ALEXANDRIA, Ind. — Some U.S. landmarks are known all over the world: the Golden Gate Bridge, the Gateway Arch, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
A new list is celebrating American attractions on the opposite end of the spectrum.
The latest episode of Mental Floss’ The List Show series has combed the country far and wide for what it’s calling the “coolest offbeat attraction in each state.”
Highlights include a museum full of ventriloquist dummies, celebrations of bad and Spam, and earthworks.
You might think Indiana’s oddity is centered around basketball, and you’d be half right. A ball is involved, but not the kind you dribble and throw into a hoop.
The World’s Largest Ball of Paint in Alexandria, Indiana has been singled out by Mental Floss as the coolest off-the-beaten-path landmark in the Hoosier State.
The giant latex ball is the work of Mike and Glenda Carmichael and hangs from a steel beam in a custom-built house in rural Madison County, according to Roadside America.
“Take a regular baseball, add a few thousand coats of paint over four decades or so, and you just might have the world’s largest ball of paint,” said The List Show’s guest host Justin Dodd.
Beyond more than 25,000 layers of paint, there really is a baseball at the center of the massive orb. Carmichael told Roadside America the paint ball began in 1977 when he had his son paint a baseball with blue house paint.
If you visit the paint ball, you can do more than marvel at its size — you can roll up your sleeves and add your own layer of paint. Just call ahead if you want to do so!
You can find the World’s Largest Ball of Paint at 10696 North County Road 200 West in Alexandria. Call (765) 724-4088 before your visit in order to schedule a painting time.
