Biggest ball of twine explained

There are multiple claims to the world's biggest ball of twine record, all within the United States. As of 2014, the ball of twine with the largest circumference is located in Cawker City, Kansas, measured at 8.06feet in diameter and 10.83feet in height.

Largest ball of sisal twine built by a community

In Cawker City, Kansas, Frank Stoeber created a ball that had 1.6 million feet (490,000 m) of twine and 11adj=midNaNadj=mid when he died in 1974. Cawker City built an open-air gazebo over Stoeber's ball where every August a "Twine-a-thon" is held and more twine is added to the ball. By 2006, the twine ball had reached 17,886 pounds (8,111 kg, 8.9 US tons), a circumference of 40feet, and a length of 7801766feet.[1] In 2013, its weight was estimated at 19,973 pounds. In August 2014, the ball measures 41.42feet in circumference, 8.06feet in diameter and 10.83feet in height, and is still growing.[2] [3]

Largest ball of sisal twine built by a single person

Darwin, Minnesota, is the home of a ball of baler twine rolled by Francis A. Johnson. It is 12feet in diameter and weighs 17400lb. Johnson began rolling the twine in March 1950, and wrapped four hours every day for 29 years. It is currently housed in an enclosed gazebo across from the town park on Main Street at (45.0963°N -94.4103°W) to prevent the public from touching it. The town celebrates "Twine Ball Day" on the second Saturday in August every year. An adjacent volunteer-run, free to visit museum and gift shop has information on the history of the ball, as well as selling a variety of souvenirs.[4] [5] [6] [7] It was the long-standing holder of the "biggest ball of twine" title in the Guinness Book of World Records, holding the title from its completion in 1979 until 1994, and was referenced by "Weird Al" Yankovic in his 1989 song "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota."[3]

Heaviest twine ball

In Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin, James Frank Kotera created the heaviest ball of twine ever built. Kotera, known by his initials "JFK," started working on the ball in 1979 and continued until his death in January 2023.[8] The weight of the ball, 24160lb, was estimated by measuring the weight of each bag of twine. The ball is housed in an open-air enclosure in Kotera's lawn; since Kotera's death, the town has fundraised to move it to the town hall. The ball has a smaller companion, "Junior", that is made of string.[7] [9]

Largest nylon twine ball

In Branson, Missouri, a ball of nylon twine built by J. C. Payne of Valley View, Texas, is on display in Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum. The ball, which measures 41.5 feet (12.6 m) in circumference, was certified as the world's largest ball of twine by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1993. It is, however, the lightest of the four contenders, weighing 12,000 pounds.[4] [10] [11]

Cultural references

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: World's Largest Ball of Twine . RoadsideAmerica.com . January 27, 2013 . January 21, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130121200327/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/8543 . live .
  2. Web site: Cawker City wins the ball game with massive sphere of twine; The Wichita Eagle; September 28, 2014. . September 30, 2014 . September 30, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140930101522/http://www.kansas.com/news/state/article2288865.html . live .
  3. News: Hwang . Tim . Twisted: The Battle to Be the World's Largest Ball of Twine . February 20, 2023 . The Atlantic . September 9, 2014 . en . February 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202072155/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/09/twisted-the-battle-to-be-the-worlds-largest-ball-of-twine/379828/ . live .
  4. Web site: Balls of String. ABC Evening News. 1993-12-28. Charles Murphy. Vanderbilt Television News Archive. 2009-05-19. 2009-06-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20090630033642/http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=145726. live.
  5. Web site: World's Largest Twine balls. RoadsideAmerica.com. Doug Kirby. Ken Smith. Mike Wilkins. amp. January 27, 2013. October 15, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081015183326/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/MNDARtwine.html. live.
  6. Web site: Darwin's Twine Ball Museum . Dassel-Cotako Enterprise Dispatch . January 27, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130107005243/http://www.dasselenterprisedispatch.com/twine-ball-darwin.html . January 7, 2013 .
  7. Web site: Eye To Eye: On The Road Again. CBS. 2008-11-12. 2010-12-21. 2010-12-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20101205102656/http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4597446n. live.
  8. News: Lockwood . Maria . World's Heaviest Ball of Twine poised to move . February 20, 2023 . Superior Telegram . February 3, 2023 . en . February 20, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230220180918/https://www.superiortelegram.com/news/local/worlds-heaviest-ball-of-twine-poised-to-move . live .
  9. Web site: JFK's Twine Ball: World's Largest? . RoadsideAmerica.com . January 27, 2013 . November 2, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121102003242/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10970 . live .
  10. News: Texans have a ball, but unraveled twine king unimpressed . San Antonio Express . December 4, 1993 . January 27, 2013 . October 6, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141006131042/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SAEC&p_theme=saec&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F2231E0A85F7B73&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM . live .
  11. Web site: World's Largest Ball of Twine, Branson, Missouri . RoadsideAmerica.com . January 27, 2013 . January 29, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130129011256/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/23134 . live .
  12. Reinan, John. "'Weird Al' honored with 'Weird Alley' in Darwin, home of giant twine ball". St. Cloud Times. Published August 26, 2019. Accessed February 2, 2024.
  13. Trudeau, Garry. Doonesbury . July 16, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2013.

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