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It started like this... In 1982 Randy and Don made a pilgrimage to Cawker City, Kansas. The local folks were holding a Labor Day twine-a-thon to add girth to the Big Ball of Twine smack-dab in the middle of town. Seems there were other balls in other places making claims to be the "world's largest," and by winding twine together, Cawker City-ites hoped to regain the title. Inspired by this event (and a check from TV's "Ripley's Believe It or Not") the boys decided to create a record-holder of their own, using something they had plenty of close at hand: 3/4-inch videotape. All tape, no cereal filler. Actually, like most of us, the ball had an awkward adolescence: outbreaks of strange bumps and split ends. In the mid-80s Randy dragged it along to the local TV show "All Night Live," and took a series of PR shots heralding its presence. Stardom seemed to beckon. Then tragedy struck. David Letterman rejected it. Twice! For years afterward, the humble orb lived in a Prairie Village garage, glimpsed only by the producer’s kids and an occasional workman. Then, in 1995, as a way to "announce our intentions," the ball came out of retirement and joined the Rare Visions crew on a jaunt across Kansas. The rest, as they say, is history… CURRENT WEIGHT- 53 LBS |
