The Darwin, Minnesota Twine Ball
First of all, let it be known that Darwin's Twine Ball is the only one I've seen. I have to be fair and let that be known. I have, however, read about the following Twine Balls, and hope to someday see them as well.
Now, to get down to business, there are some other people claiming to have the world's largest twine ball under their belts (figuratively, of course), but they just don't seem to stack up. I'll work my way from what I see as the top and move on down.
This is, as you see, the Ball in Darwin, Minnesota. First, let's talk about dimensions. The Darwin Ball
--weighs 17,400 pounds
--is about 40 feet around
--is 12 feet in diameter
--is about 11 feet high.
Francis A. Johnson, of Darwin, Minnesota began winding his ball in 1950, just for the fun of it. It eventually evolved into a worldwide attraction. It was spontaneous. And it was done by ONE MAN. It took him 29 years to build what we see before us. He used no mechanical machinery except for a crane to lift the ball to wrap under it. He finished in 1979.
If you wish to read more history on the Twine, visit my short history page.
This the Ball in Kansas. Let's look at the dimensions on this one.
--It was reported in 1997 to weigh 16,828
--has a 40 foot circumference
--has an 11 foot diameter
Frank Stoeber, of Cawker City, Kansas started his ball in 1953, after hearing about Francis Johnson's. He decided that rolling a huge ball of twine is a nifty idea. He worked on it until 1974, when he died. It wasn't as large as the Darwin Ball and the people of Cawker City wanted to keep Frank's memory alive. Every year they hold and annual Twine-A-Thon. Residents and Visitors are invited to add their own bit of twine.
So, theoretically, it's not even finished yet. And for another thing, it's now a group effort, rather than one man's work. This is a Ball that I would enjoy seeing, though I don't think it is as wonderful as the original.
This photograph is copyright 1998 by Craig S. Thom.
The Home of Twine thanks him for the use of it.
Please visit Mr. Thom's
site.
This Ball is my least favorite. In fact, I don't like it at all. I don't know about the weight, but it
--has a 41.5 foot circumference
--stands 13' 2.5"
In 1987, J.C. Payne, of Valleyview, Texas decided to start his own ball. He had heard of the record-breaking Twine in Minnesota and Kansas and decided that he wanted a little limelight. He had people donate multicolored nylon "twine" and he and someone else (I'm not sure of the name) built the "largest twine ball" in FOUR YEARS using a system of pulleys!! He then had Guinness certify it as the largest and SOLD IT to Ripley's Believe it or Not! It now resides in a museum in Branson, Missouri where a person has to pay admission to see it. I've heard that it's not worth seeing, but I won't know till I see it.
