Offbeat America: Beloved Roadside Attractions, Weird Wonders & Rocks!
The United States is a glorious country filled with breathtaking wonders, both natural and man-made. Add to that the quirky, creative and endlessly entertaining people who call it home, and you have a nation unlike any other.
As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we’re taking a look at the more offbeat side of the country, from bizarre roadside attractions and quirky traditions to unusual landmarks and the wonderfully weird stories that make the United States such a fascinating place to explore.
Found in the USA: The World’s Largest
Americans like to think big, and there’s no shortage of items claimed to be the world’s largest. In fact, we’d need a much longer article to cover all of them, but here’s a handful of more unusual ones to start.
The World’s Largest Ball of Sisal Twine
We should start by noting that Darwin, Minnesota, is home to the world’s largest ball of sisal twine wound by one person, that person being Francis A. Johnson, who spun his 17,400-pound ball from 1950 to 1979. His impressive sphere is in a gazebo protected by plexiglass. But something even more fascinating is happening when you head to Cawker City, Kansas, where the world’s largest twine ball is under a canopy and more approachable: Visitors can add to it (the ball never stops growing), sit on a nearby bench and gaze upon its beauty, and go right on up and hug it. We don’t know if you’d want to hug it, but you totally can!
Credit: Dave Klitz
Speaking of balls …
Our fine country also has the Largest Ball of Stamps in Boys Town, Nebraska; the Largest Ball of Paint in Alexandria, Indiana; the Largest Popcorn Ball in Sac City, Iowa; the Largest Baseball in Muscotah, Kansas; and the Largest Rubber Band Ball in Lauderhill, Florida.
Big things, small town
If you’re looking to cross a lot of big things off your list at once, Casey, Illinois, with its “Big Things Small Town,” is the place to go. Within walking distance of each other are items such as the world’s largest teeter-totter, wind chime, rocking chair, barbershop pole, swizzle spoon and mailbox (which you can climb inside), and other big attractions include a large yardstick, taco, piggy bank and birdcage (you can go in and sit on the perch, if you’re OK with feeling a little imprisoned). Photo ops galore!
Lucy the Elephant: An Unforgettable Roadside Attraction
Wikipedia
She’s the 12th-tallest statue in the United States and is known as the oldest surviving roadside tourist attraction in America. The lovable Lucy the Elephant in Margate City, New Jersey, was constructed in 1881, stands six stories high, and weighs about 90 tons, and yes, you can go inside! Now a historic landmark, she continues to beckon tourists into her belly.
Muffler Men Giants
These iconic roadside behemoths have been beckoning us for over half a century. Mostly referred to as Muffler Men, these fiberglass figures were crafted to attract tourists to local businesses. Enthusiasts cite that there are only a few hundred of the original International Fiberglass giants still in existence, which include Paul Bunyan, cowboys, Vikings, Texaco Big Friends, Native American chiefs, Uniroyal gals, and others created in the 1960s and ’70s. Thanks to passionate collectors, some of these have been restored and preserved at places like the American Giants Museum in Illinois and Giants Garage in Arkansas.
Strange Roadside Attractions
Where is the “Center of the Universe”?
In 2004, the mayor of Wallace, Idaho, proclaimed the city to be the center of the universe, because it can’t be proved otherwise. If you don’t mind dodging traffic, you can stand in the middle of an intersection to see the manhole cover that marks this exact Center of the Universe. (This is not to be confused with the Center of the Universe in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, but frankly, having two centers of the universe does confuse us.)
American Gothic House & Center
Wikipedia
In Eldon, Iowa, see the small white cottage that inspired the backdrop of Grant Wood’s iconic American Gothic painting and learn about the artist’s life and work (his sister and dentist were the models for the stoic-faced woman and the guy with the pitchfork). In front of the house, you can strike a pose and take a selfie, with costumes and pitchfork provided. Practice your blank expressions!
What’s with all the henges?
Wikipedia
If you have a soft spot for places ending in “henge” and can’t make it to Stonehenge in England, you’re in luck! The U.S. has several henges (roughly defined here as things arranged in rings). Some of these look similar to their English counterpart, such as the Texas Hill Country’s Stonehenge II, which also has Easter Island head replicas standing guard; Bamahenge, a fiberglass Stonehenge in Alabama; and, entirely crafted from Styrofoam, Virginia’s Foamhenge, which Atlas Obscura describes as an “exact replica of the ancient monument, but much, much lighter.”
For less traditional henges, one of the most famous is Nebraska’s Carhenge, made up of 39 vintage American cars spray-painted gray. Ponyhenge consists of a herd of discarded rocking horses that started appearing in a Lincoln, Massachusetts, field in 2010, and whose number and arrangement occasionally (some might say mysteriously) change. And on the grounds of the Civic Center Park in Newport Beach, California, you’ll find Bunnyhenge, a collection of 14 large white bunny sculptures sitting on their haunches in a circle and staring at each other in an adorable yet eerie way.
The U.S. rocks! Literally…
Adobe Stock
We’re literally stuck between a rock and a hard place trying to touch on the amazing rocks in our country, be it the Grand Canyon, Wyoming’s Devils Tower, Utah’s Delicate Arch (and, of course, Moab), California’s Red Rock Canyon State Park, Rock Art Ranch in Arizona and even Plymouth Rock, so instead we’re going to mention a handful of weird ones. Clearly, rock formations come with mysterious legends — some spiritual, some cultural, some just unexplainable.
Have you explored the Gungywamp in Groton, Connecticut, 270 acres of man-made rock houses, mysterious etchings and standing stones? The Judaculla Rock in Jackson County, North Carolina, holds deep cultural and spiritual significance to the Cherokee people and contains more petroglyphs (ancient carvings) than any other known boulder east of the Mississippi. There’s also the Ringing Rocks, Skull Rock, Monkey Rock, Monster Rock, Mexican Hat, Balanced Rock, Chimney Rock, Newspaper Rock and more.
Another odd rock stop is in the desert just outside the far southern end of Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Seven Magic Mountains rock sculpture. Created by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone, it consists of seven stacks of large, brightly colored boulders. It is a rather quirky stop for some great selfies, but if you go in the summer, be sure to bring plenty of water, as the only shade is in the shadows of the boulders themselves.
Near the Petrified Forest National Park outside of Holbrook, Arizona, is the most unusual roadside attraction with the Rainbow Rock Shop — a Disneyland of dinos from brontosauruses and T. rexes to a stegosaurus and baby dinos — that has been selling rocks, rock art and other oddities since the 1980s.
This article appears in the July/August 2026 Americana Issue of ReMIND Magazine. You can purchase the full issue at the link below.
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Americana
July/August 2026
Celebrate 250 years of Americas best nostalgic & kitschy fun!
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