annoying animated GIF. Still wonder what that "SQUEEZE" sign was all about anyway...
posted by tss at 3:46 PM on June 15, 2003

On one vacation, my wiff and I drove past an amazingly large woman. She was at least sixty feet tall, and appeared to be hawking some sort of tire. It was downright weird.

But, then, much of southern Alberta is a little weird. One town lays claim to Fay Wray. Bloody apes all over the place. Another is some sort of Mormon town, with a humoungous and closed-to-public church of some sort. Nice enough, but odd, architecture on that one.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:07 PM on June 15, 2003

Er... what boring bloody loons at WLRA. Where are the iridescent green heads? It's not a loon if it isn't iridescent.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:09 PM on June 15, 2003

fff: Would you believe a friend and I once drove around Drumheller for a solid half-hour and couldn't find the much ballyhooed giant dinosaur statue? At least we got some good small-town-style Chinese food out of it.

And of course, if you prefer your prairie wierdness on a slightly smaller scale, there's the Torrington Gopher Museum, dedicated to the art of stuffing, and whimsically dressing up, the Richardson's Ground Squirrel.

and apropos of nothing, you might remember us from the citadel bbs scene back in the day, calgary branch--I went by "mad axe max" and my friend by "melvin c. thudpucker."
posted by arto at 11:06 PM on June 15, 2003

I think a bigger question lies here: Is WLRA the world's largest collection of world's largest roadside attractions?
posted by tuxster at 2:37 AM on June 16, 2003

Shame you missed the statue. At 2AM, after some 10 hours of non-stop driving, it's quite the startling vision...

'fraid I don't remember your user names. I do remember Stainless Steel Rat lived down there.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:56 AM on June 16, 2003

No doubt. (Cue scary music, heart attack)

and come to think of it, i was more active in the local rooms than the network ones... still, hail fellow well met and all that.[/bbs nostalgia]
posted by arto at 11:25 AM on June 16, 2003

MetaFilter: might make a good FPP; indeed, it was good enough for memepool
posted by Zurishaddai at 9:37 PM on June 17, 2003