The Power of Community

Francis A. Johnson of Darwin, Minn., started a ball of twine in March 1950 and kept going for 29 years. The ball is 12 feet in diameter and weighs 17,500 pounds.

That’s impressive, but it’s also inspiring. Frank Stoeber of Cawker City, Kan., heard about Johnson’s achievement and started his own ball. Sadly, when he died in 1974, Stoeber’s ball measured 11 feet — just short of his goal.

But, in fine Frank Capra style, Cawker City built an open-air gazebo over the ball and began holding a “Twine-a-Thon” every August to increase it.

They’ve succeeded. The Cawker City ball now incorporates 1,325 miles of twine … and weighs 17,554 pounds.

| Trivia

Sunburn Alley

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Us_route_50_nevada.jpg

In Nevada, U.S. Route 50 is known as “The Loneliest Road in America.” Because of the barren terrain and low traffic, AAA warns its member to stay off the road unless they’re sure of their survival skills.

There are only five towns along the road, and all of them offer “Route 50 Survival Kits.” Stop in all five and you’ll get a survival certificate signed by the governor.

| Trivia

“What Is This Sea Which Is All Round Me?”

“The next day I was sad and sick at heart, for I felt how dull it was to be thus cut off from all the rest of the world. I had no great wish for work: but there was too much to be done for me to dwell long on my sad lot. Each day as it came, I went off to the wreck to fetch more things; and I brought back as much as the raft would hold.”

— From Robinson Crusoe in Words of One Syllable by Mary Godolphin, 1869

| Literature

Zorbing

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

New Zealanders know how to make their own fun. They’ve taken to rolling down hills inside giant plastic balls called zorbs. Most contain straps to hold the rider in place; if you’re insane you can forgo the straps and fill the ball with water, creating a self-contained water chute.

The first U.S. facility opens this year in Tennessee. Brace yourself.

| Entertainment

Star Power

In 1993 Bruce Willis appeared in a Japanese advertising campaign for the Subaru Legacy, so the company designed a car in his honor.

It’s called the Subaru Touring Bruce.

| Entertainment

No Place Like Home

Gibsonton, Fla., has the nation’s only post office with a counter for dwarves.

That’s because Gibsonton used to serve as a sideshow wintering town, where Percilla the Monkey Girl, the Anatomical Wonder, and other circus “freaks” could spend the off season. Siamese twin sisters ran a local fruit stand, and special zoning laws permitted residents to keep elephants and circus trailers on their front lawns. The school board meetings must have been memorable.

| Oddities

Road Warriors

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

If you think your commute is bad, check out the Kinetic Sculpture Race, held every Memorial Day weekend in Ferndale, Calif. In three days, participants must cover 42 miles of mud, sand, water, gravel and pavement in vehicles powered only by people (“and friendly extraterrestrials”). Arrows, anchors and grappling hooks are strictly disallowed.

The race’s slogan is “adults having fun so children want to get older.”

| Humor · Oddities · Technology