Greetings, lovers of the random and obscure!

Confucius said, “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

In this case, the man who creates the Guinness Book of World Records’ Largest Ball of Paint begins with painting a baseball.

Have you guessed what my next stop is?

Yes, sports fans, it is the WORLD’S LARGEST BALL OF PAINT- 10696 N. 200 W., Alexandria, IN.

I gotta admit, I was a bit apprehensive for a majority of my hour or so drive from Indianapolis. When a place is so far away from everything that nobody bothers to name their roads anything beyond county road numbers… I could only hope my cell reception would hold out so the GPS would not lose me in the middle of all of the fields and farmland.

Good thing it did because Jesus kept calling, wondering if I had found his sandals yet.

Jerry’s “Blues” CD was most apropos. Especially when “Funeral for a Marionette” snuck in at the end.

(In all seriousness, when I left, the route I took then showed me that it was actually about a 10 minute drive from Anderson, IN, and therefore not as crazy remote as it initially seemed)

Sure enough, though, if you follow your GPS, it will lead you directly to this.

This roadside sign is next to a driveway, which leads you to a small outbuilding. Mike and Glenda Carmichael, the creators and owners of this phenomena, were already inside with the woman who ended up becoming my paint partner. Yes, you see, the visit is monetarily free, but you are required to add a layer of paint to the ball.

This monster started out as a mere baseball and has been coated in layers of paint (at least one a day) for the past 39 years. This picture was after we added our coat. I meant to get a picture of me and my paint partner, but alas we both forgot. She did, however, send this photo that she took of me.

Yes, I look like a dork and am only a little bit ashamed.

Incidentally, you need to check out her genealogy blog, Lines Matter. Do it now. I’ll wait until you come back.

Behind me in the picture to your right, you see a small blob hanging from a bar in the corner. That was Mike’s first paint ball from the 60s. That is what it looks like with a mere 1,000 coats of paint on it.

This new one, our layer being #25,184, has had many contributors from all over the globe and has been featured on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.

After you paint your layer, Mike and Glenda have you sign the guestbook, sign the wall, and present you with this certificate.

Mike and Glenda are very friendly and welcome more visitors/contributors to this piece of Guinness World’s Records history. All it takes is prior communication with them. Find out more at http://www.ballofpaint.freehosting.net.

 

From left to right: Mike, ball of paint, Glenda

Until next time, dahlings…